Greg Aiello promoted to Managing Director of UK’s PPL PRS as Andrea Gray steps down

PPL PRS, the joint venture between UK sound recording copyright collective PPL and public performance collective PRS for Music, has announced the appointment of a new Managing Director, Greg Aiello.

Aiello will succeed Andrea Gray, who has been MD at PPL PRS since the joint venture was formed in 2018.

Gray leaves PPL PRS “having delivered the highest ever returns for UK public performance, in 2023,” the organization said in a statement on Wednesday (July 10).

Aiello is currently PPL PRS’ Commercial Director, leading the licensing arm of the business. He has held the role since joining PPL PRS in 2019. He also acted as Gray’s deputy for some time, PPL PRS said.

Aiello previously held roles at customer experience company Sitel, where he oversaw operations support for clients in the UK and Ireland, as well as positions at EE at Teleperformance.

“Thank you to Andrea for being a great mentor to me since joining PPL PRS. We’re just six years young with significant opportunities for further growth, which is an exciting time to be taking on the MD role,” Aiello said.

“I’m looking forward to working with my team and the leadership at PPL and PRS for Music to continue growing our public performance revenues on behalf of their respective members, and constantly improving the customer experience for our licensees.”

“We’re just six years young with significant opportunities for further growth, which is an exciting time to be taking on the MD role.”

Greg Aiello, PPL PRS

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time at PPL PRS and building such a fantastic team in Leicester. I’m grateful for the support of my own management team and our partners at PPL and PRS for Music in growing the business,” Gray said.

“I’m delighted to be passing the baton over to Greg who provides consistency and stability for the wider team, and I’m looking forward to working with him in the coming months to ensure a smooth transition for our colleagues and customers.”

PPL PRS was launched in 2018 with the idea of making music licensing simpler for businesses. Instead of licensing live music from one collective organization and recorded music from another, businesses could now license all their music needs from a single entity.

PPL PRS now licenses over 400,000 venues across the UK, including shops, bars, restaurants, offices, gyms, and hairdressers.

In its first five years of operation – through to 2023 – PPL PRS distributed GBP £1 billion (USD $1.2 billion) to music creators and rightsholders.

“Despite the wider economic challenges faced during her tenure, [Andrea] has continued to deliver for customers and our respective members.”

Peter Leathem, PPL and Andrea Czapary Martin, PRS for Music

PPL CEO Peter Leathem and PRS for Music CEO Andrea Czapary Martin thanked Gray “for her leadership in building the joint venture into the successful business it is today.”

“Despite the wider economic challenges faced during her tenure, she has continued to deliver for customers and our respective members,” they said in a joint statement.

“We welcome Greg to his new role; a leader with a proven track record within the sector and a strong successor, given his commercial acumen, industry expertise and focus on customer experience.”Music Business Worldwide