Mar 9, 2023

Music publisher and former performing rights organisation executive joins mission to revolutionise payment of public performance royalties Share: Audoo, a music technology company aiming to revolutionise public performance royalties worldwide, has appointed music publishing veteran Nigel Elderton as chairman. With a career spanning over 45 years in the music industry, Elderton also has experience as a performing rights organisation executive. He adds to the London company’s growing team of international industry experts. The company, founded in 2018, now includes senior experts from APRA AMCOS, BMG, BMI, Bowers and Wilkins, Shazam and Spotify among its wider team. The Audoo Audio Meter is a small, discreet plug-in solution which cuts through foreground noise and takes a digital, GDPR-compliant, fingerprint of the music being played, matches the track data, and reports to PRO and CMO partners – ultimately aiding the compensation of artists and rights holders with a much greater level of accuracy. Elderton is the European President of the global independent music publisher Peermusic and has held a number of industry positions, including chairman of PRS For Music (recently retired), director of ICE Operations Berlin, chairman of the Music Publishers Association (UK), chairman of MCPS, director of British Music Rights/UK Music, founding trustee of the PRS Foundation and president of the Music Publishers Association Ireland. He also worked for EMI, MCA and Polygram prior to joining Peermusic. Recognising his contribution to the music industry, he was awarded the Gold Badge of Distinction from the British Academy of Songwriters and Composers and Authors (BASCA, now The Ivors Academy), the MPA (UK) Gold Badge for services to music publishing, and was invited to become a Fellow of the Royal Society For Arts (FRSA). His appointment follows the adoption and widespread rollout of Audoo Audio Meters in Australia and New Zealand. “The Audoo mission is worthy, and its technology highly impressive. Improving the licensing landscape and removing barriers to royalty processes is vital in rebalancing money that should be reaching music creators and performers – Audoo tech aids efficiency in these processes,” said Elderton. “Early adopters are showing improvement in the accuracy of data collection and, ultimately, more of those owed will receive their optimum public performance payments. “As a publisher representing the best interests of songwriters and a long-time colleague within PROs, I look forward to working alongside Ryan and the Audoo team to advance this element of our industry.” Ryan Edwards, founder and CEO, added: “Having Nigel join is an honour – a true champion of the songwriter and music industry with unparalleled experience and expertise. “We are excited to benefit from his guidance and continue on the mission of revolutionising the public performance royalties space worldwide.” Audoo raised £5.2 million in its 2020 Series A funding round and £7.2m in its pre-Series B funding round in 2021. Its financial backers include Sir Paul McCartney , MPL Ventures, Tileyard London, Steve Sidwell and Björn Ulvaeus (ABBA/CISAC).