The Open Music Initiative is currently in the process of becoming a non-profit 501(c)(6) membership organization. This new model will enable Open Music to sustain its role as a neutral industry convener with the three-pronged mission of:

  • Advancing interoperability for musical rights owner identification and remuneration;

  • Educating creators about intellectual property rights; and

  • Exploring and promoting innovation across the music industry ecosystem.

At the February 6, 2019 Members Meeting in Los Angeles, a set of DRAFT bylaws and governance documents were shared and discussed. Following that meeting, members provided extensive feedback on the proposed bylaws, membership agreement, intellectual property policy and other governance documents.

A final set of bylaws and governance documents, which include edits based on membership feedback, are now available for final review by members. This set of documents was submitted to the members for provisional ratification at the November 13, 2019 members meeting in New York, at which the members signaled their approval for the formation of Open Music as a standalone, member supported 501(c)(6) organization.

The proposed documents are available below, both as PDFs, or as Google Docs with tracked changes, open for comments, where members can see each other’s feedback. (Previous versions of the documents with original member comments are viewable here.) For more information, or to ask a question, check out our Governance FAQ’s page.

Our strength lies in our membership, representing an unprecedented cross-industry collaboration between creators, entrepreneurs, academic, music business, technology and policy leaders. We look forward to continuing our important work with each of you.