Music Biz Concludes Successful 2023 Conference

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Music Biz President Portia Sabin delivering her annual President’s Address during the Music Biz 2023 brunch sponsored by TuneCore. Photo: Laura E. Partain

Music Biz 2023 is officially wrapped and in the books, following several days of informative panels, sessions and music programming at the JW Marriott Nashville.

Day One featured conversations with songwriter Jenna Andrews and executives from Primary Wave Music, Made in Memphis Entertainment (MIME), Universal Music, Billboard, and BMAC, who revealed their “Music Industry Action Report Card.” Day One also featured the tracks “#NEXTGEN_NOW;” “Today’s Rage, Tomorrow’s Challenges: Industry Trends & Their Impacts;” “Unlocking New Revenue Streams For Music Publishers;” “Backstage Pass: Analyzing Live Music’s Future” and “Competing For Eyeballs: The +/– Of Short-Form Videos.”

Pictured: BMAC’s Willie “Prophet” Stiggers and Naima Cochrane debut the second edition of their ‘Music Industry Action Report Card’ on systemic racism in the music industry along with Color of Change’s Kelle Rozell. Photo: Laura E. Partain

Day Two kicked off with a “Breathwork & Meditation” event with Brandon Holman of Guin Records, followed by a “Record Store Day Town Hall” where attendees got to hear the impact that Record Store Day has had on the industry over the years and celebrate the accomplishments of the most recent RSD events. Nashville Queen obSINity then hosted this year’s Music Biz 2023 brunch featuring Music Biz President Portia Sabin, Keychange’s Andréa DaSilva, TuneCore’s Andreea Gleeson and performances by Tanerélle and San Cha.

Following the brunch, Tuesday afternoon was packed with breakout sessions. JKBX’s Whitney-Gayle Benta and SoundRoyalties’ Alex Heiche headlined the “I Want My Money: Royalty Payments, Catalog Acquisitions & Other Revenue Opportunities” program. SACEM’S Stephane Emeret and Julien Dumon spoke with Thomas Maxwell of IDOL and Abby North of North Music Group for “What Roles Are There For Labels, Publishers & CMOs in the Metaverse?” GoodCopBadCop’s Robby Towns hosted a fireside chat with artist Dave Curry, Michelle Munson of Eluvio, and Nick Osborne of Capital Music Group.

Pictured: Margaret Hart of YouTube Music and Jackie Jones of the RIAA sit down for “Family Alliance in Music Presents: Finding Success in the Music Business & at Home,” where they share their thoughts and tips on sustaining a healthy work and home life balance. Photo: Laura E. Partain

MusicWatch’s Russ Crupnick sat down with Jen Agosta of Discogs and Karlyn King to dissect “Understanding The Modern Record Collector.” Bryn Boughton of Feed.media and Kevin Casini of RME hosted the two-part “Power Of The Indies” session covering the growing independent music market. Tuesday’s keynote session featured Sabin sitting down with Kobalt’s Willard Ahdritz, as well as “Music By The Numbers: A Quantitative Look at the Industry in 2023 So Far,” presented by Rob Jonas of Luminate.

Music Biz 2023 completed its third full day of programming on May 17. Highlights included the tracks “Syncs & Samples: The Ins & Outs of Music Clearances,” DEI programming, “Physical Music Industry,” “Spin Fraud,” DSP workshops, and the ever-popular “Metadata Summit.” Music Biz 2023 ended the day with their second annual Bizzy Awards. Highlighted panels included conversations with leading voices on licensing for Web3 and podcasts, a sampling panel with David Porter and Prince Paul, a conversation between the RIAA and YouTube, and other sessions on topics such as metadata integration and spin fraud.

The final day of Music Biz included a 60-minute session with TIDAL, called “Maximize Your Music Career: TIDAL’s Innovative Approach to Artist Growth and Development,” as well as several other informative panels. For the closing Music Biz 2023 keynote interview, indie singer-songwriter LU KALA, Prescription Songs/Amigo Records’ Jillian Rutstein and TikTok’s Tracy Gardner joined Sabin for “Music Biz LIVE: Leveling the Playing Field of Music Discovery on TikTok.”

Lorie Hollabaugh
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