2025 Society Publisher Forum Plenary brings together music rights societies, publishers, and tech providers to drive forward efficiency in the music data ecosystem
More than 200 representatives from music rights societies, publishers, and technology and data service providers came together in Toronto this week for the 2025 Plenary of the Society Publisher Forum (SPF). The event was hosted by CISAC and ICMP with the support of AIMP, IMPA and IMPF, and in partnership with Music Publishers Canada, APEM, CMRRA, and SOCAN.
The plenary provided a critical platform to assess the Forum’s progress over the past 12 months, hear strategic updates from CISAC and ICMP, and agree on new proposals that will shape the industry’s data exchange infrastructure going forward.
Key Highlights
Industry and Policy Updates
ICMP shared its latest work around artificial intelligence and presented early insights from its international music publishing marketing metrics initiative. CISAC delivered updates on services to make it easier for publishers to access the IPI data, on the deployment of the ISWC services, more specifically to publishers, calling for more publishers to use the services. Updates also included ongoing plans for CIS-Net 2 and a new edition of the TIS standard (Territory Information System).
Works Data Exchange
A focal point of the plenary was the progress reported by the Works Data Exchange working group. Over the past year, the group conducted a survey of more than 60 societies and publishers to understand current practices, identify business use cases, and define common challenges. These findings informed the recent release of the MWN 1.3 standard (Musical Work Notification), published by DDEX in March, and shaped a proposed set of content and technical updates to CWR 2.2 (Common Works Registration), aimed at modernising the format and delivering practical benefits to users (see the WDE page on the SPF web site)
Agreements Data Exchange and Royalties Data Exchange
The Agreements Data Exchange group reviewed feedback from members on their implementation of the CAF standard (Common Agreements Format), and proposed updates to improve its definition and expand its capacity for handling additional types of agreement data. See the ADE page on the SPF web site.
Similarly, the Royalties Data Exchange group reported on a series of workshops held to identify and prioritise the most pressing issues in royalty data exchange between societies and publishers. Their findings will guide the next phase of development for the CRD standard (Common Royalty Distribution). See the RDE page on the SPF website.
Audiovisual Data Exchange and Cue Sheets
The Audiovisual Data Exchange group presented results from a survey on how societies manage music used in advertising. The group also introduced a proposal for a new AVR+ (Audiovisual Work Data) electronic cue sheet format, leveraging the Global Cue Sheet Standard 2.0 and existing AVR frameworks to enhance efficiency in audiovisual rights management. See the AVDE page on the SPF website.
Counterclaims Resolution
Another milestone was the successful early implementation of the Common Counterclaims Policy, developed within the SPF and now adopted by 18 Collective Management Organisations (CMOs). In just a few months, the policy has facilitated the resolution of thousands of counterclaims and legal disputes, demonstrating the value of coordinated global policy frameworks. See the counterclaims page on the SPF website.
DDEX Secretariat Collaboration
The DDEX Secretariat also participated in the plenary, providing updates on the MWN 1.3 standard and ongoing work with societies and publishers to support adoption and technical implementation.
The plenary also featured presentations from event sponsors On Music and Beatdapp, and provided attendees with valuable opportunities to network and debrief at two well-attended social gatherings, hosted by SOCAN and CMRRA.
The 2025 SPF plenary highlighted the strength of collaborative partnerships that are currently driving innovation in music rights and data exchange, while also ensuring that industry working groups are aligned and new data standards are underway.
The Society Publishers Forum is grateful to its sponsors for supporting the community: Cymba Music Publishing, LyricFind, Peermusic, Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, On Music Ltd, Red Brick Songs and, Beatdapp.
See some photos from the event below.
Copyright: Brad Ardley
