Former Sony Pictures Entertainment chief digital strategy officer Mitch Singer has been named special advisor of industry affairs at Verance Corporation.

The company is a developer of anti-piracy technologies and earned an advocate in Singer, who spoke in favour of its Cinavia product while at Sony.

Singer, who left Sony in March, will play a role in helping with the wider roll-out of Cinavia. The product embeds an inaudible audio watermark in film that detects legitimate and unauthorised copies of content.

“Mitch has earned respect for crafting business strategies that advance the evolution to digital content of the entertainment industry,” said Verance CEO Nil Shah. 

“As a visionary executive on the frontlines of digital policy, Mitch’s experience will be invaluable as he works with the industry to grow a robust marketplace for filmed entertainment.”

“At Sony Pictures, I saw firsthand how the Cinavia content protection technology drives additional sales by changing consumer viewing habits from piracy to purchase,” Singer said.

“As digital convergence makes both of these options available on more devices in more places, Cinavia provides a critical tool for channeling mainstream consumers to the legitimate services on which the industry’s future relies.”

  • Producers D Todd Shepherd and George Waud of Miscellaneous Entertainment and producer-financier Michael Benaroya have launched the research-based, SAAS company C4. Former OTX and Motion Picture Group CEO Vincent Bruzzese will run the new company, with immediate effect. C4 will provide script analysis, screening research, tracking and advertising testing and cover research needs in the TV, digital and video game sectors.

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