Fan Label is a music gamification and predictive entertainment company that turns real-world music performance data into interactive fan experiences. Built around the question, “Can you pick a hit?,” Fan Label operates at the intersection of music, gaming, data, and fan engagement, and its platforms connect labels, artists, and music fans through licensed content, streaming and chart data, and skill-based competition.
Stay tuned for news from Fan Label coming very soon!
Guy Barash is the founder and CEO of Dotted Eighth LLC, a boutique technology advisory firm working at the intersection of music, data, and emerging technology. In this role, he advises music organizations, tech companies, startups, and others serving the music industry on the data and technology that powers music rights. With a background that includes extensive publishing experience and more than 20 years as a composer, Barash excels at navigating the intricate creative, legal, and technical domains that the music industry contends with day-in and day-out. Guy’s process in working with organizations on AI systems always begins with his AI Readiness Audit, which ensures that the AI tools they utilize or build for themselves work as a complementary layer to their environments.
Record Research Inc. is the authority on music industry chart performance. The company was founded by author and music historian Joel Whitburn in 1970, publishing music reference books that are relied upon by music industry professionals and devoted music fans worldwide. Covering 1890 through present day, Record Research documents the Pop, Country, R&B, Rock, Adult Contemporary, and Dance charts, detailing the complete history of the singles and albums that have appeared on the charts of Billboard magazine, as well as the singles charts of other music industry periodicals.
Meet Us At Music Biz 2026
Are you headed to the Music Biz 2026 conference coming up May 11-14 in Atlanta? Bill and Ashley will be in attendance, so send them an email at bill@jaybirdcom.com or ashley@jaybirdcom.com if you’d like to meet up!
Several Jaybird clients will also be speaking on panels this year:
The Biz & Beyond Interview Series
For Women’s History Month this year, we started our new interview series, The Biz & Beyond. Hosted by our own Ashley Friedman, we held in-depth conversations with some of our amazing clients and friends, who are quite literally making history across the music industry and beyond.
You can catch up on all of the episodes on our website, including conversations with Liz Garner, Deborah Mannis-Gardner, Kat MacLean-Daley, Janette Berrios, Shanieka Brooks, Jessica Vaughn, and our own Laurie Jakobsen and Ashley Friedman.
Pass The Mic: Ritch Esra
We’re back for another edition of our “Pass the Mic” Q&A series, where we give some of the best music-business journalists a place to tell their own stories. In this installment (our first as a video), we focus on Ritch Esra, Co-Founder of MUBUTV, Editor of SCORE, and music business educator.
Click the link below to watch the full interview and learn how Ritch got where he is today, his favorite interview, his thoughts on AI, and more.
Pass The Mic: A Conversation with Ritch Esra of MUBUTV
(Editors note: we originally intended for this interview to be a written transcription of our conversation, but after having our call, we determined it would not do his answers justice. Plus, enjoy multiple cameos of Zach’s cat, Pumpkin, throughout the interview!)
A2IM Indie Week
If you’re going to be at Indie Week this year, Laurie Jakobsen will be moderating the panel, “From Behind the Scenes to Industry Leaders: The Value of Executive PR,” on Wednesday, June 10 from 12:30 PM to 1:15 PM. Join us as we bring together music industry executives to share how embracing press and thought leadership has strengthened their companies, helping them attract new artists and partners, build credibility, differentiate their services, and unlock new opportunities. Panelists to be announced!
Recent Client News
Angry Mob
The New Normal Song Camp returned for its third edition from April 13-17! The camp took place at eight studios in Los Angeles, with a diverse group of 52 songwriters and producers representing more than 15 cultural backgrounds, comprising more than 70% women, and was incredibly productive with more than 35 songs written in just five days. Stay tuned for the next edition of the camp in fall of 2026! You can view additional photos from The New Normal here.
DDEX
On April 23, DDEX announced that Believe is becoming their newest Charter Member! Believe will be represented on the DDEX Board by Michael Ceglio, VP of Operations Strategy at Tunecore (representing Believe Group). Believe joins DDEX’s current roster of 20 Charter Members, including Amazon, Apple, ASCAP, BMI, BMAT, Meta, GEMA, Google, Kobalt, Pandora, PPL, PRS for Music, SCPP, SACEM, SOCAN, Sony Music Entertainment, SoundExchange, Spotify, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group. Read the full announcement here >>
On March 25th, DDEX and DataArt announced a new partnership, as well as their joining of DDEX as a Full Member. Under the agreement, DataArt will become a long-term strategic DDEX partner committed to supporting the automated exchange of information along the digital music value chain using DDEX standards, to advancing tech solutions that enable rapid and broad adoption of those standards across the music ecosystem, and to shaping the digital future of the music industry. Read the full announcement here >>
May 23-25 will mark the 20th anniversary of DDEX, and there will be a celebration at the November Plenary in Toronto. Stay tuned for more details.
Deborah Mannis-Gardner and AYO Music
On April 17th, Deborah Mannis-Gardner was featured on this year’s Billboard Women In Music list in the Multisector category. This year marks her fourth inclusion on the list and third year in a row (2020, 2024, 2025, and 2026). Check out the full list here.
Just a few weeks before that, Deborah was selected as the recipient of the Best Music Supervision in a Docuseries award at the 16th annual Guild of Music Supervisors (GMS) Awards for her work on Hip Hop Was Born Here Season 1.
The awards were presented at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, and Kat MacLean-Daley (Consultant at DMG Clearances and A&R at AYO Music Group) accepted on her behalf. Read more here.
Congrats, Deborah!
Liz Garner
On April 20th, Liz Garner’s op-ed, “Best time for artists who seek to reclaim their music rights is now,” was published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Liz served as copyright administrator to the Estate of Isaac Hayes in its lawsuit against Trump for the use of “Hold On, I’m Comin’,” which recently reached a mutual resolution.
The op-ed covers the importance of termination rights and why it is crucial for artists to do so at the right time and with the proper strategy in place. It also discusses how termination rights protect artists’ legacies and provide generational wealth to their families, the legal timelines to be aware of for the termination process, and why labels should come to the table to negotiate these situations in good faith, along with explaining how termination rights made the Isaac Hayes case possible. Read the full op-ed here >>
LyricFind
On April 14th, LyricFind announced the launch of their new video-creation subscription service Artist Unlimited, which brings artists unlimited access to professional video creation through Rotor Videos by LyricFind. Through the plan, artists can create unlimited Apple Music Album Motion videos, Spotify Canvas videos, lyric videos, music videos, social media clips, visualizers, animated album art, and more, all for an affordable annual rate.
In addition, the Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) has accepted LyricFind into its Member Benefits program. LyricFind is offering The MLC’s Members the Artist Unlimited plan at a discounted rate of $119.99 per artist per year. Members of The MLC can obtain details on accessing the subscription by logging into The MLC’s Member Hub and navigating to the Member Benefits page. Read more from Music Ally and Hypebot, and read the full announcement here.
LyricFind has also recently hired Alex Bellissimo as Vice President of Marketing. Reporting to LyricFind’s Founder & CEO, Darryl Ballantyne, Bellissimo joins the team with nearly 15 years of experience at Warner Music Group. Based in Toronto, she will lead LyricFind’s global marketing strategies across both lyric licensing and creative products, driving growth in B2B and B2C markets. Read the full announcement here >>
Record Research
Record Research announced their first book in 2 years and first under new CEO Vinnie Freda, Joel Whitburn’s History of Top Country Singles 1944-2025. The book provides the most accurate account available of the full history of popular Country music, including an artist-by-artist listing of every song that has ever appeared on the Country singles charts, from the debut of the Most-Played Juke Box Folk Records chart in 1944 to the last Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts of 2025.
It also includes a comprehensive title index, multiple song and artist rankings, and a chronological listing of every #1 Country hit.
For the first time, the book will also feature a section dedicated to songwriters, detailing the 40 all-time top Country songwriters and their Top 40 hits. This section of the book is presented in partnership with Nan Kingsley and in honor of Bob Kingsley, whose life-long dedication to spotlighting the songwriters behind the hits in his weekly countdown radio shows brought Country music’s songwriters to national prominence. Read the full announcement here >>
Country Insider also interviewed Record Research Publisher Kim Bloxdorf and Head Researcher Paul Haney about the company’s history and relaunch. Read the article here >>
SourceAudio
On April 15th, Andrew Harding took part in the Luminate Data and Entertainment Summit by speaking on the panel “The AI Training Data Economy.” He joined panelists from across the AI music landscape, including Doug Shapiro, Dave Davis, Dustin Blank, and Matthew Adell, to discuss the fast-evolving licensing market for AI training data, particularly how rights holders from music labels to publishers and production companies are starting to participate, and emerging methods to enable fair remuneration, including attribution.
On March 15th, SourceAudio’s Global Head of Catalog Services, Weston McGowen, took part in a panel at SXSW titled “Composing for Wellness: Music as a Cognitive Utility.” Joined by Ekanem Ebinne, Max Ferguson, and Walter Werzowa, the panel discussed how composers, researchers, and platforms are creating purpose-built music, crafted with behavioral science and intent, that now outperforms major label artists, financially and functionally, on DSPs and B2B services.
They also illustrated how that music is deployed across K-12 education and beyond to impact wellness, emotions, and experiences, and highlighted the collaborative process it takes to develop scientifically informed music.
Symphonic
On April 30th, Symphonic announced the launch of Symphonic NEXT, a new initiative designed to connect clients with the capital, partnerships, and strategic pathways needed to grow and monetize their businesses.
Through NEXT, Symphonic will offer tailored financial solutions, including flexible royalty advances, partial or full catalog sales, strategic partnerships, and long-term distribution support. The program is designed to meet clients at different stages of their careers, providing options that align with their specific goals and long-term vision.
Read more from Music Business Worldwide, and read the full announcement here.
On April 15th, Symphonic announced the hiring of Michelle Garramone as their new Head of Strategic Partnerships, where she will lead the company’s expansion into catalog acquisitions and drive strategic partnerships that unlock new growth opportunities for its artists and partners. She will be leading the Symphonic Next program, which she co-developed.
Read more from Billboard, Digital Music News, and A&R Worldwide, and read the full announcement here.
On April 6th, Music Ally published a guest post by Symphonic’s CEO, Jorge Brea, titled “From Access to Infrastructure: How Managers Can Win at Streaming.” The guest post centers around the true differentiating factor for distribution companies being their underlying infrastructure and support systems, in addition to clean metadata, fraud monitoring, strategic release planning, and the ability to interpret performance data in real time.
On March 26th, Symphonic announced they have acquired YouTube monetization platform Distro Nation. The acquisition greatly expands the YouTube tools and resources available to Symphonic’s clients, while bringing the YouTube channels of several prominent artists under Symphonic’s management, including Lindsey Stirling, Sabaton, Yanni, Good Charlotte, Bryant Myers, and Switchfoot.
The acquisition also includes management and monetization of Chappell Roan’s YouTube channel for content released prior to her 2023 debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. Jon Baltz, CEO and Co-Founder of Distro Nation, has joined Symphonic as Head of UGC & Rights Management, along with his team.
Read more from Billboard, Music Business Worldwide, Music Ally, and Digital Music News, and read the full announcement here.
On March 9th, Symphonic announced their 5th Annual Women Empowered+ Mentorship Program. Now in its fifth year, the program has already welcomed 1,011 total participants, connecting 306 mentors from companies across the music industry with 705 mentees spanning 181 cities and 46 countries across the U.S., Mexico, Latin America, South America, Europe, Canada, Asia, and Africa. Mentors participating in this year’s program are from companies including Spotify, Downtown, Concord, Music Story, Rimas Publishing, The MLC, Meta, Audiomack, Chartmetric, Cinq Music, FUGA, M for Montreal, Sony, We Make Noise, and more. Read more from Billboard and Music Row and read the full announcement here.
Symphonic’s VP, Client Marketing and DSP Relations, Michael Burrows spoke at SXSW on the panel “How to Build a Career Without Going Viral” on March 17th.
The session broke down each of the areas artists can dive into to develop long-term, sustainable success, including defining their unique brand and sound, consistently releasing high quality music, and building community, and provided them with realistic tips that they can apply to their careers.
Symphonic’s Director of A&R & Client Development, APAC, Guji Lorenzana took part in the SXSW panel “Owning Your Narrative: Global Strategies for Indie Artists” on March 18th.
They explored how an artist from regions like APAC, LATAM, and beyond achieve the kind of success they’ve seen in the last few years, and discuss which resources and team members artists should bring onboard to generate international interest, and when.
The Great Albums Podcast
Jaybird Director Bill Greenwood has taken up a side hustle helping our old friend Brian Erickson relaunch The Great Albums Podcast, which he co-hosts with fellow New Jersey indie rock musician Bill Lambusta. We worked with Brian on his Demos for a Difference project back in 2020, and we’re glad to see him back in the Jaybird-sphere! More info and back episodes of the podcast can be found at thegreatalbums.com, and you can watch the relaunch announcement video here, which features Bill doing a dramatic slow clap.