The Different Uses of Music and Copyright Income
by Jonathan Gourmel, Jean-François Bert, and Spek
This workshop offers an exploration of the many ways in which music is exploited and the income generated by copyright. Together we'll look at how musical works are protected and remunerated, while learning the principles of copyright management in various sectors.
The workshop will begin with a presentation of metadata, the essential information that accompanies each musical work, and which enables rights to be managed accurately and efficiently across platforms and collecting societies. A summary diagram of the flow of royalties, detailing the collection and distribution process via Collective Management Organisations (CMOs), will also be presented to clarify the path of royalties, from their collection to their redistribution to rights holders.
The workshop will also look at audiovisual uses such as advertising, television, cinema and video games, detailing the methods of remuneration and the importance of music synchronisation in these media. Finally, an overview of other forms of exploitation will be presented, including live performances, to show the extent of revenue opportunities for creators and publishers.
This workshop will enable participants to gain a better understanding of how musical works are exploited in different sectors and how to optimise the collection and distribution of royalties.
Speaker’s Bio
Jonathan Gourmel
Jonathan Gourmel has a 20+ years experience in the music industry, first starting as a Head of A&R and Marketing Director at independent Naïve records. He then created Foxtrot in 2010, a marketing consultancy working with a diverse roster of clients: brands such as Heineken, Givenchy Perfumes or Carlsberg, and labels like Ninja Tune, Soundway, Island UK, etc.
After 10 years in this capacity, Jonathan switched roles to become a publisher, joining the renowned InFiné company in 2022 as Head of Publishing. As a side gig, he is also president of the Fortune management company, whose aim is to develop up and coming acts in all styles of music.
Jean-Francois Bert
With a career spanning several decades, Jean-François established himself as a figure in music rights management and innovation.
Currently, JF serves as the Co-founder of Balada (2023+), focusing on global rights collection for both sound recordings and compositions. Prior to this, he founded Securights in 2018, where he pioneered the direct collection of mechanical rights on platforms like YouTube in the USA and Canada, working with major organizations such as PRS, MCPS, SACEM, and various independent publishers.
His career journey includes notable positions at Utopia Music, Quansic, Transparency Rights Management, EMI, and SACEM, where he honed his expertise in music rights and publishing. Over the years, he held various roles, from label manager to publisher, music supervisor, tour manager, and artist manager—each position enriching his comprehensive understanding of the music business.
In addition to those entrepreneurial ventures, he's deeply committed to fostering the growth of the music ecosystem. He's the Founder and President of Music Tech France (2019+), an association representing 80 French Music Tech companies, and the Co-founder of Music Tech Europe (2023+), further advocating for innovation in the music industry.
As an author, JF contributed to the understanding of music publishing with his book "The Art of Music Publishing" (2004, 2006, 2011).
Spek
Founder / CEO @ PopArabia & ESMAA
Executive Vice President, International & Emerging Markets @ Reservoir
Beginning his career as a successful songwriter, recording artist and producer in his native Montreal, Spek is a former member of the Juno Award winning, Canadian hip hop pioneers, Dream Warriors, a group that sold over 1 million records worldwide and racked up Top 20 hits in Canada, the UK and across Europe. In the late 90’s he relocated to London where he toured extensively as a member of the UK’s multi-million selling jazz rap crew Us3 and collaborated with British virtuoso Nitin Sawhney on his Mercury Prize nominated and South Bank award winning album Beyond Skin; An album that was highly touted in the UK press and by other artists, including Sting and Madonna. GQ India recently proclaimed Beyond Skin to be, “among the greatest records of the 20th Century”.
Spek relocated to the UAE in 2006 and in 2011 founded PopArabia as a portfolio investment and in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Media Zone, twofour54. PopArabia is an independent label and the leading music publisher in the Middle East & North Africa, credited with pioneering music rights in the region. Over more than a decade PopArabia has worked with all the major music publishers and a who’s who list of the largest independent publishers in the MENA markets.
In 2015 Spek relocated to the U.S to lead creative & A&R strategy for New York based music company, Reservoir. Throughout this period, Reservoir opened fully staffed creative offices in Los Angeles and Nashville, earned a consistent Top 10 U.S. Market Share according to Billboard’s Publisher’s Quarterly report, was twice named Publisher of the Year at Music Business Worldwide’s The A&R Awards, and became the publishing home to top American songwriting talent including BMI ‘Songwriter of the Year’ Ali Tamposi and Atlanta hip hop phenom J.I.D, among others. Reservoir made history in July 2021 as the first independent music company to go public on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
Spek relocated back to the UAE in 2019, announcing a new joint venture and partnership between Reservoir and PopArabia to invest in Arab talent. He returned to his role running PopArabia while also leading Reservoir’s international and emerging markets strategy into markets including India and throughout Africa. In 2020 PopArabia launched ESMAA, the first music rights management organization operating in the Gulf states. ESMAA has licensed major global events including DubaiEXPO and the Soundstorm music festival by MDL Beast in Saudi Arabia, distributing millions of dollars in performance royalties to rights holders from the Gulf region, a first for the industry.
Spek is a Board Director of CARAS (the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences), The Juno Awards and music charity, MusicCounts. He has been included in Billboard Magazine's coveted 'International Power Players' list every year since 2021 and in 2024 was also named in the Billboard Canada Power Players list, sharing the #1 spot in Publishing with Reservoir CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi. Spek has been featured in publications including Variety, Synchtank and graced the covers of A&R Magazine and Music Publishers Quarterly. He has also written editorials for Gulf Business, Campaign Middle East, and Music Business Worldwide, where in 2024 he featured in the MBW World Leaders Series, a spotlight on the most influential industry figures overseeing international markets.
