Press Release
DIRECTORS UK ANNOUNCES ANDY HARROWER AS NEW CEO
17 December 2019
Directors UK is delighted to announce the appointment of Andy Harrower as its new CEO, taking over from Andrew Chowns when he retires next year after 10 years in the role.
Andy Harrower is currently Director of Licensing at PRS for Music, one of the largest collecting societies in the world, and is a highly experienced and well-regarded leader in the field of rights management. At PRS he has been responsible for securing over £250m per year in royalties for music composers, songwriters and publishers, leading negotiations with the major UK broadcasters and SVOD companies. With nearly 30 years of rights management experience, championing the rights of creators, Andy is an ideal fit for Directors UK.
Steve Smith, Directors UK Chair, said: “After a thorough and rigorous search process we are delighted that Andy Harrower will be joining Directors UK as its next CEO. Andy has very significant expertise in collective rights management and is a passionate advocate and champion of creators’ rights. He is an energetic leader with a strong track record of creating highly engaged teams, and an experienced negotiator with sound commercial judgement and a collaborative working style that suits Directors UK’s culture. He has the right mix of experience and drive to take Directors UK to the next level of growth and development. The Directors UK Board, staff and I look forward to working with him over the next few years and continuing to build on the work of Directors UK.”
Commenting on his new role, Andy Harrower added: “I am excited to be joining Directors UK, it is a fantastic organisation doing great work on behalf of creative authors. I have been impressed by how Andrew Chowns and his team have raised the profile of Directors UK and made it the strong membership organisation it is today at the centre of the UK film and television industry. I am looking forward to having the opportunity to build on this solid foundation, to working on behalf of all members and to leading Directors UK into the next decade.”
About Directors UK
Directors UK is the professional association of UK screen directors. It is a membership organisation representing the creative, economic and contractual interests of over 7,000 members – the majority of working TV and film directors in the UK. Directors UK collects and distributes royalty payments and provides a range of services to members including campaigning, commercial negotiations, legal advice, events, training and career development. Directors UK works closely with fellow organisations around the world to represent directors’ rights and concerns, promotes excellence in the craft of direction and champions change to the current landscape to create an equal opportunity industry for all.
Directors UK is the professional association of UK screen directors. It is a membership organisation representing the creative, economic and contractual interests of over 7,000 members – the majority of working TV and film directors in the UK. Directors UK collects and distributes royalty payments and provides a range of services to members including campaigning, commercial negotiations, legal advice, events, training and career development. Directors UK works closely with fellow organisations around the world to represent directors’ rights and concerns, promotes excellence in the craft of direction and champions change to the current landscape to create an equal opportunity industry for all.
About Andy Harrower
Andy Harrower has almost 30 years’ experience working in rights management and licensing at PRS for Music, one of the largest collecting societies in the world, managing the rights of over 140,000 songwriter, composer and publisher members, collecting and paying out royalties of over £700m per annum. Rising through the ranks to become PRS for Music’s Director of Licensing, Andy was responsible for all commercial negotiations and licensing arrangements with UK broadcasters, production companies, distributors and online platforms including the BBC, ITV, Sky, Netflix and Amazon, securing over £250m per annum in royalties for composer, songwriter and publisher members.
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