Sony Music Publishing (SMP) has promoted Sarah ‘Pixie’ Pickering to Vice President, Creative & Writer Services, Co-Head of Sync.
Based in London, Pickering will continue to report to SMP’s Co-Managing Director UK Tim Major and President & Co-Managing Director UK, SVP International David Ventura.
According to the company, Pickering has played “an integral role in the growing sync success of SMP UK’s roster, co-leading an exceptional team and establishing strong relationships with sync clients and songwriters alike.”
Pickering first joined EMI Production Music in 2009 as a music consultant. In 2012, following the company’s merger with EMI, she relocated to London to manage the production music sales team.
She later transitioned into commercial sync at Sony Music Publishing (then Sony/ATV), and in 2020, she was elevated to Vice President, Creative, taking on a leadership role co-heading the UK sync team alongside Chris Jones, Vice President, Licensing.
In her new position, Pickering will continue to co-lead Sony Music Publishing UK’s Sync division, “implementing creative strategies to grow opportunities for SMP’s UK and global roster across all media.”
She will also take on new responsibilities to “advance creative activity for SMP songwriters and catalogs across the Sony ecosystem, working in close collaboration with Sony’s sister companies to fuel synergies.”
Pickering commented on her new role: “I am delighted to work even closer with our incredible roster of songwriters, creating new opportunities beyond the traditional sync model.
“The One Sony initiative is something that I’ve felt passionate about for a long time and am thrilled to be able to work towards new and exciting innovative ventures in this space.”
“I am delighted to work even closer with our incredible roster of songwriters, creating new opportunities beyond the traditional sync model.”
pixie pickering, sony music publishing
Tim Major, Co-Managing Director, Sony Music Publishing UK, said: “We are very excited to promote Pixie into a role that puts her even closer to our songwriters and even more at the centre of our mission to create opportunities for them, both inside and outside of the Sony ecosystem.
“We are very excited to promote Pixie into a role that puts her even closer to our songwriters and even more at the centre of our mission to create opportunities for them, both inside and outside of the Sony ecosystem.”
tim major, sony music publishing
“I couldn’t think of anyone more perfect to take this to another level. We know that Pixie will bring her trademark energy, positivity and flair to this challenge and have no doubt that she will continue to shine in this role.”
President & Co-Managing Director UK, SVP International, Sony Music Publishing, David Ventura added: “One Sony initiatives are central to our ethos, being the only music company in the world with such a wide scope of activity across movies, gaming, hardware and, of course, music.
“The creation of this expanded role represents a pivotal time for SMP, and is a natural progression for Pixie, who has co-run the UK sync team consistently with excellence.
“The creation of this expanded role represents a pivotal time for SMP, and is a natural progression for Pixie, who has co-run the UK sync team consistently with excellence.”
David Ventura, Sony Music Publishing
“With new initiatives growing exponentially across the business, Pixie’s expanded focus presents a great opportunity for our songwriters.”
The ‘One Sony‘ initiative is the idea that Sony Music Group — unlike its key competitors Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, who are both standalone companies — benefits from being part of the wider Sony ecosystem by forging partnerships with other Sony-owned media divisions, such as Sony Pictures and Sony Game & Network Services.
An example of this could include Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures India, a joint venture between Sony Music and Sony Pictures focused on “ventures for media talent in India.”
Other cross-collaborative projects include the Sony Corporation of America subsidiary Sony Immersive Music Studios, launched in January 2021.Music Business Worldwide
