January 11, 2023 (Atlanta, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York) – The Executive Committee of the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) has unanimously elected Michael Lau of Imachew Music and Middle Foot Music as National Chair for 2023-2024. In this role, Lau, who was also re-elected to a second two-year term as President of the AIMP New York Chapter, will work with the Executive Committee to lead the coordination of efforts between all four Chapters to help ensure the organization stays true to its mission, leveraging his years of experience as a music publisher, music supervisor, composer, and technologist to provide guidance on the planning and execution of educational events and coordinate outreach to bolster the independent music publishing community.
“It is a tremendous honor to serve as AIMP National Chair, and I would like to thank the Executive Committee for putting their trust in me,” said Lau. “As the music industry continues to evolve, it is our duty to educate the independent music publishing community on how new trends, legislation, and technology will affect them, as well as advocate for their interests. I look forward to carrying that mission forward in the massive footsteps of previous National Chairs John Ozier and Teri Nelson Carpenter.”
In addition to his work with the AIMP, where he served as a New York Chapter Board member from 2019-2020 before being elected Chapter President in 2021, Lau is a member of the Operations Committee of The MLC (Mechanical Licensing Collective), where he reviews current processes from music metadata through payment processing to revolutionize how songwriters and music publishers are paid. He is also the Owner of independent music publishing companies Imachew Music (ASCAP) and Middle Foot Music (BMI), which handle his own compositions as well as publishing for others. Lau also serves on the Advisory Boards of Jammber and MyPart Inc., is an Advisor & Mentor for the NYU Steinhardt Music Business Program’s Entrepreneurship course, and is an Alumni Mentor at Berklee College of Music.
Lau previously served in the highest levels of Round Hill Music, helping to grow the company from its inception as a three-employee, fledgling indie music publisher to one of the larger independents in the music industry with over 50 employees, funding from several private equity funds, and an IPO listed on the London Stock Exchange. As COO/CTO, Lau kept Round Hill at the forefront of technology and data, all while creating and maintaining efficient and effective processes for everything from copyright and royalty administration to the creative process of music exploitation in TV, film, video games, and more.
Prior to Round Hill, Lau worked in various roles at Warner Chappell Music — serving as Director of Strategic Marketing as well as Senior Director, Creative Information Technology and Marketing Development — which leveraged his technical marketing skills and creative music skills. Lau also worked as a music supervisor and music producer for several TV projects, including Courage The Cowardly Dog, the ’94 and ’98 CBS Winter Olympics broadcasts, and other web series for Warner Bros. In addition, he has served as a Creative Consultant to the estates of Ray Charles and Harry Warren, and created a proprietary software application based in FileMaker Pro called Publishers Toolbox, a music publishing administrative, royalty, and creative system.
The AIMP Executive Committee, which consists of each regional Chapter’s President and Vice President, meets monthly to discuss national initiatives and coordinate regional activities. In addition to Lau, the 2023-2024 Committee consists of Atlanta Chapter President Tony D. Alexander (Made in Memphis Entertainment), Atlanta Chapter Vice President Crystal Morris (Digital Royalty Distribution), Los Angeles Chapter President Marc Caruso (Angry Mob Music), Los Angeles Chapter Vice President Frank Handy (Position Music), Nashville Chapter President Ree Guyer (Wrensong), Nashville Chapter Vice President Duff Berschback (Concord Music Publishing), and New York Chapter Vice President Debbie Rose (Sundae Songs, LLC).
