On Tuesday (June 11), the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) held its annual Global Music Publishing Summit at 3 West in New York City. Featuring panels on a broad list of publishing hot topics, from fraud to film/TV syndication, the one-day event featured executives from ABKCO, Rimas Publishing, Spirit Music Group, Warner Chappell, CD Baby, Pex and more.
One of the highlights of the day included the Opportunities Abroad: Maximizing Overseas Collection panel with Michael Simon (Harry Fox Agency), Alexander Wolf (SESAC International), David Alexander (MusicIndustry.Africa), Mark Chung (Freibank Music Publishing, IMPF) and Thomas Erickson (AMRA).
During the panel, experts from around the world discussed the increasingly globalized music market, which regions have the most value and how to maximize that value. “It can't be like the '90s,” Simon said. “Then the answer was to sit back and wait for the checks to arrive in your letterbox – that world seems to be disappearing.”
Some experts emphasized the importance of relying on sub-publishers with local knowledge to ensure appropriate collections. Ericsson, whose AMRA company collects digital rights on a global basis, explained that using AMRA can also be a solution to collection pain points worldwide because “the majority of societies do not have the capital incentives to invest in better technology and therefore uses every means must process this money to others.'
“My bet is on Asia,” said Wolf of the region with the most untapped potential for publishers. “They are knowledgeable and making money… Africa as a continent is more problematic. Countries like Nigeria are particularly great countries, great musicians, but in the last thirty years, Nigeria has had seven different collection companies. There is value there, but we need patience.”
The AIMP event coincided with what is known as New York City Music Month (NYMM) — a collection of events across the five boroughs to support the city's local music scene. Although festivities continue throughout the month, the bulk of NYMM events take place the week of June 10-15. In the publishing industry, the annual gathering is known as “Publishers' Week” or “Songwriters' Week” in reference to events such as AIMP, the National Association of Music Publishers' annual meeting, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame — all taking place in the same five-day period. Others also call it “Indie Week,” a reference to the American Independent Music Association's five-day convention of the same name.
