How Music Managers Network: A Conversation With Neeta Ragoowansi, President of Music Managers Forum at SXSW

Neeta Ragoowansi, President of Music Managers Forum US (MMF) and International (IMF) spoke about the benefits of conferences for networking and ‘a sense of community.’ “[These] conferences have allowed me to network, grow, and catapult to success.”Neeta Ragoowansi is the President of MMF-US and IMF, co-founder of direct licensing exchange NPREX, and an entertainment attorney. Ragoowansi is also the global co-chair of the non-profit Women in Music, where she works on women’s empowerment and gender equity growth within the music industry.

Speaking to DMN during the MMF Annual Managers Brunch, Ragoowansi said, “It’s such a beautiful time; it makes my heart glow.” According to Ragoowansi, networking is an important part of MMF. “Managers, startups, media folks, labels, publishers, and the music industry community attend the brunch to engage as a community, and show each other support.”

Ragoowansi believes that without the SXSW network, Women in Music wouldn’t have been able to succeed in advancing and creating opportunities for women in the musical arts.“Had it not been for SXSW introducing me to that first network and growing and catapulting from there, I would not have been able to do a lot of everything in the music industry — [such as] help others grow the community, and be of service to our industry.”

“This is my 30th year. People need to return year after year to discover constantly. It [reveals] a different pattern of what you can do for your business, your career, or your mission.”

Ragoowansi says such events offer enormous networking and learning opportunities. She believes this is especially valuable because members can reach out to this network to overcome any challenges or hiccups they face.

On a different note, she also addressed the challenges many artists face in finding management that’s capable and willing to support their vision for music — and have the knowledge and connections to best guide their careers.On that topic, Ragoowansi mentioned the Miami Music Summit for the MMF, an all-day educational event conference that took place on March 21st.

Ragoowansi says, “IMF is doing a bit of a reboot and a relaunch — connecting the global network of managers as a trade association for both artist managers and self-managed artists.”

“If you’re an artist that needs to understand your own business, and there are not enough managers to go around, we share the knowledge.”

Speaking of MMF’s many endeavors within the US, Ragoowansi spoke passionately about developing best practices for ethical AI to ensure revenue opportunities for artists.MMF’s efforts aim to facilitate regulatory agreements with AI companies in an attempt to protect artist assets. Ragoowansi said, “The [central] pillar of any trade association is advocacy work. MMF focuses on the issues around recognizing human artistry in the AI space. I want to make sure that we’re collaborative.”

“AI is here, so we must proactively engage with AI companies to determine a licensing model. Then, we need to do it on a global level.”

On the global front, Ragoowansi reveals that the IMF is ‘carrying the torch to create International agreements’ that push for law harmonization.She adds, “These regulatory frameworks will affect how AI and creators [and copyright owners] engage and how we can develop best practices for revenue generation.”

“Because AI is here to stay. It’s like electricity — we’ll live with it now.”

DMN spoke with Ragoowansi during their annual brunch and networking event at SXSW in Austin.