John F. Smith (musician)

After studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London from 1968 -1971, John Smith joined the English National Opera orchestra in 1974 and remained there, as Principal Tuba, for almost 20 years.         

In 1994 he was appointed a full-time official of the Musicians' Union (MU) and was promoted to the post of Assistant General Secretary (Media) in 1997. In December 2002 John was elected General Secretary of the MU, a position which he still holds today.

In addition to his UK activities, John is President of the International Federation of Musicians (FIM). This role involves representing musicians’ interests in discussions with organisations such as UNESCO, WIPO and the European Parliament and Commission.

John has directorships of the British Copyright Council, UK Music, the Educational Recording Agency. He is also the Vice-President of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU). He has been a member of the TUC General Council since 2007 and a member of the TUC Executive Committee since 2012.

Most recently, John was appointed Chair of the music licensing company PPL with affect from January 2016.

External links

• MU official site.
• FIM official site
• PPL UK official site
• British Copyright Council official site
• Live Music Forum official site
• TUC official site