Gomez‘s Tom Gray has been appointed as Chair of the Ivors Academy.
The musician is the founder of the #BrokenRecord campaign as well as running the Academy’s #FixStreaming initiative, which are calling for better streaming revenues for artists and helped spark the Economics of Music Streaming inquiry.
Earlier this month, Radiohead‘s Ed O’Brien thanked Gray and others involved in the inquiry after the government outlined a “complete reset” of the streaming model that “enshrines in law [acts’] rights to a fair share of the earnings”.
Today (February 1), the Ivors Academy announced that Gray has become the new Chair of the Ivors Academy after songwriter, musician and producer Crispin Hunt stepped down last week after five years in the role.
In a statement, Gray said it was “extraordinary and humbling” to be elected, adding that he “intend[s] to do what is expected of me” as Chair.
“In this moment, songwriters and composers feel the need for strong advocacy and representation,” he continued. “The Academy’s excellent campaigning has been a source of hope for many. We are a brilliant and joyful community who wish to be our better selves without any grievance, but these are challenging times.”
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Gray added: “I look forward to working closely with the Academy’s dedicated staff, not least because our awards are so meaningful to creators and equally so to our partners whom I warmly hope to celebrate with. Where we might not always benefit in more practical ways, the recognition of our peers can prove a sincere motivation to keep striving; to make something beautiful; to get up in the morning and, once again, invest in our work.
“I am a working songwriter and composer. I am your advocate and your friend. I come from a background where directness and honesty are what make families stronger and, with me as your Chair, I believe we will be.”
You can read the full statement in the tweet below.
It appears the news is out.
I have been elected Chair of the @IvorsAcademy.
Hugely proud and excited.
My full statement: pic.twitter.com/jfvGrJapBs
— Tom Gray #BrokenRecord (@MrTomGray) February 1, 2022
Academy CEO Graham Davies said: “Congratulations to Tom on becoming the new Chair. The reputation of the Ivors Academy as the leading advocates for songwriters and composers is growing.
“Tom is one of the most vocal champions of music and we look forward to working with him in this new role.”
Speaking to NME last April, Gray accepted that “there is no silver bullet” to resolve the streaming income gap, adding that “the dominant music system ought to be putting money in the pockets of British musicians”.
“The present scheme is total revenue split up by total streams, and that is how you get your per stream rate,” Gray told NME, while saying that in a user-centric model “they just take your personal subscription and divide it up among whatever you listen to, just by what you listen to.”
He argued that this “small redistribution of wealth” is “a much fairer way to pay out consumers’ money”.