Comment
BUSY BODIES News fr om live music associations ar ound the world
Around 20 industry trade bodies took part in the Associations Summit held at ILMC 29. Below is a summary of some of the topics that various members brought to the table during this one-day meeting.
Sexual Safety at Festivals Paul Reed from the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) and Joppe Pihlgren of Livemusik Sverige presented their work drawing attention to sexual safety at festivals. Reed addressed the lack of well-rounded media coverage concerning sexual harassment and live events over the past year. He highlighted the need to provide a counter narrative to the one being portrayed in the media; that live events are a lot safer than other public spaces and see far lower instances of assault in comparison. AIF is publishing a charter of best practice for member festivals, featuring seven key points and pledges, as well as a campaign incorporating video and gifs to include on websites and socials. The three key messages of the campaign are: hands off!; don’t
be a bystander; and safer spaces at festivals. Pihlgren spoke about the much-publicised fake news surrounding alleged New Year’s Eve incidents in Cologne, which led to fear throughout events last summer. He revealed details of a campaign in which short films dedicated to the topic of appropriate behaviour are broadcast at festivals on screens and on social media. Livemusik Sverige partnered with non-profit, independent organisation RFSU (Swedish Association for Sexuality Education), which advocates an open and positive attitude towards sex and relationships. Pihlgren emphasised that the messages delivered by these initiatives should not be narrowed, as there are a lot of similar campaigns for sexual safety using different focal points.
International Music Managers Forum Setting out four areas of operation for an artist’s business: publishing, brand, recorded and live, Jake Beaumont-Nesbitt of the International Music Managers Forum (IMMF) compared the complexity of the supply of music rights and permissions with consumer demand for access to the artist’s various activities. He stressed the growing need to ensure that artists are able to operate efficiently without facing complex technical barriers when building their business models. With this focus on simplifying music’s supply chain, Beaumont-Nesbitt identified several issues that IMMF is focusing on that impact the live sector: collective management; royalties; licensing rates; streaming/record-
ing live events; identifying rights holders and other authorities; context-based marketing; chatbots for ticketing; and audience data to identify and A&R new artists and efficiencies, etc. He warned that the artist is the common thread and the driver of most revenues, but they are all too often identified only by ambiguous text, giving the example of the numerous versions of Guns ‘N Roses (eg Guns & Roses, Guns and Roses, etc). One solution, he suggested, would be if the industry adopted the ISNI (International Standard Name Identifier) – a 16-digit identifier for creators and their personas. ISNI could be used to disambiguate names and so link usage data (including from live events) across all sectors to one point.
North American Concert Promoters Association CEO of the North American Concert Promoters Association (NACPA), Ben Liss, revealed to fellow association delegates the current state of performing rights organisations (PROs) in the US, and the disparity between data collected for live events versus recorded music. He explained that despite the US having significantly lower live tariffs than the rest of the world,
an unregulated and uncoordinated licensing system has allowed four independently operated PROs to foster a lack of consensus on how to deal with important licensing issues. Some artists, reports Liss, are refusing to recognise PROs they aren’t affiliated with and a tug of war between artist, promoter and the PROs has ensued. One significant issue affecting the live sector is
the different rates applicable at various venue capacities. Liss said that NACPA continues to lobby for a reverse of the lower rates paid for stadium shows in favour of reducing club rates where higher show costs negatively impact developing artists. The NACPA boss also flagged up a shift in the landscape as talent agencies move from commission-based businesses to owning assets and
brands. Noting that some of the agency conglomerates are looking to eventually launch initial public offerings, Liss also spoke about other bodies investing in the music sector and cited SESAC’s recent sale to the Blackstone Group, and Irving Azoff’s PRO, Global Music Rights, which has garnered prominence by signing major artists, and is owned in part by the Madison Square Garden Company.
Does your association have any news or issues to share? Email gordon@iq-mag.net to be considered for the next edition of IQ...
12
IQ Magazine May 2017