February was a fun month for industry talks, two very different parts of London, Stratford and Soho brought industry professionals together about their outlooks, and surprisingly managed to overlap in some of their thinking. We made notes about networking and motivation as a woman, as well as the ways forward for nightlife in the UK.
Every month, countless industry panels and talks happen that most artists never see. You don’t have to be everywhere at once — we do the listening and bring the highlights to you. Here’s what stood out in January 2026.
- 1. Exchanging Notes: Just The Way It Is? Young Creatives Demand Safety & Rights (Panel)
- 2. Ivors Academy: Understanding your music royalties with CEO Roberto Neri
1. Exchanging Notes: Just The Way It Is? Young Creatives
Demand Safety & Rights (Panel)
Youth Music is a UK based charity providing key resources, training, funding and events to young people wanting to pursue music. According to sources, they invest roughly £10 million annually to support grassroots projects, foster creativity, and help young people develop careers in the music industry.
In their words, “Exchanging Notes is our online learning programme, delivering the latest thinking and tools to be more sustainable, more diverse, and more effective in working with young people”.
Our notes
Images from the talk below that illustrate the current climate of the industry.
Summary
- Young people are at the mercy of the workplaces they’re a part of, leaving them in danger of various types of harm. Those in the gap between education and the workplace are the most at risk.
- Everyone can do something to be a part of change and safer industry (training, keeping informed, using your influence, reporting, listening to young people etc)
- There’s been considerable progress but there’s a lot more that needs to change.
2. Ivors Academy: Understanding your music royalties with CEO Roberto Neri
In their own words,
“The Ivors Academy is the leading organisation for songwriters and composers. We celebrate the highest standards of craft through the prestigious Ivor Novello Awards, campaign for a fair and equitable music industry and empower music creators at every stage of their careers”.
We went into this talk expecting something dry, but this was far from it and really got to the heart of how different figures view the topic.
Our notes
Performing Rights Right to earn royalties from music played in public (gigs, bars, shops, broadcasts like tv radio)
Mechanical Rights Right to earn royalties from copied, reproduced or synced music (streaming, physical/digital copies, covers)
C.M.O. Collective Management Organisation – collects royalties for rights-holders, manages both performance and mechanical rights
P.R.O Performance Rights Organisations – track and collect performance rights for rights-holders
(Different regions around the world treat different uses of music differently, so its best to keep in the know if your music is doing well in another country)
Summary
- Songwriters should register with both a PRO and CMO
- Check data and metadata to make sure its inputted correctly otherwise theres a danger of it going into the “big black box” of unearned income
- Join the Ivors Academy for support and to campaign for your rights as a songwriter
- Read the ‘Knowledge Toolkit’ below for more info and calculate how streams turn to income with the Streaming Royalty Calculator below.
Streaming Royalty Calculator: What Your Streams Are Worth
That’s all for now. We’re still working on how to make this format the most comprehensible so – please bare with us!
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