(CelebrityAccess) — National Music Publishers’ Association announced that Lawrence Mestel, Founder & CEO of Primary Wave Music, has joined the organization’s board of directors.
A veteran label exec with more than 30 years of experience in the label industry, founded founding Primary Wave, one of the largest independent music publishing, marketing and talent management companies in the United States.
Primary Wave represents a catalog of more than 15,000 songs from recognized recording artists such as Bob Marley, Prince, Stevie Nicks, James Brown, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, Smokey Robinson, Whitney Houston, Burt Bacharach, Bing Crosby, Luther Vandross, Olivia Newton-John, Ray Charles, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, America, and Steve Cropper.
Before founding Primary Wave, Mestel served as Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of Virgin Records, overseeing marketing, sales, and business development for the company. He also did a stint at Arista, where, as Executive Vice President and General Manager, he oversaw the label’s managing sales, international and strategic marketing, A&R and marketing administration, finance and business affairs.
“I am honored to work with David, Irwin and the rest of the Board members,” said Mr. Mestel. “I have admired David Israelite’s tenacity, intellect and commitment to the artist and publishing community for over a decade. The NMPA is a vital partner for those that create and own songs and I’m looking forward to making a meaningful contribution to its mission.”
“I have known and respected Larry for many years and am so excited to have him on our board as we lead the charge for music creators to be properly valued, a mission Larry takes very seriously. He has been a strategic leader in all facets of our industry and was ahead of the curve on many of the biggest trends we’re seeing today. Known for his passion and commitment to creators, his insight and experience will be huge assets to our leadership,” added NMPA President & CEO David Israelite.
