It was another successful year for the AIMP Global Music Publishing Summit at the 3 West Club in New York City! Highlights included a keynote from the iconic rapper and producer Doug E. Fresh and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee David Porter, a legislative update from the leaders of the NMPA and RIAA, and panels on AI, queer trends in sync, the global success of independent publishers, and much more. You can read more about the event by clicking here and in Music Row.

On June 21, AIMP National Chair and NY Chapter President Michael Lau traveled to the Nation’s Capital to testify on behalf of the AIMP and independent music publishers to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Music during their Copyright Round Table. You can read his statement to the Committee here. 

The AIMP LA Chapter held their recent Summer Kick-Off Mixer, during which they awarded this year’s Linda Komorsky Scholarship to USC rising Junior Jacqueline Gibson! “I want to extend a huge thank you to everyone in the AIMP for believing in me and providing me with opportunities and support to further my studies and explore what the music industry has to offer,” said Gibson. “I want to especially thank the Scholarship Committee members Barbie, Eric, Garrett, Jonathan, and Juliet for their continued kindness and help throughout this entire process. I felt a real connection with the entire Committee and to Linda Komorsky’s legacy. I am elated to continue my efforts in the industry and make Linda and the AIMP proud.” You can read about the event in Celebrity Access by clicking here.

For Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, Ralph Torrefranca (Senior Director of A&R) was invited to be a panelist at the 2nd annual Mono Stereo Groove writing camp for the AAPI community hosted at the Warner, Spotify, and Angry Mob studios. The writing camp included round tables, networking, and panels curated for Asian hitmakers in the music industry.

CCS artists and clients were nominated for eight awards at the 22nd Annual Indie Music Awards (INDIES) this year! Winning categories include neighbouring rights client Rezz for Electronic/Dance Artist/Group or Duo of the Year, and joint venture partner Ishk?dé Records artist Aysanabee, who won Indigenous Artist/Group or Duo of the Year. In addition to these wins, Ishk?dé Records was presented with the 2023 Allan Slaight Humanitarian Spirit Award.

Jodie Ferneyhough (Founder and President of CCS) was invited to speak at this year’s A2IM Indie Week! He was a featured panelist on “Time to Start Collecting: Neighboring Rights and How They Benefit Your Label,” where attendees learned the definitions of neighbouring rights, steps to collect this revenue, and how neighbouring rights collection can maximize your revenue.

Mark Isherwood also spoke at A2IM Indie Week on the panel “Data Is Money. How to Fix and Monetize Your Metadata.” 

Deborah was a part of the red carpet premiere of the documentary “Kiss the Future” at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival! Deborah was the music supervisor for the film, which showcases the struggle of the citizens of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War and how aid worker Bill Carter’s determination resulted in the enlistment of iconic rock band U2 to help shine a light when the world wasn’t paying attention. 

Early June, Deborah was invited to speak at AIM’s annual conference Future Independents, which is a free-to-attend online conference and networking event for 1000+ music creators and their teams in the independent music community. She was invited to share her knowledge and experience on the panel about sampling for emerging artists!

In May, she also curated a panel track at this year’s Music Biz called “Syncs & Samples: The Ins & Outs of Music Clearances,” which featured industry professionals from Concord Music Group, Venice Music, CrossBorderWorks, Distrokid, TikTok, and more. The panels included were “Redefining Music Licensing for Web3, Podcasts, and Beyond,” “From Sync to Streaming,” “Sync in the Age of Digital Advertising,” and “The Art of Sampling: How Music’s Past Fuels Its Future.” Deborah herself participated in two of the panels, including moderating a discussion with influential DJ Prince Paul, Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee David Porter, and Kat MacLean Daley of Universal Music Publishing Group.

Over the last couple months, the Head Bitch Music (HBM) team has participated in multiple events, including the Music Biz 2023 conference and the AIMP Global Music Publishing Summit! 

At Music Biz, Jessica Vaughn took part in the UMG Allyship Roundtables as a mentor for up-and-coming women in the music industry. She also spoke on the panel titled “Redefining Music Licensing for Web3, Podcasts and Beyond” with Vickie Nauman (CrossBorderWorks), Scott Velasquez (Frisson Sync), Deborah Mannis-Gardner (DMG Clearances), and Nick D’Angiolillo (Concord Music Group). 

Ryan Vaughn spoke on the panel titled “The New Frontier for Music Metadata: From Web3 to Podcasts” with Matthew Waters (Unchained Music), Cate Miller (Warner Music Group), and Lars Murray (PopCult). 

At the 2023 AIMP Global Music Publishing Summit, Jessica Vaughn moderated the panel titled “LGBTQIA+ | Queer Trends in Sync and Beyond” with a powerhouse group of female, queer panelists including Brooke Primont (Concord Music Group), Molly Salas (Halo Music & Sound), Allison Russell (Concord Music Publishing songwriter / Fantasy Records recording artist), YSA (Artist / Nashville Equal Access), and Rachel Jacobson (Because Music), including an intro and conversation with Tony Morrison (GLAAD). 

Jessica also participated as a mentor at the Canadian Creative Accelerator on June 21st in Hollywood. She’s pictured with Andre Galuban (Consulate General of Canada in Los Angeles), Arielle Beatty (2+2 Management), Toni-Rose Mabazza (2+2 Management), Annalie Bonda (Golly Geng), Jessica Vaughn, Melanie Moncrieffe (Item713), Claire Boning(Misfit Music MGMT), Mar Sellars (Envision Management), and Gabi Kochlani (The Grey Administration). 

Jessica Vaughn and Ryan Vaughn were also highlighted by A2IM as Featured Executives during June! You can read both of their interviews below. 

JESSICA VAUGHN

RYAN VAUGHN

Madelynn Elyse (Founder and President) has been on the road helping with marketing and social media for her client Morris Day! The shows are taking place at The STRAT Hotel in Las Vegas with Morris Day and The Time on July 28-29. Concert goers will hear hits like “The Walk,” “Jungle Love,” “Jerk Out,” and more!

Verifi sponsored the Metadata Summit at this year’s Music Biz 2023 conference with OpenPlay, SoundExchange, DataArt, and DDEX. Ken Umezaki (Verifi’s CEO) was invited to moderate the panel “Improving Data Clarity: How Can Data Flow More Easily?” and Michael Drexler (Senior Vice President of Business Development) was invited to be a part of the panel “Unlocking Billions: How Technology Is Enabling Accurate Ownership Data and Powering New Revenue Opportunities.”

Michael Drexler was also invited to be a part of the A2IM Indie Week panel “The Ethics of AI. How should the independent community address the use of AI” that discussed topics such as labels’ use of AI, AI’s effect on streaming rates, AI’s creation of artwork, the future of legislation, and more. In addition, Ellen Mangan (Vice President of Client Services) was a panelist for “Want to Stop Losing Money? Fix Your Data; Here’s How,” which discussed important issues like how poor metadata puts labels at risk, how to avoid these problems, and the solutions that are available to help labels of all sizes.