The ISMN Annual General Meeting 2013 will take place on 13 September 2013 in Washington D.C.. The Library of Congress will kindly host this 21st Panel meeting and 7th AGM of the International ISMN Agency.

Argentina is now a new member of the ISMN system. The ISMN agency is hosted by the Biblioteca Nacional in Buenos Aires. 

The United States of America have joined the ISMN system. The U.S. ISMN agency is hosted by the Library of Congress. The online publisher registration and music number generation systems are currently being tested by music publishers new to ISMN and those who used ISMN in the past.

Source: Book Industry Study Group (BISG)
A new report from BISG again stresses the importance of metadata. Survey results show that more metadata fields are needed by publishers and the supply chain to improve the presentation of published items. The article posted on 11 June 2012 may be viewed here.

As third African country, after Ghana and South Africa, Kenya joined the ISMN system. The agency is run by the Kenya National Library Services.

Source: ISNI International Agency
ISO has officially published the International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI), a 16-digit code for the identification of public identities across multiple fields of activities. ISNIs are assigned to the public identities of parties that participate in the creation, production, management or distribution of cultural goods in the digital environment. It streamlines distribution chains, disambiguating natural, legal and even fictional parties that might otherwise be confused. ISNI's founding members are the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the British Library, the conference of European National Librarians, the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO), the International Performers Database Association, OCLC and ProQuest. More information may be viewed here.

The 20th Panel Meeting and 6th Annual General Meeting of the International ISMN Agency will take place on Wednesday, 12 September 2012, in Chisinau, Moldova, by kind invitation of the National Book Chamber of Moldova.

The International ISMN Agency just published a brochure explaining the benefits and options of applications the International Standard Music number offers music publishers, music trade, rights organizations and libraries:

ISMN. International Standard Music Number.

Berlin 2012, 48 pages. ISBN 978-92-990051-4-9.

Contents:

- ISMN: ismn story, ismn benefits, ismn applications, ismn beneficiaries
- Music publisher: tracking, communication, interoperability, automation
- Music trade: tracking, data management, ordering and sales, information exchange
- Rights organization: metadata, tracking, copyright, royalty payments
- Library: legal deposits, acquisition, library catalogues
- Standards: understanding, administration, ismn and isbn

A copy can be downloaded here

Source: Music Publishers Association (MPA)
The British government plans to improve UK's copyright laws. For this purpose Professor Ian Hargreaves earlier this year had given recommendations which also covered topics important to music publishers. Following his report, the government now launched its 'consultation on copyright' which will run until 21 March 2012. The article posted on 14 December 2011 and more information may be viewed here.
 

Source: Book Industry Study Group (BISG) 
BISG has published a policy statement that details best practices for assigning ISBNs to digital products. It aims to prevent product identification confusion. The article posted on 7 December 2011 may be viewed here.