SCL Annual Membership Meeting 2020

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2020

5:00pm – 7:30pm (PDT)

YouTube Live Stream

5:00pm – Welcome, Reports, and Open Q&A

6:30pm – Guest Panel Presentation and Discussion

THE SCL & MLC PRESENT

MECHANICAL LICENSING: CONNECT TO COLLECT

KRIS AHREND

C.E.O. for THE MECHANICAL LICENSING COLLECTIVE

JEFF BRABEC 

MLC BOARD MEMBER and SENIOR V.P. BUSINESS & LEGAL AFFAIRS for BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT

MODERATED BY SCL MUSIC RIGHTS CHAIR

GARRY SCHYMAN

From January 2021, the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) will issue and administer blanket mechanical licenses to eligible streaming and download services (digital service providers/DSPs) in the USA. The MLC will collect royalties due from DSPs and pay songwriters, composers, lyricists, and music publishers. 

This panel will outline how self-administered writers can ensure they receive this important income stream. Topics include eligibility for joining MLC, the process of organizing their musical works data ahead of the roll-out of the MLC Portal, and how writers can Connect to Collect™.

Kris Ahrend serves as Chief Executive Officer for The MLC, where he leads the organization’s mission to ensure songwriters, composers, lyricists, and music publishers receive their mechanical royalties from streaming and download services in the U.S. accurately and on time.

Most recently, Ahrend led the development and launch of Warner Music Group’s Center of Excellence for Shared Services in Nashville, where he oversaw the operations of fifteen teams providing a variety of administrative, financial, and legal services to Warner Music’s U.S.-based publishing teams, record labels, and corporate divisions. Prior to launching the Center of Excellence, Ahrend held a senior executive role within Warner Music, where he led a large legal, financial, and administrative shared services organization that he helped to create. A graduate of Binghamton University and the Washington & Lee School of Law, Ahrend worked as a law clerk for the Western District of the Virginia District Court and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals before joining the Intellectual Property & Litigation Group of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, LLP in New York.

Ahrend is a valued member of the Nashville community. He serves on the boards of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce and the Nashville Downtown Partnership and is a member of the Music City Music Council. A lifelong musician, Ahrend and his wife, Karen, have two children and live in Nashville.

Jeff Brabec is Senior Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs for BMG Rights Management (US) LLC (BMG).  Brabec specializes in evaluating, analyzing, projecting income, and negotiating music publishing catalog acquisitions. A graduate of New York University School of Law, he has also been a government legal services attorney. 

Brabec is the co-author of the best-selling book “MUSIC, MONEY, AND SUCCESS: The Insider’s Guide To Making Money In The Music Business” (8th Edition / Schirmer Trade Books/Music Sales).  Variety Magazine selected the 8th Edition as one of The Best Music Books of 2019. He is also co-author of the Music Publishing chapter of the 2018 Juris Publications multiple volume treatises “The Essential Guide To Entertainment Law”.  He has been awarded the Deems Taylor Award for Excellence in Music Journalism, The Texas Star Award by the Entertainment & Sports Law Section of the State Bar of Texas for Outstanding Contribution and Achievement in the Field of Entertainment Law, and the 2019 California Copyright Conference Apollo Award  Honoring Leadership and Achievement In the Music Industry.

Brabec is an adjunct professor at USC Thornton School of Music, where he teaches music publishing and licensing. He Is also on the board of the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) which was established by the Music Modernization Act.

*** IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ ***

Attendees will be emailed a YouTube Live Stream link approximately 10 minutes before the event starts. The link will be emailed via Eventbrite.

Registrations close 4:30pm Wednesday, October 21.

Attendees can ask questions during the event using YouTube Livestream chat.