Pipeline Appoints Former Hipgnosis Exec Ben Katovsky as CEO

Pipeline, the financing platform for the music and creative industries, has appointed Ben Katovsky as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Backstory:

• Katovsky has more than two decades of experience in music rights, and was most recently CEO of Recognition Music Group.

• He joined Hipgnosis Song Management as President and COO in 2022, becoming CEO in 2024. Blackstone consolidated its Hipgnosis assets under the Recognition brand in March 2025.

• Before Hipgnosis, Katovsky was at BMG for seven years, rising to Chief Operating Officer.

• As Music Business Worldwide points out, Katovsky and Pipeline Co-Founder and Chairman Matt Spetzler have worked together previously: in May 2025 Recognition appointed Spetzler Chairman of its Senior Advisory Group.

Financing model:

• Backed by USD $200 million, Pipeline launched in January 2026 through Spetzler’s investment firm, Jamen Capital.

• It aims to give music companies, rights holders and creators access to capital, investment expertise and technology typically reserved for the industry’s biggest players.

• Since launching, Pipeline has partnered with independent licensing body Merlin to offer its members advances against digital royalties.

What they said:

• Matt Spetzler: “We started Pipeline because there is enormous value in music IP, and too many of the companies that own it haven’t had the backing to realize their ambitions. Ben is one of very few people who has built, financed, and run a world-class rights business at scale, delivering very strong outcomes for investors while caring for the music and the people behind it. He is the perfect person to lead Pipeline into its next phase.”