Marco Foley is the chair of Fair Trade Music international, a board advisor for Music Creators North America (MCNA), brand strategist at the Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC) and a partner representative at the International Council of Music Creators (CIAM). He is also managing director of 652South Ltd, a communication agency specializing in creative and cultural industries.
Marco began as a guitar player and composer in the UK, working as a session player for tours, radio and studio recordings until taking a part-time commercial job. As this alternative career evolved he took leadership roles in marketing and design, eventually holding European communication director positions in Fortune 500 companies, multi-billion dollar international corporations and award-winning PR bureaus. Here he led global strategy and creative teams, managed exhibition events over three continents, and devised messaging, copy and design for hundreds of press releases, brochures and reports.
Returning to the creative industry in 2011, Marco formed 652South to partner with non-profit clients and devise and support campaign strategies that have helped change authors’ rights legislation in three countries. Here he has produced analysis and high-value copywriting that provoked global debate on cultural remuneration. He has also delivered websites and print collateral to represent millions of creators in discussions with government culture ministers, the EU commission, the UN, WIPO and UNESCO. He has worked with CISAC and CIAM since 2013 and is a regular contributor to its annual Global Collections Report, the industry’s leading creator royalty analysis.
