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Rob Dickins CBE (born July 1950, East Ham, London) is a British music industry executive, who currently holds a number of trustee and consultant positions in music and the arts in the United Kingdom. Dickins began his music industry career at Warner Music UK.
Dickins grew up in East Ham and in the surrounding suburbs. His father Percy was a saxophonist and pianist and one of the founders of the NME , who started the first British Record Charts at the paper in November 1952. He attended Ilford County High School for Boys, before going on to Loughborough University, graduating with an undergraduate degree in Politics, Sociology, and Russian. While at university, Dickins was chair of the Folk Club, the Film Society, and the Entertainments Committee. He also served as Social Secretary of the Students Union.
After graduating in 1971, Dickins joined Warner Bros Music Publishing and was appointed Managing Director in 1974, and International Vice President of the company in 1979. His UK signings included Prince, Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards (Chic), Neil Young, and Joni Mitchell, and his signings for the World company included Vangelis, Sex Pistols, Whitesnake and Madness.
In 1983, Dickins became the Chairman of Warner Music UK (a division of Warner Music Group), and remained in that role until December 1998. During his time there, the company became one of the most profitable in the UK. [1]
His first signing, Howard Jones, sold 4 million records, whilst US artists such as Prince, Foreigner, ZZ Top, and Madonna also contributed to the Warner recovery. Artists such as Tracy Chapman, Paul Simon's Graceland, R.E.M. and Alanis Morissette broke first in the UK,[ citation needed ] resulting in multi-million albums. He brought Seal, Simply Red, Vangelis, Mike Oldfield, Enya, and Cher to the UK label, and in 1997-98 Warner added Mark Morrison, Shola Ama, Catatonia, and Cleopatra to the UK roster. Dickins also acquired the recording catalogues of The Smiths and The Pogues for Warners.
Dickins worked closely with Enya, and was involved in the studio recording process. He worked on art direction for five album sleeves and most of her music videos. He is mentioned in the lyrics of Enya's hit "Orinoco Flow": "We can steer we can near with Rob Dickins at the wheel." He signed William Orbit as an artist, introducing him to Madonna with a re-mix of "Justify My Love" in the early 1990s. Orbit went on to produce and co-write the Madonna album Ray of Light.
Dickins constructed Cher's song "Believe" with six songwriters (who never actually met each other until the award ceremonies that followed), leading to a front cover article about him in The New York Times Arts and Living section.
Dickins also worked with other Warner acts such as Rod Stewart, on singles such as "Downtown Train" and Rhythm of My Heart", and The Corrs on their album Talk on Corners .
Dickins oversaw the creation of a classical record division, with a repertoire of works by composers such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Daniel Barenboim and José Carreras. He was also behind the William Orbit classical crossover album, Pieces in a Modern Style . The label had crossover success with Górecki's Third Symphony, The Three Tenors in Los Angeles, and Agnus Dei (The Choir of New College, Oxford).
In 1999, Dickins set up his own entertainment company with Sony Music,Instant Karma, based in the West End of London. The company's first album release was How to Steal the World by Helicopter Girl in 2000, and the label also had chart successes with I Monster and The Alice Band in the UK and Addis Black Widow in Scandinavia. In September 2002, Instant Karma became an independent label, and achieved a Top 5 single in January 2003 with "Mundian To Bach Ke" by Panjabi MC.
Dharma Music, his independent music publishing company, released hit singles by Cher, Rod Stewart, Girls Aloud, I Monster, Amici Forever, and Hear'Say's 1.5 million selling UK No. 1, Pure and Simple. Dharma copyrights have been used in major advertising campaigns and TV and movie soundtracks, such as the title music for Shaun of the Dead .
In July 2000, Dickins was appointed as a trustee of the Victoria and Albert Museum, where he also is a director of V&A Enterprises, the museum's commercial arm. Dickins was re-appointed as a trustee of the museum in October 2004 for a further three years. He was a founding trustee of Youth Music, a charitable foundation which helps provide access to music-making for young people, particularly in socially deprived areas. This foundation received a £1.3 million contribution from the BRIT Trust due to Dickins' participation in the Abbamania fund-raising project. In July 2002 Dickins was appointed chair of the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green.
Within the music industry Dickins has chaired the PR Committee and the Brit Awards Committee. He also served on the council of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) from 1983 to 2002, and was chair of the council from 1986 to 1988, dealing with the 1988 Copyright Act. During this period the Brit School of Performing Arts was initiated. He became chair of the council again in 1997 and in 1999. He agreed to a fourth period as chair of the BPI (2000–2002), the first person to hold the post four times. He is a trustee of the Brit Trust, the record industry's charitable organisation. In 1999, Dickins was elected Chairman of the BPI Classical Committee. He simplified the classical charts, and organised the inaugural Classical BRIT Awards TV show.
In 1999, Dickins accompanied Chris Smith, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, on a fact-finding tour of China.
In 2004, Dickins became a Trustee of the Watts Gallery in Surrey, an organisation dedicated to preserving the heritage of Victorian artist and social campaigner George Frederic Watts. He donated his collection of books, letters, and Victorian photographs to the gallery; 200 of his collection of "Victorian Artists in Photographs" was exhibited at Watts Gallery, Guildhall Art Gallery in London, Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate, and the Forbes Galleries in New York.
In October 2007 Dickins was appointed consultant to the British Music Experience museum at The O2 (London). [2]
In 2009, he became chairman of The Theatres Trust, the national public advisory body for theatres. The same year he sat on the Conservative Party's Creative Industries Advisory Board and delivered a paper on Skills and Education co-authored with Double Negative's Alex Hope. In 2013 he was selected to be on the Culture Minister Ed Vaizey's Arts Advisory Board.
In February 2012 he was appointed trustee of The Julia Margaret Cameron Trust at Dimbola, Isle of Wight. In October 2012 he was appointed trustee at the Handel House Museum in Brook Street, London.
In 2016 he was appointed as trustee to the board of the National Portrait Gallery by the Prime Minister.
In the 2002 Birthday Honours Dickins was appointed a Commander of the British Empire for services to the music industry, and on 15 July 2002 he received an Honorary Doctorate from his alma mater Loughborough University. [1]
In October the following year he was the recipient of the 2003 Music Industry Trusts Award in recognition of his role as "talent finder extraordinaire". [3]
In 2005, Dickins was conferred as visiting professor in music and popular culture at the University of the Arts London. He was appointed a Fellow of The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce in March 2007. His second visiting professorship was confirmed in June of the same year in music and media management at London Metropolitan University.
In July 2014 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from University of the Arts, London and gave a commencement speech at the Royal Festival Hall. In July 2015 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from London Metropolitan University and gave a commencement speech at the Barbican Theatre.
Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin, known mononymously as Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. Noted for her modern Celtic music, she is the best-selling Irish solo artist and the second-best-selling Irish musical act overall after the rock band U2.
The BRIT Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trusts Show. In addition, an equivalent awards ceremony for classical music, called the Classic BRIT Awards, is held in May. The awards were first held in 1977 and originated as an annual event in 1982 under the auspices of the British record industry's trade association, the BPI. In 1989, they were renamed The BRIT Awards. Mastercard has been the long-term sponsor of the event.
Mario Mendell Winans is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from South Carolina, and an extended member of the musical family The Winans. He is best known for his 2004 song "I Don't Wanna Know", which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the charts in Germany and the United Kingdom. Winans also co-wrote CeCe Winans's song "Pray" in 2005, which won a Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance.
Watermark is the second studio album by Irish singer, songwriter and musician Enya, released on 19 September 1988 by WEA. After the release of her previous album Enya (1987), she secured a recording contract with Warner after a chance meeting with chairman Rob Dickins, who had become a fan of her music. Her contract allowed her considerable artistic and creative freedom, with minimal interference from the label and no deadlines to have albums finished. Enya recorded Watermark in ten months with her longtime collaborators, manager, producer and arranger Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan. It was initially recorded in Ireland in demo form before production relocated to London to re-record, mix, and master it digitally. Watermark features music in different styles, displaying Enya's sound of multi-tracked vocals with keyboards, percussion instruments, and elements of Celtic, ambient, and New-age music, though Enya believes her music does not belong in the latter genre.
The Memory of Trees is the fourth studio album by Irish singer, songwriter, and musician Enya, released on 20 November 1995 by WEA. After travelling worldwide to promote her previous album Shepherd Moons (1991), and contributing to film soundtracks, Enya took a short break before she started writing and recording a new album in 1993 with her longtime recording partners, arranger and producer Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan. The album is Enya's first to be recorded entirely in Ireland, and covers themes that include Irish and Druid mythology, the idea of one's home, journeys, religion, dreams, and love. Enya continues to display her sound of multi-tracked vocals with keyboards and elements of Celtic and new age music, though Enya does not consider her music to be in the latter genre. She sings in English, Irish, Latin, and Spanish.
Enya is the debut studio album by Irish singer, songwriter, and musician Enya, released in March 1987 by BBC Records in the United Kingdom and by Atlantic Records in the United States. It was renamed as The Celts for the 1992 international re-release of the album by WEA Records in Europe and by Reprise Records in the United States. The album is a selection of music she recorded for the soundtrack to the BBC television series The Celts, aired in 1987. Four years into her largely unnoticed solo career, Enya landed her first major project in 1985 when producer Tony McAuley asked her to contribute a song to the soundtrack. After its director David Richardson liked her demo, Enya accepted his offer to compose the entire score with her longtime recording partners, producer and arranger Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan.
"Orinoco Flow", also released as "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)", is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Enya from her second studio album, Watermark (1988). It was released on 3 October 1988 by WEA Records in the United Kingdom and by Geffen Records in the United States the following year. The song topped the UK Singles Chart for three weeks and received two Grammy Award nominations for Best Music Video and Best New Age Performance at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards. The Guardian ranked "Orinoco Flow" at number 77 on its list of the 100 greatest UK number-one singles in 2020.
The discography of Irish singer-songwriter Enya consists of eight studio albums, three compilation albums, twenty-one singles and a number of other appearances. Enya achieved a breakthrough in her career in 1988 with the album Watermark, containing the hit song "Orinoco Flow" which topped the charts in the United Kingdom and reached number 2 in Germany. Three years later, the similarly successful Shepherd Moons followed, which featured singles "Caribbean Blue" and "Book of Days". In 1992, a re-mastered version of the 1987 Enya album was released as The Celts. Four years after Shepherd Moons, she released The Memory of Trees (1995), another top five success in both the UK and Germany, as well as her first top 10 album in the United States. Singles released from the album were "Anywhere Is" and "On My Way Home". In 1997, Enya released her greatest hits collection, Paint the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya, again a top five album in the UK and Germany, which featured two new songs: "Paint the Sky with Stars" and "Only If...". Following a five-year break, Enya released the album A Day Without Rain in 2000. The album is Enya's most successful to date, peaking at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart. The first single, "Only Time", was used in the film Sweet November and peaked at No. 10 on the US Hot 100 and number 1 in Germany.
Believe is the twenty-second studio album by American singer and actress Cher, released on October 22, 1998, by WEA and Warner Bros. Records. Following the commercial disappointment of her previous studio album It's a Man's World (1995), her record company encouraged her to record a dance-oriented album, in order to move into a more mainstream sound. Cher started working on the album in the spring of 1998 with British producers Mark Taylor and Brian Rawling at the Dreamhouse Studios in London. The album was dedicated to her former husband Sonny Bono, who had died earlier that year.
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with the Entertainment Retailers Association, and awards UK music sales through the BRIT Certified Awards.
Instant Karma is an independent record label created by former Warner Music Group chairman and head of the BPI, Rob Dickins, in 1999. The label was founded by Dickins after his resignation from Warner Music, where he gained fame for his track record of signing female vocalists such as Enya and the Corrs. Instant Karma's first release was Helicopter Girl's How to Steal the World album in June 2000; the label received attention for the fact that its very first release was short-listed for the Mercury Prize. Helicopter Girl signed with Instant Karma on the condition that she be permitted not to tour.
Sir Nicholas David Coleridge DL is a British former media executive, author, and cultural chair. He is chairman of the Victoria and Albert Museum, chairman of the Prince of Wales' Campaign for Wool since 2013, chairman of the Gilbert Trust for the Arts and was co-chair of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Pageant, a complex event with more than 10,000 military from the UK and Commonwealth, and performers from across the nation. He is an ambassador for the Landmark Trust and a patron of the Elephant Family.
And Winter Came... is the seventh studio album by Irish singer, songwriter, and musician Enya, released on 7 November 2008 by Warner Bros. Records internationally and by Reprise Records in the United States on 11 November 2008. After recording new Christmas songs for her fourth EP Sounds of the Season: The Enya Collection (2006), Enya started work on a Christmas album of traditional carols and original tracks, but the idea was changed to a collection of songs with a Christmas or winter theme as it better suited the style of the new material. It was recorded with her longtime collaborators, arranger and producer Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan.
David Joseph is the chairman and CEO of Universal Music UK.
Sir Paul Martin Ruddock, is a British businessman, philanthropist and patron of the arts. He is a former Chairman of the Victoria & Albert Museum and Chairman of the University of Oxford Endowment.
Ged Doherty is a British film and music industry executive. Formerly the chairman of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and BRIT Awards Limited and the chairman and CEO of Sony Music UK, he is the CEO and co-founder of Raindog Films.
Tony Wadsworth has had a lifelong career in the music industry, including stints as Managing Director of the Parlophone label, Chairman & CEO of EMI Music UK and Ireland, and Chairman of the industry's trade association, the BPI.
The Brit Award for British Pop/R&B Act is an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of British and international music. The winners and nominees were initially determined by the Brit Awards voting academy with over one-thousand members comprising record labels, publishers, managers, agents, media, and previous winners and nominees, but starting with the 42nd Brit Awards ceremony, the award is voted by fans.
The Brit Award for International Album is an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of British and international music. The winners and nominees are determined by the Brit Awards voting academy with over one-thousand members, which comprise record labels, publishers, managers, agents, media, and previous winners and nominees.
The British Record Industry Trust is a recorded music charity in the UK, established in 1989 by UK record labels. Its mission is to "improve lives through the power of music and the creative arts". It is directed by a team of trustees, led by Tony Wadsworth, who was appointed chair of The BRIT Trust in February 2021, taking over from John Craig.
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