Warner expands music licensing activities

Warner Music UK has appointed Jane Davies to the newly created role of head of film, television and advertising, with a brief to establish relationships with major brands and advertising agencies.

Davies was previously creative manager at Warner/Chappell Music and has held a similar role at Universal Music.

Warner Music intends to promote licensing opportunities for its repertoire of original artist recordings. Davies’ department will guide clients on music choice, copyright clearance, licensing and mastering and will push for faster approval of requests.

The company has recently licensed tracks by Backyard Dog and Dario G to Coca-Cola and Ford respectively for World Cup campaigns. Warner Music’s licensing department previously handled queries from agencies, but did not actively seek out clients and the company admits this area of exploitation “has not been a priority for Warner UK in the past”.

Warner Music’s roster includes artists such as Madonna, REM, The Corrs, New Order and Oxide & Neutrino.

Last September, Warner Music created a business development team to create third-party sales promotions (MW September 6, 2001). Both departments fall within the Warner Strategic Marketing division, reporting to director Mario Warner.