NMPA ANNUAL MEETING HONORS BRANDI CARLILE, ANNOUNCES TWITTER LAWSUIT
Awarded Non-Performing Songwriter Icon Ashley Gorley, Featured Surprise Performances by Luke Bryan and Brandy Clark, Hosted Keynote Conversation with Guy Oseary
New York City- The National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) yesterday hosted its annual meeting at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall.
The event honored 2023 NMPA Songwriter Icon Brandi Carlile. Upon accepting her award, the 25-time GRAMMY nominee and nine-time winner said, “Every once in a while I’ll know that its time for me to end my constant struggle with internal feelings of aloneness, and I write songs again… It’s not really a song for me until I’ve shared it. I write a song and then I’m that girl that’s going to call you immediately on the phone and sing it to you... I get so much songwriting inspiration from the uniqueness of other writers who write in community.” She performed a stunning rendition of The Mother.
Ten-time GRAMMY nominee Brandy Clark performed You and Me On The Rock in a surprise tribute to Brandi, who recently produced her critically acclaimed eponymous album. GRAMMY nominated singer-songwriter Allison Russell performed Carlile’s hit This Time Tomorrow.
Also honored was NMPA Non-Performing Songwriter Icon Ashley Gorley. Coming off of his 67 number one singles, his NSAI Songwriter of the Decade award, and his recent Songwriter of the Year award at the ACMs, he both inspired and earned the inaugural NMPA award. When accepting, he said "I want to say thank you to all the artists throughout the years like Luke who've trusted me along the way and my songs, and my instincts, or whatever it is that caused them to put their trust in me and let me be a part of the stories they were telling, that's really special." To celebrate his incredible catalog of over 400 hits, Luke Bryan made a surprise appearance to perform What Makes You Country and Play it Again for his friend and collaborator.
RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier was awarded the NMPA Industry Legacy Award and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) was honored with the NMPA President’s Award.
During the State of the Industry address, NMPA EVP & General Counsel Danielle Aguirre unveiled a new lawsuit against Twitter for the rampant infringement of publishers’ songs on its platform and failure to license as its competitors have.
The complaint seeks over $250 million in damages for hundreds of thousands of noticed infringements of approximately 1700 works including songs recorded by some of the biggest artists in the world.
The event also unveiled new analysis including the size of the U.S. publishing industry. NMPA President & CEO David Israelite announced that the 2022 total revenue came to $5,605,824,140, a 19.25% increase over 2021. Additionally, the revenue breakdown was Performance: 48.29%, Sync: 26.07%, Mechanical: 20.27%, and Miscellaneous: 5.37%.
David also touted major streaming revenue increases. Stemming from the CRB IV settlement which went into effect in January, growing subscribers, and increased prices from some platforms, we saw a 27% revenue uplift overall from January 2022 to January 2023. Israelite noted the true increase is likely much larger since digital services still owe songwriters and publishers repayment at increased CRB III rates which were upheld on appeal.
Legendary manager and tech entrepreneur Guy Oseary was also featured in a keynote conversation discussing the implications of AI on the music industry.
A surprise tribute to acclaimed songwriter Liz Rose, who yesterday exited the NMPA Board after fulfilling her four-year term was performed by Nashville singer-songwriter Alana Springsteen. Israelite announced that four-time GRAMMY nominee and CMA, ACM and BMI Song of the Year winner Laura Veltz had been elected to her seat for the next term.
Photos available upon request.
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