Business of Publishing Day at the AIMP’s 4th annual Global Music Publishing Summit is now in the books! Highlights included a spirited discussion on exactly what it means to be an “indie publisher”; a keynote from U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN); a conversation amongst the leadership of the NMPA, A2IM, RIAA, NSAI, AIMP, and Music Business Association; and special presentations from The U.S. Copyright Office and The MLC.
Former AIMP President Michael Eames (President, PEN Music Group) kicked off today’s events with a discussion of his recent op-ed for Billboard, “In 2021, How Do We Define an ‘Indie’ Publisher?” The piece addresses the massive changes that have impacted the independent music publishing community since the AIMP’s bylaws were last updated in January 2019, in particular the massive influx of investment in the space and the introduction of new SPAC deals that allow companies to take a portion of their business public while maintaining majority control. The AIMP Chapter Boards and Executive Committee will be meeting soon to discuss these issues before taking any proposed changes to the AIMP membership for discussion and a vote.
Eames then moderated the “Indie Perspective” panel, featuring Mike Molinar (General Manager, Big Machine), Kathy Spanberger (President and COO, Peermusic), Jim Selby (Chief Publishing Executive, Concord Music), Neil Gillis (President, Round Hill), Tony Alexander (Co-Founder, President, and Managing Director, MIME), and AIMP National Chair and Nashville Chapter President John Ozier (EVP Creative, Reservoir). The panel featured a more in-depth conversation around the “what is an indie” question, with most agreeing that whether a company is funded is not as important as its mindset, as well as overall market share and influence. They also discussed international sub-publishing, impact of catalog buyout deals, and much more.
Next up, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), a key advocate of the Music Modernization Act (MMA), delivered the Business Keynote, discussing the many pieces of legislation that affect songwriters and publishers, from SBA loans, capital gains, recording expense write-offs to the HITS Act, and more; noting that she and U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) intend to reintroduce the AM-FM Act as well. According to her, while the MMA was a solid first step, it is just the beginning of what is needed to achieve visibility for those working behind the scenes of the music industry. “Creators are now so widely followed on social media that fans are starting to really understand how the music industry works, and how songwriters are the foundation of this industry,” she said.
David Israelite (President & CEO, NMPA), Dr. Richard James Burgess (President & CEO, A2IM), Mitch Glazier (Chairman & CEO, RIAA), Bart Herbison (Executive Director, NSAI), AIMP LA Chapter President Teri Nelson Carpenter (CEO, Reel Muzik Werks), and moderator Portia Sabin (President, Music Business Association) then joined forces for the “U.S. Alliance” panel, an annual favorite at the Global Music Publishing Summit. After they each presented an update on their organization’s initiatives, they discussed the importance of cooperation and showing a united front to face the issues that the industry is experiencing right now. The panelists also talked about metadata, the absence of an international standard, and all the opportunities in the space, as well as their organizations’ efforts towards Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
The MLC CEO Kris Ahrend then took the stage for a special presentation on the organization’s progress, including having held over 200 educational webinars to date. In addition to explaining what they do, how they do it, and how to take advantage of The MLC’s benefits, he elaborated on how the organization is engaging members around the world and spreading the word about its Data Quality Initiative. He is expecting to have a new tool to review and claim currently unmatched works live in July, with the historical unmatched catalog to be added in August.
Tomorrow (June 9) during International Day, the AIMP Global Music Publishing Summit will begin with an AIMP/IMPF Networking mixer, followed by an International Keynote from Gadi Oron (Director General, CISAC); the “International Alliance” panel with Will Kreth (EIDR, DDEX), Margaret McGuffin (CEO, Music Publishers Canada), Annette Barrett (President/Chair of the Board, IMPF/Reservoir), Dr. Kristina Janušauskaitė (Director of European Legal Affairs, IFPI), Ger Hatton (Principal, Hatton.eu), and AIMP NY Chapter President Michael Lau (CEO, Laud Music/Imachew Music); and an update on “Cue Sheet Harmonization” with AIMP NY Chapter Board Member Debbie Rose (President, Kokopelli Music Group/Sundae Songs) and Teri Nelson Carpenter. Events begin at 10am ET and wrap at 1:45pm ET.
