Merlin Strengthens Global Partnerships Division with Senior Leadership Promotions

Merlin, the global digital music licensing partner for the world’s leading independent labels and distributors, has announced a series of senior promotions across its Partnerships division. This demonstrates the organisation’s continued investment in the team responsible for managing and developing Merlin’s global digital partner ecosystem on behalf of its worldwide independent membership.

Leading today’s announcements is the promotion of Emma Robinson to Vice President, Partnerships.

Since joining Merlin in 2018, Robinson has played a central role in helping independent labels and distributors navigate an increasingly complex digital marketplace, operating at the intersection of commercial strategy, rights management and platform relations. Drawing on a background spanning music PR, artist development and digital operations, she has helped shape strategic partnerships across the digital ecosystem while ensuring the needs of independent rightsholders are represented in deal making, operational workflows and platform development.

Prior to joining Merlin, she worked at music and entertainment communications agency Name PR, where she worked across a broad range of music and technology clients spanning ticketing, publishing, festivals, distribution and digital services, helping build a wide-ranging understanding of both the independent music ecosystem and the evolving digital landscape.

In her new role, she will continue to oversee key global partner relationships while helping shape Merlin’s broader partnership strategy across established DSPs, social platforms and emerging AI-driven services.

Robinson said, “Independent music continues to shape culture globally, and Merlin plays a vital role in ensuring independent rightsholders have the infrastructure, access and representation needed to compete at the highest level. I’m incredibly proud to take on this new role and to continue working alongside our members, partners and the wider Merlin team as we help build meaningful, sustainable opportunities for the independent community worldwide.”

Merlin has also elevated has also elevated Shannon Bradley to Director, Commercial Partnerships, Alice Moss and Daniele Yandel to Director, Partnership Operations, while Simon Marcel has been promoted to Manager, Partnership Operations.

New York based Bradley joined Merlin in 2021 as a Manager. While her initial work spanned Merlin’s Member Relations and Commercial Partnerships teams, her deep understanding of and connections to the digital partner community led to an increasing focus on Merlin’s partner facing activities. She is now Merlin’s day to day partnership’s lead with Spotify, Meta, Twitch, Apple and Peloton, collaborating on opportunities for Merlin member artists to maximize the value of these key partnerships. Bradley’s prior experiences include time as a Project Manager at Glassnote Records. She has also served on the board of Queer Capita.

Based in Berlin, Moss joined Merlin in 2024 and has already led member integrations with new partners including Udio, Singa and Audiomack, while also driving member engagement and compliance initiatives relating to Meta’s content policies. Prior to Merlin, she worked at SoundCloud, where she advocated internally for independent rightsholders and helped partners optimise their catalogues and platform strategies.

Yandel, based in New York, has been with Merlin since 2020 and brings a unique combination of artist, label and operational experience to the role. Before joining Merlin, she co-founded the independent label Sister Polygon Records and performed in the band Priests, experiences that continue to inform her work supporting Merlin’s independent members and partners globally.

Meanwhile, Marcel’s promotion recognises his growing contribution to Merlin’s operational support infrastructure. Since joining the London office in 2023, he has worked closely with members on complex rights management and platform issues, drawing on more than six years of YouTube CMS and digital rights management experience.

Charlie Lexton, CEO of Merlin said, “These promotions recognise a group of executives who have played an important role in strengthening Merlin’s partnerships and operational capabilities during a period of rapid change across the digital music landscape. Emma, Alice, Daniele and Simon each bring deep expertise, strong industry relationships and a clear commitment to supporting Merlin’s members globally. As the digital ecosystem continues to evolve, from AI and social platforms through to new rights management challenges, investing in the people helping independent music companies navigate that complexity remains a key priority for Merlin.”