Facebook’s Jeremy Sirota Appointed CEO of Merlin

Former Facebook exec Jeremy Sirota has been appointed CEO of Merlin.

Merlin, the independent digital rights agency, was led by Australia’s Charles Caldas since the company was founded in 2007. Charles announced he was stepping down from the role in June, 2019.

At Facebook, Sirota led the company’s efforts to license and acquire recorded music rights from independent record labels and distributors around the world, thereby enabling innovative social music features across Facebook, Instagram, Oculus and Messenger.

He was previously SVP and Head of Business and Legal Affairs at Warner Music.

In a statement Sirota says, “I am honored by this opportunity to lead Merlin and serve independents throughout the world. Merlin’s team of executives and employees are widely respected throughout the music and DSP communities, and I look forward to working closely with them to write the next chapter. With the digital music market potentially on the brink of another wave of transformative change, it’s vital that independents continue to have an organization that represents their interests, ensures the value of their repertoire is respected, and keeps pace with innovation.”

Merlin is also announcing today the results of its biennial board elections, with eight new executives joining the organisation’s 15-member board.

The new incoming board members are: Alexandria Hock (Better Noise Music), Carlos Mills (Mills Records), Chan Kim (FLUXUS, Inc), Katie Alberts (Reach Records), Marie Clausen (Ninja Tune), Merida Sussex (Stolen Recordings), Michael Ugwu (Freeme Digital) and Pieter van Rijn (FUGA).

To fully reflect the organisation’s global outlook, Merlin’s board is divided into three territorial blocs with equal representation given to North America, Europe and ROW.

In first name alphabetical order, the full Merlin board is as follows:

North America
• Alexandria Hock, Better Noise Music (US)
• Darius Van Arman, Secretly Group (US)
• Justin West, Secret City Records (Canada)
• Katie Alberts, Reach Records (US)
• Marie Clausen, Ninja Tune (US)
Europe
• Emmanuel De Buretel, Because Group (France)
• Horst Weidenmueller, !K7 Records (Germany)
• Martin Mills, Beggars Group (UK)
• Michel Lambot, PIAS Group (Belgium)
• Pieter van Rijn, FUGA (Netherlands)
ROW
• Carlos Mills, Mills Records (Brazil)
• Chan Kim, FLUXUS (South Korea)
• Masahiro “Jack” Oishi, Danger Crue (Japan)
• Merida Sussex, Stolen Recordings (Australia)
• Michael Ugwu, Freeme Digital (Nigeria)