LONDON (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Restructuring has continued at the British Phonographic Industry with the appointment of veteran British pop songwriter Mike Batt to the newly-created non-executive position of Deputy Chairman, following the departure of director of communications and development Steve Redmond.
Batt’s new role will include extensive involvement with the BPI’s council, which oversees its strategy and organization. He will be working closely with the label body’s recently-appointed non-executive chairman Tony Wadsworth (EMI Music U.K. & Ireland chairman/CEO) and CEO Geoff Taylor. Wadsworth and Taylor were appointed in January, replacing the BPI’s executive chairman Peter Jamieson, according to Billboard.biz.
Batt is the founder/director of the U.K.-based independent label and management company Dramatico Entertainment, home to international hit-maker Katie Melua.
Batt is also known for his time as singer/songwriter/producer for the 1970s novelty act The Wombles, a pop band dressed in live-size costumes based on characters from a U.K. kids’ television show. The band charted eight U.K. Top 40 singles in 1974/75, and scored four Top 30 albums.
Batt told Billboard that a priority in his new role will be to help spread a "growing spirit of unity within the BPI to the other music industry organisations with whom we have many common interests; [independent labels bodies] AIM and IMPALA in particular, but also the composer and publisher organisations."
Redmond is a former editor and publisher of U.K. trade publication Music Week. He joined the BPI in May 2004 after serving in a consultancy role for 18 months. In his BPI role, he was also a director of the BRIT Awards and the Official U.K. Charts Company.
In a statement, Redmond said: "Peter Jamieson and I worked very closely together over the past four years and his departure is a good point for me to move on to something new." He tells Billboard.biz that he will continue to act as a consultant over the coming month for this year's British Music Week in Germany. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
