DIGITAL PIONEER BEN DRURY TO LEAD ERA
ERA is pleased to announce that Ben Drury, one of the key architects of the UK digital music business, is to take up the role of ERA Chair.
7 December 2022: Digital entertainment and retail association ERA is pleased to announce that Ben Drury, one of the key architects of the UK digital music business, is to take up the role of ERA Chair from January 1st, steering the organisation through the next evolution of the sector.
Serial entrepreneur Drury ran and then sold dotmusic, then the UK’s leading music content website, to Yahoo in 2003, before founding B2B download and streaming service 7digital in 2004. He left 7digital to establish his latest venture, the children’s audio platform Yoto, with co-founder Filip Denker, in 2015. Yoto now has an installed base of hundreds of thousands of devices for its audio services and employs 80 people.
Drury brought 7digital to ERA as its very first digital member in 2005. He sat on the ERA board until 2015 and served as Deputy Chair from 2008 to 2013.
ERA CEO Kim Bayley said, “It is a significant coup for ERA to welcome Ben Drury back as Chair. Ben played a pivotal role in the emergence of ERA as the voice of digital entertainment as well as of physical retailers. He brings unrivaled knowledge of the business and strategic view of the changing face of entertainment.”
Ben Drury said, “It is astonishing to think that the organisation I joined in 2005 as its first and only digital member now represents all the key global brands such as Spotify, YouTube and Amazon. Streaming has transformed ERA, just as it has the whole entertainment business. I look forward to championing the voice of the services and retailers who are driving the growth of entertainment.”
ERA executive board members signaled their strong support for the new Chair.
ERA Treasurer and Managing Director of Proper Distribution Drew Hill said, “The board unanimously approved Ben’s appointment as Chair. His deep knowledge and experience and his strong entrepreneurial track record make him the ideal ambassador for digital entertainment and retailing.”
Alan Jordan, the owner of Newcastle’s Reflex Records and executive board representative for independents, said, “Ben has always shown a strong appreciation of the role of physical formats in the digital age, not least in the way his new company combines a physical product with digital entertainment. I look forward to working with him to develop ERA’s services for independents.”
Spotify Managing Director UK & Ireland Tom Connaughton said, “Ben Drury’s career encompasses the history of music’s digital reinvention. He was there from the beginning. We look forward to drawing on his perspective and advocacy for the entire entertainment sector.”
For more information, contact Steve Redmond – steve@eraltd.org – 07770 924720