Liz Pelly, author of the national bestselling book Mood Machine, discusses potential re-imaginations of music infrastructure that not only respond to the problems of DSPs, but address the root causes of music's devalued position today. She examines emerging practices, proposals, and platforms that grapple with questions of equitable compensation and ownership, offering alternative paths towards sustainable futures for listeners and artists alike. 

Generative AI is accelerating content creation, contributing to an unprecedented oversupply of music and intensifying the challenge of discovery. At the same time, streaming platforms are evolving beyond one-size-fits-all subscription models, experimenting with tiered pricing, artist-centric payouts, AI-driven personalization, and new approaches to monetizing superfans. 

This session will explore how AI is reshaping the streaming marketplace itself, from what audiences discover and how they listen, to how platforms create value and what it means for artists navigating a more complex and competitive landscape.

Independent labels are no longer niche players, they are driving some of the fastest growth in the global music business. With nearly 40% market share and rising, the independent sector is leveraging digital distribution, data insights, and global platforms to scale artists internationally without traditional gatekeepers.

This session explores how indie labels are building agile, globally connected networks, forming strategic partnerships, and redefining what international success looks like in a streaming-first world - often outpacing major label models in speed, flexibility, and cultural relevance.

For the financial sustainability of independent labels, every cent counts, yet neighbouring rights remain an often-overlooked source of revenue. Understanding what these rights entail, where the money comes from, how it is distributed, and how labels and artist entrepreneurs can incorporate neighbouring rights into their business strategies can make a meaningful difference to their bottom line.

Using PANORAMA’s partnership with CIMA as a case study, the discussion will look beyond the mechanics of neighbouring rights to examine how collective action between CMOs, trade associations and independent rightsholders can strengthen rights management, improve access to international revenues and build more effective infrastructure for the independent sector. This conversation will explore how collaboration can help independents overcome fragmentation, capture more of the global value of music, and ensure that independents receive the value they deserve.

KEEP GOING AFTER THE SESSIONS WRAP

This year, we’re partnering with Global Toronto to give delegates a chance to get out and experience Toronto’s live music scene and keep the MAKE IT MUSIC experience going after hours.

Global Toronto’s evening showcases feature artists from across Canada and around the world, spanning global music traditions and contemporary sounds. It’s a chance to discover new music, check out some of what Toronto has to offer, and hang with your new conference friends into the night.

Today’s artist managers are no longer just facilitators - they are operators, strategists, and growth architects. As artists build multi-platform careers spanning streaming, touring, brand partnerships, and direct-to-fan ecosystems, managers are increasingly acting as CEOs overseeing diversified portfolios. With AI tools enabling artists to control production, marketing, and distribution independently, the manager’s role is shifting toward data-driven decision-making, rights management, and long-term business development. 

This session examines how management is evolving into executive leadership, and what skills, structures, and mindsets are required to compete in a decentralized, artist-led economy.

The relationship between artists and fans is evolving from passive consumption to active participation. New models powered by direct-to-fan platforms are enabling fans to invest in, influence, and co-create alongside artists, transforming them into stakeholders in the music ecosystem.

At the same time, streaming platforms and emerging services are experimenting with community-driven discovery and fan-directed revenue allocation. This session examines how fandom is becoming a form of ownership, and how artists can build sustainable careers through deeper, more engaged communities.

The rise of generative AI is forcing a fundamental rethink of music ownership, attribution and compensation. As AI systems are trained on vast catalogs of existing works and generate, remix and transform music at unprecedented scale, questions around consent, licensing, rights management and fair remuneration have become central to the future of the music industry.

New models are emerging to bring greater transparency and accountability to an increasingly AI-driven creative ecosystem, from direct licensing and collective approaches to rights management, attribution and new data infrastructure. But how should creative contributions be identified and valued when they become part of an AI-generated work? And how can we ensure that the ability to generate music at scale translates into sustainable and equitable compensation for the creators whose work makes it possible?

This session will bring together perspectives from across the emerging AI-music ecosystem to explore how intellectual property and music rights are being redefined, and what it will take to build a sustainable, transparent and equitable AI-powered music industry.

As AI-generated music floods the market with commodified content, could human-made music become a premium cultural asset?
This session will explore what that shift means for music and the relationships emerging around human creativity. As traditional revenue streams become more fragmented, forms of investment and partnership are emerging to support artists, music and the cultural ecosystems around them. 

From patronage and values-based investment to strategic partnerships with brands, these approaches are creating different ways to generate value around human creativity. For partners, these relationships can offer more than exposure: they provide authentic connections to audiences, communities and cultural scenes, while creating pathways to support and sustain the music itself. Can these models build a more sustainable economy around culture, connection and craft over scale and algorithms?

KEEP GOING AFTER THE SESSIONS WRAP

This year, we’re partnering with Global Toronto to give delegates a chance to get out and experience Toronto’s live music scene and keep the MAKE IT MUSIC experience going after hours.

Global Toronto’s evening showcases feature artists from across Canada and around the world, spanning global music traditions and contemporary sounds. It’s a chance to discover new music, check out some of what Toronto has to offer, and hang with your new conference friends into the night.