As the music industry boomed in the 1980s and 1990s, the place to be for global business was MIDEM, the annual convention in Cannes. However, over the past three years, an increasing number of these deals have taken place at the IMPF (Independent Music Publishers Forum) World Music Summit in the fall in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. I went for the first time this year, October 1-4, and it's one of the best music business conferences I've ever attended. (I should point out that I got a press card, but Bulletin board paid for my trip.) Now in its third year, the event attracted 500 participants, up from 320 last year. It's the perfect size — small enough to see people you know, but big enough to meet people you should.
The atmosphere is very different. MIDEM was like the throne room of the Imperial Music Business, where dealmakers held court in high-end hotels and hamburgers cost 35 euros. However, most record companies now control recording rights in most of the world, so the focus of dealmaking has shifted to publishing. The World Music Summit is more relaxed. It takes place in two hotels in the Mallorca marina which are nice but not over the top and you can walk around and see everyone easily. During the day, you can hold meetings on one of the hotel's terraces or stroll along the marina. In the evening, enjoy cocktails at the Budde Bar sponsored by Budde Music.
IMPF itself only goes back to 2014, when about a dozen independent publishers came together to form a trade association that would focus on their needs. The International Confederation of Music Publishers, which includes both majors and indies, has many of the same members and focuses on some of the same issues, and the two organizations are often worthy together. Both are international, but hold more sway in Europe, where countries tend to have stronger copyright laws and where the publishing business generates more revenue.
Much of the action took place in private meetings, but the panels were also smart — short and relevant, and held one at a time. The keynotes were also worthwhile. The first was from the founder and CEO of Reservoir Media Golnar Khosrowshahiwho talked about how technology has helped expand music publishing. Reservoir's first big investment was in Music Maestro, she recalls, and the data tools helped the company grow. He predicted that AI would create opportunities and efficiencies as well as challenges, a welcome message at a time when it seems like the wild elephant in the room.
The following day's keynote address came from BMI's President and CEO Mike O'Neillwho gave an audience accustomed to dealing with traditional, non-profit collective management organizations a glimpse into the alternative represented by his now privately-owned company. He pointed out that this may not be so different from the status quo as SESAC has a similar ownership structure and GMR is said to have an “understanding” to sell part of the company to a private equity firm. “Why is that?” O'Neill asked. “I can only speak for BMI and for us it means a level of investment that we simply could not have achieved before.”
O'Neill also discussed BMI's plan to distribute 85% of license revenue and keep 15% for overhead and investment, and said the company is on track to do so. “While we have not completed our audit of the last financial year, I am extremely satisfied with our results and the way we are following our targets,” he said. “We've had a number of record deliveries this year and our final distribution growth will reflect that.”
NMPA (National Music Publishers' Association) President and CEO David the Israelite closed the event with a keynote on how the publishing business is growing while closing the gap with recorded music revenue, as well as Spotify's 'war on songwriters', the MLC database and how transparent organizations need to be collective management. Israelite ended his talk — and, really, the entire conference — with advice for the publishing industry. When Israelite started at NMPA two decades ago, “we had a cultural problem” — major publishers and indies often pushed different agendas, which also differed from those of the songwriters. One of Israelite's key successes was getting these groups to resolve their differences in private and unite behind an agenda in public. In Europe, where record labels and songwriting groups have more power than in the US, this could be difficult. But it could also help the entire business gain the leverage it needs to make sure it can take advantage of AI.
It's never easy to get the different parts of the music business to unite behind anything, of course. But events like the IMPF summit, held in a cool place on a scale that makes sense, make it much easier.
