Music Biz 2026 Recap
It was great getting to see many of you at Music Biz 2026 in Atlanta! Our clients had a busy week speaking on panels, hosting events, and more. In case you missed it, check out our Music Biz 2026 Recap for all the details.
A2IM Indie Week Recap
Following Music Biz, it was on to A2IM Indie Week, and over the course of four busy days, our clients were part of more than 10 panels and workshops across the event. We even hosted our own panel about the value of executive PR!
Recent Client News
Angry Mob
On May 5th, Angry Mob Music and AM2 announced the signing of multiple songwriters and artists to admin and sync deals. The deals include Angry Mob’s Admin+Co-Pub deal with AIKO, and AM2’s sync-only deals with Ava Della Pietra, Jordan Seigel, and Siv Jakobsen.
From Left: AIKO, Siv Jakobsen, Ava Della Pietra, Jordan Siegel
On June 8th, Hypebot published Marc Caruso’s newest op-ed, “Behind Every Copyright Is a Human Being. It’s Time the Industry Acted Like It.” In the op-ed, Marc highlights the need for music publishers to treat songwriters and their copyrights with respect and humanity by keeping the humans behind the work at the center of every decision they make.
DDEX
DDEX has announced their upcoming Music Tech 20/20 Summit taking place on November 19th in Toronto, Canada!
The Summit will be a full-day conference focusing primarily on the technological advancements needed to enable the music industry to run an efficient and cost-effective operational environment in the future. The conversations will begin with a review of the music industry’s operational improvements over the last 20 years and discussions on the current music technology landscape before diving into the future. The Summit will also be enriched by opportunities for insights and observations from attendees.
In addition, DDEX announced that digital entertainment executive Phil Wiser will be the keynote speaker of the Music Tech 20/20 Summit. Additional speakers and the full schedule for the 20/20 Summit will be announced in the coming months, and will include representatives from across the music industry value chain as well as speakers from other media and technology industries.
Registration for the Music Tech 20/20 Summit is open now, with tickets available for $650 USD until November 1. After November 1, tickets will be sold at their full price of $770 USD.
The Summit is presented by Meta and supported by SCPP, Beatdapp, RIAA, Kobalt Music, SoundExchange, BMI, Music Infrastructure Company, The Recording Academy, and MétaMusique.
FanLabel
FanLabel has officially launched FanLabel SongPicks, its paid-entry, skill-based, music-contest app that lets fans use their music knowledge to compete for cash prizes. The company has been a leader in promoting a responsible, fair approach to the development of prediction markets, and was one of the few music-related companies to submit comment to the most recent Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) solicitation. Read more from Music Connection here, and check out the full announcement here.
FanLabel also recently announced a partnership with music cloud platform Tuned Global. Tuned Global powers the licensed music layer behind FanLabel’s SongPicks app. This includes providing API access for music metadata and preview delivery, catalogue ingestion and access, CDN and backend infrastructure, operational maintenance, and music usage reporting to rightsholders. Using its automated music catalogue delivery and ingestion system, INTAGA, Tuned Global migrated FanLabel from its previous music backend provider in 10 days, while supporting access to millions of tracks from major and independent record labels, enriched metadata and territorial rights management. Read more from Music Ally here, and read the full announcement here.
Guy Barash
Guy Barash recently penned an op-ed for Billboard titled “Before Music Publishers Invest in AI, They Need to Know What They’re Fixing.” In the op-ed, Guy argues that music publishers should not rush into AI by starting with vendors, models, or tools. Instead, the most valuable first step is identifying the operational problems AI is supposed to solve, especially around data fragmentation, rights identity, royalty logic, workflow gaps, and auditability. In the end, the publishers that benefit most from AI will be the ones who take the time to understand how it can actually help them rather than rushing in.
Guy also recorded an Axegrinder for the Unlimited Supply Podcast on June 16th, where he discusses how many music companies tend to jump into AI out of a sense of FOMO without being ready for it, which ends up amplifying data inconsistencies rather than fixing them.
LyricFind
On May 28th, LyricFind submitted an amended complaint against Musixmatch, TPG Global, and now TPG Growth V Management. You can read the update from LyricFind on their site along with the full updated complaint here. You can also read Complete Music Update’s analysis of the amendment here.
LyricFind also announced their integration of Rotor Videos into SwaLay, enabling artists who release their music through SwaLay Digital to create professional-quality videos for their tracks in minutes. This gives SwaLay’s independent artists a faster and more affordable way to develop the visual content that is now essential to music discovery. You can read more in Music Ally.
Martin Clancy
On June 5th, Martin Clancy was the keynote speaker at the Berklee AI Music Summit in a talk titled, “I Called Myself a Musician After AI — Not Because It Made Me One.” His talk was a memorable one and focused on AI, musicianship, authorship, and agency, asking what remains distinctly human when systems can generate convincing music.
Record Research
Record Research released their new book, Joel Whitburn’s History of Top Country Singles 1944-2025, on June 4th. To celebrate the release, Record Research CEO Vinnie Freda spoke on the panel “The Songwriters Behind Country’s Biggest Hits” at CMA Fest in Nashville on June 6th, alongside Ashley Gorley and Shane McAnally, who came in at #1 and #2 on the book’s Top 10 Country Songwriters list.
Read more about the top all-time country songwriters from Billboard here. The book is available for purchase at recordresearch.com.
Vinnie also recently wrote an op-ed for Hypebot. Titled “What’s in a Number? Why Music Charts Still Matter in the Streaming Era,” the piece explains how chart data is not only commercially valuable but also one of the few surviving public records of collective emotional experience. In his own words, “I strongly encourage the 21st century digital services to be more open in allowing future chart geeks to turn those numbers into memories. That is what a good chart does. It tells us who we are and who we were.” Read the full op-ed here.
SourceAudio
SourceAudio’s Drew Silverstein took part in the first episode of Morning Brew’s newest podcast, The Intelligence Shift, hosted by pwc’s Chief AI Officer, Dan Priest, which focused on how AI is affecting music. Drew and Dan discussed a myriad of topics, including what the AI music business model looks like, how AI has affected the traditional business model of the music business, the obstacles presented by the “fear factor” associated with AI, how SourceAudio has the potential to change the music industry, the evolution of how AI has been discussed in the music industry, and more. You can watch the full interview on their YouTube channel.
On June 4th, SourceAudio announced that SourceAudio Detect has expanded its capabilities to include next-generation neural fingerprinting as well as watermarking, making it the first tool of its kind to use both methods to identify licensed music in TV, film, radio, and other programs, commercials, promos, and trailers with industry-best detection accuracy. You can read more about the new features for SourceAudio Detect in Record of the Day.
Symphonic
Symphonic’s CEO Jorge Brea and Chief Creative Officer Randall Foster were named to Billboard’s 2026 Indie Power Players list! As part of their inclusion, they were asked about their thoughts on multiple parts of the indie music ecosystem. Read their comments in Billboard here.
Jorge recently joined the SoundBreaker Podcast, where he discussed the transformation of the music industry over the past two decades. He shared his journey from passionate DJ and vinyl collector to building one of the leading independent music distribution companies in the world, the industry’s evolution from physical media to streaming dominance, the explosive rise of TikTok and short-form content, and how AI is rapidly reshaping music creation and distribution. Check out the full podcast episode here.
Jorge also wrote an op-ed for Music Business Worldwide titled “Navigating the AI Music Deluge: A Call for Responsible Streaming Practices.” The piece focuses on how the global music business must come together to enforce standardized policies around AI music. Read the full piece here.
In addition, Sander Stijnen, Symphonic’s Director of Business Development, Europe, wrote an op-ed for Hypebot titled “Independence Isn’t Dead, It’s Just Evolving.” The piece talks about why too many indie artists and labels rely only on themselves, and why building teams is essential. Read the full op-ed here.
Ed Poston, Symphonic’s SVP and Head of A&R, recently joined MUBUTV to discuss the changing role of A&R, what truly sets artists apart, the critical importance of team alignment, balancing data and gut instinct, and more. Watch the full interview here.
Symphonic also announced a series of promotions on their Executive Leadership Team this month, including Janette Berrios to SVP, Corporate Marketing; Ed Poston to SVP, Head of A&R; Lane Roney to SVP, Finance; and Taylor Garland to EVP & CFO. Read more from Music Business Worldwide here, and check out the full announcement here.
Finally, Symphonic announced the signing of independent label ROQ ‘N Rolla Music, covering both its existing catalog and all future releases. This signing marks the next chapter of Symphonic’s continued growth in Europe, after recently making several key hires on the A&R Client Development Team. Read the full announcement here.
Ready to get strategic about your company communications and soar in 2026 and beyond? Drop us a line at https://jaybirdcom.com/contact/.