Mitch Glazier Opens Vanderbilt Music Law Summit With The Honorable John Squires Interview

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John Squires and John Squires. Photo: Chad Driver

RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier kicked off the third annual Vanderbilt Music Law Summit with The Honorable John Squires, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent & Trademark Office, for a keynote conversation about the importance of preserving intellectual property for individuals.

The discussion centered around how AI policy should allow for innovation and copyright protection to coexist, with courts playing a central role in striking that balance, as well as how the legal system must adapt with each new technology and the immediate need to identify rights across all areas of IP as deepfakes blur lines across patents, trademarks and copyright.

The Vanderbilt Music Law Summit also brought together other industry, government and academia leaders for panels highlighting the evolving music landscape from a variety of perspectives.

Pivotal Economics Founder Will Page offered a look at the global value of music copyright, noting America’s prominence, and expanded on his latest report.

Vanderbilt Law School Professor Joe Fishman moderated “Race to the Future: The Developing Licensed AI Music Marketplace” alongside Chris Horton (EVP, Strategic Technology, Universal Music Group), Bob Brauneis (Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School), Lina Heyman (Acting CEO, STIM Sweden), Victoria Oakley (CEO, IFPI) and Thomas Hesse (Co-Founder, KLAY Vision). The panelist discussed how AI is impacting music across the globe, how laws are shaping in different countries and the responsible way innovation and creation can thrive through partnerships.

Caldecott Music Group VP, Creator Policy & Corporate Affairs and Recording Academy National Advocacy Committee Co-Chair Dani Deahl transformed the chat into a real-time demo, giving more practical insight into actual AI tools she uses in her own music career from companies that seek permission and compensate creators and rightsholders when developing models.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter, Artist Rights Alliance Board Member & Duke University Practitioner-in-Residence Tift Merritt and Duke Initiative for Science & Society Interim Director and Sanford School of Public Policy Professor of the Practice David Hoffman wrapped the sessions with a discussion on protecting working musicians, importance of all voices represented as technology advances and how an interdisciplinary approach is vital to understanding how each fits together.

Tift Merritt. Photo: Chad Driver

Pictured (L-R): Professor Joe Fishman (Vanderbilt Law School); Chris Horton (EVP, Strategic Technology, Universal Music Group); Bob Brauneis (Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School); Lina Heyman (Acting CEO, STIM Sweden); Victoria Oakley (CEO, IFPI) and Thomas Hesse (Co-Founder, KLAY Vision). Photo: Chad Driver

Lauryn Sink
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