CMRRA Announces Leadership Transition

By FYI Staff

Licensing agency The Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency, Ltd (CMRRA) has announced that Caroline Rioux is stepping down as CMRRA President in 2019 to serve as a strategic adviser.

Before being appointed President in 2013, Rioux served the organization for more than 20 years in a variety of roles.  As a strategic adviser, she will continue to play a critical role in the company’s operations and also provide for a successful leadership transition, the agency said in a media release. The search for her successor is underway.

“CMRRA has entered into an exciting new chapter, both as a result of its acquisition by SoundExchange/SXWorks and the important changes that are taking place in rights administration in Canada and internationally,” Rioux states. “There will always be more work to do and fights to be won to ensure the prosperity of our music publisher clients.  I look forward to helping CMRRA enter this next chapter of its growth.

Michael Huppe, President and CEO of SoundExchange and Chairman of the Board of SXWorks, commented: “Since our acquisition of CMRRA, Caroline has become a valued and trusted member of the SoundExchange family.  We are thrilled that, as part of her decision to move to her next chapter, she has agreed to stay on to advise the company and provide important transition resources for her successor.  In this role, she will continue to help refine and expand CMRRA’s service offerings.”

In related news, CMRRA’s Vice President of Legal and Business Affairs, Veronica Syrtash has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Business Affairs and Corporate Development. In her new role, Syrtash will oversee all external facing functions including publisher relations, licensee relations, corporate legal affairs, enforcement, as well as all rate-setting negotiations and tariff proceedings

About CMRRA and SXWorks
The Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Ltd. (CMRRA) represents the mechanical rights of music publishers and administers the majority of songs recorded, sold and broadcast in Canada.  SXWorks, a subsidiary of SoundExchange, is governed by a board consisting of leading music publishers and SoundExchange executives. SXWorks provides global administration services to music publishers to support multiple licensing configurations. SXWorks was created in conjunction with the 2017 acquisition of the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Ltd. (CMRRA). For more information, visit http://sx-works.com/ and http://www.cmrra.ca.