The Department of Recording Industry will welcome legendary manager Peter Jenner as part of Department Chair Beverly Keel’s Speaker Series.
Peter Jenner. Photo courtesy of Queen Mary University of London
The event is free and open to the public. Seats will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21, in the McWherter Learning Resource Center, LRC 221.
After gaining a First Class Honors Degree in Economics at Cambridge University, Jenner became a lecturer at the London School of Economics at the tender age of 21. His career in academia lasted four years, then he left to devote his attention to managing an up-and-coming modern music group that had caught his attention. The band’s name was Pink Floyd.
Jenner then produced a series of free concerts in London’s Hyde Park; the series culminated with The Rolling Stones in 1969. Now, after more than 40 years in the music business, Jenner’s client list reads like a Who’s Who of musical successes. He has managed Tyrannosaurus Rex (fronted by Marc Bolan), helped set up Harvest Records, and produced and managed many of its bands – notably Roy Harper, The Edgar Broughton Band and Kevin Ayers.
He then managed and produced Ian Dury and the Blockheads and managed The Clash, The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, Michael Franti, Robyn Hitchcock, Eddi Reader and Baaba Maal, among others. Currently, Jenner manages Billy Bragg’s career and has done so for more than 25 years.
He is president emeritus of the International Music Managers Forum, a director of the United Kingdom MMF and on the advisory board of The Featured Artists Coalition. Jenner has also taken an active international role in discussions on future digital-music delivery systems and payment to artists. He has an overriding interest in securing artists’ rights and their income from these rights and has spoken frequently and publicly on the subject.
In 2006, Jenner courted controversy with a seminal paper and subsequent conference called “Beyond the Soundbytes.” There, he proposed an “Access to Music Charge” that he saw as some small compensation for artists, in addition to removing the attraction of using unauthorized sites in the digital environment. However, he accepts that control of copyright is no longer a practical approach and that the challenge has become getting appropriate remuneration for the digital use of music.
The Leading Edge 
Excellent presentation from a legendary manager/producer. I think I speak for all of us in attendance when I say I learned quite a bit. Thanks for visiting our school Mr. Jenner!