Music Business Association To Hold ‘Music Biz Live’ Sessions
The Music Business Association will hold four Music Biz LIVE presentations (via Zoom) on Monday, May 11 through Thursday, May 14—the week the annual Music Biz Conference was originally slated to be held this year in Nashville. As previously reported, the conference has been postponed to Aug. 16-19 at the JW Marriott Nashville, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“With all the uncertainty the ongoing health crisis has presented us with, it’s more important now than ever for us to remain connected, positive and productive—both as industry professionals and as people,” said Music Biz President Portia Sabin. “We’ve been thrilled with the turnout and caliber of programming on our Music Biz LIVE sessions, and look forward to bringing the industry together for this special series as we keep our fingers crossed that we can gather in person in Nashville this August.”
These featured presentations are an extension of the Association’s Music Biz LIVE program, in which Sabin interviews a collection of representatives from around different segments to address how COVID-19 has affected their businesses. On May 11, the guests will include Spotify Global Co-Heads Marian Dicus and Jeremy Erlich. On May 12, Mechanical Licensing Collective CEO Kris Ahrend will be the special guest, followed by Q&A leaders Troy Carter, J. Erving, and Suzy Ryoo on May 13. The sessions will round out on May 14 with Warner Records’ Aaron Bay-Schuck and Tom Corson.
The sessions will be held each day at 4 p.m. ET.
More information on each session is below:
Monday, May 11: Marian Dicus and Jeremy Erlich, Global Co-Heads of Music at Spotify
In their first keynote conversation as Global Co-Heads of Music for one of the most influential companies in the modern music business, this duo will detail how they are leading the charge in their new roles and jointly overseeing programming, editorial, artist & label marketing, industry relations, and overall music initiatives. We will kick off our special presentation series by discussing what the company has worked on since the COVID-19 crisis first hit, including listening trends over the past two months, launching the Artist Fundraising Pick feature, and instituting the Spotify COVID-19 Music Relief project which matches dollar-for-dollar up to $10 million for a growing list of organizations offering financial relief to creators around the world.
Tuesday, May 12: Kris Ahrend, CEO of The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC)
The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) is a new non-profit designated to manage the licensing, administration and payments process for digital audio mechanicals in the U.S. and provide greater transparency to self-administered songwriters and music publishers. Starting in January 2021, The MLC will process and distribute mechanical royalties paid by digital audio services in the U.S. at no cost to songwriters or music publishers. In his first public address since taking his new position, The MLC Chief Executive Officer Kris Ahrend will update viewers on the progress and priorities of The MLC, and lay out his vision for the future of this brand-new, globally recognized data & technology startup.
Wednesday, May 13: Troy Carter, Founder & CEO of Q&A; J. Erving, Founder & CEO of Human Re-Sources & Co-Founder of Q&A; and Suzy Ryoo, Co-Founder, President & Chief Strategy Officer of Q&A
Over the past year, this power trio has built a multifaceted music company that seeks to empower the next generation of artists through technology, tools and services. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, they instituted “The Panel” — a Zoom series featuring industry heavy-hitters that serves as a forum to support one another during this unusual time. Dozens of sessions later, we will turn the tables and interview them to get a first-hand look at what they have learned from their guests.
Thursday, May 14: Aaron Bay-Schuck, Co-Chairman & CEO of Warner Records, and Tom Corson, Co-Chairman & COO of Warner Records
In the 18 months since this power duo jointly took the reigns at Warner Records, the iconic label has seen a name change, a new office location, an investment in exciting new talent, and seemingly, a rebrand. These industry veterans will take us inside what’s new at Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros.), as well as talk about their pivoted release strategy for one of their biggest projects — Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia.
To sign up for these special sessions, visit the Zoom registration page.
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