First IMR event in North America

Los Angeles, California, was the site of the U.S.-based National Association of Recording Merchandisers' (NARM) annual meeting, entitled Musicbiz2012, and the kick-off of the event on Tuesday 8 May, 2012, was the first North American gathering to discuss the potential for a WIPO-sponsored International Music Registry (IMR).

Mr. Trevor Clarke, WIPO Assistant Director General of Culture and Creative Industries Sector, addressed the standing-room-only crowd before Nic Garnett moderated a panel that included Washington-based RIAA's David Hughes; Rightscom's Mark Isherwood (London); New York-based Nielsen's Chief Analytic Officer, Barbara Zack; Northern Virginia's OneHouse Managing Director Jim Griffin and Toronto's Brad Keenan from the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television, and Radio Artists (ACTRA) Performers Rights Society.
 
It was a robust discussion that included hopes and concerns surrounding data on music identification, rights databases and the need for global information that makes it faster, easier and simpler to pay for music.
 
The panel stimulated three days of discussion on digital music and the need for a sustainable economy of ideas to incentivize the creative market.
Mr. Griffin told the crowd that "rights unenumerated are rights disrespected," a notion that drew no dissent from the panelists or the crowd. There are many ideas on how to achieve a rights registry, but no one involved disputed the need for action on this fundamental step forward for global music rights.