Claire McAuley has been promoted to the new role of Executive Vice President (EVP), Global Rights Management at Warner Chappell Music (WCM), the music publishing arm of Warner Music Group. She will remain based in London and report to Carianne Marshall, Co-Chair and Chief Operating Officer of WCM.

During her time at WCM, McAuley has led the charge on a variety of strategic moves to overhaul the publisher’s systems and speed up payments to writers. She’s helped to launch platforms designed to recover missing royalties, secure additional revenue for writers in emerging markets, and better track the global use of songwriters’ music across DSPs, as well as in film and TV production.

McAuley’s promotion and expanded role reflects the changes in the way rights management is being handled at the publisher. What was previously seen as a largely administrative function is now a proactive division seeking to maximise songwriters’ revenue, working with international partners in the global music economy.

Claire McAuley says: “Our strategy at Warner Chappell Music is to do everything it takes to get our songwriters paid for their music, wherever in the world their songs are used. We’ve made considerable investments in our people and our systems over the past few years, and our songwriters are already noticing the benefits of these changes. But there’s even more we can do as the music ecosystem continues to evolve.”

Carianne Marshall adds: “Claire is an incredibly talented executive who has significantly moved the needle for our songwriters. She’s taken a proactive approach to tapping new revenue streams and is constantly looking for ways to streamline our processes to ensure that our writers are paid what they deserve. Her global, long-term approach continues to be exactly what we need as we thoughtfully grow our business.”

McAuley has worked at WCM since 2018, originally joining as VP, Operations before being promoted in 2019 to become SVP, Global Administration. She began her career in the music industry at BMG Music Publishing in 2006, before going on to work at Universal Music Publishing; advertising agency TBWA; and the UK’s Music Publishers Association.

She currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Music Publishers Association and the Mechanical Licensing Collective.