Ged Doherty

Ged Doherty is Chairman of UK record labels association the BPI, whose members are responsible for more than 85% of the recorded music sold or consumed across the country, and for one in every nine albums consumed around the world.

The BPI represents over 450 independent labels, alongside major companies Sony Music Entertainment UK, Warner Music UK, and Universal Music UK. It owns and organises The BRIT Awards with Mastercard, The Classic BRITs, and The Hyundai Mercury Prize, and also jointly (with ERA) runs the Official Charts Company.

Doherty assumed the role in January 2015 on the back of garnering an unparalleled wealth of music industry experience, previously serving as Chairman and CEO of Sony Music UK. He became Chairman in 2006 – having played an integral role in its merger with BMG two years prior. Doherty worked with artists such as Dido, Kings of Leon, Calvin Harris, Beyoncé, Kasabian, and Foo Fighters; and was instrumental in launching the joint-enterprise between Sony and Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment – an ambitious venture focused on the production and exploitation of music, television, film, and digital content on a global level.

Prior to arriving at Sony, Doherty spent several years at BMG, having secured the position following successful spells on both sides of the Atlantic: as Managing Director at Columbia Records in London, working with its roster of legendary stars; and as Head of International Marketing at Epic Records in New York overseeing campaigns for the likes of Michael Jackson. Doherty’s early days in the industry began in artist management – with his acts selling 20 million records worldwide under his stewardship.

Doherty is also the Founding Partner of Independent Film Production company Raindog Films; which he co-founded alongside BAFTA and Academy Award-winning actor Colin Firth. Based in London, the company’s debut feature Eye in the Sky, starring Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, and Alan Rickman was theatrically released in the spring of 2016 to critical acclaim and commercial success. Their second film Loving, an interracial love story written and directed by Jeff Nichols (Mud, Take Shelter), starring Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga was released theatrically in the US in November 2016. It has since gone on to win the prestigious Stanley Kramer Award from the Producers Guild of America, as well as earning Ruth Negga an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.