Association News
Below, you’ll find the latest Association press releases, updates on our upcoming events, introductions to our newest member companies, links to the latest content from Music Biz and our partners, and more.
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March 17, 2026 – The Future of What Episode #284 — Latin’s Global Growth: A Look Behind the Scenes with Rimas Publishing & Chinelo Creative
Global artists and genres are no longer region-locked, having seen astronomical growth in recent years thanks to the age of digital connectivity. Recently, Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl appearance – combined with the rise of other Latin artists from all different regions such as Chris MJ and Groupo Frontera – have further bolstered the visibility of Latin genres. This special episode features interviews with Emilio Morales & Christopher Hernández of Bad Bunny’s publisher, Rimas Publishing, and Joaquín Fernández Esquivel of Latin marketing agency Chinelo Creative.... Click Here To Listen
March 10, 2026 – The Future of What Episode #283 — Married Life in the Music Business: Interview w/ Symphonic’s Jorge Brea & Janette Berrios + Slim Moon (New Plastic Ideas)!
In celebration of Symphonic Distribution’s 20th anniversary under the leadership of Jorge Brea & Janette Berrios, we bring you a special episode of The Future of What featuring the couple alongside our host Portia & her husband Slim Moon! The pairs discuss how they met their partners, as well as the origins of both Symphonic and Kill Rock Stars, touching on the opportunities & challenges of working in the same industry and workplace as your spouse.... Click Here To Listen
March 3, 2026 – Music Business Association to Honor CMA’s Sarah Trahern With 2026 Presidential Award
Association also announces finalists for its nine crowd-nominated awards March 3, 2025 — The Music Business Association (Music Biz) today announces that Country Music Association (CMA) CEO, Sarah Trahern will receive its 2026 Presidential Award for Outstanding Executive Achievement. The award will be presented to Trahern at the 5th annual Bizzy Awards Dinner, happening Wednesday, May 13 during Music Biz 2026 at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly. Trahern took the helm of CMA in 2014, and earlier this year announced her upcoming retirement at the end of 2026.... Click Here To Read
February 25, 2026 – [Keeping Tempo With Music Biz] — Building Genuine Artist-Fan Connection Through Video: Interview with Vevo’s Cynthia Todd
Fan engagement in the 2020s has become a double-edged sword: while the spread-out nature of digital platforms means it’s harder to reach fans than ever, it also creates more opportunities to directly connect with fans in meaningful ways. In this conversation with Cynthia Todd, Director of Talent Booking at Vevo, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of creating genuine relationships between artists & fans, how artists can evolve their sound & brand while still appealing to both new and old fans,... Click Here To Read
February 24, 2026 – The Future of What Episode #282 — Navigating a Fragmented Industry: Songtradr’s Paul Langworthy on Music Rights & Licensing
Songtradr was founded by artist & producer Paul Wiltshire as a solution for independent artists to upload their own tracks to be licensed all in one place, in response to him facing these struggles in his own career. Since then, the platform has expanded and tailored its strategy to the complexity of the music business by acquiring companies like 7digital, Big Sync, MassiveMusic and Bandcamp. In this episode, Songtradr CRO Paul Langworthy breaks down some of these industry complexities,... Click Here To Listen
February 17, 2026 – The Future of What Episode #281 — Democratizing Music Legislation Education: A Conversation with Matthew Wilson & Michelle Davis of Arnall Golden Gregory LLP
Music law is important for everyone in our industry to be familiar with, no matter your role or experience level. This episode features Matthew Wilson and Michelle Davis of Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, two entertainment lawyers who champion this belief by spreading their own wealth of knowledge to others via mentoring & education programs. The two discuss their respective backgrounds and involvement in academia, Music Biz’s #NEXTGEN_U Student Summit, the parallels between current & past legal proceedings in music copyright law,... Click Here To Listen
February 10, 2026 – The Future of What Episode #280 — How Clearnote is Revolutionizing Contract Management in Today’s Music Business
To keep pace with change, adapting to new technologies is essential. Good Boy Records has not only adapted, but created their own tech — an AI-powered legal platform called Clearnote. This platform was developed by Good Boy’s founders & their VP of Operations, Cameron Siasi, to meet the demand for a more streamlined legal process for industry attorneys, especially in an age where tens of thousands of songs generate legal paperwork on a weekly basis. In this interview,... Click Here To Listen
February 2, 2026 – The Future of What Episode #279 — Artist-First Music Marketing: A Conversation with Danny Garcia of SongTools
After noticing artists spending more than they were getting at agencies, Danny Garcia developed SongTools to let music creators take control of their marketing campaigns via playlisting and ad tools. Though originally delivered primarily to artists themselves, SongTools has expanded to integrate within distribution platforms, producing success for partners like Symphonic where they drove a 70% client retention rate within 30 days. Here, Danny discusses the approach SongTools is taking to educate artists, how their playlisting ecosystem works &... Click Here To Listen
January 20, 2026 – 60 FOR 60: Help Music Biz Support Tomorrow’s Leaders!
Music Biz’s Scholarship Foundation has seen many achievements and changes since its inception in 1966, including its recent rededication in honor of our late colleague, Braylin Campbell. Throughout 2026, we’ll be celebrating the foundation and all it has helped young professionals achieve over the past six decades thanks to the generosity of our donors. Our goal for this year’s fundraising cycle is to match or surpass the $60,000 that was raised last year.... Click Here To Read
January 20, 2026 – [Keeping Tempo With Music Biz] — Why AI’s Most Critical Role in 2026 Will Be Rescue, Not Creation: Op-Ed from Noctil’s Jacob Varghese
Walk into any boardroom, or any room for that matter, in the music industry, and I bet that there will be at least one mention of Generative AI and how it will replace our artists. We spend hours debating deepfakes, voice cloning, and the dilution of human creativity. While these are valid concerns, they are a strategic distraction. We are so focused on the robot in the recording booth that we are ignoring the fire in the accounting department.... Click Here To Read
