Recorded Music NZ is pleased to announce well-deserved promotions for longstanding senior staff members Paul Kennedy and Dean Cameron.

Paul Kennedy is stepping up to the new role of Director of Data and Analysis. In his new role Paul will provide advice and strategic leadership for Recorded Music to improve and grow its data management, reporting, systems and analysis and will continue to lead the Data Services team.

To support Paul in stepping up to this role, we are looking to recruit a new staff member – Data Specialist – to join the team in Tāmaki Makaurau, learn the ropes from Paul and take on many of the day-to-day data-related tasks. The role will be advertised later this week. Alongside this change, Phil Matcham, Manager – Official NZ Music Charts will be taking on more of the day-to-day operational work to produce the Official Charts, reporting in to Paul.

Paul has been compiling the Official Charts since 2002 and currently holds the position of GM Data, which has been in place since he joined Recorded Music as an employee back in 2011, when Recorded Music acquired Paul’s business, Media Sauce. The tasks expected of that role have been many and varied and have increased exponentially over time – ranging from day-to-day data ingestion and processing to providing regular reporting for right holders and industry organisations, as well as the weekly Official Charts and RadioScope Charts. Paul continues to be a much-valued source of knowledge for Recorded Music and its stakeholders – artists and right holders, DSPs and data providers, label staff, artist managers and radio programmers.

Dean Cameron is stepping up to the role of Director Member Services and Distribution. Dean has been with Recorded Music for over 20 years, most recently as Member Services Manager, and is responsible for the most important thing we do – getting money out to right holders and recording artists. Since Dean started with us, Recorded Music’s membership has grown massively and now numbers over 3000 right holders and over 4000 individual recording artists, meaning Dean’s role has grown and changed with our membership and evolution in the music business. Dean will be leading work over the next two years to update and transform Recorded Music’s systems to improve and streamline distributions. Rochelle Stables will continue her Member Services role supporting Dean and liaising with artists and right holders.

Recorded Music’s data work is supported by Data Systems Developer Tony Simmis, who built many of the bespoke systems we use to manage data, and who works to maintain the systems and develop automated tools and reporting. Rachel Mackie assists with data matching tasks, with a focus on student and iwi radio reporting, alongside her Admin Services role. Recorded Music’s operations are overseen by Loren Midlane, who is our Head of Finance and Operations and part of the senior management team alongside Head of Legal and Business Affairs, Christy Whelan.

We are pleased to congratulate Paul and Dean on their well-deserved promotions, and look forward to having the enhanced team in place to help us continue to improve and modernise Recorded Music’s operations. For more on the members of our full team, go to Our People.