Ged Doherty

Ged Doherty
Born 1958
Manchester, England
Citizenship English
Alma mater Sheffield Polytechnic
Occupation CEO and cofounder, Raindog Films
Chairman, British Phonographic Industry and the BRIT Awards
Years active 1982 - present
Website bpi.co.uk

Ged Doherty is a British music industry executive, film producer, and entrepreneur. The co-founder of Raindog Films and the chairman of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the BRIT Awards, Doherty was previously the chairman and CEO of Sony Music UK.[1][2]

Early life and education

Doherty was born in Manchester, England. He played drums with local bands as a teenager, and attended Sheffield Polytechnic, where, as social secretary, he booked punk bands including The Damned and Siouxsie and the Banshees.[2]

Career

In 1982, Doherty founded Renegade Management. He subsequently managed artists including Paul Young and Alison Moyet. In 1992, he was recruited by Epic Records to lead international marketing. Doherty remained at Epic until 1996, when he was named managing director of Columbia Records UK.[2][3][4]

In 1999, he became managing director of the Arista Label Group, and in 2001 was promoted to president of Arista's parent company, the BMG Music Group. He was named president of the music division of Sony BMG UK after the two companies merged in 2004 and appointed chairman and CEO of Sony Music UK in 2006.[5][6]

In 2012, Doherty co-founded Raindog Films Ltd. with Colin Firth.[7] A London-based film production company, its first feature, Eye in the Sky, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015 and was released theatrically in April 2016. It was directed by Gavin Hood and stars Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman, and Barkhad Abdi. As of October 2016, it had grossed $38 million, becoming one of the best performing independent films of the year.[8][9] Raindog's second film, Loving, written and directed by Jeff Nichols and starring Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2016.[10]

Doherty was appointed chairman of BPI and the BRIT Awards in December 2014. In 2016, Doherty addressed the lack of diversity among the organization's voting membership by inviting 700 music industry figures to join the Academy, making the 2017 invite list 52% male, 48% female, and with 17% BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) representation.[11][12]

Doherty is the chairman of a music-based interactive gaming company, FOAM, and a partner and shareholder in Major Influence, an artist management company.[13][14]

References

  1. ↑ Billboard Staff (December 11, 2014). "British Trade Body BPI Appoints New Chairman". Billboard. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Gibson, Owen (February 18, 2008). "'It's the wild west out there'". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  3. ↑ Duffy, Thom (April 27, 1996). "Columbia UK Managing Director Named". Billboard. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "Music: Besides the intrinsic pleasure it brings, music is also worth £1.5bn to the our economy. Here are the people plucking the strings". The Standard. October 5, 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "LISTEN TO OUR STORY ABOUT A MAN NAMED GED". Hits Daily Double. Hits Magazine. July 5, 2006. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  6. ↑ White, Adam (April 10, 1999). "Ged Doherty to Helm Arista UK". Billboard. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  7. ↑ Hammond, Pete (October 25, 2016). "Colin Firth & Ged Doherty Take Lessons From 'Filmmaking For Dummies' To Hatch Two Genuine Oscar Contenders". Deadline. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  8. ↑ Barraclough, Leo (April 30, 2014). "CANNES: eOne Partners with Colin Firth, Ged Doherty on 'Eye in the Sky'". Variety. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  9. ↑ Brueggerman, Tom (April 28, 2016). "5 Ways That 'Eye in the Sky' Topped the 2016 Specialty Box Office". IndieWire. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  10. ↑ Donadio, Rachel (May 16, 2016). "The Film 'Loving,' About a History-Making Interracial Couple, Sets Cannes Abuzz". New York Times. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  11. ↑ Billboard Staff (December 11, 2014). "British Trade Body BPI Appoints New Chairman". Billboard. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  12. ↑ Gush, Charlotte (November 7, 2016). "Brit awards diversify voting membership after britssowhite campaign". I-D. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "BPI APPOINTED GED DOHERTY IN PLACE OF TONY WADSWORTH CBE". Radio and Music. December 12, 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  14. ↑ Malt, Andy (December 12, 2014). "Ged Doherty named new BPI Chairman". Complete Music. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
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