by Jon Dekel
In July of 2020, independent publisher The Royalty Network launched a program aimed at enabling people of colour through mentorship. Sporting an advisory council including entertainment attorney Kendall Minter, music executive Laze Elliott, producer Darien Bankhead a.k.a. Boyband, artists stic & M-1 from dead prez, and Harmony Program executive director Anne Fitzgibbon, the Black Empowerment Thru Music initiative offers aspiring songwriters, artists and entrepreneurs everything from music education to studio time, free instruments, career oportunities, and financial support in the service of opportunities for the Black and Latin communities.
According to Royalty Network president Frank Liwall, while the Black Empowerment Thru Music initiative was created in the wake of the social unrest following the killing of George Floyd, its roots can actually be traced much further: to the very foundation of the company.
“The Royalty Network started by serving the Black music marketplace,” Liwall explains. “From the beginning, we made our mark by providing opportunities to songwriters in the community.”
In business for nearly three decades, The Royalty Network now represents over 700,000 compositions, and features a client roster with hits on albums from the likes of Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Burt Bacharach, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar.
Liwall, who studied to be an accountant, began The Royalty Network following a stint at the Harry Fox Agency where he worked as an in-house auditor and, eventually, launch his company as a royalty accountant. It was while working on a series of audit rebuttals that Liwall says he “saw there was a need for more publishers to be involved in an active way with songwriters; to be able to service writers in a more robust manner than simply adding songs into a database.”
Moreover, he found that independent songwriters, in particular, were being neglected. “They were not being fully exposed to what value they could get,” he recalls. “There was little communication, especially when it came to certain genres that were severely neglected.”
Liwall recalls this particular point crystallizing while he prepared damage reports on behalf of attorneys in infringement cases, many of which involved Black blues songwriters from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, and reggae artists from the 40s through the 80s. “These were the markets that were really our foray into the business,” he says.
In starting The Royalty Network, Liwall consequently insisted client education be a cornerstone of the business. “Educating the marketplace, providing opportunity and really spending time with songwriters — laying out why it’s more beneficial to hold on to your rights and have a solid administrator, so that you can pass something on to the next generation,” he recalls of his vision.
“Those types of stories are often not told because the business just becomes dollar signs,” he adds. “It’s great to get a check, but it’s a lot better to know what that check means in terms of your livelihood.”
In its infancy, the company offered administration services out of its New York offices, eventually expanding to the West Coast and, through what Liwall calls a “natural progression,” began offering co-publishing deals. Soon after, they assembled a creative services team, including synchronization, and dedicated A&R’s for songwriters.
“We’re now a full service music publisher,” Liwall says of the company’s growth. “But we have always kept our guiding principles as our heart and soul: educating the songwriter and spending the time to provide quality service to the songwriting community. At our core, everything is about having solid administration and communication.”
In the summer of 2020, Liwall says the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and the societal fight for racial justice inspired him to look beyond The Royalty Network. “We wanted to provide an initiative that would make changes not only in our own company, but changes to those on the outside.”
A year and a half later, he is proud to report that the Black Empowerment Thru Music initiative has already made some important strides in creating a pipeline for people of colour looking to enter the music industry. But the work is still far from over.
“While we were able to make some substantive changes internally,” he says, “I think what we’ve done through educating the larger marketplace is much more compelling.”
Beyond the democratization of staffing, Liwall believes, while the industry has been stalled on mechanical streaming rates, there are brighter days ahead for indie publishers.
“I think the growth that we’re going to see on the music publishing side is going to be steady; much more than people might anticipate,” he says. “The future is going to be great because content is all over the place!”
To that end, he sees two major growth areas: international expansion and technological innovation.
“The growth is coming right now out of places like Brazil, and there’s much more growth to come from India and China,” he points out. Adding that, “as we nurture new technology, it will open up additional revenue streams. Those things are really going to be difference makers as we move forward.”
Asked if he has a soundtrack to the future of music publishing, Liwall pauses to consider his options before landing on the gospel staple, “Oh Happy Day.”
“I think we’re blessed to be in a business where we enjoy what we do on a daily basis,” he explains. “ ‘Oh Happy Day’ puts everything in perspective in terms of what we’ve come through and the ability to wake up every day doing what you love to do surrounded by extremely creative people.”
“In short,” he says. “There’s lots to be happy about.”
Editorial Notes: The gospel tune Oh Happy Day was originally written in the 18th century by clergyman Philip Doddridge as a hymn. Its most popular arrangement was written by Edwin Hawkins who receives credit alongside Doddridge and Edward F. Rimbault who added a chorus and melody in the 19th century. This arrangement is administered by Sony Music Publishing.
To learn more about the Black Empowerment Thru Music initiative, visit blackempowerment.roynet.com.
#FutureInnovations
CMRRA is examining the future in 2022. With change as a constant in our world right now, we examine the future opportunities in music publishing. We’re asking leaders in the music publishing space what is next. What changes are happening at their companies right now? What are their predictions? Is there a song that soundtracks the future? Can we keep up?
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