“First one to crack a smile,” Hipgnosis Song Management CEO Merck Mercuriadis, second from left, tells his new leadership team, “has to start humming as many Justin Bieber hits as they know.” President Ben Katovsky, left, cracked and immediately dove into “Love Yourself,” while General Counsel Jonathan Baker, far right, and CFO Daniel Pounder breathed sighs of relief as “Baby” played in their minds.

Daniel Pounder and Jonathan Baker are joining Hipgnosis Song Management in executive leadership roles; Pounder is the new CFO and Baker has been appointed to the newly created position of general counsel.

Pounder will oversee the finance and investment functions of HSM and the teams that deliver them to Hipgnosis Songs Fund and Hipgnosis Songs Capital. He has more than two decades of experience in accountancy and music finance, including senior executive roles at BMG, Famous Music and Sony Music Publishing. He replaces Chris Helm, who is leaving to launch a new business of his own early next year. Helm will complete a hand-over of his responsibilities by the end of the year.

Baker will oversee the legal aspects of catalog acquisition and day-to-day legal and business affairs carried out on behalf of Hipgnosis Songs Fund and Hipgnosis Songs Capital. He will also be responsible for governance and compliance matters for Hipgnosis and supporting HSM’s fund clients. He was most recently general counsel U.K. and EVP, Legal and Business Affairs International at BMG.

“It's a priority for me to continually strengthen our executive leadership team to ensure we have the best institutional investment, finance and music capabilities and experience required to deliver the next stage of development for Hipgnosis and our funds,” said Hipgnosis Song Management CEO Merck Mercuriadis. "This was the case starting with the appointment of Ben Katovsky as president and chief operating officer one year ago, and we’re delighted to welcome Dan and Jon to round out this process, particularly as this group of leaders has proven to have successful chemistry.

"Dan’s extensive experience and expertise in global music finance, ability to leverage data and technology and track record in supporting and enabling growing businesses will be of significant value to HSM and our fund clients as we work to further institutionalize the reporting and rigor of the song asset class. Likewise, Jon’s experience and expertise in global music legal affairs will support our funds while allowing us to prioritize responsible governance and compliance for Hipgnosis.”