SONY HOCKS HOCKMAN
TO PUB HEAD

David "Don’t Knock the" Hockman is the new Chairman of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, reporting to Sony Music Entertainment Exec. VP Michele Anthony "and Cleopatra," who made the announcement.

Hockman will maintain offices in London and New York, which means half the time he’ll eat inedible food and the other half of the time he’ll ride to work on the subway. Yeah, right.

Hockman will supervise all activities of the publishing company, working closely with SME’s senior management team to develop and implement new strategic initiatives, oversee the company’s publishing activities around the world and hawk Wega big-screen Trinitrons that fell off the truck out the back door.

Commented Anthony: "David Hockman’s impressive track record as a strategic builder of publishing assets makes him the perfect choice to lead Sony/ATV. He has a proven ability to develop highly effective, long-range strategies, and a great track record of developing creative initiatives that maximize the value of copyrights. I know I speak for everyone here when I say I look forward to working closely with David as we capitalize on our strengths during this time of growth and opportunity, and further expand our presence in the publishing arena. And I expect him to collect every time someone sings ‘Careless Whisper’ in the shower."

Added Hockman: "SME has built its publishing operation into one of the most impressive organizations in the history of music publishing. It’s a genuine honor to have been asked to lead SonyATV, and I look forward to developing and implementing new strategies that will ensure the company’s long-term growth. In that spirit, I’m immediately cutting everyone’s lunch hour to 10 minutes."

Hockman previously served as Chief Executive of edel Publishing, and President of edel Records Europe. He was also CEO for PolyGram International Music Publishing Ltd, from 1986-’98, spearheading the company’s re-entry into that business. Prior to that, he was resonsible for PolyGram UK’s audio-visual activities. He began his career in 1973 as a legal advisor for Dick James Music Publishing, where he tipped a pint or two with noted pub-crawler Andy Gould and worked the Beatles’ catalog...which he'll now work again. A long and winding road, indeed.