Know Your Rights workshops - PRS for Music collection & distribution in Malta. MEIA, in collaboration with PRS for Music, is pleased to announce Know Your Rights - two workshops designed to help Malta's music creators, venues, and event organisers better understand performing rights and how royalties are collected and distributed. As the sector continues to grow, many artists, composers, and producers remain unclear about how royalties are generated, collected, distributed, and claimed, which often results in missed opportunities and under-claimed earnings. These workshops aim to close that gap. The programme is split across two sessions, each including a presentation by a member of the PRS for Music team, followed by an open Q&A. Session 1: from clubs to concerts - mastering data collection | 5PM. For venues, festivals, promoters, hospitality businesses, event organisers, broadcasters and other music users This session covers why the right licence matters, how licensing turns into payment for creators and publishers, how tracking tools such as BMAT support royalty matching, and the common collection gaps such as missing setlists, wrong venue details, and unlicensed use. Session 2: from registration to royalties | 7PM. For songwriters, composers, producers, musicians, music professionals This session explains how royalties are generated across live, broadcast and digital uses, and how creators can manage their works and income more effectively. MEIA will cover copyright, publishing and performing rights, getting started with PRS for Music, managing your online account, registering works with accurate metadata, reporting live performances, tracking royalties, and understanding payment dates, rates and statements. MEIA will also go through the PRS member tools available to support you. About the PRS team. Daniel Jones and Stuart Belsham, Writer Relationship & Outreach Managers at PRS for Music, work directly with songwriters and composers to help them maximise the value of their rights as their careers grow, and are regular speakers at music events worldwide. They will be joined by Steve Vassallo, PRS for Music's representative in Malta for the past 12 years, who brings wide experience in music licensing, copyright, and live entertainment through his work with businesses and event organisers across the island. Whether you're an artist trying to make sense of your royalty statements, or a venue wanting to get your reporting right, this is an opportunity to get practical answers directly from PRS and MEIA. Places are limited, so MEIA encourage you to apply early. Special thanks to Arts Council Malta, Festivals Malta, Visit Malta and The Brewhouse Malta for their support in making this event possible.

Ben McOwen Wilson Appointed CEO of PRS for Music. Beyond the private sector, McOwen Wilson has worked with the U.K. government through the Creative Industries Council and the Creative Industries Federation, contributing to discussions on intellectual property, innovation and industry growth. PRS for Music has named former Google and YouTube executive Ben McOwen Wilson as its next chief executive officer, marking a leadership change for the U.K. collecting society as it continues to navigate the evolving music and technology landscape. McOwen Wilson will assume the role on Oct. 12, succeeding Andrea Czapary Martin, who announced in March that she would step down after leading the organization since 2019. PRS said the appointment follows an international search conducted by its Members' Council. Most recently, McOwen Wilson served as managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Google Play, a position he held since 2022. Before that, he spent more than a decade at YouTube, overseeing the platform's business operations across the EMEA region. Earlier in his career, he served as CEO of UEFA New Media and as managing director at British broadcaster ITV. Beyond the private sector, McOwen Wilson has worked with the U.K. government through the Creative Industries Council and the Creative Industries Federation, contributing to discussions on intellectual property, innovation and industry growth. The appointment comes after another record financial year for PRS for Music. In 2025, the organization distributed a record £1.07 billion to songwriters, composers and publishers, a 4.9% increase from the previous year. Royalty collections reached £1.24 billion, marking the second consecutive year PRS distributed more than £1 billion to rightsholders. PRS for Music represents the rights of more than 190,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. Alongside royalty collection, the society has taken an increasingly active role in advocating for creators on issues such as artificial intelligence and copyright, while also pursuing legal action against Valve Corporation over the alleged unlicensed use of members' music on the Steam platform.

Latest music industry hires: PRS for Music, UMG, frontiers label group, Academy of Country Music, bang & Olufsen. Latest music industry hires: PRS for Music, UMG, frontiers label group, Academy of Country Music, bang & Olufsen dylan smith july 24, 2026. Here's a recap of recent music industry hires and in-house promotions as of July 24th, 2026. If you have a job shuffle to share, we're all ears. Send us a note to [email protected]. If you'd like to post a job on our Job Board, just send us a request to [email protected]. And, keep track of all the latest music industry hires here. PRS for Music. PRS for Music has officially announced Ben McOwen Wilson as its next CEO; the former Google Play and Television EMEA managing director is expected to take the reins on October 12th. As some will recognize, this appears to represent an accelerated succession timetable. In March, PRS indicated that outgoing CEO Andrea Czapary Martin, her decision to step away having been "reached in agreement with the PRS Members' Council," would depart "at the end of 2026." In a statement, Wilson described PRS' "most urgent priority" as "protecting the integrity and value of human creativity." Additionally, the longtime YouTube higher-up, who until early 2026 also served on the Creative Industries Council, said his "first priority will be to listen and learn." That approach seems wise. On one hand, Martin's roughly seven-year tenure brought significant collections and distributions growth. On the other hand, the period wasn't without challenges for PRS, among them Blur drummer David Rowntree's "black box" lawsuit; a different complaint from songwriters; and related admin-rate criticism from Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Thom Yorke. Meanwhile, Wilson's tech experience is worth keeping in mind amid AI's rise, about which nearly 80% of UK musicians have concerns, per a PRS survey. So is the possibility that the same experience, plus the plans "to listen and learn," may set the stage for a long-overdue music-monitoring overhaul. Universal music group. Former Skechers, Nike, and Timberland exec Tseyin Foo has joined UMG as president, global supply chain. Frontiers label group. Frontiers has welcomed ex-AFM Records team member Timo Hoffmann as head of A&R, Germany. Academy of Country Music. Station Entertainment co-founder Andy Schuon is now the Academy of Country Music's CEO. Bang & Olufsen. Bang & Olufsen has announced John Legend as its global brand ambassador.