• Creating a flagship campus & centre of audio learning for the music industry.
• Targeting 180+ long-term career opportunities.
• Building a sustainable infrastructure to enable best-in-class services & education

Jacaranda Music Group (JMG) has appointed Professor Paul Morrissey as chairman with plans to build a world-leading music ecosphere in Liverpool entering a significant new phase.

The announcement, part of a planned restructuring of Jacaranda Records label operations, sees Morrissey step into the role ahead of ambitious plans to open a scalable recording complex – Jacaranda Studios, and a vinyl production plant operated by Jacaranda Media alongside the already established and now rebooted record label.

“I’m honoured to take on such an exciting role for Jacaranda Music Group, especially at this time of growth here in Liverpool, it’s a city which already oozes a rich musical heritage. The vision transcends the conventional; it’s about building the brand ‘Made in Liverpool’ across the global music scene,” said Morrissey. 

“The magnitude of our planning is not just about creating a world-class music environment, but it’s a tribute to the undying spirit and music DNA that is innately Liverpool. We’re not just laying down tracks, but embarking on a sonic journey that’s set to redefine the industry, we’re putting Liverpool at the pinnacle of the global music industry where it belongs, what’s the point of being the UK’s Music City if you’ve not got an end-to-end music ecosystem to point at? There’s a lot of talk in town, always has been, always will be – but there are also a number of people that just get on with it and do…”

The strategy announced when the music label was founded in 2018 has now been carefully reassessed post-pandemic with an updated commercial restructure and fresh investment, Jacaranda Records’ Global campus record label project built with a market-defining physical media plant and an innovative and dynamic scalable studio complex will create the world’s leading music production capability – right on the banks of The River Mersey.

A Liverpool native, Professor Paul Morrissey is a seasoned technology innovation entrepreneur with a track record of creating, enabling, and achieving successful exits in the international telecommunications, technology operations, software, media, and consultancy sectors. He continues to make significant contributions to the early-stage technology landscape through his private equity fund, Nova Equity Partners. Recognised globally as a business leader, Paul’s expertise extends across A.I. Governance and Ethics, Blockchain (DLT), Customer Experience, Smart Cities, IoT, and Media Content distribution, including emerging fields like Web3.0, NFTs, and the Metaverse. He also sits as an advisor at the UK House of Lords All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), advising the UK Government on ethics and governance policies around Web 3.0 and the Metaverse.

For his significant contributions to University technology spin-out companies, Paul was awarded an honorary professorship by Liverpool John Moores University in 2010 and again in 2022/3. He also holds an honorary professorship at the University of Bolton. A Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (FIET) and the British Computing Society (FBCS) and The Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA), Paul’s influence permeates various professional communities. He is a member of the advisory board of the AI Forum and is a highly sought-after speaker on the international conference circuit.

As a record label and immersive audio specialist Jacaranda Records has produced over 100 releases and the completion of 30+ episodes across two seasons of the live music performance series “The Jacaranda Basement Tapes,” while securing major Immersive audio mixing contracts with Apple TV, NBC Universal and Audible, setting up the first immersive audio studio in Liverpool as pioneers in Spatial Audio .

Following the Covid pandemic’s significant impact upon the music industry as a whole, the Jacaranda Records team underwent forced changes in staff and needed to upgrade its operations through a more refined approach that focused on education – forming a groundbreaking partnership with The SAE Institute and establishing the pilot Campus Record Label which has been running successfully for one year – and has now been renewed for a second year. A pioneering initiative which is now expanding to other UK cities and leading UK educational establishments, it operates as an in-house record label helping provide students industry-led training via professional record label campaigns and offering them an opportunity to develop their skills in an authentic label environment. An industry first and an area overlooked by both academic institutions and the music industry in the UK, once again Jacaranda Records is breaking the mould.

Jacaranda Music Group Founder & President –  Ray Mia commented:

“The Campus Record Label is much more than a foray into the music world for our student artists; it’s a game-changer. By submerging themselves in real campaigns, they’re gaining invaluable experience that will be instrumental in carving out their uniqueness in the industry. They’re not just learning about the music industry; they are contributing to its evolution, shaping its future with every chord and campaign. This initiative is about igniting passion, nurturing talent, and fostering a proactive learning environment where the music industry is not just taught but lived and breathed. This is about next generation A&R, and its about reimagining HR, part of the challenge we faced during COVID was retaining the right staff with the right mentality, too often we were let down by a lack of ambition, courage and industry knowledge that isn’t taught and is hard to learn – despite any number of academic qualifications and token assurances, it always fell short and the label was let down badly when we had invested heavily in talent and infrastructure – all when the industry was hit hardest, and so we knew we had to find, nurture and encourage a new level of talent across the roles needed by the business, and that meant redefining the questions to get better answers, all of which was made possible by going back to basics, so it was left to Iain Bruce (who I co-founded the Label with after we left UMG in 2018) to develop the relationships and the methodology to make it all happen when others simply abandoned ship. Best thing we ever did, talk is cheap – we’ve always been believers in what we are doing, and we’re not interested in the negatives when there are so many positives we’ve achieved in our careers.”

“And now, I’m elated to welcome Paul as our newly appointed Chairman at this pivotal time in our direction of travel. The restructure plots the course for the long-term sea-chart to success, and Paul’s appointment, ahead of new partnerships, new contacts, new work, new artists and increased and additional investment, is a testament to our unwavering commitment to what we are doing in Liverpool – and ultimately our vision for the future of the music industry. We are still here, we are not going anywhere – and we are leaner, fitter and better positioned to do exactly what I set out to do when coming back to Liverpool to do this. 

“My partnership with Paul was forged in our previously successful venture together – L6L21 – an immersive frist theatre, film and TV production company, we co-produced the critically acclaimed and commercially successful “Marlowe Sessions” last year, but we really developed a camaraderie amidst the roaring crowds at Goodison Park where we witnessed Everton FC triumphantly evade relegation for two consecutive seasons in a row! These shared moments of resolve and celebration mirror our combined ambition for Jacaranda Music Group. While the pandemic forced lots of folks to re-evaluate plans and aspirations, it only steeled my resolve to unequivocally get back on track, we’ve identified where we are building out infrastructure after extensive and exhaustive discovery, and we’ve secured long term and more robust ways and means to move ahead with better community support who get it and don’t pay lip service – and working with Paul as our Chairman – I know we can steer the ship towards calmer waters with a safe harbour, one that was always on the map of where I wanted to make port. 

“Paul knows the sector very well, he knows technology on a profound level, he has global industry relationships, he knows my vision for the business and we work extremely well together with a proven track record, he has impeccable credentials – and – he’s from Scottie Road! What’s not to like?! –  I’m thrilled to announce his tenure as our newly appointed Chairman, a new role on the bridge of the restructured good-ship Jacaranda…”