Key Players In Music Publishing Reinvent Their Business At MIDEM

PARIS, FRANCE (Top40 Charts/ ICPM/ MIDEM PR) - For its third edition, the International Publishing Summit, developed with the International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP), will put the spotlight on current changes in the music publishing sector. The Summit will feature Diane Warren, the prolific Grammy Award-winning songwriter behind hits by Aerosmith and Christina Aguilera, during a keynote conference.

At a time when publishers, the historic mainstay of the music industry, are reinventing themselves and looking to develop new revenue sources, innovative business models and new ways of exploiting traditional rights, the International Publishing Summit provides a platform for key players in this sector at this time of renewal. Synchronisation opportunities, the development of on-line services, and the arrival of equity funds in the music publishing sector are some of the areas that will be explored during this event.

A highlight of the summit will be the keynote by Diane Warren, who has written songs for some of the great artists, from Tina Turner to Cher and Eric Clapton. By creating her own publishing house, Realsongs, she now manages the rights to her own work. Always looking for new ways to exploit her catalogue, Diane Warren will use the conference to outline her ideas on how to take advantage of the opportunities open to a music publisher.

Alongside, a panel discussion will bring together some leading figures in the sector who will give their views on the future of music publishing. Hartwig Masuch, CEO of BMG Rights Management, will detail the development of this company, launched in 2008, which manages the rights to more than 200,000 titles, and has operated as a joint venture between Bertelsmann and private equity firm Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts since October 2009. Laurence Le Ny, Director of Music Content at French telecoms company Orange, will detail a new online song lyric consultation service created in partnership with French publishers. Other participants will include Mary Megan, Vice-President of Business Development at Peer Music, and Arnold Mabunda of Gallo Music Publishers in South Africa.