Songtrust Atlanta hosted its latest music publishing workshop at Georgia State University’s (GSU) downtown campus in their new media center on March 28th.
Bre Harper, Songtrust Atlanta A&R representative, headlined the workshop in collaboration with GSU’s Creative Media Industries Institute (CMII), a media center designed as a flexible startup incubator space to nurture media entrepreneurs.
Songtrust collaborated with the National Collegiate Entertainers Group, a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching students the entrepreneurial side of the music industry, for its first session on GSU’s campus.
The company conducted a similar workshop in February at 55th Park Bar with its Associate Director of Client Acquisition CJ Olivieri.
Since its expansion to the Atlanta region, the global digital rights management platform has been dedicated to providing monthly sessions of Music Publishing Workshops to better educate local creators.
Believing that Songtrust’s music workshop aligned with his organization’s purpose, Derek Jackson, President of GSU’s Panther Entertainment Group (PEG), offered his space in the CMII building for the session.
PEG’s identifies itself as a student organization that educates students on the practices of the entertainment industry.
“Our mission is to help empower students to use their intellectual property to build businesses,” said Jackson. “The historical rhetoric around the music industry has made it difficult for young people to understand their rights as it relates to their work.”
“I’ve been following Songtrust for some time now, and I have great respect for the fact that they use education as a form of marketing. They understand that generally speaking, most people don’t know anything about publishing. So, their efforts to educate the population help to democratize the industry. There’s a lot of music companies that make a living off of what people don’t know. So, I think that we should celebrate the ones that are confident enough to put everything on the table and allow you to choose for yourself.”
As a GSU alumna, Harper returned to her alma mater to share insight on music publishing.
“It was great to be able to come back to my alma mater and give back,” said Harper. “It’s crazy because the building and the resources that they have now for the music industry program, were not here when I was a student at GSU.”
Harper provided valuable knowledge on the difference between mechanical royalties collected by mechanical agencies, versus performance royalties collected by Performance Rights Organizations (PROs) and Collective Management Organizations (CMOs).
Additional guidance about the U.S. Copyright Office, and the benefits of using Songtrust instead of creators alternatively registering their work with PROs was given as well. Harper also advised workshop participants that information in relation to the music publishing market is steadily changing.
During the workshop, one of the workshop attendees shared information he learned about music publishing on YouTube with Harper and fellow audience members. In return, Harper explained that most of the information would have been correct if only it had been eight months prior.
“I gained so much knowledge from the workshop. I particularly learned the appropriate way to bring up split sheets in a studio setting,” said Tendraia Perry, a local attendee and aspiring A&R representative. “I am in the early stages of my career as an A&R, and I was able to connect with Bre to get some advice on how to effectively develop the necessary skills to succeed as a music executive.”
Harper is in the works of planning additional collaborations with GSU and the Atlanta community such as community events. Information about Songtrust Atlanta’s April Music Publishing Workshop is still pending. Updates on future Songtrust events can be found on Songtrust’s social media handles, as well as their official website.
