Music Biz 2018

Innovation, data, experiential, engagement, impressions, streaming, content — all of these words together sound quite alluring, don’t they? What do they mean, how are they useful, and how do you actually put all of this into action?


This panel will not only crystallize digital buzzwords (and throw away the ones that are never to be said again) but also explore how traditional marketing and digital have intersected to become one. Topics include how to maximize your streaming footprint, take content to the next level, enhance strategic partnerships, and understand your resources to create the best fan experience.

As user generated content grows to unprecedented numbers in terms of the amount of content being created there are still very few systems that allow artists to control and properly monetize their content when it is used (often without permission). We will examine what systems exist, how they work, the realities of safe harbor, and discuss what fair compensation for artists could look like in the future.

To say Merlin has transformed the digital music market is no exaggeration. Ten years ago, independent labels and distributors faced a Catch 22 situation: perfectly suited to the entrepreneurial spirit of online innovation, but penalized at the negotiating table. While DSPs could secure major label repertoire via a handful of deals, partnering with indies was more challenging. It might involve hundreds (if not thousands) of conversations.  
 
Opening for business in May 2008, Merlin was tasked with ending this market fragmentation - building trust and unity across the independent sector to enable digital services to globally license - via a single deal - the world’s most important and commercially successful distributors and labels. Initially representing 200 members, Merlin’s first partnership was struck with Swedish start-up Spotify. Agreements with other new-generation services followed, as well as groundbreaking copyright settlements with infringing P2P platforms.
 
The subsequent impact has been profound, and helped unlock the true market value of independent music.
 
Today, Merlin represents the most valuable basket of rights outside of UMG, Sony and Warner Music. Independent businesses are positioned front and center in licensing negotiations, while their rights are correctly valued. And, in a best-of-both-worlds scenario, alongside empowerment, independent labels have retained their independence.
 
The agency currently has 800 members in 53 countries - representing tens of thousands of individual labels - and recently dispatched its billionth dollar in distributions.
 
But what of the future?
 
Celebrating their 10th anniversary, join Merlin CEO Charles Caldas for a comprehensive discussion that explores not only the market challenges Merlin has enabled independent labels to overcome, but also how Merlin itself operates, how those labels interact with Merlin, and how they have utilized the agency to grow their digital business.
 
Expect the discussion to cover Merlin’s groundbreaking impact on the wider digital market, offering DSPs a single entry point to successfully navigate the global independent label sector and how that has undoubtedly transformed their businesses too - with Merlin members’ repertoire fueling growth and adoption of streaming services on a global scale, and particularly on paid subscription tiers. The panel will dive deep into these new market dynamics, and offer a unique insight into the next evolutionary phase of our business.

Learn how the latest developments in "studio quality" Hi-Res Audio and advanced metadata-based features can be used to drive the deployment of an exciting new tier of premium subscription music services.


This panel, which features top music creatives, label executives, and marketing experts, will explore the opportunities and challenges related to delivering a more engaging and satisfying listening experience that's designed to meet the needs of the growing number of more demanding, passionate music fans.


Don't miss this informative session sponsored by Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group.

Data, consumer,  and metric is reshaping the music industry in radical new ways. Historically, in the 20th century, decisions around how to market and sell music were largely based upon executive assumptions of who the market is, who would buy it, and how it would be heard. Today, while marketing and selling music still hinges upon subjective assumptions, with consumers generating more information in one minute than in any historic record through to 2000, tackling and utilizing data is increasingly proving to be a treasure trove in turning information into actionable, evidence-based decisions.


The session will center around a moderated group discussion focusing in on the consumer insights and how that data and wider information streams apply to the music industry. It will cover the uses, challenges and commercial applications of consumer insights, and how they shape senior decision-making.

Having a song affiliated with a hit television show, a multi- million dollar ad campaign, the latest box-office success or the newest version of Madden NFL is one of the surest ways to generate revenue. But, how do you land a placement? What are sync licenses and how can you ensure you’ll never miss a lucrative opportunity to license your music? Our first-ever Sync It! will explore the answers to all of these questions. We’ll have a bit of fun along the way, looking at not only the business side of sync, but the creative side as well, exploring the process for making music for lm and TV and creating video game sound effects.

The process of scoring music to picture is a very subjective and personal process, though one that does need to follow the general needs of the story as well as certain technical needs.  Join us for a brief overview of the creative and technical process in making music work for film and TV.

There are many paths to success in the world of music synchronization. From labels and publishing houses to production music and the indie artist route, this panel will discuss the many different ways songwriters and companies go about landing placements. We will cover the business side – the way music is synced and the income it can generate – as well as working with clients and how writing specifically for sync is an art unto itself.

While the Super Bowl is obviously centered around football, over the years the commercials have evolved to be nearly just as central. In fact, a recent Huffington Post poll found more Americans between the ages of 18 and 30 actually prefer watching the commercials over the game itself. This year, Kobalt clients had seven placements in Super Bowl commercials for brands ranging from Amazon to Doritos. Kobalt’s Julie Hurwitz, SVP of Commercial Sync, and her team worked on the front lines to secure these placements. Hurwitz will share with us the interesting process of how songs end up in perhaps the most sought-after ad spots of the year.

Have you ever wondered what goes into creating a professional video game sound effect? Watch us recreate sound effects from popular video games like Overwatch, Super Smash Bros, and League of Legends with regular items like dining silverware, balloons… or maybe even a prop or item from the audience. During this panel, we will record sound effects with a microphone, edit and process them together on a computer, and show the full process for creating a polished video game sound effect.

As the amount of video and audio content has exponentially increased, there is a growing need for quick and simple music licensing. Productions are looking for the ease of Production Music Libraries, but with a broader scope of one-stop commercially released music. This panel will explore the nuances of licensing, rights needed and blanket licensing deals for modern mediums like Online Video and Podcasts.

There's a plethora of new opportunities in the market that are increasing the income options for compositions and songwriters, which in turn is attracting more avenues for investment and catalog sales. Hear more about the ins and outs of Selling Writer’s Share, Net Publisher’s Share, Private Equity Funding, Rights of Termination and Master Rights, and learn if there's money on the table for you.

There are different types of playlists on major digital service providers like Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. How are tracks selected for placement on these playlists? What can you do to increase your chances of being chosen? What can you do to stay on a playlist once you do? Label Logic’s Jay Gilbert and a panel of experts explore the new streaming landscape from pitching to promoting your music for playlist consideration.

Publishing data is broken. Countless worldwide data sources contain overlapping and incongruent information. There is no broad legal requirement to remove deprecated ownership info. There is currently no global master repository for publishing info.

Publishing data becomes deeply conflicted through the regular course of business, even when all parties are acting in good faith. The companies that merge catalog publishing data work at break-neck speeds. Where does that leave creators like you, trying to get paid fairly and accurately for your work? In the first half of this panel, we present how publishing data is used today and a collection of ways you can ensure your publishing data is pristine, working hard, and getting you paid by trusted third parties.

Looking forward to the future, many on the forefront of music data are working to build common infrastructure so that these problems can be diminished, and new revenue opportunities for creators can be unlocked. High-performance technologies like blockchain and a new generation of intelligent APIs are disrupting the century-old publishing data landscape. In the second half of this panel, we introduce you to the companies and ideas on the front lines of the digital publishing future.