Professor Dieter Gorny has decided to step down as chairman of the German music industry trade group BVMI. Gorny has held the position since 2007, steering the ship through a transformative stage in the music business away from physical sales and into streaming.
BVMI represents the interests of about 250 record companies that represent more than 80 percent of the German music market. The board includes representatives from all three major labels.
Frank Briegmann, president & CEO of Universal Music's Central Europe and Deutsche Grammophon, told Billboard: "Due to his diverse contacts in the business and in politics, Dieter Gorny was the ideal middleman between us and our political stakeholders... for ten years we had this competence on our side."
Bernd Dopp, chairman & CEO of Warner Music Central Europe, said in a statement: "Dieter Gorny has represented the interests of the music industry in a decisive and, at the same time, not always easy phase, with great expertise, eye, commitment and passion. For this we thank him! "
Philip Ginthör, CEO of Sony Music Entertainment GSA, added: "With all the industry's successes, we are still in a profound process of upheaval. With his personal commitment, Dieter Gorny has created the best conditions for the further work of the Federal Association. Thanks to its long-term initiative among policy-makers, legal framework conditions for a sustainable digital economy can be successfully pushed forward."
