Gilles Godard has been named president of Anthem Nashville Music Publishing, the company announced Thursday (June 16). He will replace Tim Wipperman, who is leaving the company at the end of the month.
Godard, who joined Anthem in 2006, had most recently been senior vp of publishing, a global position. Gilles was instrumental in acquiring the Jody Williams catalog containing several Taylor Swift and Liz Rose copyrights. Last year, he and the Nashville team oversaw Anthem’s acquisition of Kelly Archer’s catalog. Archer, who had been an Anthem writer since 2008, co-wrote No. 1s “After a Few” by Travis Denning and “Somebody Else Will” by Justin Moore, among others.
The move comes as Anthem, a Canadian music company backed by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, remains up for sale. Sources told Billboard in March that investment bank Moelis & Co. is shopping the deal and seeking minimum bids of about $600 million. Anthem Entertainment operates in New York, Los Angeles, London, Nashville, Belfast and Toronto.
“Gilles is a true creative at heart and he has spent the last several years working with me, the global business team, our talent, and society partners making him a great fit for the new role,” said Anthem Entertainment CEO Helen Murphy in a statement. “I believe we have one of the best creative teams in all of country music and I am excited to see Gilles take Anthem Nashville Music Publishing to new heights.”
Godard added, “I am honored to be appointed President of Anthem Nashville Music Publishing and I look forward to working with our CEO Helen Murphy and our amazing team and roster of world class writers. I believe that our job as publishers is to provide the best opportunities for our writers and to ensure that the hits they write are heard around the world. As I like to say, the future always exceeds the past, and here’s to a great future!”
Wipperman is expected to announce his new plans shortly.
