The music industry is global, and around the world, organizations and communities are uniting to ensure musicians, performers, and composers get the royalties due them by law. Transparency and trust are replacing former cronyism and backroom tactics to turn intellectual property into a vibrant economic and creative powerhouse.

IPOA (the Intellectual Property Owners’ Association; ipoa.ge) is the latest CMO to take this approach. It represents the artists of Georgia, a young democracy on the edge of Europe and Asia with millennia of rich cultural heritage. Chosen and created by Georgian artists and accredited by the National Intellectual Property Center SAKPATENTI to take over royalty collection and distribution, the new organization is committed to a better way of doing business, making sure its members can access their money accurately, quickly, and transparently. 

“Georgian artists wanted to reap the benefits of European approaches to accountability and transparency, combined with American expertise in rights management, all while maintaining their unique artistic spirit and vision,” explains Stefan Schulz, veteran label and music innovation executive and head of international relations for IPOA. “The world needs to know more about Georgia’s distinctive, breathtaking music, and its artists deserve to be rewarded for their contributions.”

Since regaining its independence in the 1990s during the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia has worked hard to bring its intellectual property rights regime into harmony with the world’s, using modern best practices. The country’s legislature passed the appropriate laws, and over the next several decades, rights enforcement and royalty collection began for Georgian composers and artists.

However, it soon became clear more work was needed. Georgia’s music community became painfully aware that the CMO that had been established was not operating effectively. They banded together to propose a new organization, IPOA, one that now embraces 99% of Georgia’s musical talent. IPOA won an open competition sponsored by the Georgian government and was granted the right to collect on behalf of music rightsholders. 

IPOA works differently from its predecessor, with guardrails in place to keep costs low and efficiency high. “Our expenses are capped by law,” explains Giorgi Nikolaishvilli, IPOA’s General Director, “and our commitment to service is high, in part because we are artist-founded.” It also has the advantage of building tech and systems that suit the current music business, one that’s complex, digital, and global. 

The organization leverages a single, integrated technology solution to ensure efficient and transparent rights management.  IPOA’s end-to-end platform encompasses music monitoring, recognition, tracking, rights management, and accounting – eliminating the need for multiple vendors and streamlining the entire process. Artists can access detailed reports on their royalties through private accounts on the IPOA website. Additionally, businesses playing licensed music (hotels, restaurants, cafes, and other public places) can verify that fees are properly credited to Georgian artists, fostering trust and motivation within the entire ecosystem.

IPOA proves that a new kind of CMO can thrive--and contribute to the flourishing of a nation’s musical arts. "It turned out that we can live in a different way and have more time for our art, by establishing a better business foundation for artists here,” explains respected composer and music professor Kakha Tsabadze. “Now that this foundation is built, Georgian artists are discovering they can finance their own ideas with the proceeds of their creativity. It’s truly inspiring."