2010 Speakers

Paul Brindley

Paul Brindley is the co-founder and CEO of Music Ally - a digital music and marketing consultancy which specialises in understanding how digital is changing the music and media industries. Music Ally provides research, strategy advice, market data and business focussed information as well as marketing services, training and events.

Paul is an ex profesional musician himself having played bass guitar with The Sundays from 1988 to 1997. The Sundays were an indie band who sold over two million albums with top ten chart album success in the UK. Alongside the band, Paul began to move into other areas, working with organisations like Amnesty International and other political organisations including working in the private office of Rt Hon Tony Blair MP in the run up to the 1997 general election.

He then moved into research, working primarily with the leading think tank of the time, the Institute for Public Policy Research where Paul co-authored a report which provided a blueprint for the future Greater London Authority amongst other local government related papers. In March 2000 the IPPR published New Musical Entrepreneurs, a report written and researched by Paul looking into the impact of new technology on the UK music industry. During the same period he was invited onto a Government committee to produce the Consumers Call The Tune report which made various policy recommendations to the Department for Culture Media and Sport on technology related issues. Later he also co-authored a report looking at the case for setting up a UK music export office in New York for the British Council.

Paul founded Music Ally in 2001 at the same time as pursuing a career as a freelance writer and commentator and a part-time role as Head of Communications for the Music Publishers Association. But since 2004 Paul has only worked with Music Ally as the company became more established as a leading authority for information on the digital music business.