AI Week NY hosts agentic music event May 16

Pulse NYC’s AI Week New York calendar listed a May 16 session titled “Are You Ready For Agentic Music? IP, AI, and Collective Media,” according to the event page on Luma. The listing said Jaime Schwarz and Vlad Shifrin hosted the session as part of the community-led festival. The page described the event as a discussion of “the challenges and opportunities in the music industry” around music that can “play, promote, license, and sell itself.” It also said the event would be virtual “at the very least.” ### What exactly did AI Week NY put on its schedule? The May 16 listing named the session “Are You Ready For Agentic Music? IP, AI, and Collective Media.” The event page said it was part of “#AIWeekNY by Pulse NYC,” which the broader AI Week New York calendar describes as a community-driven festival in New York focused on AI. Luma’s event page identified Jaime Schwarz and Vlad Shifrin as hosts. (luma.com) The listing also showed 46 people marked as going at the time it was crawled. ### What did organizers say the session would cover? The event description said MRKD.dj’s founder, CTO, head of design and CXO would lead “a deep dive” into music industry issues tied to self-executing media. The wording on the page framed the topic around music that can “play, promote, license, and sell itself,” a formulation that points to both creation and commercial distribution. (luma.com) MRKD.dj’s own website uses related language. The company says its product is built around “rights-cleared DJ sets,” automated digital clearance, and royalty management, and says its “Masters” format combines audio, visual, governance and historical files to automate licensing and rights administration. ### Who is MRKD.dj, the company at the center of the session? MRKD.dj describes itself as a platform for DJs and producers to clear sets, protect rights and collect royalties. (luma.com) Its website says the service offers “10× faster sample clearance,” a “99% approval rate” and “80% fewer disputes,” though those figures were presented on the company’s marketing page and not independently verified. Jaime Schwarz is identified elsewhere as MRKD.dj’s founder. (mrkd.dj) A profile published by Supermoon Station described Schwarz as the founder of MRKD.dj, while MRKD.dj’s site says Public Enemy collaborator Keith Shocklee is involved in the platform’s launch. ### Why does the phrase “agentic music” matter in this event listing? (mrkd.dj) The Luma page used the phrase in a practical, not theoretical, way. The description tied “agentic” behavior to music assets that can handle promotion, licensing and sales functions, rather than only generation or playback. MRKD.dj’s website makes a similar case in product terms. It says each “agentic album and track” can include rights declarations, ownership splits, production notes and licensing terms intended to make remixing and commercial use easier to manage. (supermoonstation.com) ### Was this a standalone event or part of a bigger festival? AI Week New York’s calendar said the citywide program runs under Pulse NYC and is aimed at founders, investors, policymakers and executives. (luma.com) The “agentic music” session appeared inside that larger schedule rather than as a separate conference brand. GarysGuide’s public events listing separately showed “NYC AI Week 2026” running from May 9 to May 17, matching the timing of the May 16 session inside a broader week of programming. (mrkd.dj) ### What comes next after the May 16 session? The AI Week New York calendar remains live on Luma as of May 17, with organizers directing users to Pulse NYC for hosting and attendance information. (luma.com) The event page for “Are You Ready For Agentic Music?” also remains accessible for registration and host details. (xaks.garysguide.com)