Willard Ahdritz Receives Innovator Award at Music Biz Conference

17 May 2023 - Press release

 

After Willard Ahdritz's keynote at the 2023 Music Biz Conference in Nashville last evening, he received the association's Innovator Award.

Speaking on stage, Ahdritz discussed a key strategic part of Kobalt he founded in 2015, AMRA, a leading global digital collection society, along with his views on the future of the music industry. 

Commenting on the award, Ahdritz said, "With over 20 years of working for changing the industry to be a more fair and transparent industry using big tech to be able to run it, I am very happy to receive this award. As I noted on stage, we are in the middle of this big digital transformation and there are still many more opportunities for innovation and monetization for the music industry. We at Kobalt and AMRA will continue to inspire and pioneer a great industry for all creators and rights owners.

"It's safe to say that the music industry as we know it today was uniquely shaped by the pioneering mind of Willard Ahdritz," commented Music Biz President Portia Sabin. "His foresight regarding the coming changes in the marketplace combined with his ability to reimagine standard practices has been a dynamite recipe for commercial success. For these reasons and more, we're honored to present Willard with Music Biz's Innovator Award."

Music Biz's Innovator Award honors those who seek to challenge the standards of music creation and commerce, pushing the boundaries of what is possible with astounding results. The first Music Biz Innovator Award was given during Music Biz 2015 to Jack White — esteemed songwriter, producer, and founding member of The White Stripes and The Raconteurs — for the ULTRA LP release of his Lazaretto solo record, which uniquely married the classic vinyl format with modern day technology.