For The Culture: Empowering Black Music Creators to Achieve Beyond Reach

The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) is commemorating Black Music Month by teaming up with Nashville Music Equality (NME) to present For The Culture: Empowering Black Music Creators to Achieve Beyond Reach on Tuesday, June 21 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at The MLC’s offices in Nashville.

Spearheaded by Dae Bogan – The MLC’s Head of Third-Party Partnerships – in collaboration with NME’s Gina Miller, Kortney Toney and Shannon Sanders, this one-day summit will celebrate the evolution of Black Music and its unique and ever-growing impact on the music industry with collaborative discussions and insightful presentations from some of the leading African American voices in the industry.

The event will feature panels designed specifically for Black music creators that both explore creative business strategies and examine the overall royalty landscape, networking opportunities for attendees and a host of live music performances.

Agenda:

10am – Check-in

10:30am-11:00am – Opening Discussion: “How Did We Get Here? A Coffee Conversation on the Evolution of Black Music” - The day will kick-off with a conversation to set the tone for the events ahead. Grab a cup of coffee and sit in as three music industry executives discuss the influence of African Americans on popular music. What’s in a genre? Looking to the evolution from Ragtime > Blues > Jazz > R&B > Rock & Roll > Hip-Hop; the commercialization of Black music and the exploitation of Black artists; and more.

Panelists:

• Dae Bogan (Moderator) - Head of Third-Party Partnerships, The Mechanical Licensing Collective and Billboard Digital Power Player 2019
• Brennen Boose - Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications National Museum of African American Music
• Shannon Sanders - Executive Director of Creative, BMI Nashville and 3X GRAMMY Award-Winning Producer

11:00am-11:15am – Reset Break

11:15am-12:15pm – "Breaking Through the Noise: Creative Business Strategies for Black Music Creators"

Panelists:

• Shannon Sanders (Moderator) - Executive Director of Creative, BMI Nashville and 3X GRAMMY Award-Winning Producer
• Mimi McCarley - Founder of Collab Music Network & Co-Founder of Nashville is Not Just Country Music and We Own Now
• Derek Minor - Grammy Award-winning artist and producer. Co-Founder of We Own Now as well as hip-hop record label Reflection Music Group (RMG)

12:30pm-1:30pm – "Black Dollars: Unlocking U.S. Digital Music Royalties for Black Music Creators" - Be prepared to take notes and ask questions as this informative panel of music business experts dive into the fundamentals (copyright ownership and publishing), royalty streams (interactive, non-interactive, downloads), post-MMA era rights and entitlements, songwriter challenges, Digital Music Royalties Landscape, and more.

Panelists:

• Dae Bogan (Moderator) - Head of Third-Party Partnerships, The Mechanical Licensing Collective and Billboard Digital Power Player 2019
• Alandis Brassel - Entertainment Attorney, Manager, Assistant Professor of Music Business - University of Memphis
• George Monger - CEO, Connect Music
• Cheryl Potts - CEO, CleerKut Royalty

1:30pm - 2:30pm – Networking Lunch sponsored by BMI Nashville

2:30pm-4:30pm –

• Mental Health in the Black Community - A Conversation with NME's President, Shannon Sanders, and Vice President, Gina Miller (SVP & General Manager, MNRK Music) about the state of mental health in the Black Music Industry community. How can we heal in the right way and what resources to connect to for help. Moderated by: NME's Executive Director, Kortney Toney (Marketing, Inclusion & Outreach Manager, Naxos of America).
• The Black Opry Experience - A conversation with the founder of Black Opry, Holly G and Tanner D., artist conversations, and acoustic performances by Roberta Lea, Jett Holden, and O.N.E. the Duo. Hosted by Gina Miller (SVP & General Manager, MNRK Music) and Kortney Toney (Marketing, Inclusion & Outreach Manager, Naxos of America).

4:30pm-6pm – Closing Reception sponsored by The MLC

***MLC Membership will be verified prior to attendance for attendees using MLC's Promo Code for registration.

In an effort to protect the health and safety of all guests, we will be requiring one of the following in order to access the event:

• Proof of a negative test* result for COVID-19 on a sample collected within 48 hours of entering.
• Proof of full vaccination** more than 14 days before the event.

*Acceptable tests include Molecular/PCR or Antigen tests (lab, rapid, or at-home tests included)

**Full vaccination includes the below series:

• Johnson & Johnson/Janssen: 1 dose
• Moderna: 2 doses
• Pfizer/BioNTech: 2 doses
• AstraZeneca: 2 doses
• Sinovac-CornaVac: 2 doses
• Sinopharm: 2 doses

We are working with Bindle to verify proof-of-health. Please follow the steps below to sign-up with Bindle:

1. Open this email on your phone to download the free Bindle app on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Search “My Bindle” and download onto your smartphone.
2. Create an account and upload your negative test results.
3. Search “The MLC: For The Culture: Black Music Month Summit” and select the event.
4. Follow the prompts to create your entry pass. For speedier access, please create before you arrive.
5. You are ready to go once your entry pass appears with a green circle and check mark, along with your photo. Please have your pass ready to show at check-in.

We appreciate you taking these few steps to promote safety for all.