This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Business News Digital Industry People
Virgin appoint a Head Of Music
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 8 April 2009
Virgin Media, who, as internet service providers go, well, at least they’re not Tiscali (yeah, I’m still bitter about how Tiscali’s incompetence ruined my ability to report while on the move this week, though to be fair a lovely person in their PR department has helped us track down a customer service person who might be able to get the net working again at my sister’s house), have appointed a Head Of Music. Hmm, I’m thinking the long brackets may have made that sentence a bit hard to follow.
OK, let’s try again. ISP and cable telly company Virgin Media have created the role of Head Of Music and have appointed Richard Wheeler, formerly Head Of Music & Film Partnerships at Orange, and prior to that a digital VP at Sanctuary, to the job. He’ll be responsible for developing new music services across Virgin’s mobile, internet and cable TV platforms.
Confirming the appointment, Virgin Media’s Director Of Broadband Jon James told reporters: “It’s a time of great change and opportunity in the music business and Virgin Media is uniquely well-placed to bring innovative new services to consumers, thanks to our fibre optic network. Virgin Media has a strong brand heritage in music and, coupled with Richard’s outstanding wealth of experience and in-depth understanding of the needs of artists, labels and consumers, we’ll continue to build our presence in music”.
Relationships between music companies and the ISPs remain a little tense at the moment of course, because while the former recognise that the latter’s big subscription-paying customer base is an obvious target for new revenue-generating digital music services, they still believe the net firms are failing to fulfil their ethical duty of taking a more proactive role in policing online piracy.
Virgin Media have a slightly better relationship than others, and were the first to agree to send out warning letters to suspected file-sharers. Also they, like BSkyB, have existing credentials as content providers, and therefore are more logical partners for new music services. However, no ISP is in favour of what some record label execs secretly desire – an introduction of the infamous three-strike file-sharer disconnection system – and disagreements over that issue will always have some impact on major music/ISP partnerships.
Not that that doesn’t mean more tactical alliances can’t be struck in the meantime. And the fact Virgin have decided to create the Head Of Music role, and appoint a former label exec into it, has to be a good starting point.
