Mechanical Licensing Collective CEO Kris Ahrend.
In January, it was announced that Kris Ahrend had joined as CEO of the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), which was formed following the passage of the Music Modernization Act in 2018. In 2019, the Register of Copyrights designated the MLC as the non-profit organization responsible for administering blanket mechanical licenses to digital services such as Amazon Music, Apple, Spotify and Tidal, and for distributing those royalties to publishers and self-administered songwriters.
The Nashville-based MLC recently announced a slate of executive hirings to help Ahrend lead the organization, which currently includes 20 employees, with plans to ultimately form a team of nearly 100 employees.
“The MLC represents one of those changes that transforms the music business, once every generation or two,” Ahrend says. “You have to go back to the passage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to see the last kind of moment where our industry changed. Sound Exchange later came into being as an organization that helped to really transform an aspect of the business. The MLC will be similarly transformative. I’m very privileged to be asked to lead an organization that is going to have the potential to drive that transformation for our industry and the next chance to do that might not come for another 15 or 20 years. I didn’t want to miss the chance to be part of that change.
“Every songwriter in the country and many songwriters around the world will ultimately be getting paid a portion of their revenue from an organization based in Nashville,” he says.
In November 2019, the MLC and the Digital Licensing Coordinator reached a funding deal, in which the MLC receives $33.5 million in startup costs and an initial annual assessment for 2021 of $28.5 million, with costs divided between the licensees. Beginning Jan. 1, 2021, the MLC will begin to issue and administer the blanket licenses. The collective has teamed with mechanical licensing administrator Harry Fox Agency, building upon the HFA’s database of musical works data to streamline the process of matching writer and publisher information with corresponding sound recording data to make sure songwriters and publishers are paid the full amount they are due. Songwriters can also receive unclaimed funds from the various DSPs. In order to collect royalties collected from DSPs by the MLC, music publishers and self-administered songwriters, composers and lyricists will need to register with the MLC in order to access their data via the MLC Portal.
Ahrend launched his career as a law clerk for the Western District of the Virginia District Court and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, before joining the Intellectual Property & Litigation Group of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York. He entered the music industry working for Sony Music’s law department, and later in the business and legal affairs department at Sony BMG Music Entertainment, before joining Rhino Entertainment as Sr. VP, Business & Legal Affairs. In 2013, he joined Warner Music Group as Sr. VP, Recorded Music Rights Administration. In 2016, he was promoted to President of U.S. Shared Services and led the development and launch of Warner Music’s Center of Excellence for Shared Services in Nashville, coordinating operations for 15 functional teams for Warner Music’s United States-based publishing teams, labels and corporate divisions.
Ahrend spoke with MusicRow about the work the MLC is doing and what basing the organization in Nashville means for Music City.
MusicRow: The MLC is set to begin administering blanket mechanical license agreements, and the collection of royalties for independent writers and publishers, on January 1, 2021. Has the COVID-19 pandemic affected that timeline in any way?
Ahrend: It has changed the way we have done lots of things. But from the timing perspective, we are still on track to be ready for that January 2021 license availability date. We have not contemplated in any way seeking to change or push that back. We will be ready. We’ve made extraordinary progress in a short period of time, under circumstances that, by any definition, are not normal.
MR: In what ways have your previous roles at Sony, Rhino, and Warner prepared you to lead the MLC?
Ahrend: Every step of my career helped prepare me for the role that I now have at the MLC, in ways that I never could’ve imagined. Because up until a couple years ago the MLC wasn’t even an idea. My early career as a lawyer helped me understand the legal foundations of our business. We are in essence a copyright industry, and whether it’s on the publishing side, or on the sound recording side, everything we do is underpinned by that foundation of copyright. At Sony, I did publishing deals, new tech deals, considered trademark issues, record deals—the full panoply of legal issues that we face in our industry and got a good grounding in those.
At Rhino, the catalog business is all about understanding the economics of the deal. If you release a hits album or a box set, how much are you spending to create that product, and will it be profitable? So, that gave me a good understanding of the business process. Rhino helped me better understand the connection between what we as companies do, and the creators with whom we do that. The music business, regardless of what part you’re in, can be boiled down to companies making two promises to creators: The first is they will help to cultivate their creativity, and that’s the piece that gets the most attention. But the second is that we will pay those creators for their creative output under the terms of the deals we do with them. At Rhino, I saw first-hand the impact that we had on creators, when we do that well or not so well, and it’s ultimately something that enables those writers to continue to write. I got to deal with so many artists that had relationships with Warner over the years through our catalog, from Aretha Franklin to Led Zeppelin, and hundreds in between, and when you speak with artists you really appreciate how important that second promise is to them, and to their livelihoods.
MR: What attracted you to this role at the MLC?
Ahrend: The ability to work at a company where the sole mission is aligned with what I do was incredibly compelling. When you work in the industry, there is often an inherent tension between those two promises because in any company where resources are limited—as they always are—the company has to make choices. Do you invest in A&R or do you invest in a new royalty system? At MLC, our sole focus is on making sure that songwriters are paid. At Warner Music, I was able to envision what an organization will look like, to hire a team of people that deliver on the objectives that you’ve set out and, and to see how that can have an impact on the lives of creators. That experience of building something was incredibly compelling to me. I jumped at the chance to be able to do that again with the MLC.
MR: You are working with Harry Fox Agency, and building upon the database they have already established. How will that process work?
Ahrend: We are working closely with them in every facet of our operation. Data is something that can always be improved; data is rarely static. We are not only assembling a database of musical works and sound recordings that exist today and associating those works with the recordings, but also capturing data for all the new musical works that are being written and sound recordings being made, so there is a constant stream of data. The partnership with HFA helps us get to those starting lines of a race that never ends.
The MLC is unique in that our board that governs us consists entirely of people who represent the stakeholders we will serve. We are essentially an organization that is managed by songwriters for the benefit of songwriters, and managed by publishers for the benefit of publishers. It’s really important now for songwriters and publishers to understand that our success depends in part on each of them playing their part—looking at their own data and helping to make sure it is as accurate as it can be. We will ultimately be a small organization; it would be impossible for any organization of around 100 people to take on the task of managing that level of data. But if everyone is engaged, we will be far more successful.
MR: The onus is on the writers and publishers to make sure the information they send to the MLC is correct. How is the MLC Portal optimized for their use—particularly smaller or more independent writers and publishers?
Ahrend: We are looking at launching the portal in the third quarter of the year. That will give us all time to look at the data and work to improve it.
We want to get to the place where we can roll out the portal, and get people to register with the portal so they can set up in our system. In many ways the portal is designed to help the smallest publishers and those individual stakeholders, those individual songwriters to manage their data. We expect they will be the ones to interact most regularly with the portal, whereas with our larger publisher company partners, it will involve more interactions at a system level.
MR: The MLC has a training/educational program set up for new hires. Can you talk about the purpose of that program and how it is integrated into the work of the MLC?
Ahrend: For those new team member roles, we wanted to be really intentional in how we bring them into the organization. Everyone that we hire will participate in a training program that will last several weeks, which will give them a broad-based education in the fundamentals of the industry that will be relevant to the roles we will ask them to fill, so they are better prepared to start doing that work.
We also think that makes the MLC an appealing option for them. We are looking to hire the best and the brightest, but to do that we have to do our part by offering them a compelling experience from the beginning. Offering this level of training will be compelling for people who are looking not only for a job, but for an experience that gives them opportunities to grow and put them on a career path.
MR: What does it mean to you for the Mechanical Licensing Collective to be based in Nashville?
Ahrend: What’s so wonderful for Nashville is that it’s unquestioned that Nashville has been a hub for music for decades. In recent years, we’ve broadened to include far more than just the creative aspects of the business. The MLC is as much a technology and a data company as we are a music company, so for us to be able to play a big role in helping Nashville take that next step forward in this evolution to be the broadest possible version of a Music City we can be, is really exciting and really meaningful.
Taylor Swift Celebrates ‘Lover’ Album With Televised Concert
/by Sarah SkatesTaylor Swift performs in the city of love, at the L’Olympia Theater in Paris in September 2019. Photos by David Hogan © 2020 TAS Rights Management LLC, courtesy of ABC-TV
Taylor Swift sashayed into American living rooms Sunday night (May 17) with her televised concert special, City of Lover. Amid pandemic-related concert cancellations, it could be the only time fans get to see her perform this year.
The hour-long “release party,” as she called it, was recorded in September 2019 in Paris, marking the first time she had performed in public most of the songs from her latest studio album, Lover. She told the audience, “This album is about all different types of love.”
Opening with the self-empowering singalong “ME!,” the television special was comprised exclusively of music from Lover. Swift offered upbeat performances complete with back-up dancers, singers, and musicians in front of colorful video montages, while balancing those celebratory numbers with solo turns in the spotlight, alternating acoustic guitar and grand piano.
Photos by David Hogan © 2020 TAS Rights Management LLC, courtesy of ABC-TV
Missing were the large-scale theatrics and pyrotechnics of Swift’s previous stadium tour, but there were plenty of constants on display: her remarkable songwriting, enduring mutual fan/superstar adoration, and, of course, red lipstick.
As Swift’s music and life evolves, at her core remains the same songwriter who first visited the MusicRow offices as a teenager in 2006: confident, passionate and unafraid to bare the details of her life in song.
She told the audience in Paris, “With my songwriting I’ve always wanted to take a moment, like a snapshot of a feeling, and explore that feeling,” before singing the vulnerable “The Archer.”
Armed with only a black acoustic guitar, she performed “Death By A Thousand Cuts,” and current hit single, “The Man.”
Before segueing into “Cornelia Street” she shared that she wrote the song in the bathtub. “A lot of times I’ll write songs about nostalgia and memories…I use songs almost like photographs, so I can go back and remember a time and remember what it was like to experience it…and this is definitely one of those nostalgic ones.”
Photos by David Hogan © 2020 TAS Rights Management LLC, courtesy of ABC-TV
She also touched on the many facets of love explored through her album. “Love is chaos, love is madness, love is joy, love is…equality,” she said. “And anyone who disagrees with that, in my opinion, needs to calm down,” before singing… well you guessed it (“You Need To Calm Down”).
Closing with “Lover,” Swift said, “If I had to pick a song that is probably my favorite, I would have to say it’s [this one]. I got the idea alone in the middle of the night, and stumbled over to the piano…It’s moments like that in songwriting that keep it my favorite thing to do in the world, it keeps it magical and it keeps it mysterious.”
The City of Lover soundtrack dropped after the show. The televised special attracted a 0.5 rating among viewers 18-49, and 3.6 million viewers, besting NBC and CBS, according to Variety. The concert special is sure to score in streams, and is already available on Disney+ and Hulu.
Photos by David Hogan © 2020 TAS Rights Management LLC, courtesy of ABC-TV
Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini, Morgan Evans Guest On Grand Ole Opry
/by Lorie HollabaughPictured (L-R): Kelsea Ballerini, Keith Urban, Morgan Evans. Photo: Photo courtesy Grand Ole Opry LLC. Chris Hollo, photographer
The Grand Ole Opry welcomed members Keith Urban and Kelsea Ballerini as well as artist Morgan Evans Saturday night (May 16) to perform on the Grand Ole Opry’s 4,924th consecutive Saturday night broadcast for fans watching around the world.
“I want to thank the Opry family here for the keeping the lights on. Keeping the circle moving,” said Urban. “It means the world to us and to everybody out there watching and listening tonight. In addition to the frontline workers and all the healthcare workers. I want to say a big thank you to all the drivers out there. Truck drivers, van drivers, delivery people all over the world that are doing an amazing job getting everything where it needs to get to. Medical supplies and food and all the things we would normally take for granted. The fact that it is still arriving is not being done by magic. You guys are out there doing the hard work so we thank you. We thank your families too because that takes a lot of support on the homefront. So thank you to all of you.”
Urban kicked off the broadcast with “Coming Home” and offered other hits including “God Whispered Your Name,” “Somebody Like You,” “Wasted Time,” and “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” as the Opry barn turned blue to honor the graduating Class of 2020.
“I was really interested to see what it was going to feel like to be in here without these pews full,” reflected Ballerini on the evening. “It’s still magic, still sounds good, feels rich and feels special. That just shows how special this place is.”
The Grand Ole Opry stage lights are turned blue in honor of the graduating class of 2020. Photo: Chris Hollo/Grand Ole Opry
Colton Dixon On His New EP: “This Project Was A Big Experiment” [Interview]
/by Jessica NicholsonColton Dixon
With his new self-titled EP (which released Friday, May 15), Colton Dixon releases his first new music in three years—and his first for his new label home at Atlantic Records/Hear It Loud Records.
“It’s been a long time coming,” says Dixon. “It’s crazy to think you spend three years on five songs but we really believe in these songs.”
After competing on American Idol in 2012, Dixon signed with Capitol Christian Music Group’s Sparrow Records. He released four albums with Sparrow, before his deal came to an end nearly two years ago.
“When my Idol deal ended, that meant my label deal with Capitol ended as well, so it was very unexpected. We were going into the holidays thinking, ‘What do we do?’ As a musician, it felt like I lost my job.
“My wife was really helpful. We prayed a lot during that time, and then a few months later the Atlantic thing came about. We’ve just been waiting for the right moment. We wanted to announce it with music,” Dixon says. “But it started as a season of unknown for me.”
That season of unknown is what birthed the songs on his new EP, which finds him taking creative chances, infusing his arena-sized pop sounds with electro-pop and darker grooves, which underscore Dixon’s very personal lyrics of finding hope during challenging times.
Dixon recorded the new EP in Los Angeles, bringing several new producers including Robopop (Lana Del Ray) and Grant Averill into the fold.
“This project was a big experiment,” Dixon says. “It felt like I was journaling through the whole thing and getting out my thoughts on what I was facing. I feel like we’ve written enough for seven or eight full-length projects. That came out in the production as well because if you compare one song to another, it’s like, ‘Do these fit in the same world?’ I think somehow they do, but at first glance, maybe not.
“This is the first project where when I started writing, I didn’t have a vision for it. We just built it as we went. Normally, I’m very theatrical and I see it sometimes before I even go into the studio—I know what the album cover is going to look like.”
“Miracles,” a deft blend of precise percussions and ethereal sonic vibe layered around Dixon’s warm, conversational singing style, is the result of a collaboration with the late producer/songwriter busbee, whom Dixon first began collaborating with on his breakthrough hit, “You Are,” in 2012. busbee died of cancer in 2019.
“I remember texting him about an updated version of that song and that’s when he told me he was going through cancer. Stuff like that is no respecter of persons. There are few writers and producers who will take your vision and make sure that whatever they add to it is still true and faithful to the vision you brought in. He’s one of those people. I appreciate that as an artist. We were writing about taking a step back from the busyness of life to appreciate the little things in life that happen all around us every day that we take for granted. I consider them miracles.”
“Devil Is A Liar” brings in a dark, grainy, dancefloor-ready sound, while “Wanderer” offers a syncopated vocal over heavy drums and vibey synths.
“Can’t Quit You” is Dixon’s first attempt at penning a love song, written for his wife Annie. He co-wrote the track with Alex Tirheimer and Grant Averill.
“They can turn cheesy so quick so I tried to stay away from that for a long time,” he says. “That’s definitely one of those songs that I wouldn’t have gone down that rabbit trail but I’m so glad we did that.”
While “Miracles” has been a Top 25 hit at CCM radio, Dixon says other tracks on the EP could find a home on pop radio.
“As far as I know they are fans of ‘Can’t Quit You,’ and I think they will work that to mainstream radio at some point. There’s a song called ‘Not Goodbye’ that they like for synch stuff [for television or movies].
“My goal with music is always to leave people better than they were when they came, and leave them with some hope. At a time where so many more people are looking for answers, hopefully my music can be part of that journey.”
Industry Ink: "Nights With Elaina," Sony Music Nashville, Collin Raye
/by Lorie HollabaughLadies Night All Week On ‘Nights With Elaina’
The ladies are taking over this week (May 18-22) on Westwood One Nashville’s “Nights with Elaina,” when Gabby Barrett, Ingrid Andress, Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce and Lindsay Ell will each guest host an evening from home and provide fans with an update on what they‘ve been doing during quarantine. The show airs in markets from 7 p.m.-midnight.
“Spending time away from listeners is always difficult, especially in these times,” says Elaina Smith, host of “Nights with Elaina.” “But I am so thrilled that these strong, powerful, talented women will be keeping everyone company while I’m gone! I know they’re gonna crush it and continue spreading positivity all throughout the country! Lord knows we need it.”
Sony Nashville, Cracker Barrel Help Feed Frontline Workers
Collin Raye Returns To The Road With Free Show
Collin Raye is headlining a free live concert, headed up by the Utah Business Revival, in Kaysville, Utah at Barnes Park on May 30. The event marks Raye’s first public performance since COVID-19 ushered in national “safer-at-home” orders, and is one the first live concerts being held in the U.S. since the pandemic halted touring earlier this year. The outdoor event will also feature booths for local nonessential businesses to give company owners an opportunity to interact with the public to sell their goods and services.”Hopefully, this concert will inspire similar events in other states around the country as we try to unify and start pushing back against the effects of this pandemic,” said Raye. “We will be utilizing the recommended sensible safety precautions, and I’m confident it will be a huge success for small businesses, and hopefully, the country at large.”
Reservoir Acquires Shapiro Bernstein, Including 16,000 Copyrights
/by Lorie HollabaughThrough the new deal, Shapiro Bernstein’s catalog and global administration network will integrate into Reservoir, with an eye toward adding further value to the catalog through Reservoir’s global sync, creative and marketing teams. In addition, the two companies will work together to identify new catalogs and creative opportunities to pursue through a new joint venture agreement.
Founded in New York’s Tin Pan Alley in 1900, Shapiro Bernstein is home to evergreen songs such as “In The Mood,” made famous by Glenn Miller, “Rockin’ Robin” (performed by Michael Jackson), “Let There Be Love” (Peggy Lee / Nat King Cole), “Ring of Fire” (Johnny Cash), “Papa Loves Mambo” (Perry Como), as well as contemporary hits like “I Gotta Feeling” (Black Eyed Peas), “Lose Control” (Missy Elliot) and “Crush” (Jennifer Paige).
“It is an honor to have been chosen to be the caretakers of such important copyrights and one which we do not take lightly,” said Reservoir President and COO Rell Lafargue. “We look forward to working with Michael, his brother Doug Brettler, and the members of the Shapiro Bernstein team who are joining Reservoir to find new creative avenues and opportunities for this rich catalog and its songwriters. Together, we will ensure that the music continues to live on and inspire generations for many years to come.”
Mechanical Licensing Collective CEO Kris Ahrend Talks Serving Songwriters, Preparing The Industry’s Next Generation [Interview]
/by Jessica NicholsonMechanical Licensing Collective CEO Kris Ahrend.
In January, it was announced that Kris Ahrend had joined as CEO of the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), which was formed following the passage of the Music Modernization Act in 2018. In 2019, the Register of Copyrights designated the MLC as the non-profit organization responsible for administering blanket mechanical licenses to digital services such as Amazon Music, Apple, Spotify and Tidal, and for distributing those royalties to publishers and self-administered songwriters.
The Nashville-based MLC recently announced a slate of executive hirings to help Ahrend lead the organization, which currently includes 20 employees, with plans to ultimately form a team of nearly 100 employees.
“The MLC represents one of those changes that transforms the music business, once every generation or two,” Ahrend says. “You have to go back to the passage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to see the last kind of moment where our industry changed. Sound Exchange later came into being as an organization that helped to really transform an aspect of the business. The MLC will be similarly transformative. I’m very privileged to be asked to lead an organization that is going to have the potential to drive that transformation for our industry and the next chance to do that might not come for another 15 or 20 years. I didn’t want to miss the chance to be part of that change.
“Every songwriter in the country and many songwriters around the world will ultimately be getting paid a portion of their revenue from an organization based in Nashville,” he says.
In November 2019, the MLC and the Digital Licensing Coordinator reached a funding deal, in which the MLC receives $33.5 million in startup costs and an initial annual assessment for 2021 of $28.5 million, with costs divided between the licensees. Beginning Jan. 1, 2021, the MLC will begin to issue and administer the blanket licenses. The collective has teamed with mechanical licensing administrator Harry Fox Agency, building upon the HFA’s database of musical works data to streamline the process of matching writer and publisher information with corresponding sound recording data to make sure songwriters and publishers are paid the full amount they are due. Songwriters can also receive unclaimed funds from the various DSPs. In order to collect royalties collected from DSPs by the MLC, music publishers and self-administered songwriters, composers and lyricists will need to register with the MLC in order to access their data via the MLC Portal.
Ahrend launched his career as a law clerk for the Western District of the Virginia District Court and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, before joining the Intellectual Property & Litigation Group of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York. He entered the music industry working for Sony Music’s law department, and later in the business and legal affairs department at Sony BMG Music Entertainment, before joining Rhino Entertainment as Sr. VP, Business & Legal Affairs. In 2013, he joined Warner Music Group as Sr. VP, Recorded Music Rights Administration. In 2016, he was promoted to President of U.S. Shared Services and led the development and launch of Warner Music’s Center of Excellence for Shared Services in Nashville, coordinating operations for 15 functional teams for Warner Music’s United States-based publishing teams, labels and corporate divisions.
Ahrend spoke with MusicRow about the work the MLC is doing and what basing the organization in Nashville means for Music City.
MusicRow: The MLC is set to begin administering blanket mechanical license agreements, and the collection of royalties for independent writers and publishers, on January 1, 2021. Has the COVID-19 pandemic affected that timeline in any way?
Ahrend: It has changed the way we have done lots of things. But from the timing perspective, we are still on track to be ready for that January 2021 license availability date. We have not contemplated in any way seeking to change or push that back. We will be ready. We’ve made extraordinary progress in a short period of time, under circumstances that, by any definition, are not normal.
MR: In what ways have your previous roles at Sony, Rhino, and Warner prepared you to lead the MLC?
Ahrend: Every step of my career helped prepare me for the role that I now have at the MLC, in ways that I never could’ve imagined. Because up until a couple years ago the MLC wasn’t even an idea. My early career as a lawyer helped me understand the legal foundations of our business. We are in essence a copyright industry, and whether it’s on the publishing side, or on the sound recording side, everything we do is underpinned by that foundation of copyright. At Sony, I did publishing deals, new tech deals, considered trademark issues, record deals—the full panoply of legal issues that we face in our industry and got a good grounding in those.
At Rhino, the catalog business is all about understanding the economics of the deal. If you release a hits album or a box set, how much are you spending to create that product, and will it be profitable? So, that gave me a good understanding of the business process. Rhino helped me better understand the connection between what we as companies do, and the creators with whom we do that. The music business, regardless of what part you’re in, can be boiled down to companies making two promises to creators: The first is they will help to cultivate their creativity, and that’s the piece that gets the most attention. But the second is that we will pay those creators for their creative output under the terms of the deals we do with them. At Rhino, I saw first-hand the impact that we had on creators, when we do that well or not so well, and it’s ultimately something that enables those writers to continue to write. I got to deal with so many artists that had relationships with Warner over the years through our catalog, from Aretha Franklin to Led Zeppelin, and hundreds in between, and when you speak with artists you really appreciate how important that second promise is to them, and to their livelihoods.
MR: What attracted you to this role at the MLC?
Ahrend: The ability to work at a company where the sole mission is aligned with what I do was incredibly compelling. When you work in the industry, there is often an inherent tension between those two promises because in any company where resources are limited—as they always are—the company has to make choices. Do you invest in A&R or do you invest in a new royalty system? At MLC, our sole focus is on making sure that songwriters are paid. At Warner Music, I was able to envision what an organization will look like, to hire a team of people that deliver on the objectives that you’ve set out and, and to see how that can have an impact on the lives of creators. That experience of building something was incredibly compelling to me. I jumped at the chance to be able to do that again with the MLC.
MR: You are working with Harry Fox Agency, and building upon the database they have already established. How will that process work?
Ahrend: We are working closely with them in every facet of our operation. Data is something that can always be improved; data is rarely static. We are not only assembling a database of musical works and sound recordings that exist today and associating those works with the recordings, but also capturing data for all the new musical works that are being written and sound recordings being made, so there is a constant stream of data. The partnership with HFA helps us get to those starting lines of a race that never ends.
The MLC is unique in that our board that governs us consists entirely of people who represent the stakeholders we will serve. We are essentially an organization that is managed by songwriters for the benefit of songwriters, and managed by publishers for the benefit of publishers. It’s really important now for songwriters and publishers to understand that our success depends in part on each of them playing their part—looking at their own data and helping to make sure it is as accurate as it can be. We will ultimately be a small organization; it would be impossible for any organization of around 100 people to take on the task of managing that level of data. But if everyone is engaged, we will be far more successful.
MR: The onus is on the writers and publishers to make sure the information they send to the MLC is correct. How is the MLC Portal optimized for their use—particularly smaller or more independent writers and publishers?
Ahrend: We are looking at launching the portal in the third quarter of the year. That will give us all time to look at the data and work to improve it.
We want to get to the place where we can roll out the portal, and get people to register with the portal so they can set up in our system. In many ways the portal is designed to help the smallest publishers and those individual stakeholders, those individual songwriters to manage their data. We expect they will be the ones to interact most regularly with the portal, whereas with our larger publisher company partners, it will involve more interactions at a system level.
MR: The MLC has a training/educational program set up for new hires. Can you talk about the purpose of that program and how it is integrated into the work of the MLC?
Ahrend: For those new team member roles, we wanted to be really intentional in how we bring them into the organization. Everyone that we hire will participate in a training program that will last several weeks, which will give them a broad-based education in the fundamentals of the industry that will be relevant to the roles we will ask them to fill, so they are better prepared to start doing that work.
We also think that makes the MLC an appealing option for them. We are looking to hire the best and the brightest, but to do that we have to do our part by offering them a compelling experience from the beginning. Offering this level of training will be compelling for people who are looking not only for a job, but for an experience that gives them opportunities to grow and put them on a career path.
MR: What does it mean to you for the Mechanical Licensing Collective to be based in Nashville?
Ahrend: What’s so wonderful for Nashville is that it’s unquestioned that Nashville has been a hub for music for decades. In recent years, we’ve broadened to include far more than just the creative aspects of the business. The MLC is as much a technology and a data company as we are a music company, so for us to be able to play a big role in helping Nashville take that next step forward in this evolution to be the broadest possible version of a Music City we can be, is really exciting and really meaningful.
Small Business Administration Releases PPP Loan Forgiveness Application
/by Sherod RobertsonOn Friday, May 15, the Small Business Administration (SBA) released the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Application and instructions.
The released documents instruct borrowers how to apply for forgiveness of their PPP loans, consistent with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). According to a statement, the SBA will also issue regulations and guidance in the near future to further assist borrowers as they complete their applications, and to provide lenders with guidance on their responsibilities.
The form and instructions include several measures to reduce compliance burdens and simplify the process, such as:
• Options for borrowers to calculate payroll costs using an “alternative payroll covered period”
• Flexibility to include eligible payroll and non-payroll expenses paid or incurred
• Step-by-step instructions on how to perform calculations
• Implementation of statutory exemptions from loan forgiveness reduction
• Addition of a new exemption from the loan forgiveness reduction for borrowers who have made a good-faith, written offer to rehire workers that was declined
The PPP was created by the CARES Act to provide forgivable loans to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Click here to view the application and instructions on the SBA website.
Deluge Music Signs Johnny Gates
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured: Top Row: Emily Dryburgh, Creative Director; Mark Friedman, President. Bottom Row: David Robkin, Managing Member and Johnny Gates
Deluge Music has signed Johnny Gates to a global publishing deal.
The former frontman for Los Angeles rock band Runaway Saints (a trio that spent time working in Nashville early in their career), Gates appeared on NBC’s The Voice before returning to Nashville.
“Johnny is a global talent who deserves a chance for music lovers all over the world to hear what we fell in love with here at Deluge Music,” says Deluge Music President Mark Friedman.
“Johnny has the talent, experience and poise of both a star and a professional. His music defies genres and zip codes. I’m proud to work beside him – and excited to build this next era with him!” says Deluge Music’s Creative Director Emily Dryburgh.
“I can’t begin to describe my excitement to be back in Nashville and having this opportunity with Deluge Music,” Gates said. “I created some amazing memories in this town, but the story always felt a little unfinished. So, I’m beyond grateful to Mark, David [Robkin] and Emily for giving me this chance to finish what I started here in Nashville. Deluge has such a family vibe, and I’m just really pumped to be a part of the crew!”
Shore Fire Media Promotes Two
/by Jessica NicholsonEvenson, Lefkowitz
Shore Fire Media has promoted Nashville’s Andrea Evenson and Brooklyn’s Max Lefkowitz to Senior Account Executives. Evenson and Lefkowitz have both been with the company since 2015 and were previously Account Executives.
“Andrea has been a driven publicist since she began her career at Shore Fire nearly five years ago,” says Shore Fire Senior Vice President Mark Satlof. “Her creativity and thorough, thoughtful approach to all of her campaigns make for a winning combination and we are happy to announce her promotion to Senior Account Executive.”
“In his time at Shore Fire, Max has proven equally adept at working with household name-level and developing artists, all of whom benefit from his pluck and resourcefulness,” says Shore Fire Senior Vice President Matt Hanks. “We’re so excited to see him continue to grow as he takes on a greater leadership position here.”
Shore Fire Media (a division of Dolphin Entertainment) has teams in New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville, representing recording artists, songwriters, music producers, record labels, music industry businesses, venues, trade organizations, authors, comedians, social media personalities and cultural institutions.
Kip Moore To Premiere New Documentary On Outside TV
/by Lorie HollabaughKip Moore‘s new documentary 7 Days At The Rock is set to premiere on Outside TV on May 28.
The short film offers an unfiltered glimpse into the weeks leading up to the release of his album Wild World, due out May 29, as Moore spent time in self-isolation at his remote rock climbing facility, BedRock, in Red River Gorge, Kentucky. Moore reflects on the current times, shifting gears in light of the pandemic while recording his In The Wild Sessions acoustic series and shares some personal reflection.
7 Days At The Rock will be available to watch on Outside TV on May 28 at 8 p.m. CT on all major streaming platforms and devices including The Roku Channel and Samsung TV Plus.
“7 Days At The Rock came around really organically leading up to the release of this record,” said Moore. “This is a unique moment in time for all of us that none of us will ever forget and so it felt right to kind of reflect on everything that is going on, as well as shed some light into the process of releasing Wild World. I also really wanted ‘Red White Blue Jean American Dream’ to be the next look into the album.”
Moore also premiered a new track “Red White Blue Jean American Dream” today. The track, the only outside cut on the album, was penned by written by Jimi Bell, Barton Davies, Luke Dick, and Philip Lammonds.