John Kennedy (music industry executive)

John Kennedy (born 1953, in London) is a British entertainment lawyer whose career has been largely in the record industry.

Career

John Kennedy was the chairman and CEO of IFPI, an organisation representing the recording industry worldwide with a membership of 1,400 record companies. He left the organisation in June 2010.

He started his career as a lawyer working at several record companies. In 1983 he set up a private agency specialising in the music industry and in 1985 was awarded an OBE for his work as a trustee of the Band Aid Trust and Live Aid.

In 1996 he accepted the post of chairman and CEO at Polygram Music and Film. He was also appointed chairman and CEO of the newly created Universal UK, the largest record company in the UK, and provided the investment (on behalf of Universal UK) to launch Mamma Mia! - one of the most successful theatrical productions ever.

In 2001 Kennedy was appointed president and chief operating officer at Universal Music International, the largest and most successful record company in the world. In July 2005 he produced, with Bob Geldof and Harvey Goldsmith, the ten Live 8 concerts and DVDs around the world and subsequently, jointly with Geldof and Goldsmith, was made Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.