Upbeat Sony hires publishing veteran: former PolyGram and Edel publishing boss David Hockman makes his major company return.(Publishing)

Former PolyGram Music Publishing chief David Hockman is returning to the major fold following his appointment to head Sony/ATV's global publishing operation.

Hockman, who started his new role as chairman of Sony/ATV last week, will replace Sony veteran Paul Russell, who is leaving the company after 30 years and returning to the UK from his current New York base.

Russell says he is finalising plans to align himself with a leading law firm to represent artists, managers and executives from around Europe. "I'm not going to be drafting contracts, rather I'll be doing the business side for a select group," he says. "After my time running Sony Music Europe, I've got a lot of contacts."

A respected industry veteran who started his music publishing career 30 years ago at Dick James Music, Hockman says he is delighted to be returning to the industry frontline after 18 months working with a number of venture capital companies. Before that he headed the international publishing operations and European record operations of indie group edel following his exit from PolyGram in the wake of its merger with MCA.

Hockman, who worked alongside Sony Music International president Rick Dobbis in his PolyGram days and has long-standing contacts with other senior Sony executives, says he was first approached about a role at the company a "couple of months" ago. He will maintain offices in both London and New York and will report to Sony Music Entertainment executive vice president Michele Anthony.

In a statement, Anthony says, "David Hockman's impressive track record as a strategic builder of publishing assets makes him the perfect choice to lead Sony/ATV. He has a proven ability to develop highly effective, long-range strategies, and a great track record of developing ...