January Newsbreak
In this issue:
DMLA turns 75 <> Focus 2026
Membership Renewal
SEO & AI Search Working Group
2026 Webinars
2025 DMLA Annual Report
Coming Events
Welcome to 2026—
DMLA’s 75th Anniversary
This year marks a significant milestone for DMLA: 75 years of supporting, connecting, and advocating for the organizations and professionals who shape the media licensing ecosystem.
But this anniversary is not about looking back. It’s about leadership—especially at a time when our industry is being reshaped by AI, platform shifts, changing buyer behavior, and increasing pressure on creators’ rights and business models.
That’s why we’ve introduced Focus 2026—a forward-looking framework that reflects where the industry is headed and how DMLA will continue to lead. Focus 2026 centers on advocacy, education, and connectivity, with an emphasis on practical guidance, informed policy dialogue, and meaningful collaboration across the ecosystem.
As we enter this anniversary year, our commitment is clear: to ensure DMLA remains not just relevant, but essential—helping members navigate disruption, influence outcomes, and build sustainable businesses in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Why Focus 2026?
Because the decisions being made today—around AI, licensing models, technology, and trust—will define the industry for years to come.DMLA’s role is to help shape those decisions, not react to them.
SEO & AI Search Working Group
Search is no longer just “SEO.” Today’s discovery landscape spans SEO, GEO, AIO, multimodal discovery, and generative AI engines—often shaping how content is surfaced, interpreted, and valued before a user ever reaches a website.
The DMLA SEO & AI Search Working Group brings together senior SEO and search leaders, growth and digital marketing specialists, product and technical experts, and executives from licensed and stock media organizations. Our shared goal is to ensure that human-created, licensed content remains discoverable, attributable, and valued as search and AI continue to evolve.
The group focuses on practical solutions, including how licensed visual media is accessed and interpreted by search and AI systems; how metadata and IPTC standards can better communicate ownership and permitted use; and how provenance frameworks like C2PA and content credentials can provide visible signals of authenticity in both search and generative AI experiences.
An open invitation:
If you’re part of a DMLA member company and care about these issues, we welcome additional participation. Please reach out to admin@dmla.org to get involved, and view current member companies at dmla.org/member-companies.
Search and AI engine organizations—including Google, Bing, OpenAI, and Perplexity—are also invited to engage if authenticity, provenance, and the responsible use of licensed visual media are key priorities.
If you have ideas, questions, or concerns about discovery, attribution, and authenticity in an evolving search ecosystem, we invite you to join the conversation on LinkedIn or participate as a guest on an upcoming working group call.
2026 Webinars
Dates and times are subject to change.
Membership Renewal
As we wrap up the year and look ahead to what’s next, we want to take a moment to say thank you for your support.
The DMLA community thrives because of the continued support, engagement, and collaboration of our members. Your participation—through events, working groups, conversations, and shared ideas—helps to shape the future of digital media licensing.
Annual membership renews on January 1st for most members. Renewing your membership ensures uninterrupted access to DMLA programming, resources, events, and the incredible network that makes this organization so special.
If you have not already renewed, do so now! You were sent an invoice in December. Please reach out with any questions.
2025: The Year in Review
Written by: DMLA President, Joe Naylor
In 2025, the digital media licensing industry continued to navigate rapid technological, legal, and market change driven largely by artificial intelligence. Ongoing litigation, regulatory inquiries, and policy debates around AI training, attribution, and licensing aimed to clarify emerging risks while increasing demand for lawful, transparent content sourcing and distribution. At the same time, creators, agencies, platforms, and technology providers explored new licensing models, metadata standards, and provenance tools to support responsible AI development. In this evolving environment, collaboration, advocacy, and education has been essential to protecting rights holders and sustaining a healthy licensing ecosystem.
To read the full report, go HERE:
DMLA extends sincere thanks to the many volunteers that work on behalf of the industry and DMLA members, including our 2024 - 2026 Officers, Committee Chairs & DMLA Team:
Executive Officers & Staff
Leslie Hughes — Executive Director / Immediate Past President
Nancy Wolff — DMLA Counsel
Callie Pines — Marketing, Events & Sponsorships
Elected Officers
Joe Naylor — President
Josiane Faubert — Vice President
Jonathan Wells — Treasurer
Thomas Smith — Secretary
Leslie Hughes — Immediate Past President
Anna Dickson — Member at Large
Steve Jones — Member at Large
Mark Milstein — Member at Large
Committee Chairs
Education Committee: Thomas Smith
Ethics & Grievances Committee: Chris Daniels
Finance Committee: (Open)
Legal Committee: Margaret Vincent
Marketing Committee: Sarah Lefebvre
Membership Committee: DeSean Brown
Nominations & Elections Committee: (Open)
Technology Committee: Mark Milstein
Interested in DMLA Membership?
Coming Industry Events
February 10 -12, 2025 - Generative AI EXPO - Fort Lauderdale, FLA
Guiding Your Selection of Generative AI ApplicationsMarch 18 - 19, 2026 - DAM LA 2026 - Los Angeles, CA
April 14, 2026 - Creative Marketplace - New York, NY
May 6-8, 2026 - CEPIC - Valencia, Spain
June 22–26, 2026 - Cannes Lions Int’l - Cannes, France
September 16, 2026 - Footage Marketplace Europe - Paris, France
November 10 - 12, - Adobe Max - Miami, Fl
Please send us events you would like us to track!
Email marketing@dmla.org