Performance anxiety on high! The dramatically elevated first tee at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades (Photo: NMPA)
The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) and its SONGS Foundation tossed another splashy golf gala this week at The Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. And it was exactly the kind of country-clubbing, cigar-chomping, golf-playing ‘gala’ the lawyers at Elon Musk’s X warned you about.
Hit songwriters were advised to leave their big hooks at home for this one — without losing that swing and beautiful tempo. And for those afflicted with the arguably ‘healthy addiction’ of golf… wowza! It really doesn’t get much better than playing the storied Riviera Country Club nestled in the Pacific Palisades enclave of Los Angeles.
Such was the setting for the NMPA SONGS Foundation Golf Tournament, where foursomes featured songwriters, music publishers, catalog-acquiring magnates, performing artists, synch specialists, streaming execs, and entertainment attorneys.
There was even a Hollywood A-lister milling about, with ‘Owen’ — Wilson, that is — dropping by his club for a few practice swings.
Incidentally, the course recently hosted the 2026 Genesis Invitational, which returned to Riviera after temporarily relocating to Torrey Pines in La Jolla following the catastrophic 2025 fires. The grandstands from the just-finished tourney still surrounded many greens, which themselves were lightning fast and devilishly tricky to putt.
Once again, NMPA topper David Israelite played the ‘host with the most,’ corralling an event that drew participation from a who’s who of the business and beyond.
Songwriters, publishers, performing artists, streaming execs, attorneys, and more wax at the NMPA SONGS Foundation annual golf gala at Riviera Country Club (Photo: NMPA)
Among the many sponsors were: Kobalt, Downtown Music Publishing (now part of UMG), Meta, Amazon Music, abkco, PEN Music Group, Primary Wave, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Sony Music Publishing, Disney Music, the RIAA, Reach Music Publishing, Domino Publishing, YouTube Music, Big Machine Music, BMG, Mayimba Music, TikTok, Peermusic, Pryor Cashman, BMI, ASCAP, SESAC, Anthem Entertainment, Inspired Nation, Gibson, and Taylor Guitars.
Others supporting the gala included Delta, Stitch, G/FORE, Turtlebox, Lululemon, Collars & Co., Four Seasons, and even LA-based Canyon Coffee, which poured a delicate morning brew for attendees.
One company that wasn’t present was X, which has been at loggerheads with the music industry for years and definitely sat this one out.
X, owned by Elon Musk, has resolutely refused to license music for its sprawling media platform, arguing that everything is covered under the ‘Safe Harbor’ provisions of the DMCA.
In a subsequent countersuit, X has also accused music publishers of craftily coordinating terms with a “conspiratorial ‘meeting of the minds’ reached on golf courses and at industry galas, where the most powerful executives in the music publishing world agreed to a group boycott of X in order to force the platform into a supracompetitive, industry-wide licensing deal.”
The Riviera classic wasn’t mentioned in any filings, but if the soft-spike shoe fits…
Digital Music News publisher Paul Resnikoff and The War on Drugs lead singer Adam Granduciel set sail on the Riviera (Photo: NMPA)
For what it’s worth, DMN didn’t overhear any conspiratorial plans relating to X (or any other platform) at this event, though there were some choice cigars (and handy Anthem Entertainment-branded lighters) for the guests. That was part of a legendary swag spread that also included Titleist ProV1 golf balls, svelte Lululemon pants and tops, and a bevy of mean golfing goodies.
It was all part of a golfing ‘gala’ that is now one of the most coveted industry shindigs of the year. And the perfect place to hatch a conspiratorial plot or two.
Mwahahaha…
See y’all next year!
