Success Story
Music Licensing

Protecting The U.S. Independent Music Industry’s Creative Content Abroad

Close up of guitarist performing

A2IM Helps Protect Content Creators and Publishers Rights

The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) represents over 700 independent-owned American music labels. The non-profit trade association leveraged a Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP) award from the International Trade Administration (ITA) to better protect U.S. intellectual property (IP) and expand sales in the world’s $23B market for music by independent labels.

Independent labels are smaller distributors and owners of creative content that are not owned by major labels like Sony, Universal, and Warner. Practically all independent labels and the firms that provide associated goods and services would be considered small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Their small size makes them nimble and able to react to consumer tastes. It also disadvantages them when it comes to protecting the IP of artists, producers, and other generators of creative products and services related to music.

U.S. Creator Content Now Protected on 100+ Digital Platforms in India

Enter MDCP and A2IM. Founded in 2005, to focus on the needs of music industry SMEs, A2IM wanted to help its members sell streaming and other rights abroad. But the industry group knew that music SMEs would not risk losing their IP through copyright infringement in foreign markets.

Through an MDCP cooperative agreement, ITA helped A2IM educate its members about copyright and other IP protection abroad. A2IM put on seminars at its own Indie Week event and other events. It followed up with its members and produced short social media pieces that broke up IP protection topics into small bites.

ITA’s Commercial Service (CS) helped A2IM with its participation India All About Music trade show in Mumbai, including use of CS’s Connect Corner platform that brings together partners at trade events. Thanks to contacts made and deepened at this event, A2IM helped broker a partnership worth many millions of dollars with The Indian Performing Rights Society Limited that ensures that creators and publishers are accounted and paid across over 100 digital platforms.