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The Recording Academy has promoted Todd Dupler to chief advocacy & public policy officer, effective immediately. In his role, Dupler oversees the advocacy division focused on championing creators’ rights and elevating policy issues that stand to affect the music community. He also orchestrates cross-departmental efforts to advance the overall advocacy goals of the Recording Academy […]
If it’s Friday that means another spin around the Executive Turntable, Billboard’s comprehensive(ish) compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across the music industry.
European indie labels body IMPALA unveiled a new board for the upcoming two-year term, with Francesca Trainini of Italian national association PMI elected president and Dario Draštata of Balkan regional association RUNDA tapped as new chair. Everlasting Records CEO Mark Kitcatt stepped down as president, but will continue as a board member and chair of IMPALA’s streaming reform group. Standing pat is Geert De Blaere of Belgium’s BIMA as treasurer and Helen Smith as executive chair. At the Vienna WAVES Festival and Conference, the trade body also reviewed its priorities for the new term, including a focus on streaming reform, artificial intelligence and growth in Central Eastern Europe. “The Central and Eastern European region is a huge market with amazing talent and I am excited to be able to chair IMPALA with the huge opportunities we have across streaming and the whole market,” said Draštata, whose RUNDA supports former Yugoslavia nations. For more information on the membership makeup and structure of IMPALA, click here.
Curb/Word Music Publishing promoted and added staff in its country music publishing department. Sarah Schumacher has been promoted to senior creative director, country publishing, while Calista Miller has joined the team as creative coordinator, country publishing. Schumacher previously worked at Disney Music Group and Darkhorse Music Management, before initially joining Curb/Word Music Publishing in 2021 as creative director of country publishing. Schumacher’s responsibilities include managing creative operations of the country songwriter roster and catalog, recently signing writer/producer Alex Kline into the Curb | Word Music Publishing family. Miller is a recent 2022 graduate of Belmont University’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business and previously interned for Curb/Word Music Publishing’s country team. Miller’s primary responsibilities include coordinating and facilitating strategic writing sessions for the country writer roster, managing social media strategy for the department, and assisting in pitching/placing writer catalog, in addition to catalog administration duties. –Jessica Nicholson
Music B2B company Revelator hired Luciana Pegorer and Arturo Soler to co-pilot the firm’s expansion into the booming indie Latin American market. Formerly of Warner Music Brazil, Pegorer will lead Revelator’s Brazilian office, while music industry veteran Soler will lead the company’s LATAM office out of Mexico. “Revelator has always operated globally but we saw that to serve the fast-changing Latin American market, we needed highly qualified, creative professionals with deep relationships, who were natives to the local market” notes Revelator founder and CEO Bruno Guez. “We found them in Luciana and Arturo.”
NPR president and CEO John Lansing announced he’ll retire at the end of the year after a four-year tenure that involved navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and a recent budget crunch. He’ll remain in place until NPR’s board of directors identifies his replacement, the public radio giant said. “We are all immensely grateful to John for his principled and tenacious leadership through a turbulent time for NPR, our system and our nation,” said NPR board chair Jeff Sine. Prior to joining NPR, Lansing was the CEO of USAGM, overseeing several global networks including Voice of America.
ICYMI: Timothy Xu is the new chairman and CEO of Universal Music Greater China … Julie Keiko Fujishima announced she was stepping down as president of talent agency Johnny & Associates … Elliot Grainge is joining Warner Music’s global leadership team … and this week saw the passing of Clive Davis’ righthand man at Arista, Elliot Goldman.
Australasian collecting society APRA AMCOS promoted Jonathan Carter from head of legal & corporate services to chief operating officer. Carter is a 15-year veteran of the rights group and scored his current position in 2016. In his spare time, he sits on the Global Legal & Policy Committee of CISAC and was previously president of the Copyright Society of Australia. “Given our growth, size and strategic ambition, we need to look at how we’re going to operationalise and drive our strategic plan across the company, and similarly ensure we’re taking a holistic view in mitigating risk,” said Dean Ormston, Chief Executive APRA AMCOS. “Jonathan will be critical in helping us collectively drive forward on our strategic plan.”
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology not only has a music department, but it just hired its first-ever professor Jazz. Grammy-nominated alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and MacArthur Fellow Miguel Zenón has joined the MIT faculty. “MIT is an incredible school with top-tier students and a creative and open-minded aesthetic,” says Zenón. “I’m extremely excited and honored to become part of the MIT family.”
Last Week’s Turntable: Former Asylum Co-President Joins Hitmaker
Exceleration Music, the independent music company that has invested in and acquired numerous indie labels over the past several years, has acquired global digital and physical distribution and music services company Redeye, it was announced Friday (Sept. 8).
The deal not only marks Exceleration’s biggest acquisition to date but an expansion into distribution and services, effectively creating an entirely new division at the company — albeit one that will continue to operate under the Redeye name. Under the agreement, Redeye founders Glenn Dicker and Tor Hansen will continue to lead the company, retaining its existing staff and infrastructure while taking advantage of the resources and expertise offered by the Exceleration partners and team.
“We looked at what was happening with the distribution landscape, [which was seeing] a lot of consolidation,” Exceleration co-founder Glen Barros tells Billboard. “You know, you have each of the majors buying up indie distributors, and we thought it would be good to really preserve and strengthen a great indie option and make sure that indie labels have a fully independent path to market.”
The deal also includes Redeye’s in-house labels, Yep Roc and Sundazed, along with its publishing company, Riff City Sounds. Yep Roc’s roster includes Nick Lowe, Dave Alvin, Aoife O’Donovan, Alejandro Escovedo, Chuck Prophet and Jobi Riccio. Sundazed is a reissue label based in the United States.
Redeye — which signed a distribution deal with Exceleration in May — represents some of the world’s most prominent independent labels, including Beggars Group, Domino, New West, Saddle Creek, Mom+Pop, Kemado/Mexican Summer, Stones Throw, Warp, Drag City, Real Gone, Innovative Leisure, Carpark, !K7, Thrill Jockey, Luaka Bop, Partisan, Sargent House, Ninja Tune, Barsuk and Daptone.
Founded in 1996 by Hansen and Dicker, the distributor is headquartered in Hillsborough, N.C., and boasts more than 120 employees spread across 15 locations in the United States, Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom and Australia. Prior to the acquisition, it was wholly owned and operated by Dicker, Hansen and their team. In 2019, the company merged with Sweden-based distributor Border Music to expand its distribution operation in Europe.
In addition to Hansen and Dicker, Redeye’s leadership structure will remain in place following the acquisition. The list of high-level executives at the company includes Michael Petkov, head of international; Jason Taylor, director of global sales (physical and digital); Laura Pittard, director of global marketing; Michael Howard, associate vp of global operations; Hank Stockard, global business development director; Sean Pecor, IT director; and Jim Trenner, global accounting director.
Moving forward, Exceleration will support Redeye’s existing growth plans by providing operational and strategic support as well as capital. “Redeye has done a lot of work over the last few years to expand their worldwide footprint on the physical side, and they’re been a digital distributor for a long time too,” says Exceleration co-founder Dave Hansen. “So we’re going to work with them to continue building that network and offer a real solution for their existing customers, our label group and new customers [as well].”
More than anything, adds Barros, the Redeye acquisition dovetails nicely with Exceleration’s overall mission: to strengthen the independent music community in whatever ways it can. “We really want to serve this community according to what’s important within this community, and [that] is having, I think, an independent vibe,” he says. “It really is looking at the whole sector holistically and saying, ‘How can we really fill the needs of the community and do it in an indie way?’”
Exceleration was founded in 2020 by a group of five prominent independent label executives: Barros (former CEO of Concord Music Group), Hansen (executive chairman of Merlin and former GM of Epitaph), Charles Caldas (former CEO of Merlin), Amy Dietz (former GM of Ingrooves) and John Burk (a Grammy-winning producer and former president of Concord Records). Its music rights group includes investments and partnerships with labels and catalogs including +1 Records, Alligator, Azadi, Bloodshot, Candid, Heroic, Kill Rock Stars, Mom+Pop, SideOneDummy and The Ray Charles Foundation/Tangerine Records. The company currently boasts nearly 30 employees and is currently hiring for two additional positions, including a head of finance. Funding for Exceleration comes from all five of its partners as well as institutional and private investors.
“Working with the Exceleration team feels like expanding the family,” said Dicker in a statement. “Sharing strong ideals and a strategic vision, it feels like the next natural step on our journey towards providing our world class distribution service to an expanded independent community.”
Concord, under the name Alchemy Copyrights, has agreed to acquire the share capital of Round Hill Music Royalty Fund Ltd in a proposed deal jointly announced on Friday that values the rights in the fund at worth nearly $469 million.
If approved, Concord would acquire the music rights that sit in the publicly-listed Round Hill Music Royalty Fund, which includes 51 catalogs and roughly 150,000 songs by artists like Alice In Chains, Bonnie Tyler, Bush, Bruno Mars, Céline Dion, Lady A, Louis Armstrong, The Offspring, Carrie Underwood, The Supremes, Wilson Pickett and Whitesnake.
Launched in 2010, Round Hill Music was among the first catalog funds to raise money from instititutional investors to acquire and administer song catalogs. But since its November 2022 listing on the London Stock Exchange in November 2020, Round Hill Music Royalty Fund Ltd. has, like its peers Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd., struggled with a declining stock price this year as high inflation and interest rates have pressured alternative investments.
News of the Round Hill-Concord deal,reported earlier by Reuters, sent the fund’s stock up nearly 65% on Friday to $1.13 a share from its previous close of $0.69.
Under the proposed deal terms, Round Hill shareholders would receive $1.15 in cash per share, which values the ordinary share capital of the company at roughly $468.8 million.
While Concord’s proposed cash offer represents a premium price, it still represents a discount of approximately 11.5% to Round Hill Music Fund’s economic net asset value per share of $1.30.
In 2022, Round Hill reported its overall group revenues rose 32% year over year to $32.4 million and its portfolio’s fair value rose 13% $602.6 million.
The deal will be put to a shareholder vote at Round HIll’s nex general meeting on Oct. 18 and needs 75% of votes to pass. A group of shareholders led by Josh Gruss, Round Hill Music co-founder and CEO, who own roughly 33% of the fund’s shares have already signaled they will vote in favor of the deal.
“The Board is pleased to present this opportunity for liquidity at a premium to both the share price and the IPO price, as well as at a narrow discount to economic net asset value per share,” commented Robert Naylor, chairman of RHM. “The recommended offer represents excellent value for shareholders.”
Concord CEO Bob Valentine said that since its 2020 IPO, RHM has built an “impressive portfolio” of songs that “stand the test of time” and asserted that his company is “well positioned to maximise the value of this portfolio for all of the songwriters and artists within it.”
He added, “This offer enables RHM shareholders to realise their investment in the business at an attractive premium to the undisturbed share price, while the transaction provides an opportunity to create value for all stakeholders.”
Creative Artists Agency (CAA) has a new majority shareholder, Artémis.
The Pinault family’s investment company, Artémis has agreed to acquire the stake in CAA previously held by global investment firm TPG.
Through the arrangement, announced Thursday (Sept. 7), CAA’s Bryan Lourd, Kevin Huvane, and Richard Lovett have each made long-term commitments to continue leading the agency and will remain as co-chairmen of CAA. Lourd is expected to be named CEO following the completion of the purchase, while Jim Burtson, who led the CAA deal team, will remain president of CAA.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
“As a leader in its field with an outstanding management team, a crystal-clear focus on providing world-class service to world-class clients and a tremendous track record of growth, CAA has all the relevant characteristics to be part of the Artémis family, adding increased diversity, both in terms of geographical footprint and business activities, to our other assets,” comments Francois-Henri Pinault, Artémis CEO in a joint statement.
Artémis, whose assets include many of the most prestigious brands on the market, will now become a major player in the worlds of entertainment and sports, through its investment with CAA.
Founded in France in 1992, Artémis’ consolidated assets top $40 billion, including Kering, the luxury goods group that is home to Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, and other luxury brands; the Christie’s auction house; Pinault Collection, the world’s largest private collection of contemporary art; and more.
CAA’s “exceptional insight, relationships, and access across key sectors,” Pinault continued, along with its reputation for collaboration and innovation, gives “the company a formidable role in driving global opportunities for its diverse and culture-defining clients. We look forward to supporting the agency’s very bright path ahead.”
Singapore-headquartered global investment firm Temasek will remain a minority investor in CAA. CMC Capital remains a CAA strategic partner.
Allen & Company LLC served as financial advisor to CAA, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as legal counsel. Rothschild & Co was financial advisor to Artémis, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP served as legal counsel. Ropes & Gray LLP was legal counsel to TPG. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP served as legal counsel to Temasek.
The transaction is expected to be completed later this year, subject to the satisfaction of closing conditions.
Ingram Entertainment, the second largest U.S. music wholesaler, has begun telling its accounts that it will begin shutting down its music operation, with plans to close by the end of this year, sources tell Billboard. Sources suggest that Ingram’s music operation generates about $200 million a year in revenue. Beyond music, there are indications that the […]
As the summer break comes to an end, the Spanish recorded music industry is celebrating a remarkable first half of 2023. PROMUSICAE (Productores de Música de España), representing over 95% of the Spanish recording industry, has just unveiled the numbers — and they are looking positive. The recorded music industry has generated a total revenue of 214.3 million euros ($229.2 million) during this period, reflecting an impressive growth rate of 11.53% compared to the same period in 2022 when the income stood at 192.1 million euros ($205.4 million).
Antonio Guisasola, president of PROMUSICAE, expressed his optimism regarding the industry’s performance in 2023. “To keep presenting growth figures over the world average is a satisfaction to us and encourages the Spanish recording companies to continue investing in Spanish talent, so that our artists succeed within and out our borders,” said Guisasola in a press release.
The digital market continues to be a driving force behind this growth, with a substantial increase of 12.82% compared to the same period last year. Digital formats now account for 88% of the industry’s turnover, totaling 188.6 million euros ($201.7 million). That’s nearly all streaming, which captured 87.8% of the total market and generated revenues of 188.2 million euros ($201.4 million) — up 13.26% compared to the first half of 2022.
Audio streaming represented 84.32% of all consumption and contributed 156.9 million euros ($167.9 million) to the industry. Video streaming, while representing over a third of total music consumption time, accounted for 29.1 million euros ($31.1 million).
Guisasola adds, “Numbers are not deceptive and consumption of recorded music is via streaming, though Spanish fans still want to have a bond with their favorite artists through vinyl, a format that follows the path of sales growth, offering very well cared for products that provide an added value to consumers.”
The physical market has also shown resilience in the first half of 2023, maintaining its share of the total market at 12% and experiencing a growth rate of 2.91% compared to the same period in 2022.
Sales of vinyl, in particular, have outperformed CDs, constituting 56.2% of physical sales and generating revenues of 14.4 million euros ($15.4 million) — up 6.32%. CD sales, meanwhile, declined 1.32%, contributing 11 million euros ($11.8 million), making up 42.9% of the physical market revenues.
Guisasola concludes in the press release, “Support the Spanish recording industry so that it does not lose its own boost and can seize the great momentum experienced by Latin music to consolidate its growth in our country and abroad.”
Courtesy Photo
The opening of a new 2,500-seat venue in the Inland Empire caught many by surprise earlier this year, but the signs of things to come had been in plain sight for months. Since January, those driving along the Southland’s busy interstates, freeways and thoroughfares have all cruised past a bombardment of billboards promoting shows by Missy Elliott, Janet Jackson, Dave Matthews Band, The Killers and Ed Sheeran.
These acts could easily sell out celebrated Los Angeles venues like The Hollywood Bowl or the Dolby Theater, but instead have elected to play a small theater 65 miles east in Highland, Calif., on land owned by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, one of California’s wealthiest tribal groups.
The billboard advertising campaign is part of an ambitious national marketing plan to promote the 20-year-old casino following a $750 million upgrade, a name change to Yaamava’ Resort & Casino in Highland (it was formerly called San Manuel Casino) and a first of its kind exclusive booking agreement with Live Nation Southern California aiming to bring 100 shows per year to state-of-the-art venue.
Yaamava’ Theater
Solaiman Fazel
The campaign is designed to be “something that gains much greater national recognition” says Drew Dixon, Yaamava’s vp of entertainment, “something that’s not just a play for these artists, but a tour destination where they want us to be part of something larger that they’re creating.”
Yaamava’ is already well on its way, as the largest of a half-dozen Southern California tribal casinos that are serving as the gateway for artists to access new audiences and lucrative guarantees in California’s fast-growing regions like Sacramento, East San Diego and Palm Springs/Coachella Valley. The location of Yaamava’ and other Southern California tribal casinos makes them convenient tour stops when routing acts to or from Los Angeles, with these facilities just far enough outside the city that they don’t run into too much red tape around L.A. radius clauses.
Tribal gaming in California is a $10 billion business, formally legalized by voters in 2000 after years of operating under a patchwork of local ordinances and supportive rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court. Proposition 1A legalized the operation of slot machines and card games like blackjack, poker and pai gow on tribal land, often in areas outside of San Francisco and Los Angeles that went on to explode in growth throughout the decades that followed. Southern and Northern California, according to a source familiar, are now the most competitive regions for tribal gaming in the U.S. alongside the Atlantic City/Philadelphia area.
As a result, California’s tribal groups are now among some of the richest in the country, with some properties generating hundreds of millions of dollars per year in revenue. While tribal groups are not required to disclose income, a 2004 agreement between then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggar and the United Auburn Indian Community estimated the tribe’s Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, the third largest tribal gaming property in the state — about 30 minutes outside Sacramento — generated $350 million a year in revenue from its 3,000 slot machines. It’s a safe bet Yaamava’ is making even more as California’s largest tribal gaming casino with 6,500 slots. And its ownership group, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, is expanding outside the state: In April 2022, the tribal group purchased the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for $650 million.
With access to millions in capital and a year-round need to draw customers, it’s no surprise that tribal gaming executives believe music and live entertainment can help drive more traffic to tribal casinos. But money alone isn’t enough, explains Seth Shoames, a former UTA agent who now runs his own company Day After Day Productions, which represents Ludacris (who opened for Jackson at her Yaamava’ performance), Staind frontman Aaron Lewis, Brian Wilson and Wayne Newton, and also owns Billy Brill’s Billy Alan Productions with Danny Wimmer Presents in a deal funded by Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Companies and now books talent on behalf of the company’s casino clients.
“It’s all about how artist and casino can align,” says Shoames, noting that artists can benefit from being exposed to “millions of people in the casino’s database” that the artist might otherwise not have access to through email blasts and social media.
Booking big talent comes at a cost — and often casinos are willing to overpay for talent for strategic purposes, says Shoames. On May 13, for example, Missy Elliot performed at Yaamava’ Theater a week after playing Live Nation’s Friends and Lovers festival in Las Vegas — her only two shows of the year. For Missy Elliot, the Yaamava’ show was a chance to create a more intimate follow up experience; for the casino, the show was a chance to make a statement about Yaamava’ being the host site for unique experience in an intimate setting and worth paying a premium for. A source close to the matter estimates that Janet Jackson was paid $2 million for her June 14 Yaamava’ show and that Andrea Bocelli’s May 18 performance earned the singer between $2-3 million — fees that would exceed ticket sales for the venue.
Concert tickets at Yaamava’ do run higher than average, with tickets for Lionel Richie’s Sept. 16 show at Yaamava’ starting at $250 and going up to $1,050 plus fees. Meanwhile, tickets for Richie’s Sept. 15 show at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles top out at about $250. (A representative for Yaamava’ declined to comment on artist fees or ticket pricing.)
Besides underplays with major acts that boost a casino’s visibility, tribal leaders typically expect concerts to pay for themselves. “Twenty or 30 years ago, [shows at] casinos were a loss leader, but that’s no longer the case,” says Brill, who serves as a talent buyer at Thunder Mountain Casino and the Agua Caliente Casinos’ three locations in Rancho Mirage, Palm Springs and Cathedral City. “In Agua [Caliente’s] case, we want to make money on each show.”
Yaamava’s efforts are designed to attract younger crowds, developing a new generation of gamers while also serving as a convenient alternative to Las Vegas. Yaamava Theater was built with this younger demographic in mind, with its massive 3,800 square foot stage aiming to attract bigger and larger shows like its inaugural April 14 concert by Red Hot Chili Peppers, who performed a private show for Tribal members, journalists and other invited guests. The Black Crowes performed Yaamava Theater’s first public concert in late May.
Yaamava’ Theater
Solaiman Fazel
The property’s partnership with Live Nation helps facilitate the booking of some of its larger acts, which over the next few months include Ed Sheeran, Lionel Richie, The Killers, Kali Uchis and a co-headlining set from Nas and Wu-Tang Clan. Dixon, a former market general manager for Live Nation, also spent 12 years running nightclubs and restaurants in Las Vegas and directs a staff with both casino and music industry backgrounds.
“Yamaava’ is making a substantial effort to rebrand themselves,” says UTA music agent Darius Sabet, who specializes in national casino booking for the agency. “That was obviously a strategic decision that they made, and I believe it’s starting to pay off for them in big ways.”
Monica Reeves who books shows for the three Agua Caliente locations says Yaamava’s upgrades have brought “stronger competitiveness” to the market, with new competition also coming from Acrisure Arena, a 10,000-capacity venue that opened in the Coachella Valley this past December and whose upcoming concerts include ODESZA, Sting, KISS and Madonna.
While all this competition is “great” for artists, says Sabet, the casinos are also competing for the crowds to come see them. Friday and Saturday concerts are most attractive for these properties, given that the fans who come for such events are more likely to stay the entire weekend, not only spending money at the concert, but on rooms, slots, blackjack, food, drinks, spa treatments, steak dinners and other add-ons. That’s a shift from past strategies when many of these casinos did the bulk of their business Monday through Thursday, at which point many locals would decamp to Vegas for the weekend.
Back in this era, performances at the former San Manuel would happen in a bingo hall that was converted into a concert space for shows. With this showroom shut down for years amid the remodel, Yaamava’ “wanted to come back to the market like a boss, and they are,” says Michael Scafuto, CEO of M&M Group, that bought entertainment for San Manuel before the remodel.
“The local casino market is getting to be a brute battle as most of the So Cal Properties are all fighting for the same guests and players,” Scafuto adds. “[Yaamava’] needs to ensure they appeal to SoCal guests and players, so they are dominating the market with a huge brand campaign that involves major stars.”
Three of the largest companies in live entertainment and sports — Oak View Group, Madison Square Garden Entertainment and its sister company Sphere Entertainment Co. — have announced the launch of a new company to manage their top sports and entertainment brand relationships. Crown Properties Collection is tasked with managing many of the companies’ most […]
Since the end of August, there have been reports that BMI is in advanced talks to sell itself to the private equity firm New Mountain Capital. A deal has yet to be signed but the possibility has raised concerns among songwriters about what it will mean for the collective management sector if one of its largest organizations becomes a business owned by private equity.
Such a move would take BMI in a new direction, away from the traditional model – based on non-profit and transparent operations—of the CISAC community. For CISAC and our global network of 227 Collective Management Organisations (CMOs, or societies), however, it also highlights the strength and value to creators of the global collective rights management system. The collective management model has been successful for over a century, remaining faithful to its core principles, while transforming and adapting to keep pace with the rapidly changing business environment.
BMI will stay connected to this community. In anticipation of the new direction it has taken in the last year, it has moved from being a full CISAC member to a CISAC “client,” a new category that was established in 2020 to accommodate the new types of rights management entities — including SESAC, Soundreef and Nextone – which have emerged.
Clients make up a very small group of “for-profit” entities that differ from the overwhelming majority of CISAC members, which operate on a non-profit basis. Clients are not subject to all of the traditional transparency and business rules that full CISAC members abide by, but still have access to CISAC’s systems and data exchanges that help the global music market function
By accepting for-profit entities as clients, CISAC maintains its inclusiveness and diversity, while not compromising on the core conditions of membership.
It is those core membership conditions which provide the unique value of the global network. Full members, such as ASCAP in the US, PRS for Music in the UK or GEMA in Germany, are required to meet key fundamental rules:
to operate on a non-profit basis or be controlled by their affiliates
to respect CISAC’s global standards of governance and professional rules
to be fully transparent in their financial reporting and share information with the rest of the CISAC members
As a global confederation, CISAC respects individual creators’ decisions on whom they entrust their rights to. It equally respects members and clients’ decisions on how they manage creators’ rights. The global song rights market is changing rapidly, with growing competition between different types of royalty collection bodies at a time when the cost pressures of managing digital collections and distributions has never been greater.
These changes are inevitable and they are good, if they have the end of result of better serving the creators who are at the center of our business.
In this transforming landscape, the vast majority of CISAC’s member societies remain non-profit entities which abide by all CISAC rules. Full CISAC members work only for creators and rightsholders, not shareholders. Their transparency obligations ensure high levels of integrity and best practice across the network. Creators and rightsholders, not financiers and investors, are assured a controlling role in their decision-making. Creators sit on our societies’ Boards of Directors. You’d be hard pressed to find other entities in the music industry which have music creators as their Board members.
The global collective management system gives creators a strong, united voice to lobby for creator-friendly legislation, develop modern systems for data exchange, adopt best practices and maximize collections and distributions. From turning around failing markets such as Greece, Turkey and India, this community continues to play an indispensable role for creators and publishers worldwide.
Our sector remains the only part of the music industry that puts the creator front and centre of everything it does. While more commercial ventures may be tested in our fast-evolving market, the fact remains that the collective management system is the most robust, reliable and fit-for-purpose model in serving creators.
Gadi Oron is the director general of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), a Paris-based rights organization.