Licensing is constantly evolving. From changes in procedure to understanding what properties are trending, the need to stay on the pulse of the industry is a neccessity for today's top players in the field. To learn more about how members of the licensing community can optimize their licensing revenue, License Global caught up with Marty Malysz, President, Dependable Solutions. Malysz shared with us how he has seen the industry evolve over the course of his 25+ year career, how industry members can leverage data to get the most out of their licenses and the impact of technology on business as a whole.

Malysz spoke with us ahead of his upcoming session at Licensing Leadership Summit in March. His panel talk will include a deep dive on trends and technologies every member of the licensing community should understand.

Read our full Q&A with Malysz below:

License Global: What has been the biggest change you’ve seen in the licensing business over the last five years?

Malysz: A few of the biggest changes I’ve seen include more detailed reporting for retailers and SKUs, major international changes in revenue recognition, a larger focus on minding your rights with creative approvals and more complex contractual deals and collaborations between brands. 

What is the biggest trend or industry disruption that you see on the horizon that not enough people are taking about?

How to handle the tremendous amount of information without increasing your staff. More new tools than ever before are available today that make managing that data easier without increasing your bottom line.

What advice would you give yourself if you could go back to the beginning of your career?

Enjoy living in the moment since there are so many exciting twists in licensing. You can achieve great things by capitalizing on those twists with less planning and more reacting to immediate opportunities. 

How is technology disrupting the licensing industry?

Too many companies are still relying on manual methods of business and losing thousands of dollars in the process. Technology helps all agents, manufacturers and brand owners to drive more revenue and limit expenses.

What are you hoping people get out of your talk at the Licensing Leadership Summit?

I hope people leave the session with a greater understanding of staying on top of licensing processes is easily achievable, profitable and reliable. Data is a valuable tool that people in our industry shouldn’t be afraid of using.

Learn More

To hear more from Malysz and other licensing thought leaders, register to attend this year’s Licensing Leadership Summit, taking place on March 16 and 17, 2020, in New York City, New York. The re-imagined executive-level conference and networking event will present a comprehensive program that covers industry-focused topics shaping the licensing world.

The Licensing Leadership Summit is organized by the Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets, the organization behind leading trade shows Licensing Expo, Brand Licensing Europe, Licensing Expo China and Licensing Expo Japan, as well as License Global.

Sponsors of Licensing Leadership Summit 2020 include JPatton, an industry leader in providing innovative, customized solutions that combine patented brand-protection products and services with unrivaled consumer engagement opportunities; Dependable Solutions, Inc., which delivers the latest financial management and creative approval systems and services to agents, licensors and licensees by experienced specialists who have licensing, creative and royalty backgrounds; Trevco, which helps materialize the brand vision of more than 800-plus licensed brands through the manufacturing and sales of licensed consumer products with a focus on apparel and accessories; and Future State Brands, a global consumer goods and marketing company with a mission to lead cannabis from the black market to the supermarket.