Tributes have been paid to Bella Figura co-founder and CEO Alexi Cory-Smith, who has died suddenly at the age of 58.
Music Week extends our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Alexi Cory-Smith, who was a key player and a popular figure in the UK music industry. She regularly appeared in Music Week over the course of her highly successful career at BMG and Bella Figura, a new venture which made major acquisitions in recordings and publishing.
“We are devastated to announce the sudden and unexpected passing of our co-founder and CEO, Alexi Cory-Smith,” said a statement from Bella Figura on social media. “Alexi built Bella Figura Music from the ground up, bringing the vision and passion from a successful career in the music industry.
“Her leadership, creativity, and unwavering commitment to our team and our work leaves a lasting legacy. Our thoughts are with Alexi’s family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time. We ask that their privacy be respected.”
The statement continued: “We are committed to honouring Alexi’s vision and achievements and will share further updates when we are able. In the meantime, our focus is on supporting one another and remembering an extraordinary leader who meant so much to all of us.”
“RIP Alexi. Our thoughts are with her family and friends during this difficult time,” her former employer BMG posted on social media.
Her leadership, creativity, and unwavering commitment to our team and our work leaves a lasting legacy
Bella Figura
Dr Jo Twist OBE, BPI CEO, said: “We are profoundly saddened to learn of the passing of Alexi Cory-Smith. She made a highly valued contribution as a leading figure in our music industry, including as BPI Council member when representing BMG, and we extend our sincere condolences to her family, friends and colleagues on their great loss.”
Following her seven years as president of BMG UK – a period of significant growth for their recording and publishing businesses – she launched Bella Figura in 2022 (alongside Neelesh Prabhu) as a major new force in acquiring catalogues.
In her first interview the following year to unveil Bella Figura, Alexi Cory-Smith outlined her vision for the company.
“I use an analogy of a Ferrari garage,” she told Music Week. “We’re a high net worth, boutique place for high-performance artists. Ferraris are the best and they need really great mechanics to manage them and look after them.”
Bella Figura has struck major deals including the RAK Publishing acquisition and catalogue deals with Human League co-founder Adrian Wright, David Gray and Guy Chambers. It signed a global admin deal with Sony Music Publishing as part of a US expansion last year.
The company is also focused on cleaning up and managing metadata to maximise collections for clients.
Alexi Cory-Smith reflected on her career in her Aftershow interview with Music Week last year, in which she recalled her first label job at IRS Records, her decision to retrain as a lawyer and ending up helping to advise One Direction in a legal role.
She named her industry inspiration as Virgin Records lawyer Shelagh MacLeod, who died aged 53 in 2005.
While admitting to nerves about accepting the BMG role from then CEO Hartwig Masuch in 2011, she added: “It was the steepest, greatest learning curve of my life, but it gave me the foundation I needed.”
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