Julian Nott has had a varied career. Beginning in the early 90s with Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers, he has scored music for some of the UK’s most successful programmes. He has also worked as a management consultant, produced Channel 4 documentaries, and took a brief detour to qualify as a barrister. Back within the music business, he was elected to the PRS Members' Council in 2021, having previously served on the PRS Board from 2010 to 2019. He also currently serves on the MCPS Board as writer representative.
Earlier this year, Julian was appointed as chair of the PRS Members’ Council. From 1 January 2023, Julian will take over from Nigel Elderton, working alongside president Michelle Escoffery and newly elected deputy chair Alexander Kassner.
The PRS Members’ Council is the body in charge of representing the views of the membership to the organisation’s management and the PRS Board. ‘The Council is there to ensure that management and the board know what the membership wants and needs. That’s the primary function of the Council,’ says Julian. ‘It is also the final authority at PRS. So it has to approve various things, such as the budget of PRS and the hiring of the CEO.’
As chair Julian is firmly embedded in the behind-the-scenes workings of the music business, but the path here wasn’t always clear. ‘I actually started off not doing music, but in the City. I worked for a management consultancy firm after I left university for about three years, working in the investment banking area. But that proved rather boring to me,’ he says.
‘When you start scoring, it’s really, really hard to get any work at all. Luck takes you where you end up.'
After leaving the City, he attended the National Film and Television School. There, a chance connection would form the basis for much of his future career. It was the kind of thing you can’t plan for, and led to an accidental sort of specialism.
‘When you start scoring, it’s really, really hard to get any work at all. Luck takes you where you end up. I ended up doing a lot of children’s work by luck, or fluke, rather than by design,’ he says. ‘What happened was, I was at film school with Nick Park who created all the Wallace & Gromit films. The first Wallace & Gromit was his graduation film at film school. I scored it, and then he asked me to do the first professional Wallace & Gromit, which was The Wrong Trousers. Once you’ve done one that was successful, the others seem to follow quite closely behind.'
That luck has served Julian well. In addition to Wallace & Gromit, his illustrious career also spans a number of BBC dramas and the global children’s juggernaut that is Peppa Pig.
It would have been understandable to continue along this path, composing for some of the UK’s most recognisable productions, without interruption. But after several decades in the industry Julian had amassed a wealth of useful knowledge and experience. At a certain point, he decided to take up an advisory position or two.
‘It’s a very solitary life, being a media composer – at least I find it so. You spend most of your time all by yourself with your technology,’ he says. ‘After about twenty years of that, I started feeling quite lonely and feeling a need to engage more in the real world. Coming to PRS as a board director seemed a rather good way of doing it that was still musical. It got me out of my studio. That’s what motivated me to do it about ten years ago, and it kind of escalated from there.’
'Publishers and writers have to accommodate each other’s positions and co-operate. That just about always happens. Sometimes there are hearty discussions, but in the end a resolution always comes our way.'
After nearly a decade on the Board, Julian joined the Members' Council in 2021 after a year out. Sitting on the Council, writer and publisher representatives have the opportunity to advocate for the issues that affect their section of the membership. It is a symbiotic relationship built on give and take, and while the angle of approach can be different, Julian points out that in most cases both sides are working towards the same thing.
‘Publishers and writers can sometimes have different perspectives. Whether it’s the Members’ Council, or the Board, publishers and writers have to accommodate each other’s positions and co-operate. That just about always happens. Sometimes there are hearty discussions, but in the end a resolution always comes our way. Ninety-five percent of all the business activities, there’s no need for discussion. The writers and publishers have an absolutely apparent single interest.’
That single interest can be overarching. For Julian as chair, the main goal is to ensure that every part of the membership is served by the organisation as a whole. It is also important to facilitate conversation, and make sure that all sides of a debate are given equal consideration to achieve these aims.
‘I need to play my part in making PRS do a really good job for the membership. That’s the main thing,’ he says. ‘The other specific role for me is to ensure that the channels of communications between the various sections of the membership are good, so that we all have healthy discussions amongst ourselves, healthy debates, and that the processes are constructive and effective. That means I have to ensure every sector of the membership is heard. ‘
Fundamentally, Julian’s goal for the Council is one of continued harmony. ‘What I hope to achieve is a very friendly, constructive dialogue between various sections of our community, both writer and publisher to ensure a happy, effective organisation.’
