Peter Leathem OBE is CEO of the London-headquartered Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL).
He has worked at PPL since 2002.
Leathem is a Trustee of the Ivors Academy Trust.
In December 2022, it was confirmed that Leathem would receive an Order of the British Empire (OBE) from the King of England for services to the music industry.
Peter Leathem: Career history
Peter Leathem started his career in 1994 at the law firm GSC Solicitors, eventually attaining Partner status.
At GSC, Leathem was Head of the Intellectual Property Department and dealt primarily with intellectual property law. He remained with GSC until he joined PPL in 2002.
Leathem’s first role at PPL was as a Director of Legal & Business Affairs and Rights Negotiation.
Given that PPL is a British music copyright collective, Leathem’s chief duties were dealing with copyright and IP law.
In 2008, Leathem was promoted to the role of Executive Director, giving him a broader focus at the organization.
Finally, in 2012, Leathem assumed the role of CEO of PPL.
Leathem also holds positions at several other organizations related to music copyrights and royalties.
He has been a Director at the British Copyright Council for over 12 years. He also acts in a directorial role at companies including Video Performance Ltd., National Discography Ltd., SCAPR, and UK Music Ltd. Leathem is the Chairman of the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine and a Board Trustee at the Ivors Academy Trust.
PPL licenses music to broadcasters, nightclubs, bars, restaurants, and physical retailers. The collective then gathers the money owed from performance royalties and pays it out to recorded music rightsholders.
It is free to gain membership at PPL and the group represents over 115,000 performers and recording rightsholders.Music Business Worldwide