Berklee’s Music Business/Management Department Partners with Vistex

The Music Business/Management Department at Berklee College of Music has partnered with Vistex, a global leader in software solutions for managing pricing, trade, royalties, and incentives, on the course Publishing Royalty Administration. Berklee is the only college partner with Vistex in teaching the Music Maestro software and its cutting-edge technology to students majoring in Music Business/Management and Music Industry Leadership and Innovation.

“We're excited to partner with Berklee's Music Business/Management Department to give students essential hands-on experience with our global Music Maestro platform,” said Dave Bagley, senior manager of music at Vistex. “This collaboration connects education with real-world experience, helping students master rights and royalties management and develop critical skills needed to thrive in the fast-changing music industry, using the software trusted by leading companies worldwide.”

Launched in the fall of 2024, the Publishing Royalty Administration course has been in development for over five years by Michael Lau ’90, a 34-year veteran of the music industry, and Professor Andrea “Ani” Johnson, an international lecturer and consultant in music licensing, royalty administration, and startups. The course, taught by Lau and Johnson, is tailored for those seeking advanced training in music publishing and is built on Lau’s experience mentoring and training music business interns at Warner Chappell Music and as cofounder and former COO of Round Hill Music. 

“No matter how much the industry changes, there will always be money and the need for someone to count it,” says Professor Tonya Butler, chair of Music Business/Management. “By using the same software that major music companies use, we provide our students with the competitive advantage they need to secure those coveted hard-to-get-without-experience positions in music publishing."

The course curriculum delves into the complexities of rights and royalties in the streaming age, with a particular focus on the functionality and application of the Vistex Music Maestro platform. As one of the industry’s premiere rights and royalty management tools, Music Maestro is used to demonstrate the real-world processes of royalty administration, including catalog setup, royalty calculations, statement processing, and income tracking. 

“This advanced course is designed to integrate and build upon everything music business students at Berklee have previously learned, ensuring they not only understand but can effectively apply their knowledge in a music publishing or rights administration context,” said Lau. “It focuses on teaching methodologies, workflows, and processes, culminating in hands-on experience with Music Maestro to manage and optimize these tasks professionally. This approach ensures that, upon completion, students are well-prepared to navigate the complexities of the music publishing industry with a strong combination of theoretical understanding and practical expertise.”

About Michael Lau

Michael Lau ’90 is the current National Chair and New York’s chapter President of the Association of Independent Music Publishers. A music publishing and industry veteran, Lau leans on his diverse experiences as a music supervisor, composer, publisher, and music technologist. He also currently serves on several advisory boards within the music technology space and on the operations advisory committee of the Mechanical Licensing Collective. In addition, he is a cofounder and COO of CollectivRights Management, a new music asset-management company with other leaders in the industry. Lau was one of the original founders and COO of Round Hill Music, where he focused on keeping the company at the forefront of technology, data, and creating and maintaining efficient and effective processes. Prior to Round Hill Music, he served in various capacities at Warner Chappell Music. As director of strategic marketing, he revitalized and built the New York advertising and video game business. Later on, the company leveraged his technical and marketing skills by creating a role where he served as senior director, creative information technology and marketing development. The company licensed a creative pitching and quoting system that he developed to manage the music operations of two Winter Olympic broadcasts for CBS. The Berklee alumnus lives in Long Island, New York, with his wife and two daughters.

About Andrea Johnson

Andrea “Ani” Johnson is an international lecturer and consultant in music licensing, royalty administration, and startups. Tapped to share her expertise on CNN Espanol, CNN “The Lead” at MIDEM, Inholland University, and Berklee Valencia, she also published the case “Snoop Dog Takes Death Row to the Metaverse and Beyond” for Sage Publications, and spoke on the article “WTF are NFT’s, Smart Contracts and Tokens” at the MEIEA summit and published “What’s Up with MXSup’s” in the MEIEA Journal and the Music Business Journal. She previously worked with Chris Blackwell at Rykodisc/Palm and licensed over 30 albums for artists, including Elton John, Parliament-Funkadelic, and Fleetwood Mac as well as Silverlight Entertainment. Her work with Gloria Estefan included restructuring the financial systems for 20 companies and managing royalty processing for the company.  

About Vistex

Vistex solutions help businesses take control of their mission-critical processes. With a multitude of programs covering pricing, trade, royalties, and incentives, it can be complicated to see where all the money is flowing, let alone how much difference it makes to the topline and the bottom line. With Vistex, business stakeholders can see the numbers, see what really works, and see what to do next to ensure that every dollar spent or earned is really driving growth, and not just additional costs. For more information, visit vistex.com.