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The Board of The Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) is pleased to announce that Victor Finn has been appointed to the position of CEO at IMRO. Mr Finn, who served as Managing Director of The Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (Ireland) from 2001-2008, will take up his position in June.

Finn’s extensive experience within the Irish music market and strong reputation in the International arena are important factors in his appointment to the position. He has overseen significant developments in the Irish music publishing industry, as income for publishers and songwriters has shifted from traditional physical product to digital.

A Chartered Management Accountant with a degree in Marketing from University of Limerick, during his time at MCPS, Finn established successful licensing schemes for CD, DVD and other physical media. Major deals were struck with broadcasters, mobile and music download players, and this is reflected in the positive growth path of MCPS revenues during his tenure there. Finn also brokered groundbreaking joint licensing schemes with IMRO, allowing online music users easier access to both repertoires while maintaining royalty rates for such uses.

“This is an important time for the creative community, when music and other intellectual property rights are more widely disseminated than ever before. Our objective is to ensure our songwriters and their music publishers receive fair compensation and that our new partners promoting innovative business models can appreciate the value of the rights entrusted to IMRO”, states Finn.

“IMRO is very much at the forefront on the international stage in representing a collective voice for music creators as we face into serious challenges ahead. The appointment of Mr Finn at this time ensures that we are in a strong position to tackle the many issues facing the creative community particularly in the online world. Finn’s strong stewardship of the organisation at this time will be essential to ensure that the rights of all those represented by IMRO are best protected into the future” added Keith Donald, IMRO Chairman.

The international music landscape has changed rapidly in the last number of years with many major threats now facing the industry as a whole not least the difficulties and challenges faced by music piracy, illegal downloading and increased regulatory pressures on royalty collection societies at EU level.

IMRO is a national organisation that administers the performing right in copyright music in Ireland on behalf of its members – songwriters, composers and music publishers – and on behalf of the members of the international overseas societies that are affiliated to it. IMRO’s function is to collect and distribute royalties arising from the public performance of copyright works. IMRO is a not-for-profit organisation.