Music Business Association to Host Fifth Annual Metadata Summit at Music Biz 2017 in Nashville
Summit to feature keynote from Universal Music Group’s Barak Moffitt
March 29, 2017 – The Music Business Association (Music Biz) will host the Fifth Annual Metadata Summit, the definitive gathering of the metadata community, on May 16 from 9 a.m. to 3:50 p.m. CT as part of the Music Biz 2017 convention at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel in Nashville. It will be supported by Presenting Sponsor OpenPlay and the following Supporting Sponsors: Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship/Open Music Initiative, DataArt, Digimarc, NPREX, Quantone, SOCAN, SoundExchange, and TiVo.
“Metadata is the foundation of the entire digital music industry, but many people don’t know it because the sizzle factor remains low,” said Bill Wilson, Vice President of Digital Strategy & Business Development at Music Biz. “Over the last four years, we’ve fought to change that with the Metadata Summit, amplifying the importance of data, providing a high level forum for discussion, and attracting key participants. We’re looking forward to another lively discussion among actively involved parties at every level of the business at our fifth installment.”
The event will be headlined by a keynote from Barak Moffitt, Executive VP of Content Strategy and Operations at the Universal Music Group. With more than 25 years in technology and music, including stints at Capitol Studios in Hollywood and the EMI Music Group, Moffitt will share his expertise on the importance of standardized, high-quality metadata and explain how it can be used to power new experiences in digital music. Chief among these is the rise of voice search via devices such as Amazon Alexa and Google Voice, which will be the subject of a panel hosted by Music Week’s Emmanuel Legrand and featuring Sony Music Entertainment’s Chris Frankenburg and Quantone Music’s Mike Pegan.
In addition, updates will be provided on global information infrastructure initiatives such as ISRC, DDEX, ISNI, and OMI by representatives from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Digital Data Exchange (DDEX), County Analytics, and the Open Music Initiative (OMI). The Summit will also tackle major metadata-related issues such as global songwriting royalty collection, proper implementation of standards, and programmatic techniques for predictive metadata with representatives from Downtown Music Publishing/Songtrust, Loudr, OpenPlay, Pandora, ProMusicDB, and VeVa Sound.
The full agenda for the Fifth Annual Metadata Summit can be found below or by visiting https://musicbiz2017.sched.com. Admission is included in the price of a full Music Biz 2017 badge, which can be purchased at www.musicbiz2017.com. If interested in purchasing a Tuesday, May 16 Day Pass to attend the Summit and other programs schedule for May 16, use code META-DAY to reveal the “Metadata Summit Day Pass – Tuesday, May 16” ticket for just $199. This ticket can be found at musicbiz2017.eventbrite.com.
Special discounted rates are available for students and educators as well as first-time independent label, startup, artist, manager, songwriter, and publisher attendees.
9 – 9:30 AM
Keynote Speaker
- Barak Moffitt, Exec. VP of Content Strategy and Operations, Universal Music Group
9:30 – 10:20 AM
Acronym Salad Updates
Join leaders of various global metadata and information infrastructure initiatives for an update on their strategies and a discussion of upcoming plans.
- ISRC Update: David Hughes, Chief Technology Officer, Recording Industry Association
of America (RIAA) - DDEX Update: Mark Isherwood, Secretariat, Digital Data Exchange (DDEX)
- ISNI Update: Paul Jessop, Founder & Director, County Analytics
- OMI Update: Panos Panay, Co-Founder, Open Music Initiative (OMI)
10:30 – 11:20 AM
Hello vs. Hello: Collecting Global Songwriting Royalties
As the industry continues to scale on the digital front, there are many cultural, procedural, and technological barriers blocking fully transparent and accurate payments to artists and songwriters.
This panel will discuss current friction points and the potential solutions that are being developed to resolve them.
- Moderator: Bill Wilson, VP of Digital Strategy & Business Development,
Music Business Association - Joe Conyers III, VP of Technology & GM, Downtown Music Publishing/Songtrust
- Annie Lin, General Counsel, Loudr
- Adam Parness, Head of Publisher Licensing & Relations, Pandora
11:30 AM – 12:20 PM
Someday We’ll Find It: The Metadata, Playlist and Voice Search Connection
Research shows that music fans are now listening to more playlists than albums. Voice control and search is being rapidly deployed by the consumer electronics industry. This panel will discuss the role and types of metadata in scaling playlists, as well as providing the underlying information for accurate voice search.
- Moderator: Emmanuel Legrand, U.S. Editor, Music Week
- Chris Frankenberg, VP of Global Digital Business Operations, Sony Music Entertainment
- Mike Pegan, Licensing Director, Quantone Music
- Ryan Redington, Head of US Prime Music and Digital Music Store, Amazon
12:45-1:45 PM
Lunch Sponsored by OpenPlay
2 – 2:50 PM
Standards vs. Practices Town Hall
The music industry has a great way of creating standards, but not necessarily implementing them exactly in the same way. How big is the disconnect? What causes problems? What is being done or can be done to resolve the disconnect? Mark Isherwood from DDEX will lead a thoughtful and provocative discussion with featured speakers and the audience.
- Moderator: Mark Isherwood, Secretariat, Digital Data Exchange (DDEX)
- Deborah DeLoach, VP, VeVa Sound
- Brian O’Leary, Executive Director, Book Industry Study Group
- Dr. Vikram Sorathia, Co-Founder and Director of Technology, ProMusicDB
3 – 3:50 PM
Increasing Efficiency and Reducing Errors: Programmatic Techniques for Predictive Metadata
Led by Edward Ginnis of OpenPlay, this panel will discuss the use of analytics in metadata systems to make the content delivery process easier and less error prone. Including the various processes currently used for optimization, and future considerations for industry solutions.
- Moderator: Edward Ginis, Co-Founder, OpenPlay
- Greg Delaney, Owner, Entertainment Intelligence
- Additional panelists to be added
Music Biz 2017, which will return to Nashville from May 15-18, is the music industry’s premier event, giving the commerce and content sectors a place to meet with trading partners, network with new companies, and learn about new trends and products impacting the music business. This year’s event will feature keynotes from Atlantic Records Group Chairman and COO Julie Greenwald, Spotify’s Global Head of Creator Services Troy Carter, Creative Artists Agency (CAA) Music Agents Jeff Krones and Hunter Williams, Cracker Barrel’s VP of Marketing Don Hoffman, Universal Music Group’s Exec. VP of Content Strategy and Operations Barak Moffitt, and more to be announced. A special line-up of Digital Service Workshops from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, Soundcloud, Spotify, and YouTube/Google Play will mark an unprecedented first for the music industry as Music Biz will bring these companies together in one place for one day packed with information about how to leverage the tools and products that these companies offer to maximize value for artists, labels, managers, creators, and the industry at large.
The eclectic Music Biz 2017 program will also cover topics including Touring, Live Streaming, Vinyl, Messaging, International, D2F, Crowdfunding, Tweens & Tech, e-Commerce, Playlisting, A&R, Social Media, Licensing, Publishing, Hi-Res, VR, Management, and Professional Development. Returning favorite sessions will include the Metadata Summit, Brand & Strategic Partnership Summit, and Entertainment & Technology Law Conference, as well as an encore for Music’s Leading Ladies Speak Out and various special interest programs and breakout sessions. Music Biz will celebrate executive and artist achievements with Music Biz awards being bestowed to UMG Nashville’s Mike Dungan, Music Millennium’s Terry Currier, Adele, Paula Abdul, Lukas Graham, Maren Morris, and others to be announced. Registration is now open at www.musicbiz2017.com, and for a full list of currently confirmed programming, visit https://musicbiz2017.sched.org.
About the Music Business Association
The Music Business Association (Music Biz) is a membership organization that advances and promotes music commerce — a community committed to the full spectrum of monetization models in the industry. It provides common ground by offering thought leadership, resources and unparalleled networking opportunities, all geared to the specific needs of its membership. Music Biz brings a unique perspective and valuable insight into the trends and changes that innovation brings. Today, we put our collective experience to work across all delivery models: physical, digital, mobile, and more. Music Biz and its members are committed to building the future of music commerce — together.
Music Biz Media Contact
Laurie Jakobsen, Jaybird Communications — laurie@jaybirdcom.com, 646.484.6764
