Keith Lowde and Guy Fletcher

Music industry veteran Keith Lowde has died after a tragic boating accident which made news headlines in the UK just two days into the New Year, as one of two men who drowned following their boat capsizing on the River Thames near Shepperton on Sunday January 2nd. The 8ft motorboat with six people on board capsized in pitch darkness after a dinner party at Lowde's riverside home. All were thrown into the freezing water but only four, including Lowde's wife Jenny, reached the river bank 50 yards away safely, while Lowde and a 70 year old friend perished.

Keith Lowde, aged 66, was most recently a tutor at the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) in Guildford, and had over 30 years experience working in the industry at a senior level. For eleven years he was Company Secretary and deputy MD at MCPS, and since then had worked with the PRS, BPI, BACS and Equity as well as other publishers, labels, artists and TV companies. He also directed the National Music Festival for the DCMS and more recently administered the Copyright Hotline - a specialised advisory service to those seeking help with copyright and piracy issues.

SongLink publisher David Stark commented, "I am totally shocked at hearing of Keith's tragic death. Only two weeks ago we had shared the same table at the annual MPA Christmas Lunch, where I snapped this photo of him with our old friend and newly-elected Chairman of PRS For Music, Guy Fletcher OBE. I hadn't seen Keith for some time, but was aware he was doing great work at ACM - in fact we had been discussing how we could work more closely together during this coming year. This is a total tragedy and I can only send my sincere condolences at this sad time to Keith's wife Jenny, their children Andrea and Martin, and all their family and friends." Guy Fletcher added, "Keith was one of my most trusted friends. He was an authority on copyright and an extremely helpful individual. This is a massive loss to the industry."