Harvest Media Hires Simon James to Lead New UK Office

07 May 2021 - Press release

Harvest Media, the Sydney-based tech platform for production and sync music, has hired publishing and production music executive Simon James to head its new UK office. The office provides business development and support for the software company in the UK and Europe, as well as North America.

"We've long operated globally, but we're delighted to have a seasoned expert in these markets join our team and work to establish a meaningful presence in the region," says Harvest Media CEO Angus Hayes. "Simon knows our business inside and out and will be instrumental in supporting current clients as they grow, and in finding new opportunities to connect production libraries and music catalog holders with our technology."

James most recently headed up production music across UK music rights organizations PRS and MCPS, and historically worked for publishers ATV/Bruton, BMG/Zomba and EMI Music Publishing where he ran the innovative PLAY production music platform. Launched as an online search interface in 2002, PLAY iterations included KPM/Music House, Extreme, Videohelper, Megatrax, Kosinus, Carlin, Focus, Zomba and many more, pioneering B2B online music search. 

"I've supported the Harvest Media ethos from the beginning so representing them now is a logical step," James commented. "Our community is tight but always growing, so this role draws on my experience to assist established friends and clients, as well as to help guide start-ups and share the disciplines required to grow a successful production music business. This initial period has of course been a virtual experience, but I am very much looking forward to hitting the road again soon to meet clients and partners in the real world."

James' hire is part of Harvest Media's expansion plans. "We already serve clients around the globe. Now we're getting boots on the ground to boost our relationships and better serve rights holders and publishers," Hayes remarks.