“Anxiety Or Too Much Coffee: What Keeps Indie Publishers Up At Night? Spoiler: It’s A Lot!”

Date/Time
Date(s) -

11/12/2024

Location
Zoom

From copyright termination challenges, the onslaught of AI, political performance licenses, new PROs and everything in-between. How are we juggling a rapidly changing landscape? A look at the state of music publishing from an independent perspective in the year 2024 and onward. Join us for a fascinating and provocative conversation from a distinguished panel of indie music publishers and songwriter advocates.

Moderator: 

Garrett M. Johnson, Esq.

Questions? Email is at questions@theccc.org

Biographies

Garrett M. Johnson, Esq.

Garrett Johnson is a member of the Bars of New York and the District of Columbia specializing in entertainment and tax law.  Currently representing a wide spectrum of creative talent and industry participants, including musicians, authors, recording artists, composers, screenwriters, playwrights, record producers, artist management companies, independent film makers and record labels, Mr. Johnson is also active in the provision of music publishing administration services and the facilitation of Trademark applications, as well as general business formation.

Active with the Entertainment Law Forum of the American Bar Association, Past President of the California Copyright Conference (CCC), current Board Member of the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) and the Independent Gospel Artists Alliance (IGAA), as well as a Gold Member of the Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL), Mr. Johnson speaks regularly on legal and business issues in the entertainment industry in a variety of venues.

Prior to entering private practice, he was an attorney in the Office of the General Counsel at the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C., providing counsel to agency staff in legislative, personnel and intellectual property matters.  He received his A.B. in economics from Columbia University and J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Michael Eames | President, PEN Music Group, Inc.

Michael Eames is a trained composer, songwriter, and pianist who majored in music at Cornell University and completed the Certificate Program in Film Scoring at UCLA Extension; he also secured a minor in Business Management from Cornell.

As president of PEN Music Group, Inc. (celebrating its 30th anniversary this year), Michael oversees all aspects of the operation as well as focuses on pitching the catalogue to all media and business development. He was chosen to serve (along with 4 other independent music publishers and 5 songwriters) on the Unclaimed Royalties Oversight Committee (UROC) of The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) that commenced blanket mechanical licensing of the digital services in the U.S. on January 1, 2021 and currently serves as the UROC Chair. He also proudly serves on the Independent Publishers Advisory Council (IPAC) of the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) and on the Advisory Board of Songwriters Of North America (SONA).  He also previously served as the National President of the Association Of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) from 2015-2018 and served as its National Vice President from 2013-2014.

Immediately prior to starting PEN, Michael oversaw the international and film & TV departments of Don Williams Music Group where he was responsible for song catalogues such as Jimi Hendrix, Chicago, and Roy Orbison among numerous others. He also worked previously for Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and the management and music supervision firms The Derek Power Co and Seth Kaplan Entertainment.Michael wrote the music publishing section of the Hal Leonard/Rowman & Littlefield-published book entitled Five Star Music Makeover: The Independent Artist’s Guide for Singers, Songwriters, Bands, Producers and Self Publishers (2016) and is co-author (with Bobby Borg) of the book Introduction To Music Publishing For Musicians which was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2021 (the Second Edition will be published in 2025) and is already used in many curriculums around the U.S. He was accepted into Leadership Music’s Class of 2025 and is a frequent guest speaker in both real and virtual classrooms, festivals and panel discussions worldwide.

Jodie Ferneyhough | President & Founder, CCS Rights Management

In 2011, Jodie founded CCS Rights Management with a vision of a dynamic global independent company that puts artists and songwriters first, providing individualized attention and a full range of services to maximize income, elevate careers, and protect the value of their works.

Under his leadership, CCS has experienced continuous growth and significantly expanded its global reach and scope of services provided to a growing roster of award-winning and up-and-coming songwriters, artists, musicians, producers, and labels, as well as production companies, major corporate brands and other rights holders.

The company manages more than 150,000 copyrights and specializes in publishing administration, royalty collections, creative services, neighbouring rights administration, and music licensing for film,
TV advertising, games and other media.

Professor Kevin Greene | John J. Schumacher Chair Professor, Southwestern Law School

K.J. Greene is a former U.S. Marine and a graduate of the Yale Law School. Professor Greene is the John J. Schumacher Chair/Professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, where he teaches Entertainment Law and Copyright Law.

Greene is an internationally recognized scholar in Entertainment Law and has represented iconic artists, including Bobby Brown, Public Enemy, Spike Lee’s production company, and funk legend George Clinton. He also serves as an expert consultant and witness on high-profile IP litigation. Greene is also a television producer of shows on Netflix and the BBC.

He lives in Hollywood and San Diego.

Janelle Hawkes | Publishing Royalty Manager, beatBread

Janelle Hawkes has worked in the entertainment industry for almost twenty years throughout many mediums. Early in her career, Janelle worked at CMT and BMI in Nashville, specializing in licensing and programming, while building a wide knowledge of rights administration. Upon returning to New York, Janelle took on various business, licensing, and production roles in television and film for ABC, Warner Brothers, and Showtime, as well as various independent film companies in the area. In 2013, Janelle joined the Harry Fox Agency, leading the Licensing and Data Management teams, and later took on the position of Director of Copyright Administration and Licensing with BMG, specializing in navigating the ever-changing landscape of music right in the age of new media. Parlaying that experience while widening her scope of knowledge, Janelle was the first Contract and Royalty Analysis for Loeb & Loeb, LLP, specializing in Valuations and Catalog Sales, while maintaining administrative relationships with a number of songwriters throughout Nashville. This summer saw a combination of all past positions though, as Janelle has taken up the role of Publishing Royalty Manager for beatBread, helping to value, fund, and propel the careers of independent artists and writers forward alongside an innovative team across the country. Janelle recognizes the value of a song, and uses her knowledge of licensing, registrations, copyright, and contracts on her true mission of supporting songwriters, artists, and anyone with a creative spark in their careers!

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