Publishing
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During the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) annual meeting on Wednesday, the trade organization announced its latest board of directors.
The latest executive board includes: Jody Gerson (Chair and CEO, Universal Music Publishing Group), Keith Hauprich (general counsel and executive vp, business and legal affairs, North America, BMG), Laurent Hubert (CEO, Kobalt), Carianne Marshall (co-chair and COO, Warner Chappell Music), Jon Platt (chair and CEO, Sony Music Publishing), Jim Selby (chief publishing executive, Concord).
Other board members include: Marti Cuevas (founder and president, Mayimba Music), Justin Kalifowitz (executive chairman, Downtown Music Publishing), Golnar Khosrowshahi (founder and CEO, Reservoir), Jody Klein (owner and CEO, ABKCO), Kenny MacPherson (CEO, Hipgnosis Songs Group), Chip McLean (svp, head of business affairs and business development, Disney Music Group), Larry Mestel (founder and CEO, Primary Wave), Michael Molinar (general manager, Big Machine Music), Jeff Pachman (general manager, Domino Publishing), Ralph Peer II (executive chair, peermusic), Irwin Robinson (vp, Richmond Organization), Jon Singer (chairman, Spirit Music Group).
The 20-member board comprises an executive board featuring leaders from the six largest companies according to revenue from the previous year, a general board of 12 additional publishing leaders, and two songwriters representing creatives’ point of view. To represent songwriters, the board elected Laura Veltz to replace Liz Rose, who recently reached her term limit of four years. Ross Golan is returning as the other songwriter representative.
Domino’s Pachman is this year’s only new publisher to join the board, replacing Leeds Levy.
All board members receive equal voting power and will meet four times annually to oversee the activity and budget of the NMPA. The board plays a major role in determining the legal actions of the trade organization, which is known to fight aggressively for fair pay and licensing for compositions.
This year, the NMPA is focused on new legal action it is taking against Twitter, which was also announced at Wednesday’s event. According to the complaint, the NMPA — along with over a dozen of music publishers — is suing Twitter over allegations of widespread copyright infringement, seeking as much as $255 million in damages.
RIOTUSA, the hitmaking producer behind Ice Spice, has signed a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music, Billboard can reveal.
“Warner Chappell showed me respect and made me excited to build,” said RIOTUSA in a statement. “Ryan [Press, president, North America at Warner Chappell Music] values my vision and goals as a creative, and I know what he’s brought to the table for other artists. I want to inspire others to chase their dreams, and Warner Chappell will help me achieve those goals.”
Press added, “Riot has quickly become one of the most exciting and in-demand producers to emerge from New York’s legendary hip-hop scene. He’s creating hit after hit with Ice Spice, and we’re super lucky to get to support him at this stage of his journey. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of hip-hop’s biggest music producers during the early stages of their careers, and I know Riot is well on his way to being one of the best producers of his generation.”
During his interview for Ice Spice’s Billboard cover story in May, RIOTUSA said he started making beats on GarageBand at 10 years old and was inspired by his father — WQHT (Hot 97) New York DJ/radio personality DJ Enuff — to chase his own musical dreams. In 2021, he began producing songs for Ice Spice, whom he met while attending State University of New York (SUNY) Purchase. He has since played a key role in her rapid rise to fame.
RIOTUSA produced Ice Spice’s breakout, gold-certified single “Munch (Feelin U)” and executive produced Like..?, the 2023 EP that featured the track. Like..?, which reached No. 5 on Billboard‘s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, also contains the hit singles “In Ha Mood” and “Gangsta Boo” (featuring Lil Tjay), the latter of which became Ice Spice’s career-first Billboard Hot 100 entry.
RIOTUSA has since earned credits on two top 10 hits on the Hot 100: Taylor Swift‘s “Karma” remix featuring Ice Spice (No. 2), which he co-wrote, and “Princess Diana” by Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj (No. 4), which he produced. He has also topped Billboard‘s R&B/Hip-Hop Producers chart for one week, the Rap Songwriters chart for two weeks and the Rap Producers chart for four weeks.
“After he scored multiple Billboard Hot 100 entries and radio hits, we knew it was the right time to find a publishing admin partner to support RIOT’s works in syncs, licensing, and collection,” said James Rosemond Jr., CEO/founder of Mastermind Artists and manager of both RIOTUSA and Ice Spice. “Ryan Press understood RIOT’s goals, vision, and worth, and this next chapter with Ryan and the global Warner Chappell team, as part of our extended family, is only going to amplify RIOT’s reach and raise his efforts to another level in this competitive space.”
In addition to his other credits, RIOTUSA produced Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj’s upcoming “Barbie World” track with Aqua from Barbie: The Album, the soundtrack to Greta Gerwig’s forthcoming big-screen feature Barbie. The track is slated for release on June 23 with an accompanying music video.
During the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) annual meeting on Wednesday (June 14), the trade organization said it calculated total U.S. publishing revenue at $5.6 billion in 2022, up from $4.7 billion in 2021 — a more than 19% increase year over year.
During his presentation at the meeting, held at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York, NMPA president/CEO David Israelite further noted that $5.6 billion figure does not include monies likely owed to publishers after the Copyright Royalty Board’s recent ruling upholding a rate increase for streaming services, rising gradually from 11.4% to 15.1% of service revenue for the 2018-2022 period. Once that increase is retroactively applied later this year, publishers’ should see a substantial additional payday.
Based on revenues earned in January and February 2023, compared to the same two months from 2022, Israelite said publishing earnings are up 27% so far this year. That’s due to a number of factors, including an increased royalty rate from streaming services that’s now set at 15.1% of revenue in 2023 and will increase gradually to 15.35% in 2027. Streaming services raising their subscription prices have also contributed to higher revenues, as well as growing diversity in publishers’ revenue streams.
Since 2014, when U.S. publishers earned $2.2 billion, annual revenues have grown more than 160% overall, according to the NMPA.
Breaking down revenue categories, performance royalties made up 48% of revenue — dropping below 50% for the first time. That fall in percentage, however, was “because the growth in other categories has been so significant, specifically with regard to synchronization,” Israelite said. Synch revenues made up 26.07% of earnings, mechanical 20.27% and other 5.37%.
Elsewhere during the event, NMPA executive vp/general counsel Danielle Aguirre announced that the organization had also distributed $66 million to its members from legal recoveries and settlements last year. “This is equal to a 456% average return on your dues,” she said, adding that the amount collected brings the NMPA’s all-time legal recovery number to $1.2 billion.
In a blockbuster announcement, Aguirre also revealed that NMPA members were suing Twitter over allegations of widespread copyright infringement, with dozens of music publishers seeking hundreds of millions in damages for infringing over 1,700 songs. If the claims are proven, the social media giant could be forced to pay as much as $255 million in damages.
Apart from Israelite’s state of the union address, which provided publishers with key analysis on the successes and pitfalls of the previous year, the meeting also doled out awards to several individuals. Among them, the organization honored RIAA chairman/CEO Mitch Glazier with the NMPA Industry Legacy Award, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois with the NMPA President’s Award for his leadership in passing the Music Modernization Act and the CASE Act, Brandi Carlile with the Songwriter Icon Award and Ashley Gorley with the first-ever NMPA Non-Performing Songwriter Icon Award.
Coming out to perform in honor of Carlile was Allison Russell, who performed Carlile’s “This Time Tomorrow”; and Brandy Clark, who performed Carlile’s “You and Me on the Rock.” Coming out for Gorley was special guest Luke Bryan, who performed two Gorley-penned hits: “What Make You Country” and “Play It Again.”
This story is developing.
The National Music Publishers’ Association says its members are suing Twitter over allegations of widespread copyright infringement and seeking hundreds of millions in damages, telling the Elon Musk-owned site it can no longer “refuse to pay songwriters and music publishers.”
In the lawsuit, which the group plans to announce during its annual meeting Wednesday (June 14), dozens of music publishers allege that Twitter had infringed more than 1,700 different songs — a claim that, if proven, could put the social media giant on the hook for as much as $255 million in damages.
“Twitter profits handsomely from its infringement of publishers’ repertoires of musical compositions,” the music companies write in their complaint, which was obtained by Billboard. “Twitter’s unlawful conduct has caused and continues to cause substantial and irreparable harm to Publishers, their songwriter clients, and the entire music ecosystem.”
Twitter did not respond to immediate request for comment.
The plaintiffs named in the lawsuit, set to be filed in Tennessee federal court, include Concord, UMPG, peermusic, ABKCO Music, Anthem Entertainment, Big Machine Music, BMG Rights Management, Hipgnosis Songs Group, Kobalt Music Publishing America, Mayimba Music, Reservoir Media Management, Sony Music Publishing, Spirit Music Group, The Royalty Network, Ultra Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, and Wixen Music Publishing.
The announcement that the NMPA would be pursuing legal action against Twitter shouldn’t come as a total surprise. In a February speech at the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) summit, NMPA president and CEO David Israelite called Twitter his “top legal focus” this year. He warned that the company was “hiding behind” the Digital Millenium Copyright Act – the federal law that limits how websites like Twitter can be sued over copyright infringement by their users.
In a statement on Wednesday, Israelite echoed that threat, saying that Twitter could no longer “hide behind the DMCA and refuse to pay songwriters and music publishers.”
“Twitter stands alone as the largest social media platform that has completely refused to license the millions of songs on its service,” Israelite said in a statement. “Twitter knows full well that music is leaked, launched, and streamed by billions of people every day on its platform.”
The DMCA provides websites like Twitter with a legal immunity — a “safe harbor” — against copyright lawsuits over material uploaded by their users, so long as they promptly remove infringing content and ban repeated violators from the platform. But in their new lawsuit, the publishers allege that Twitter failed to do either, meaning the site has legally forfeited the DMCA’s protections.
“Twitter routinely ignores known repeat infringers and known infringements, refusing to take simple steps that are available to Twitter to stop these specific instances of infringement of which it is aware,” the publishers wrote.
The NMPA annual meeting each year is known to feature at least one bombshell announcement from Israelite. Last year, the NMPA launched a legal action against over a hundred different apps that skim music from digital services without obtaining licenses, sent cease and desist notices to Apple and Google app stores, and filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against music video-making app Vinkle. In 2021, Israelite announced $200 million copyright infringement lawsuit against Roblox for hosting thousands of unlicensed songs within the game’s library.
The NMPA’s public grievances with Twitter date back to at least April 2021, when a Billboard published a guest column, co-penned by Israelite and RIAA chief Mitch Glazier. In it, the two leaders called for social media platform to license music and noted that in the last year music creators had sent more than 2 million notices to Twitter of unlicensed and infringing appearances of copyrighted music on the platform, more than 200,000 of which were of unreleased songs. “The company’s response to date has been totally inadequate,” the article lamented. It went on to suggest three ways for Twitter to address the grievances the music business has had with its operations: “licensing music and pay music creators like others do,” “better content protection tools,” and “stop demanding exorbitant payments from creators for content protection.”
Since Jack Dorsey stepped down from Twitter in November 2021, the stability of the company has been in constant flux. By the time Musk bought the company and assumed the role of CEO in October 2022, Twitter’s future seemed even more uncertain amid Musk’s controversial leadership, widespread cost cutting measures, and restructuring of the company. Since Dorsey’s departure, Israelite has taken to the platform to express his hope that subsequent chiefs like Parag Agrawal, Musk and now Linda Yaccarino would “finally” “take a new approach” with licensing music.
But in Wednesday’s lawsuit, the publishers said things had only gotten worse: “Twitter’s change in ownership in October 2022 has not led to improvements in how it acts with respect to copyright. On the contrary, Twitter’s internal affairs regarding matters pertinent to this case are in disarray.”
Licensing for games, social media, and other applications is quickly becoming a major component of music publishers’ income. At last year’s annual meeting, NMPA announced that licensing from new revenue streams — like Twitch, Roblox, Peloton and others — now account for 29.11% of music publishers’ income, something that is expected to only rise over time. This has come with the success of the NMPA’s aggressive legal agenda in recent years, and has helped publishers diversify their income from streaming, which is strictly regulated in the U.S. by the Copyright Royalty Board.
In the lawsuit against Twitter, the publishers noted that TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat had all entered into such broader licensing deals, enabling their users to use copyrighted music while still compensating songwriters. Twitter, they wrote, cannot not continue to be the exception.
“Twitter is seizing for itself an artificial competitive advantage against companies that are not violating copyright law, undercutting existing markets, cheapening the value of music, and undermining Publishers’ well-established business models,” lawyers for the publishers wrote.
Co-written with: Michael Jackson and Bernard Belle
Recorded by: Michael Jackson
Chart peak: No. 3, Hot 100, March 7, 1992
This record that was all about the hook: “Do you remember the time when we fell in love?” I put myself in that position with my fiancé at that moment, because we were falling out of love, and I always go back to that line. I was with Michael and he listened to four [of my] demos before that song, and we got to that fifth track — and after hearing it for like 16 bars, Michael said, “Stop.” I actually thought I was getting fired. And the next thing I know he said, ‘Can I talk to you in my office?’
And I go into the office, and I’m nervous as hell. This is my first time playing demos for him. And I see is this beautiful collage he was working on. I made him use that as the cover for the album, but that’s a different story. He said, “What is that first chord?” I said to him, “I don’t know. I can’t name the chord for you.” He gave a little laugh and said, “I’m not trying to put you on the spot, I just want you to know that you have blown me away with that chord. I’ve never heard it in my whole entire career.” It’s actually a C 7 augment. So you’re playing C, E, G, B flat, E flat. It’s a church chord.
When we finally get to the studio to start recording vocals after we got the lyrics from my friend Bernard Belle — who I have to mention, because he just took new jack swing to the next level — Michael comes in and sings the first verse. And we all get excited. And then he takes a break, and we think he’s going to work out with his vocal coach Seth Riggs, and [he] keeps us waiting. So I go in the back and I say, “Seth, where is Michael?” He had slipped out the back. And then Michael calls me. He’s on a plane going to Switzerland. He didn’t mention it. This just gives the people an idea that creativity has no time. It’s whenever, whatever, however. I was just floored.
ASCAP has announced a number of new initiatives designed to help its members protect their copyrights and plan for the future of artificial intelligence.
The events start later this month, on June 21, with The ASCAP Experience, the performing rights’ organization’s annual event. As part of its full day of programming, ASCAP will include the panel Intelligently Navigating Artificial Intelligence, created to act as a state of the union for music AI, covering both how the technology could change music creation and consumption and how ASCAP is working to address these changes. Panelists include Lucas Cantor (composer, ASCAP Member), Rachel Lyske (CEO of DAACI) and Nicholas Lehman (Chief strategy and digital officer, ASCAP).
On July 19, ASCAP will host a half-day AI Symposium in New York City to dive even deeper into challenges and opportunities. Details of the event’s speakers will be announced soon.
In addition to the summer’s educational initiatives, the PRO is continuing ASCAP Lab Challenge, a fund started in 2019 to power innovation in music. In the past, ASCAP Lab has run an accelerator program in partnership with the NYC Media Lab, led by the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, exploring new technologies such as the metaverse, augmented reality, spatial audio and computer vision and helping to incubate more than a dozen startups and university research projects.
This year, ASCAP Lab Challenge is focusing on AI, funding five startups that are looking to change the music industry in a positive way. As part of its investment, ASCAP will work alongside these recipients for 12 weeks to guide the development of their products and ensure they can benefit music creators.
Included in the 2023 Lab Challenge class is DAACI, a generative AI model that composes and arranges scores, particularly for video games and virtual reality; Infinite Album, a generative AI company that creates copyright-safe video game music that can react to game play in real time; Overture Games, a company which creates video games designed to encourage musicians to practice and avoid burnout using AI-powered pitch detection and visual feedback, gamifying the music education experience; Samplifi, which isolates auditory information for the benefit of hearing-impaired musicians; and Sounds.Studio, created by Never Before Heard Sounds, a browser-based music production platform that uses AI to help musicians create faster with tools like stem splitting, vocal conversion, timbre transfer and more.
Just two days before the 2023 Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner, the organization announced that “for personal reasons,” Snoop Dogg has deferred his induction. However, the artist born Calvin Broadus Jr. intends to be inducted with the class of 2024 on June 13, 2024.
Snoop is the second of the seven songwriters who were originally announced as inductees on Jan. 13 to back out. Sade Adu also withdrew, with the SHOF saying only that she will be inducted with a future class.
The five other inductees who were announced five months ago – Glen Ballard, Gloria Estefan, Jeff Lynne, Teddy Riley and Liz Rose – are still onboard. In addition, Tim Rice will be honored with the Johnny Mercer Award, the organization’s highest honor. Post Malone will receive the Hal David Starlight Award, which “was established to honor gifted songwriters who are at an apex in their careers and are making a significant impact in the music industry via their original songs,” according to the SHOF.
The 52nd annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner is slated for Thursday at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
The SHOF also announced that Louis Bell, Jacob Dickey, Emilio Estefan, Sasha Estefan, Doug E. Fresh, Myles Frost, Heather Headley, Alan Menken, Valerie Simpson, Keith Sweat and Joe Walsh, among others, will either present and/or perform at the event.
Menken and Rice shared an Oscar for best original song and a Grammy for song of the year for their ballad “A Whole New World” from Aladdin. Emilio Estefan is Gloria Estefan’s husband. Sasha is their 10-year-old grandson. Frost won a Tony last year for his performance as Michael Jackson in MJ. Riley worked with the superstar on such tracks as “Remember the Time.” Riley also worked with Keith Sweat on his 1992 hit “Why Me Baby?” (featuring LL Cool J).
Many of the other presenters and performers also have ties to the inductees and honorees.
There are approximately 400 inductees in the Hall of Fame. A songwriter with a notable catalog of songs qualifies for induction 20 years after the first commercial release of a song.
Concord Music Publishing has signed Lindsay Ell to a worldwide publishing administration deal, which includes a selection of Ell’s future works. The Calgary-born country-pop artist is no stranger to the Billboard charts. Her album The Project (2017) reached No. 4 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and her song “What Happens in a Small Town” with Brantley Gilbert peaked at No. 53 on the Hot 100.
Jamie Hartman — the songwriter/producer behind hits by Lewis Capaldi, Calvin Harris, Rag’n’Bone Man as well as a number of songs for film and tv — has sold “the majority of [his] back catalog royalties” to hundreds of his songs, published by Reservoir Media, to Cutting Edge Media Music (CEMM). A UK-based acquirer of film/tv music rights, CEMM’s deal with Hartman marks a foray into the pop music catalog market.
Big Machine Music, a subsidiary of HYBE America, has extended its deals with Laura Veltz, Jessie Jo Dillon and Maddie & Tae. Each of the acts have had a longstanding relationship with BMM, spanning over a decade or more.
Panela Rec Portugal — a global music and entertainment company with offices in Portugal, Brazil and the US — has partnered with BMG Spain to administer and co-publish its catalog. Through its new arrangement, Panela Rec hopes to create new economic opportunities for Portuguese-speaking musicians and to join it more with the Spanish and Latin American markets as well.
Willis Wonderland Foundation has announced its inaugural Next Level Songwriters Workshop. Created in partnership with Primary Wave Music, the camp begins in early June and will focus on providing an inclusive environment for next generation songwriters, particularly women and those from underrepresented groups, to create side by side. The event caries on the legacy of songwriter Allee Willis, who penned songs like “September” “Boogie Wonderland” the Friends theme song, and other hits over a decades-long career. The program will be coordinated by songwriter Autumn Rowe with additional mentorship from Lindy Robbins, Stephen Bray, Shari Short, Shane Stevens, and Elev3n.
Wise Music Group has forged an agreement for the printed music of UK-based classical publisher Faber Music. The move is part of a larger push for Wise to be a world leader in classical music and it follows news in April that the company had purchased a controlling stake in Edition Peters Group as well.
Peermusic has signed British artist and songwriter Karl Michael to an exclusive co-publishing agreement. He is best known for penning songs like “Can We Dance” by The Vamps, “Beautiful Me” by Dappy, and for his appearance on The Voice UK.
Anthem Entertainment, a leading independent publisher, has expanded its partnership with Timbaland, the company announced Wednesday (June 7). Under the new arrangement, Anthem has extended its publishing deal with the songwriter/producer while promising to build on their co-publishing venture, Blue Stone. The company has also invested in Timbaland’s startup, Beatclub. As part of the newly […]
This month the music industry is flocking to New York. Though it has always been one of the industry’s biggest capitals, the New York City mayor’s office of media and entertainment has coined June New York Music Month, complete with its own hashtag (#NYMusicMonth), in celebration for its history of musical excellence. Longtime events like Songwriters Hall of Fame, which will honor talents like Snoop Dogg and Liz Rose, will continue this year as always, but the city has also added more events like Anti Social Camp, a 100-session songwriting camp designed to “reinvigorate” the New York scene, to draw in more musicians and music executives than ever.
No week this June is more bustling than June 12-16, which, depending on who you ask, goes by a variety of nicknames. Dubbed “Publishers’ Week,” “Songwriters’ Week,” or “Indie Week,” the week will be a particular high point of celebration and schmoozing in the city that never sleeps.
See below for a list of events around the city:
United Jewish Appeal (UJA) Music Visionary of the Year Celebration (June 7)
This annual luncheon, held in Ziegfeld Ballroom, is one of the first events to kick off a packed musical month for New York City. A fundraiser for UJA’s efforts — supporting Holocaust survivors, combating poverty and providing care for those with mental and physical health needs — its Music Visionary of the Year luncheon is a celebration of the music business and some of its most astute leaders. This year’s event will be emceed by Grammy-winning artist Jon Batiste and will honor Amazon’s vice president of audio, Twitch and games, Steve Boom.
NYMM Conference (June 7)
Presented by the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and the NYU Steinhardt Music Business Program, this year’s annual NYMM Conference (at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum) will feature speed talks, panels and other chats with more than 40 of New York’s music industry experts. Panels throughout the day are set to include a Web3-focused chat with Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid, a panel celebrating 50 years of hip-hop with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden, and a state-of-the-industry panel featuring A2IM’s Richard James Burges and the RIAA’s Mitch Glazier, among others.
She Is The Music Camp (June 9-11)
She Is The Music, one of the music industry’s leading gender inclusivity efforts, is hosting a songwriting camp in New York City to connect and empower young women and non-binary songwriters and producers and create a safe space for them to connect. Curated by Archana Gopal and Cassidy Murphy and sponsored by Guayaki Yerba Mate, the camp will take place at Kensaltown East Studios all weekend long. Some of the participants include Hayes Warner, Sam Short, Simone, Olivia Reid, and more.
Anti Social Camp (June 12-17)
Founded during the height of the pandemic, Anti Social Camp goes far beyond that of a traditional songwriting camp. Featuring 100 sessions, 150 partnered artists, and a slew of major brands and music businesses already signed on, Anti Social Camp is a week-long songwriting extravaganza stretching out over the entire city. Most of the events are private to the songwriters and artists already participating, but its opening ceremony and industry showcase, both on June 12, are available for the public to enjoy.
American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) Indie Week (June 13-15)
A2IM Indie Week is back again this year with a three days of programming, featuring panels held some of the most dominate independent businesses in music and a number of networking opportunities. Held at the InterContinental in Times Square, panel topics include the best methods for artist royalty collection, the changing state of A&R, the rise of regional Mexican music, and more. The conference kicks off on June 12 with an opening night party, presented by ADA.
Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) Global Summit (June 13)
Since 2017, the Association of Independent Music Publishers gathers in New York for a day-long event, specially designed to act as a touch-base for the indie publishing sector in particular. This year, the well-attended event, which is held at the 3 West Club, will feature panels and keynote addresses from some of the industry’s aforemost leaders.
TJ Martell Honors Gala (June 13)
The TJ Martell New York Honors Gala brings the music industry together in its fight to find treatment and a cure for cancer. The foundation was established in 1975 by music industry executive, Tony Martell, as a promise to his son T.J., who later lost his battle with leukemia, that he would raise $1 million for child’s cancer research. Since then, the foundation has raised over $250 million. This year’s event will honor Warner Records’ Tom Corson, Def Jam’s Archie Davis, and Grammy-winning songwriter/producer Shane McAnally, and feature Omar Apollo, Kristin Chenoweth, Josh Groban and more.
National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) Annual Meeting (June 14)
Known as a critical touch-base for the music publishing industry and as a stage for major announcements from the NMPA’s CEO and President, David Israelite, the NMPA Annual Meeting attracts publishing executives from around the world. In the past, the event has been the stage for the trade organization to announce major legal actions, including the NMPA’s copyright infringement suit against Roblox, announced in 2021. The event also honors top songwriters, with this year’s key awards going to Brandi Carlile and Ashley Gorley. Warner Music Group CEO, Robert Kyncl, will also stop by for a keynote conversation.
Libera Awards (June 15)
The Libera Awards are held each year at the end of A2IM’s Indie Week, designed to honor the achievements of independent musicians. This year, Wet Leg leads the tally with six nominations followed by Sudan Archives, Allison Russell, Fontaines D.C., and Soul Glo with three each. This year’s award show will take place at the historic Town Hall in New York.
Songwriters’ Hall of Fame (June 15)
A star studded event honoring music’s greatest songwriters of all time, the Songwriters Hall of Fame is a can’t-miss event. Now in its 52nd year, the awards dinner will induct Glen Ballard, Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, Jeff Lynne, Teddy Riley and Liz Rose into the Hall of Fame. Tim Rice will receive the Johnny Mercer Award, the organization’s highest honor. The event will also honor Post Malone with its Hal David Starlight Award, an honor created for younger songwriters who have impacted the industry already.