CMU Speed Briefings – UnLimited Media

CMU presents speed briefings at music conferences and other industry events around the world. Tapping into the CMU team’s daily reportage and extensive research work, each briefing provides a concise but comprehensive overview of a different aspect of the music business.

Conferences that have included speed briefings in their programmes include…

AIM Connected
AIM Ireland Connects
Athens Music Week
BIME
Brighton Music Conference
by:Larm
Canadian Music Week
Co-Pop
Digital Music Days
ECSA Creators Conference
Eurosonic
IMS
jazzahead!
Linecheck
MENT
MIDEM
Monkey Week

Music + Media
Most Wanted: Music
Music Week Poland
Output
PIN
Reeperbahn
Runda Digital Day
SHIP
SoAlive
Sonic Visions
South By Southwest
Spot+
Swn Festival
The Great Escape
Tallinn Music Week
Vill Vill Vest
Wide Days

To discuss including a speed briefing as a part of your music conference or industry event contact [email protected]

CURRENT SPEED BRIEFINGS

HOW ARTISTS MAKE MONEY RIGHT NOW: REVIEWING KEY REVENUE TRENDS
Frontline artists in the music industry make money by creating intellectual property, staging live performances and building fan relationships. We look at recent trends across all those revenue streams, and consider future challenges and opportunities, tapping into all the key stats and highlighting everything you need to know about music rights, live music and the fan business.

MUSIC COPYRIGHT EXPLAINED: THE FIVE THINGS EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW
If you write songs or record tracks you are in the copyright business. If you work in the music industry, you are in the copyright business, whether you’re involved in creating, managing, administrating or exploiting music rights. There are five key facts about copyright that everybody involved in music should understand – in this speed briefing we’ll talk you through them one by one.

GET PLAYED, GET PAID: HOW MUSIC STREAMING REALLY WORKS
When your music is streamed on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, how do you get paid? There are no fixed per-stream rates, with royalties being calculated on a consumption share and revenue share basis. We explain what that means and how it all works, discuss the new rules and thresholds now being applied, and review the various debates over whether or not the current business model is fit for purpose.

IS SPOTIFY ACTUALLY EVIL? THE UPS AND DOWNS OF MUSIC STREAMING
Streaming can be a controversial talking point within the music community and it’s often Spotify – as the biggest music streaming service – that gets the most criticism. What aspects of the streaming business model are misunderstood and what aspects are rightly criticised? And where there are issues, is that actually the fault of Spotify, or indeed the streaming services more generally? Join the discussion!

WHERE’S MY F*CKING MONEY? HOW BAD DATA STOPS YOU GETTING PAID
Bad data stops music-makers being credited and can stop at least some music-makers from being paid. We run through the key categories of music metadata, explain why it’s so important and how everyone in the music rights industry has a role to play in getting the data right. Plus what tools and technologies is the music industry using to better track music usage and get people paid?

UGC + SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS – FRIEND OR FOE?
We know YouTube, TikTok and Instagram are all important marketing platforms for artists and record labels, but how do they generate income for the music industry? Where do they fit in alongside music services like Spotify? Are they under-paying for the music they use? And how can the industry at large – and individual artists and labels – get the most out of these platforms?

HAVE WE FIXED STREAMING YET? RECAPPING THE DIGITAL MUSIC DEBATES
There have been lots of debates about the economics of music streaming in recent years. Is the way streaming revenues are shared out, between the platforms, record labels, music publishers and music-makers fair? Is the lack of transparency about the streaming deals justified? And how can industry – or copyright law – address the issues? We recap the debates, the proposals and what’s happening now.

PICKING THE RIGHT PARTNER: EVOLVING RECORD DEALS
Artists need business partners to help them release their recordings. Those partners will deliver the music to the digital platforms, but may also help with marketing, pitching, social content and PR, get involved in the creative process and provide all important cashflow. There are now a number of different partners and deals for artists to choose from – in this speed briefing we run through the pros and cons of every option.

PICKING THE RIGHT PARTNER: EVOLVING PUBLISHING DEALS
Artists and songwriters need business partners to help them manage the rights in their songs and compositions. Collecting societies are a key business partner – but many writers will also work with music publishers or rights administrators. In this speed briefing we look at what business support writers need, how they can access that support, and the pros and cons of all the different approaches.

MUSIC + AI: WHAT THE F*CK IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW?
To train a music-making AI, you need access to large quantities of existing music. But do you need to get permission from creators and rightsholders first? The music industry says “yes”, but many AI companies say “no”. We explain the legal arguments, run through the lobbying and litigation that is happening right now, and outline what music-makers and everyone working in the music industry needs to know.