Merlin Announces Board Members for 2026 and 2027

Merlin, the digital music licensing partner for the world’s leading independent labels and distributors, has announced its new Board.

How it works:

• The Merlin Board is elected from and by its membership.

• That includes tens of thousands of independent record labels, distributors, and rightsholders.

New members:

• There are five new representatives on the Board.

• Bugwu Aneto-Okeke, Measurable Accurate Digital Solutions (Nigeria); Charles Caldas, Exceleration (Portugal); Manami Ogawa, Starbase (Japan); Rachel Buswell, Domino (UK); and Sascha Lazimbat, Zebralution (Germany).

Re-elected members:

• Carlos Mills, Mills Records (Brazil); Chris Maund, Mushroom (Australia); Darius Van Arman, Secretly Group (US); Golda Bitterli, Revelator (Israel); Justin West, Secret City Records (Canada); Louis Posen, Hopeless Records (US); Marie Clausen, Ninja Tune (US); Megan Jasper, Sub Pop (US); Pascal Bittard, IDOL (France); and Tom Deakin, AudioSalad (UK).

Also serving:

• In addition to the elected members, Merlin has appointed Dan Waite, Better Noise (UK) and Verónica Rojas, Casete (Mexico) as Board Observers.

• Beggars Group and Merlin founder Martin Mills will continue to serve as a Director of Merlin Network, the organization’s parent entity.

• Darius Van Arman continues as Merlin Chairperson.

• Charlie Lexton remains Merlin CEO.

What they said:

• Charlie Lexton: “We are delighted to welcome our new Board members, each of whom brings a unique and high value perspective to Merlin. Merlin’s dedication to delivering unique benefits and best in class deals is at the heart of our mission. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, our Board’s experience across markets and business types is an invaluable resource in ensuring we continue to deliver premium value to our members around the world.”