PPL has appointed Melanie Johnson as Director of Transformation, a newly created role within the CEO’s Executive Leadership Team.
Melanie will oversee an ambitious cross-company innovation programme, designed to help PPL deliver its vision to be the number one choice globally for neighbouring rights royalty collections.
Melanie brings a wealth of experience from publishers, labels, DSPs and tech. She will lead work across the business which takes advantage of significant ongoing technology investments and improved data flows to deliver ever faster and more effective royalty distribution for PPL’s rightsholder and performer members. Her career includes senior roles at Audoo, Utopia Music, Facebook and Sony/ EMI Music Publishing, all with a focus on creating long-term strategic value through transformative thinking. She joins as PPL reported collections exceeding £300 million in 2024, with growth across all three of its income streams and a stable cost-to-income ratio.
Alongside her professional accomplishments, Melanie is Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for Music Minds Matter, a Mental Health charity dedicated to supporting everyone who works in music in the UK. She has also served as a Board Trustee of the Ivors Academy Trust, which provides professional development and educational programmes for songwriters.
PPL CEO Peter Leathem OBE said: “I have long been impressed by Melanie’s ability to deliver meaningful results in a collaborative and empathetic way. Her commercial thinking, paired with deep industry knowledge, will be a great asset to the PPL team as we continue to grow our UK licensing, international royalty collections and membership base.”
Commenting on her new role, Melanie said: “I’m delighted to join PPL at this exciting time in its evolution. Neighbouring rights has become an important income source for performers and rightsholders, and PPL has shown itself as a global leader in the market. I’m looking forward to bringing my experience from across the music world to PPL as it transforms its internal systems and processes to further maximise returns for members.”
