Guy Moot, chair and CEO of Warner Chappell Music, will become the first music publisher to receive the UK’s Music Industry Trusts (MITS) Award on Monday, November 9, at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel. The award has spent more than 30 years honoring artists, label chiefs, promoters, agents and broadcasters, but it has never before gone to a publisher.
Proceeds from the evening will go to The BRIT Trust and the music therapy charity Nordoff & Robbins.
A career that began in record shops#
Moot started out in record shops before becoming UK managing director of EMI Music Publishing. In that role he signed artists including:
- Amy Winehouse
- Arctic Monkeys
- Calvin Harris
- Lana Del Rey
- Mark Ronson
As President of Worldwide Creative at what is now Sony Music Publishing, he oversaw deals with Ed Sheeran, Drake and Sam Smith.
Leadership changes and growth at Warner Chappell#
Moot joined Warner Chappell in April 2019 as co-chair and CEO alongside Carianne Marshall. The pair have since doubled the company’s annual revenues.
Signings during their tenure include Dua Lipa, Amy Allen, Zach Bryan, Laufey and ROSÉ. Major catalog deals include:
- David Bowie (acquisition)
- George Michael (renewal)
- Tom Petty (administration)
In September, Warner Music Group (WMG) announced Marshall’s exit, making Moot sole chair from October 1. A week later, he joined the board of the US National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA).
My Chemical Romance deal and chart success#
On October 15, Warner Chappell signed My Chemical Romance to a worldwide administration deal covering the band’s entire catalog and future works.
The 20th anniversary edition of The Black Parade has given the band their first-ever No. 1 albums in the UK and the US.
AI licensing and streaming rate proposal#
Warner has moved from suing AI music generators Suno and Udio to licensing them. Separately, in a US Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) proceeding, Amazon has proposed cutting songwriters’ headline streaming rate for 2028 to 2032.
Moot on publishing, A&R and growth#
Moot said: “Music publishing has come a long way since I started.” He recalled a label executive describing publishers around 30 years ago as “leeches on the record company’s back,” and added: “We’re now clearly the sexy part of the business!”
On the award, he said: “To be the first publisher to receive the MITS Award is truly an honor. We’re not very good at being the center of attention, publishers. We’re more in the background.”
On growth, he said Warner Chappell is “aiming for well above market [growth] when you look at the Goldman Sachs predictions.” He also said that he is “a bit down on market share as a metric anyway” and that the key question is “whether you’re growing faster than market.”
On A&R, he said: “A&R is definitely more of a team effort.” He added: “I hate using this word in a way, but A&R people have to think more like a portfolio.”
Moot also discussed why he believes some performing rights organizations (PROs) need to be held to account. On his artist work, he said: “What we’ve tried to do with RAYE is facilitate her career, and grow with her.”
