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CISAC, the international trade organization for copyright collecting societies, has a new Chair, with APRA AMCOS CEO Dean Ormston elected into the role.
Announced on Thursday (May 29), Ormston is only the second Australian to hold the title in CISAC’s 99-year history, with his APRA AMCOS predecessor Brett Cottle having previously served in the role from 2006 until 2010.
Ormston brings more than two decades of experience in the fields of music rights management, policy and advocacy to his new appointment. Since 2018, he’s served as the CEO of Australia and New Zealand’s music rights management organization APRA AMCOS, which represents more than 124,000 songwriters, composers and publishers.
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“Being elected Chair of the CISAC Board at such a pivotal moment for creators worldwide is an honour,” Ormston said in a statement. “As the creative economy enters a new era shaped by AI and global digitalisation, the opportunity to secure a fair and thriving future for creators has never been greater.
“Creators are central to the cultural, social and economic fabric of every nation. Each country has a responsibility to nurture its own cultural voices by ensuring a strong copyright framework and enabling creators to share in the value generated by innovations such as Generative AI.”
Ormston’s noted focus on ensuring a fairer future for creatives in the current AI-focused climate comes just over a year after he was named as one of the 20 leaders from the creative industries and academia invited to join the Steering Committee of the Attorney-General’s Copyright and Artificial Intelligence Reference Group (CAIRG).
APRA AMCOS have themselves been noted voices in the Generative AI debate, releasing their AI and Music report in August 2024 which focused on the benefits and concerns facing creators in Australia and New Zealand. Meanwhile, CISAC performed their own global study in December which re-iterated international calls for credit, consent and fair remuneration for songwriters and composers.
As newly-elected Chair of CISAC, Ormston takes over from Marcelo Castello Branco, the CEO of Brazil’s UBC, who has occupied the role for six years. Ormston is joined by Jennifer Brown, CEO of Canada’s SOCAN, who has been re-elected for a second term as Vice-Chair, and VG Bild-Kunst director general Urban Pappi, who has been elected as Vice-Chair for the first time.
Founded in France in 1926, CISAC has been presided over by Swedish singer, songwriter, and ABBA co-founder Björn Ulvaeus since 2020, taking over from French composer Jean Michel Jarre after he had spent a seven-year stint in the top job.
“CISAC’s global network is uniquely positioned to amplify the voice of these creators to decision-makers across the world,” Ormston added. “I look forward to working with the new Board and the entire CISAC community to champion creators’ rights, further develop our services, and empower societies and their members to lead in this rapidly changing global market.”
Pophouse Entertainment, the Swedish catalog company behind the virtual live show ABBA Voyage, said on Monday it raised a total of 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) to invest in acquiring catalogs and entertainment experiences around those music rights.
The fundraise consists of 1 billion euros raised through a private equity fund, and 200 million euros ($216 million) raised through dedicated co-investment vehicles, where outside investors put money to work alongside the Fund in certain transactions. Roughly 30% of the fund has already been deployed into partnerships related to the acquisition of rights to songs by KISS, Cyndi Lauper, Avicii and Swedish House Mafia.
Founded by by ABBA member Björn Ulvaeus and Conni Jonsson, of the Swedish global investment firm EQT AB, Pophouse has been acquiring the publishing, recording and name, image and likeness rights to iconic pop catalogs and then building entertainment experiences around them, through theatrical and virtual shows, museums and movies.
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Pophouse’s playbook has been at work through productions like The Avicii Experience, a tribute museum to the late dance music producer that opened in his hometown of Stockholm, Sweden, in 2021; Mamma Mia! The Party, an interactive dinner party set in London theater modeled after a taverna from the Greek island of Skopelos; ABBA Voyage, the band’s wildly successful virtual show that uses ABBA-tars to digitally depict the foursome as they looked in 1979, and ABBA The Museum, which opened in 2013.
KISS, which sold its name and likeness rights to Pophouse, has hinted that a virtual performance of its songs could launch in Las Vegas in 2027.
“By investing across publishing, recording, and brand rights, Pophouse has created a uniquely attractive prospect not only for investors but also for artists, empowering them to explore and amplify their legacy to new generations of fans,” Pophouse managing partner Johan Lagerlöf, said in a statement.
Pophouse’s CEO is Per Sundin, the first music industry label executive to partner with Spotify when he at Universal Music Sweden and president of the labe’s Nordic region business. Jonsson recruiting Sundin to helm Pophouse with the intention of taking advantage of the external business opportunities music rights present in the streaming era.
“Facing unprecedented disruption caused by streaming and technology, music intellectual property presents a differentiated, lifetime opportunity for investors,” Jonsson said in a statement. “We are reshaping the entertainment industry by applying an active, value-add approach that unlocks future generations for fandom.”
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