Biography & Early Wealth Journey

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The NMPA survey covers revenue from music publishing and songwriting, rather than record industry revenues, which are separate, and which publishing revenue has lagged behind in recent years. But according to NMPA CEO David Israelite, 2018's numbers reflect the first time in three years that the publishing side of the business saw the same amount of growth as the record side.

Israelite also spoke on ongoing court battles between the NMPA and streaming platforms like Spotify, to try and secure better rates for songwriters, and included a raft of facts and figures in his remarks. But he also boiled it down to a simple, easy-to-grasp fact: "The key takeaway is that the state of the industry is strong."

Primary Income Streams & Multi-Million Contracts

One interesting source of NMPA revenues comes from legal pursuits of copyright infringement. Israelite says that in 2018, $46.4 million went to songwriters and publishers thanks to legal actions by the organization, a figure that represents a return of 330 percent compared to its membership dues. He added:

"As far as I know, we are the only trade association where being a member acts as a profit center."