Nicholas Louis Douglas Firth (born October 1942) is the former head of Chappell & Co. and

BMG Music Publishing Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) was a division of a German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America on 1 October 2008. Although it was established in 1987, the music com ...

Career

Firth's career in

music publishing A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers began to play a role in the management of the intellectua ...

began in 1962, where he worked for the Chappell Group, then a division of PolyGram BV, culminating with simultaneous positions as President of Chappell International and Vice President of the PolyGram Publishing Division, which he held from 1981 to 1985, when PolyGram sold Chappell. Subsequently, Mr. Firth was a shareholder and CEO of

Music Theatre International Music Theatre International (MTI) is a theatrical licensing agency based in New York City and founded in 1952 by American composer and lyricist Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker. Along with licensing the rights to Loesser's works, the ...

. Mr. Firth was later

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

, the largest independent music publisher in the world and the third largest music publisher among all publishers. BMG was sold to

Universal Music Publishing Group Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is a global music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group. Universal Music Publishing has been ranked the #1 music publisher in market share by Billboard for multiple consecutive quart ...

in 2007. His grandfather Louis Dreyfus and great uncle Max Dreyfus owned Chappell & Company in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Nicholas Firth serves on the Boards of the

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

(ASCAP), the

National Music Publishers Association The National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) is a trade association for the American Music publisher (popular music), music publishing industry. Founded in 1917, NMPA represents American music publishers and their songwriting partners. The NM ...

(NMPA), the International Music Publishers Association (IMPA), the

Third Street Music School Settlement Third Street Music School Settlement is the longest-running community music school in the United States. Founded in 1894, it is at 235 East 11th Street, New York City. Third Street has three main programs: a music & dance school, a music-infused P ...

, and the

Mannes College of Music The Mannes School of Music (), originally called the David Mannes Music School and later the Mannes Music School, Mannes College of Music, the Chatham Square Music School, and Mannes College: The New School for Music, is a Music school, music con ...

. Nick serves as Chairman of the Advisory Board of musiXmatch.

Personal life

Firth was born in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, grew up in the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

, and then returned to the UK, where he got his first publishing job. Nicholas Firth was married to his second wife, Edmée, née de Montmollin for 31 years until her death. His first marriage ended in divorce. He lives in Bedford New York.

References

External links

BMG MusicSearchSongwriter's Hall of Fame article
on www.songwriteruniverse.com
Nick musiXmatch's Advisor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Firth, Nicholas Living people 1942 births Bertelsmann people