NMPA Announces New Hires, Staff Promotion

The National Music Publishers’ Association has hired two new staffers. Jonathan Cohen has joined NMPA as its new Vice President & Senior Counsel. Jonathan comes to NMPA from the Covington & Burling LLP Manhattan office where for over six years he worked in the antitrust and litigation practice groups and represented clients in many industries, including the music industry. Prior to his work at Covington, Jonathan clerked for the Honorable Janet C. Hall at the United States District Court, District of Connecticut and interned at the U.S. Department of Justice in the Civil Division. A Yale graduate, he received his Juris Doctorate from New York University School of Law.

“Jonathan’s experience couldn’t be better suited for navigating the complex legal landscape that songwriters face in their fight for fair rates,” said NMPA President/CEO David Israelite. “Having specialized in the areas that most affect creators makes him uniquely positioned to work on songwriters’ behalf.”

Shannon Sorensen has also joined the organization as Vice President of Government Affairs & Counsel. Sorensen was most recently a counsel at the U.S. House of Representatives and prior to that was an attorney at Pia Anderson Dorius Reynard and Moss in Salt Lake City. A graduate of Brigham Young University, she received her Juris Doctorate from the Brigham Young J. Reuben Clark Law School. She will focus on government relations and finding solutions to the many legislative and regulatory problems that plague songwriters.

“Shannon has already achieved so much in a short time, and we greatly look forward to what she will accomplish at NMPA,” said Israelite. “As songwriters face a steep climb on Capitol Hill, her experience and legal acumen will be invaluable as we represent the needs of creators to the legislators who can help them.”

Moving up at NMPA is Katharine McClenny, who is now Director of Communications and the NMPA Gold & Platinum Program. McClenny will focus on expanding NMPA’s reach and making the struggles of songwriters understood, as well as building out the NMPA Gold & Platinum honors, beginning with the first-annual Gold & Platinum Gala in Nashville in October.