MERCK ADDS ROWE TO HIS BOAT

Richard Rowe is moving to Merckland.

The biz veteran and publishing player is joining Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd. as EVP, boss Merck Mercuriadis has announced. He will assist the Hipgnosis team in its pursuit of hot catalogs, with strategic breaks to roll around in large piles of money.

Rowe, who began his career in 1979 as an attorney in CBS Records’ Business Affairs Department, served as President of Sony Music Publishing from 1991-2005 (it became Sony/ATV in ’95 and recently reverted to its prior moniker) and later co-founded Round Hill Music, spearheading a number of major catalog acquisitions.

Mercuriadis hailed Rowe as “one of the most important and successful executives in the music industry. He helped build Sony/ATV into the company it is today and played an important role in bringing Round Hill Music Royalty Fund successfully to the market in the wake of Hipgnosis. Over his career he has made some incredible deals, including the famous partnership with Michael Jackson bringing The Beatles copyrights to Sony/ATV and some of Round Hill Music’s most important catalogs in Carlin Music, Eddie Holland and six songs by The Beatles via the Gil catalog.” He added that Rowe’s “experience is second to none and he will be adding an additional layer of expertise to our investment and finance teams on data analysis and delivering best-in-class market disclosures.”

"I am proud of the work that I did at Round Hill Music over the last ten years and to have been part of its growth,” declared Rowe. “Music publishing is evolving at a fast pace and Hipgnosis is leading that charge. I am delighted that Merck has invited me to join his company and bring my experience to Hipgnosis and work with the great team he has already put together. Merck has built an incredible company that is the envy of the music industry, and I am excited to have this opportunity to be part of the next stage of its growth. Also, he's promised to get those nerdy old photos of me out of the HITS archives."