BMG has appointed leading German media lawyer Ama Walton as SVP Business & Legal Affairs and General Counsel Europe.
She will be based in the Bertelsmann-owned company’s Berlin head office and reporting to CEO Hartwig Masuch.
She joins BMG from Constantin Film where she has been co-Managing Director of the music interests of Germany’s biggest independent film production and distribution company since 2015, having previously consulted for the firm since 2008.
Constantin Film’s music interests include the music publishing company Constantin Music Verlag, the music consultancy Constantin Music and the soundtrack label Königskinder Music.
Walton’s 20-year career in the entertainment business began at the TV station ProSiebenSat1, then Virgin Schallplatten GmbH and the former EMI Music Germany where she was a key member of the management team tasked with integrating Virgin into EMI in Cologne.
“Ama Walton is both an exceptional commercial lawyer and someone who aligns with our values and strategic objectives.”
Hartwig Masuch, BMG
In 2005 she became an independent legal advisor, with a particular focus on negotiation and mediation, specialising in helping artists and labels resolve differences without recourse to the courts.
She played a role in the creation of the new BMG in 2008 when she acted for the company to secure a number of recordings from Sony after Bertelsmann sold its share in the Sony-BMG joint venture to the major.
Those recordings formed the early heart of the new BMG.
“Having been there at the beginning, I have been deeply impressed by the scale and breadth of what the new BMG has achieved,” she said. “I have the deepest respect for people who create music and look forward to playing my part in BMG’s mission to be a better kind of music business.”
Hartwig Masuch said, “I am delighted to welcome Ama Walton to our team. She is both an exceptional commercial lawyer and someone who aligns with our values and strategic objectives.”
In her new role, Walton will not just be BMG’s most senior lawyer in Continental Europe, but will also have responsibility for all legal issues in relation to BMG’s shareholder Bertelsmann.
Among her key reports will be Goetz von Einem who will take on the newly-created role of SVP Business & Legal Affairs, International Publishing – responsible for BMG’s worldwide digital licensing and overseeing BMG’s trade association and collection society relations.Music Business Worldwide
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