Moot's MITS Moment: More Mazels

Depending on when you read this, Warner Chappell boss Guy Moot is either about to receive or has just received the prestigious Music Industry Trusts (MITS) award at a Nov. 9 London gala, becoming the first publisher to be so honored.

No doubt the evening’s toasts at Grosvenor House will address Moot’s superb ears and instincts, his forthright advocacy for songwriters, his warm, affable manner and the almost superhuman tolerance for secondhand cigar smoke he cultivated during his years working for Marty Bandier.

Since the Englishman assumed the CEO post at WCM in 2019, it has doubled the size of its business. Not for nothing, but one of its many star tunesmiths, Amy Allen, has won the Songwriter of the Year Grammy trophy two of the four times it’s been awarded.

“Few people in our industry have had a career as extensive and influential as Guy’s,” MITS Award committee Co-Chair Toby Leighton-Pope proclaimed when Moot’s honor was first announced. “His commitment to music has never wavered, matched by a depth of experience that truly sets him apart.”

The committee made sure our invitation to the revels got lost in the post, but we will be lifting a glass to this gifted exec and true mensch, probably around noon our time.