The Ivors Academy Summit supported by ICE and PRS for Music

The Ivors Academy Summit

Empowering songwriters and composers

Held during Ivors Week, just days before The Ivors with Amazon Music, this flagship summit brings together top industry voices to empower songwriters and composers with the knowledge, connections and tools needed to thrive in the music industry.

What to expect

🎤 Podcast-style conversations – Insights from acclaimed songwriters, composers and industry experts

🔧 Interactive sessions – Delegates will get a practical toolkit to navigate industry challenges and opportunities

🌍 In-depth discussions – Topics include:

• Global music publishing

• Data and rights management

• AI’s impact on music creators

• Creator remuneration and emerging revenue streams

Speakers

• Charisse Beaumont – Chief Executive of Black Lives in Music
• Charlene Brown – Co-Founder and Managing Director of people intelligence company Howlett Brown and Chair of The Ivors Academy’s Ethics Committee
• Rio Caraeff – Co-President at Musixmatch
• Indi Chawla – Head of International Relations at the Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC)
• Peter de Monnink – CEO of ICE
• Tom Gray – Songwriter, composer and Chair of The Ivors Academy
• David Israelite – President and CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association
• Michelle Lewis – Songwriter and CEO of Songwriters of North America/The SONA Foundation
• Andrea Czapary Martin – CEO of PRS for Music
• Chris Meehan – CEO of Sentric
• Roberto Neri – CEO of The Ivors Academy
• Orphy Robinson MBE, Composer and Board Director at The Ivors Academy
• Stevie Spring CBE – Chairman of the mental health charity Mind

More speakers announced soon

Programme

Learn more about the programme below, and stay tuned for exclusive fireside chat announcements, plus upcoming Composer & Songwriter in Conversation sessions.

Building and managing your business as a songwriter or composer

Do you know how much you should be getting paid from your music?

Songwriters and composers are the backbone of the industry but are rarely paid equitably or accurately. The Ivors Academy is empowering songwriters and composers to build and grow their businesses through our new toolkit and this Summit. What are your key revenue streams? Outside The Ivors Academy, what platforms and partners can help you better manage your rights and revenues? How will they help you earn as much as possible and give you the best chance of identifying what’s missing? How do you make sure that you earn whenever your music is played, performed, synced, broadcast and streamed?

Our Summit starts that process by exploring and explaining the creative and commercial power behind songwriting and composing – the business skills that turn ideas into sustainable careers.

Collective licensing in the USA

Collective licensing in the biggest music rights market in the world works differently to the UK and the rest of Europe. In the US, multiple competing performing rights organisations exist, music creators and publishers are highly regulated and subject to compulsory licences, and American copyright law presents its own unique challenges.

This session unpacks how the US system works and explains what it means for managing your rights in the States, and how you can build direct relationships with key organisations in the American market.

The business of lyrics

The Ivors Academy exists to protect and champion your rights and the value of your intellectual property. We’re putting the business of lyrics in the spotlight. Lyrics play an important role in music discovery and provide additional, and often un-monetised, revenue opportunities.

We will explore how digital platforms interact with, utilise and license lyrics, what songwriters and composers can do to ensure their lyrics are properly managed, protected and monetised, and how we shape a better licensing model for the future.

Credits Due and metadata

Do you know if your contributions are accurately reflected within the value chain? Are you being credited externally for your work? If you have missing or incorrect metadata attached to your work, you could be losing out on significant income.

That’s why The Ivors Academy has been leading the charge with its Credits Due campaign – advocating for higher global metadata standards and stronger systems, so you’re paid what you’re due.

Credits Due exists to solve two fundamental problems in the industry: to ensure complete and accurate song metadata is attached to all recordings at the point of creation, and to raise the profile of songwriters by ensuring they are publicly credited for their work.

In this session we will explain what data matters and your role – and that of your business partners – in getting that data into the system, ensuring you receive the royalties and credit you deserve.

The business of classical

We understand that the traditional income models that support songwriters are different to those which support our classical composers. The Ivors Academy is campaigning to create a secure future for classical composers – one where funding is sustainable, education is properly supported, and new music is commissioned on fair and transparent terms.

Commissioning sits at the heart of a thriving contemporary classical sector. We’ll consider the role that publishers and agents play in supporting and working effectively with composers, and explore trends and new opportunities in the printed music market.

How do you extract the most value from your commissions? What should your publisher be doing to help support this? And how can they better champion your work and negotiate fairer, more transparent commissioning deals?

Post Lunch Recap

A rapid-fire recap of the conversations so far and key insights from the Summit with practical tips to help you manage your rights and revenues more effectively. We’ll also look at how to choose the right platforms and partners to support your work as a songwriter or composer.

Publisher perspectives: effective rights administration

As music is played, performed, synced, broadcast, and streamed across the globe, tracking its use across more than 20,000 different sources – and ensuring very songwriter and composer is properly paid – is an enormous administrative task. In this session, we’ll explore how publishers or rights administrators manage this process, and how new technologies are both creating new complexities and innovative solutions.

We’ll look at how songwriters and composers, including self-published writers, can take steps to ensure their rights are effectively administered.

Media composer in conversation – announcement coming soon

Music and AI

AI is one of the biggest challenges our community has ever faced. While it has potential as a tool to support creativity and improve efficiency in the industry, it must be developed in a way that protects copyright, provides transparency and values human creativity. That’s why The Ivors Academy has been leading the fight against exploitative AI practices that undermine the livelihoods of songwriters and composers.

What responsibilities do AI companies have when using existing music to train their models? What commercial, creative and business efficiency opportunities does AI offer to composers and songwriters?

We’ll hear from those at the heart of the debate around music and AI, reviewing the political dimension, key legal cases, and the campaigns that are seeking to ensure that tech companies work with, rather than against, creators.

Publisher perspectives: creative and commercial opportunities

We talk to key global players to look at what additional services music publishers can provide and the further value they can add. We’ll get perspectives from three leading figures from music publishing about the evolving role of the music publisher, challenges and opportunities facing the sector, and what makes a successful, long-term partnership between a publishing company and a songwriter/composer.

Songwriter in conversation – announcement coming soon

Tickets

Tickets are on sale to Ivors Academy members, songwriters and composers, and music industry professionals.

Members of The Ivors Academy get the best rate and first-time songwriter and composer members can join for just £9.99 and save £60 on a ticket. Join for £9.99.

The ticket price includes lunch, refreshments and a drinks reception

About The Ivors Academy

The Ivors Academy champions songwriters and composers. As a not-for-profit organisation, we’re here to ensure that songwriters and composers receive fair compensation for their work, are recognised and respected, and have access to the resources and opportunities they need to succeed.

Through advocacy, education and awards, The Ivors Academy protects, empowers and celebrates the songwriters and composers who create all the value in music.

Join The Ivors Academy for your first year for £9.99!

Not a songwriter or composer but want to support The Ivors Academy? Sign up as a Friend today.

Additional information

• Terms and conditions: By purchasing tickets, attendees agree to our terms and conditions
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• Refund policy: Refunds available up to 7 days before the event (Eventbrite fees are non-refundable)

Bulk ticket discounts, sponsorship or questions

For bulk ticket discounts email events@ivorsacademy.com

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