SESAC’s Indie Week shindig at JIMMY in Soho (Photo: SESAC)
The music industry was in a New York state of mind last week – with enough conferences, parties, and meetings to blow up any well-meaning calendar app. Here’s a wrap of the rumbling scuttlebutt.
Back in the days of Tommy Mottola, Clive Davis, and the once-adored ‘Puff,’ NYC was the center of the industry action – only to be supplanted by Los Angeles and fast-rising mini-hubs like Nashville and Atlanta.
Times change, but last week, it was all Big Apple, thanks to a crush of overlapping music industry events. Specifically, A2IM’s Indie Week took place at the InterContinental in Times Square, while David Israelite’s fast-rising Music Investor Conference (MIC) bubbled around Columbus Circle.
Beyond that, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) held its star-studded Annual Meeting, while Anti Social, billed as ‘The World’s Largest Songwriting Camp,’ sprinkled workshops and events throughout the city.
So, what went down? First, let’s start with the action happening a few hours south in Washington – and quickly bubbling into the New York chatter.
On the legislative front, DMN received nary a peep from a US Copyright Office insider, although it appears that the pushed-out Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, is very much on the outs.
During an Indie Week chit-chat, US Copyright Office Acting Deputy General Counsel John Riley tellingly emphasized a business-as-usual approach at the Office, although he declined to share any details on the contentious litigation waged by Perlmutter against the Trump White House.
Of course, the future of the US Copyright Office and resulting music IP policy is of extreme importance to the industry, though most execs in New York offered a shrug emoji on what’s next. Probing the fog, here’s a deeper dive into what we’ve been able to piece together on this front, though we’re bracing for fresh fireworks ahead.
Elsewhere, industry legal eagles were chattering about Vetter v. Resnik (3:23-cv-01369), a hotly-contested royalty battle decided in Louisiana in February.
The case effectively determined that copyright termination rights apply globally – not just to US-based rights – a seriously underappreciated bombshell if the decision stands.
Which raises the question: when will an appeal take place?
That was the pressing question, and if the decision stands, prepare for a significant reevaluation of the global rights landscape – at least when terminations come into effect.
Meanwhile, NMPA topper David Israelite held court at his Music Investor Conference at the Kaufman Music Center on 67th – and this year’s iteration was stuffed with heavyweights from both the investor and music sides of the equation.
Israelite invited DMN under the strict agreement that there’d be no reporting of anything on stage. That means the ink shall not floweth on this one, but at a top level…
DAMN!
We already know that a significant amount of investment is pouring into this space – with nearly $3 billion in funding rounds in 2025 alone, according to DMN Pro. That includes music IP, but there now seems to be even more cash, sophisticated dealmaking, and institutional interest than we’ve ever seen before.
You can small the excitement in the air, though are the voices warning of over-investment and even a bubble ahead expressing valid concerns?
Shifting back to the indie world, there was also plenty of unbridled enthusiasm.
For starters, the ever-climbing market share claimed by indies is putting majors on the defensive, fueling new bets, and generating substantial new revenue. That backdrop attracted big names like Red Bull, Amazon, and the UMG-owned Virgin Music Group, all of whom dropped serious funds at Indie Week on signage and splashy rooftop parties.
But those were just the 800 lb-ers. Others making a splash at this conference included Too Lost, Manifest Financial, Oh Boy Records, beatBread, Kitbetter, SESAC, Rebeat Digital, Beatdapp, Musixmatch, Symphonic Distribution, Chartmetric, A to Z Media, Cinq Music Group, AdShare, Bandcamp, Legitary, RAMPD, Concord and its freshly-acquired Stem, ASCAP, IDOL, Labelcamp, Mockle Music, and Open on Sunday – among many, many others.
Indeed, A2IM is well-situated for the indie ascendancy, but who will helm the org following the departure of Dr. Richard James Burgess?
In a lengthy chat with Digital Music News, the diplomatic Burgess offered few clues – though expect a big vote ahead from A2IM board members. So who’s on the short list to fill these exciting — but pressure-filled — shoes?
“I’m excited to see what the next person does and where they take it,” Burgess told DMN. “We’ve grown this thing to a substantial size, and I’m excited to see it [expand] ten times bigger under the next person.”
Nothing against fast-rising sectors, unbridled investment interest, legislative turbulence, and legal prognostications – but what about the celebs?
NMPA’s annual gathering always delivers on that front, with high-wattage luminaries like Kacey Musgraves, Gracie Abrams, Thomas Rhett, and Leon Bridges performing ditties for the publishing and songwriting crowd.
George Clinton flanked by SESAC’s Mario Prins (l) and New York DJ+producer Natasha Diggs (r)
Also making an appearance was George Clinton, who dropped by SESAC’s rooftop shindig at JIMMY in Soho.
The soon-to-be-84 Clinton was an affable guest with several money-making irons in the fire.
That includes the latest dazzling sneaker design custom-created by Clinton with John Fluevog – worn by the funk legend himself at the event. Perhaps most eye-popping: Clinton decided to shear his signature rainbow dreads – though perhaps being less-than-instantly-recognizable has its perks.
Beyond that, prepare for a major Clinton-inspired project of epic proportions, with significant IP monetization part of the ambitious adventure.
We’ll leave it at that for now — but stay tuned.
