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Kirsty Davison and Karen Don join APRA AMCOS in key roles

Story Published Wednesday 21 June 2023

APRA AMCOS announces the appointment of two senior roles with marketing and digital product leader Kirsty Davison named Executive Director, Marketing, Communications & Events, and Karen Don appointed as Director Publisher Services.


They join the Australasian music rights management organisation as it transforms and grows its business by providing more services through digital platforms. APRA AMCOS is Australia’s largest music industry body, and in the financial year 2021-22 it set a record net distributable revenue result exceeding the half-billion mark for the first time.


Kirsty Davison brings a wealth of strategic marketing, digital product and general management expertise having held executive roles in listed corporates and digital growth businesses including Fairfax Media, Stayz and Noom, and led teams in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the US across a range of industries – media and content, tech and e-commerce.

The newly created role reports directly to APRA AMCOS Chief Executive Dean Ormston and is an important step in unlocking future growth for the business that represents the rights of over 115,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers as well as the One Music licensing arm.
Karen Don joins APRA AMCOS in the role of Director Publisher Services. She leads the Repertoire and Publisher Relations team and reports to the Divisional Head of Membership Alison Wright.

Karen brings extensive experience as a legal and business affairs executive in the music and entertainment industries with more than 20 years at Universal Music Australia and Universal Music Publishing. Karen has also served on the Board of ARIA.

"We're thrilled to welcome Kirsty and Karen to APRA AMCOS and to bring two experienced leaders into the fold. As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, Kirsty will be invaluable as we navigate the next stage of the digitalisation of our business and be a key contributor and enabler on strategies to grow the business, solve market problems, define our future growth and potential, and on communicating that vision, internally and externally," said Dean Ormston, Chief Executive of APRA AMCOS.

“Karen will lead Publisher Services as it continues to make strides in providing insights and business intelligence to publishers along with support in servicing the publishing community in Australia.”

“Joining APRA AMCOS at a key time of transformation and growth is a great opportunity to bring strategic, digital, and marketing expertise to help realise the strategy, build out the digital and data offering to generate revenue and insights for members and support the music industry more broadly,” said Kirsty Davison.

"I am very excited to join the team and look forward to strengthening the important service that it brings to our publisher members,” said Karen Don.

“We are delighted Karen is joining our senior management team with a track record of commercial success as well as relationships and networks that position her to provide significantly improved services,” said Alison Wright.