Speaker Updates for September 18 Artist Rights Roundtable in DC

We’re pleased to welcome Josh Hurvitz, Partner, NVG and Head of Advocacy for A2IM and Kevin Amer, Chief Legal Officer, The Authors Guild to the Roundtable on September 18 at American University in DC!

Artist Rights Roundtable on AI and Copyright: 
Coffee with Humans and the Machines     

Join the Artist Rights Institute (ARI) and Kogod’s Entertainment Business Program for a timely morning roundtable on AI and copyright from the artist’s perspective. We’ll explore how emerging artificial intelligence technologies challenge authorship, licensing, and the creative economy — and what courts, lawmakers, and creators are doing in response.

🗓️ Date: September 18, 2025
🕗 Time: 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
📍 Location: Butler Board Room, Bender Arena, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington D.C. 20016

🎟️ Admission:
Free and open to the public. Registration required at Eventbrite. Seating is limited.

🅿️ Parking map is available here. Pay-As-You-Go parking is available in hourly or daily increments ($2/hour, or $16/day) using the pay stations in the elevator lobbies of Katzen Arts Center, East Campus Surface Lot, the Spring Valley Building, Washington College of Law, and the School of International Service

Hosted by the Artist Rights Institute & American University’s Kogod School of Business, Entertainment Business Program

🔹 Overview:

☕ Coffee served starting at 8:00 a.m.
🧠 Program begins at 8:50 a.m.
🕛 Concludes by 12:00 noon — you’ll be free to have lunch with your clone.

🗂️ Program:

8:00–8:50 a.m. – Registration and Coffee

8:50–9:00 a.m. – Introductory Remarks by KOGOD Dean David Marchick and ARI Director Chris Castle

9:00–10:00 a.m. – Topic 1: AI Provenance Is the Cornerstone of Legitimate AI Licensing:

Speakers:

  • Dr. Moiya McTier Human Artistry Campaign
  • Ryan Lehnning, Assistant General Counsel, International at SoundExchange
  • The Chatbot

Moderator: Chris Castle, Artist Rights Institute

10:10–10:30 a.m. – Briefing: Current AI Litigation

  • Speaker: Kevin Madigan, Senior Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs, Copyright Alliance

10:30–11:30 a.m. – Topic 2: Ask the AI: Can Integrity and Innovation Survive Without Artist Consent?

Speakers:

  • Erin McAnally, Executive Director, Songwriters of North America
  • Jen Jacobsen, Executive Director, Artist Rights Alliance
  • Josh Hurvitz, Partner, NVG and Head of Advocacy for A2IM
  • Kevin Amer, Chief Legal Officer, The Authors Guild

Moderator: Linda Bloss-Baum, Director, Business and Entertainment Program, KOGOD School of Business

11:40–12:00 p.m. – Briefing: US and International AI Legislation

  • Speaker: George York, SVP, International Policy Recording Industry Association of America

🔗 Stay Updated:

Watch this space and visit Eventbrite for updates and speaker announcements.

@CrispinHunt on the TikTok showdown

Please take our Songwriter MLC Awareness Survey

Please take a few minutes (4 or so) to help us understand how the Mechanical Licensing Collective and the Copyright Office is doing getting the word out about signing up with the MLC and getting paid royalties (including your share of the $424 million black box/unmatched payment that has been sitting at MLC for months).

Your response are anonymous and we’ll post the results when we get a threshold number of responses. We’d really appreciate your help!

To take the survey on Survey Monkey, click here.

Because the fight is never done: Support the CASE Act #myskillspaymybills

The arc of justice may be long, but it only bends when you will it.  Support the CASE Act because the fight is never done.

Chris Castle

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Ethical Pool Discussion on Break the Business Podcast

Chris discusses the Ethical Pool model with Ryan Kairalla on the Break the Business podcast (see “Arithmetic on the Internet: The Ethical Pool Solution to Streaming Royalty Allocation“).

@robertblevine_: Will Tech Startups Finally Make Record Labels Obsolete? Not So Fast — Artist Rights Watch

[Editor Charlie sez:  Great analysis of Google’s “United Masters” adventure by Robert Levine.]

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Record labels are irrelevant because they’ve been disrupted by a venture-funded technology start-up. The major labels exploit artists, who can now distribute their music directly to consumers online, plus get the data they need to make money playing concerts, selling merch or doing sponsorships. Sound familiar?

via @robertblevine_: Will Tech Startups Finally Make Record Labels Obsolete? Not So Fast — Artist Rights Watch

@KRSfow: Future of What Podcast on the Transparency in Music Licensing and Ownership Act

 

Episode #94: Recently, a bill was introduced by Republican congressman Jim Sensenbrenner which calls for the creation of a comprehensive database of compositions and recordings. The “Transparency in Music Licensing and Ownership Act” claims to make things easier for coffee shops, bars and restaurants who want to license music to play in their establishments. To many in the music industry, the bill seems like a wolf in sheep’s clothing with the potential cause big problems. On this episode we dig deep into the bill with Future of Music Coalition’s Kevin Erickson and attorney Chris Castle.

Subscribe to The Future of What on iTunes: apple.co/1P4Apk0

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Twitter: bit.ly/2gOYMYM
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thefutureofwhat/
Instagram: bit.ly/1L6T8fl

Save the Date! “Music Tech Licensing: Getting Your Beta Out without Getting Beaten Up” June 20 in Austin

Save the Date! On June 20, 7 pm at Capitol Factory (Austin Omni), Chris Castle presents “Music Tech Licensing: Getting Your Beta Out without Getting Beaten Up” with special guest Keith Bernstein, CEO of Crunch Digital, sponsored by the Austin Music Tech Meetup. Topics will be copyright basics and licensing strategy for startups.

Details to follow.

 

Chris Castle’s Colaborator Podcast Pt. 2: Is “Conversion” From Free to Subscription Correlation or Causation?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2deLBBFuWc

Chris Castle on Artists’ Right to Streaming Exclusives

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tWAIDbNCyg

via @colaboratorpcn: Douglas Caballero interviews Chris Castle — Artist Rights Watch

via Chris Castle on Artist’s Right to Streaming Exclusives — MUSIC • TECHNOLOGY • POLICY