As music moves from a physical sales model to online platforms, it’s increasingly important that we have systems for efficiently and accurately compensating artists. This means metadata — the “tags” associated with an audio file that enable proper tracking of how that music is used and that point back to who should get paid. Technology offers opportunities for more accurate tracking, reporting and royalty distribution, but a lack of standardization and accuracy — particularly in classical and jazz music — remains a significant barrier to a functional and comprehensive system. This session will examine the role metadata plays in the discovery of music through online services, its importance to artist compensation and possible solutions to ensuring robust metadata across platforms.

Peter Jenner Sincere Management; President Emeritus, IMMF (moderator)
Rob Kaye Founder and Lead Developer, MusicBrainz
Barrie Kessler COO, SoundExchange
Jim Selby CEO, Naxos of America
Joe Wallace Senior Vice President, Music, Mediaguide