Paul Conroy

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Paul Conroy is an English music executive with a long and varied career of managing labels. He went from general manager of pioneering indie Stiff to senior positions with majors like Virgin Records, WEA and EMI.^[1]

[edit] Career

Conroy's introduction to the music business came as a college social secretary in the early 1970s.^[2] His first job was working as a booking agent for the Charisma Agency, where he worked with Nigel Kerr. Together they built the agency up into a major force on the burgeoning pub rock scene. ^[3] In 1975 they collaborated with Jake Riviera to put on the Naughty Rhythms package tour, with pub rock stalwarts Kokomo, Dr Feelgood, Chilli Willi & The Red Hot Peppers. Conroy became the manager of The Kursaal Flyers, who got signed to Jonathan King's UK Records and had a hit with the song "Little Does She Know". In an idiosyncratic twist that presaged the common touch of many of his later promotional successes, Conroy had the band perform on Top of the Pops surrounded by laundry machines and giant detergent boxes. ^[4]

In 1979 Conroy went to work for Stiff Records where he became the general manager. Between 1985 and 1990 he was first marketing director and then managing director of the US labels division of WEA Records in London. He was the president of Chrysalis Records International from 1990 to 1992. Conroy joined Virgin Records UK as managing director in 1992 and was promoted to president in 1997 before leaving in early 2002.^[2]

Later in 2002 Conroy and his wife Katie, a former EMI International VP, launched Adventures in Music, which comprised three divisions - Adventure Records, Management and Publishing. ^[5]

Conroy served as chairman of the Brit Awards committee from 1997 to 2000, is one of the BPI Council's longest standing members, and is the current chairman of the BPI PR committee.^[2]