Neighboring Rights Royalties Finally Explained

WITH

NAOMI ASHER

HANNA GRZESZCZYK

DENNIS DREITH

MODERATED BY SCL BOARD MEMBERS

GARRY SCHYMAN & HÉLÈNE MUDDIMAN

This copyright-savvy panel will unlock the mystery of Neighboring Rights – what they are, where they reside, who’s entitled to them, how much income can be derived from them, and how you can receive them. Composers and SCL Board members Hélène Muddiman and Garry Schyman will convene a discussion with experts from the USA and Europe.

Naomi Asher is Vice President of Neighboring Rights at Sony/ATV Music Publishing. She previously co-founded Wixen Music UK Ltd with Randall and Sharon Wixen, serving as Director and President from 2010 to January 2020. She co-founded IAFAR (Independent Alliance for Artists Rights) in 2018, after being frustrated by the lack of transparency in the neighboring rights income stream. She is co-author of the UK edition of The Plain and Simple Guide to Music Publishing, released the fiction novel Shakespeare’s Ripper, and self-published her book By Page.

Los Angeles-born, Naomi moved to the UK in 1999 after completing her BA in Art History and Theatre at Franklin & Marshall College. After receiving an MFA in Staging Shakespeare from Exeter University in 2000, Naomi worked in the West End for several years at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, Shaftesbury Theatre and Victoria Palace Theatre. Naomi has a postgraduate degree from Kings College in EU, UK and US copyright law, and continues to dabble in theatre on occasion, with her play Madman William continuing to be produced worldwide.

Hanna Grzeszczyk is a Music Business Consultant with longstanding experience in the industry. She specializes in aspects of the music industry focused on royalties for artists and record labels. Hanna is co-founder and Director of Media IP Rights Limited, a company that manages and collects secondary rights income for various types of rights holders in the audio and audiovisual sectors. Media IP Rights represents clients from the UK, USA, Brazil, France, Germany, Poland, and others. Media IP Rights has representation in Paris, Los Angeles, and Rio de Janeiro.

Prior to launching Media IP Rights, Hanna worked at the first-ever private Neighboring Rights agency, Rights Agency Ltd. She managed the International Department, was integral in tracking down new sources of income for recording artists. Hanna negotiated the signing of agreements with numerous collection societies across the world and was also heavily involved in business development, which has provided her with keys insights in the specialist field of Neighboring Rights. She also created the record label collection division at Rights Agency Ltd. Hanna has worked with broad alliances such as the European Commission, European Parliament, Intellectual Property Offices, Ministries, and Supervisory Authorities in countries including Poland, Austria, Belgium, Serbia. One of her many accomplishments was contributing to the formulation of the EU Directive on collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing. Hanna has been a speaker at numerous seminars.

Throughout her career, she’s had the privilege of working on Neighboring Rights collection for hundreds of high-profile artists including Paul McCartney, Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Genesis, Sting, Queen, Gerard Butler, and Sean Connery.

Hanna holds a Master of Arts Degree in International Relations, and a Certificate in American Sciences at the Interdepartmental American Studies, from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.

Dennis Dreith is the Co-founder and Chairman of Transparence Entertainment Group (TEG), a music rights organization that collects and distributes worldwide digital performance, audio-visual, private copy, and exclusive license royalties on behalf of recording artists, master right holders, producers, publishers, and DIY music creators. Prioritizing high-touch personal service, TEG provides a transparent, accurate, and expedited evaluation of earnings, identifies unclaimed royalties, streamlines registration & claiming processes, and eliminate superfluous fees by acquiring royalties directly from the source.

Prior to forming TEG, Dennis was the Executive Director for the AFM&SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund, overseeing its growth from its inception in 1999 with a mere $187,000 in assets to over $100M today, as well as concurrently serving as the Administrator of the Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund. Dennis also served as the International President of the Recording Musicians Association for 15 years and he addressed the House Sub-committee on Intellectual Properties in support of Digital Performers Rights legislation in Washington, D.C. that was signed into law in 1995. Dennis’ early career included touring and recording as a musician and arranger for The Beach Boys, The Osmonds, Leon Russell, Barbara Streisand; producing artists that include the O’Jays and The Tokens; composing music forScooby-Doo, The Punisher, Columbo,  The Flash, and The Shadow; and orchestrating and conducting for award-winning composers Lalo Schifrin, Marc Shaiman, John Williams, and James Horner.

Composer Garry Schyman’s award-winning music can be heard in nearly every audio-visual media, including feature films, prime-time television, and video games. His haunting orchestral scores for the globally acclaimed video games BioShock, BioShock 2, and BioShock Infinite have earned him multiple awards, including top honors for Best Original Score from the British Academy of Film & Television (BAFTA) and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.

Garry is a long-serving SCL Board member and chairs the Music Rights Committee.

Hélène Muddiman is a multi-award-winning composer and hit songwriter. Her additional composing work can be heard on John Powell’s Happy Feet 2 and Ice Age 4, and Danny Elfman’s Frankenweenie. Hélène is also a Sony hit songwriter and received a gold disc for the songs she wrote for Spice Girl Emma Bunton. As an artist, Hélène was in a pop band signed to EMI Records and Music Publishing aged 18. She is also classically trained on a range of instruments. Her singing has featured on many television series, hits for other artists, and Hans Zimmer’s film scores. Hélène has composed numerous BBC TV shows and the BAFTA-nominated animation series of 52 episodes for the Cartoon Network called The Cramp Twins which was broadcast in 50 countries.

Hélène is a passionate advocate for copyright; as a founding member of SONA, board member of the SCL and CEO of Hollywood Elite Music & Media she has walked the halls of governments in USA, UK, and Europe to passionately campaign for creators to be better educated, protected and remunerated.

*** IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ ***

– FREE for current SCL members (click HERE to check membership status).

– Registered Attendees will be emailed a YouTube Live Stream link approximately 10 minutes before Seminar starts. The link will be emailed via Eventbrite.

– Attendees may ask questions using the YouTube Livestream chat function.