Paul McGuinness

This article is about the music manager. For the footballer, see Paul McGuinness (footballer). For the musician, see Shane MacGowan and The Popes.
Paul McGuinness
Background information
Birth name Paul McGuinness
Born 17 June 1951
Origin Rinteln, Germany
Occupation(s) Music manager
Years active 1979–present
Associated acts U2, PJ Harvey, The Rapture

Paul McGuinness (born 17 June 1951) is the main shareholder and founder of Principle Management Limited: an artist management company based in Dublin, Ireland, which managed U2 from the start of their successful career until 2013. He is the former manager of U2, and current manager of PJ Harvey and The Rapture. He also previously managed Paddy Casey.

Personal life

McGuinness was born in Rinteln near Hanover, Germany, in a British Army hospital. His father, Philip McGuinness, a Liverpudlian, was serving there with the RAF. His mother Sheila McGuinness née Lyne, was a schoolteacher from Lauragh, County Kerry, Ireland. There were three children in the family: Paul, Niall and Katy. McGuinness was sent to an elite boarding school in Ireland in 1961, Clongowes Wood College, run by the Jesuits. He then went on to Trinity College in Dublin where he directed plays and edited the magazine T.C.D. Miscellany,[1] but left without completing his degree.

Before becoming involved with U2, he worked as a film technician on productions such as John Boorman's Zardoz.[2] For a time, he also managed folk-rock group Spud.[3]

He was nicknamed by The Prunes as "The Goose", according to Bono in the book U2 by U2. Bono said: "The Prunes came up with a name for Paul. He was The Goose."[4]

McGuinness married Kathy Gilfillan in 1977.[5] They met whilst he was studying in Trinity. Kathy Gilfillan is director of The Lilliput Press Limited[6] McGuinness's brother, Niall died of a heart attack in 1993. His sister Katy is a writer and lives with her family in Monkstown, Co. Dublin.

Work with U2

McGuinness first met U2 at a Dublin gig on 25 May 1978 where they were supporting the Gamblers[5] and became their manager, having been introduced to the band by Bill Graham a journalist with Hot Press magazine.[7]

He founded Principle Management Limited on 29 Mar 1984,[8] the name being chosen because he wanted to be more principled than other managers.[9]

In 1985, McGuinness commissioned Eamon Dunphy to write the story of U2's early years. The book Unforgettable Fire – The Story of U2 was published in 1987.

McGuinness and Bill Whelan set up a music publishing company called McGuinness/Whelan Publishing in the late 1980s.[10]

In 2002 McGuinness was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Meteor Music Awards at Point Theatre Dublin and U2 won the best Irish Band Award.[11]

As a result of the cap on artists' tax exemption in Ireland, in June 2006 McGuinness advised U2 to move its song publishing assets to Promogroup in The Netherlands, to minimise their tax burden.[12][13]

Noted for his business acumen, he has been responsible for U2 3D concert films, U2-branded iPods, sponsorship from BlackBerry and the first ever concert streamed live on YouTube.[14]

He is regarded as the fifth member of U2, although in an interview with the Irish Press in 1985, when asked if he was the fifth member of U2, he replied "the fifth member of U2 is in Adam (Clayton)'s trousers". He is also regarded as one of the most successful managers in the music business.[15]

McGuinness stepped down as manager of U2 after 34 years on 13 November 2013, with Madonna's manager Guy Oseary set to take over in 2014.[16]

Other activities

He was a founding partner of TV3 (Ireland) and is a director of Ardmore Studios.[17] He is a member of the Phantom FM consortium that in November 2004 secured a broadcasting licence for alternative rock music radio station in the Dublin area and co-founder of the Celtic Heartbeat label, part of Universal Records.[18]

He became a member of the Arts Council of Ireland on 1 January 1988, having been nominated by Charles Haughey and served until February 2000 when he resigned.[10]

He is a prominent and outspoken advocate on behalf of artists, record labels and music publishers.[19] On 28 January 2008, in a speech at the Midem music industry convention in Cannes, McGuinness called on governments to compel ISPs to introduce mandatory "three strike" service disconnections to end unauthorised downloading, and specifically accused companies such as Apple, Google, Yahoo!, Oracle, and Facebook of building "multi billion dollar industries on the back of our content without paying for it".[20][21]

McGuinness, alongside Eamon Dunphy and others, was involved in a consortium proposing and backing the relocation of Wimbledon F.C. to Dublin in the 1990s. The move to Dublin did not happen, with Wimbledon F.C. eventually moving to Milton Keynes.[22]

References

  1. ↑ Daniel Reardon (2013). "Trinity Tales: Trinity College Dublin in the Seventies – Kathy Gilfillan – Google Books". books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  2. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/1568654/u2-manager-paul-mcguinness-on-mark-fisher-he-turned-everyones-wild-ideas
  3. ↑ Sunday Times (2013). "Profile: Paul McGuinness: They Do the Music, He Does the Business". atu2.com. Retrieved 25 April 2013. folk-rock group
  4. ↑ Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr. U2 by U2. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-077674-9.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Eamon Dunphy (1987). Unforgettable Fire The Story of U2. Penguin. p. 141. ISBN 0670821047.
  6. ↑ "Kathy Gilfillan's Director Profile, The Lilliput Press Limited.". duedil.com. 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  7. ↑ McCormick, Neil (2006). U2 by U2. HarperCollins. pp. 53–56. ISBN 0-00-719668-7.
  8. ↑ "Principle Management Limited in , Company Accounts & Directors Webcheck | Duedil". duedil.com. 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  9. ↑ The Sunday Times 12 July 1998 (2013). "Out of Control". atu2.com. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Višnja Cogan (2006). U2: An Irish Phenomenon. The Collins Press. pp. 163–167. ISBN 1905172222.
  11. ↑ "Meteor – Meteor Ireland Music Awards Past Winners". meteor.ie. 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  12. ↑ Lynnley Browning (4 February 2007). "The Netherlands, the New Tax Shelter Hot Spot – New York Times". The New York Times (New York City: NYTC). ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  13. ↑ Daniel McConnell (2013). "U2 move their rock empire out of Ireland – Independent.ie". independent.ie. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  14. ↑ Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson (2013). "Lunch with the FT: Paul McGuinness - FT.com". ft.com. Retrieved 25 April 2013. He claims no creative role but can take credit for a series of eye-catching deals.
  15. ↑ Cunningham, James and Harney, Brian (2012). Strategy and Strategists. OUP Oxford. p. 41. ISBN 0199219710.
  16. ↑ "BBC News – U2's manager Paul McGuinness 'set to step down after 34 years'". bbc.co.uk. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  17. ↑ Deegan, Gordon (17 October 2011). "Ardmore Studios profits drop 41%". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
  18. ↑ Tina maples (2013). "The Milwaukee Journal – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  19. ↑ Bill Werde (2013). "Q&A: U2 Manager Paul McGuinness Reflects on Steve Jobs' Passing | Billboard". billboard.com. Retrieved 25 April 2013. a more prominent, more outspoken advocate on behalf of artists, record labels, publishers and other rights-holders
  20. ↑ Ben Fenton (2013). "U2 manager urges ISPs to help fight web piracy - FT.com". ft.com. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  21. ↑ CMU editorial (2013). "Google is the problem, U2 manager tells MIDEM | CMU: Complete Music Update". thecmuwebsite.com. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  22. ↑ "Plan to convert Wimbledon FC into the 'Dublin Dons'; Soccer-Ireland". Retrieved 18 October 2014.

External links