Ned Sherman, CEO & Publisher
Digital Media Wire

As CEO and Publisher of Digital Media Wire, Inc., Ned Sherman works at the center of the rapidly growing digital media industry, where he brokers relationships and keeps a tab on the most important developments shaping the industry. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Publisher Ned Sherman is more than the average pundit: He is an attorney and has an inside grasp of what is happening.”

Ned is a frequent speaker at industry events and has been quoted and profiled in publications including The Wall Street Journal, American Lawyer, LA Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Billboard and interviewed and featured on C-SPAN and National Public Radio (NPR). Ned is a board member of The Technology Council of Southern California and is a judge for the annual Mobile Excellence Awards. He is also founder and creator of the Billboard Digital Entertainment Awards, which he sold to VNU/Nielsen in 2006.

Ned is active in global media affairs, recently launching the Canadian Media Wire news service and serving as a judge for the O2 Digital Media Awards in Ireland, moderator at the annual MIDEM Global Music Exposition in Cannes, France, and chair of Digital Strategies Conference @ Canadian Music Week in Toronto.

Before co-founding Digital Media Wire, Ned was a founding member of the iLaw Group in the Entertainment Department at Loeb & Loeb LLP in Los Angeles, where he handled licensing and corporate transactions and financings for media and entertainment clients including Universal Studios and MGM and launched dozens of Internet and new media start-ups. In 2000, he was an Adjunct Lecturer of Law at Tulane University Law School where he taught an entertainment law seminar. Ned is a graduate of Brown University (AB, with honors, 1990) and the University of Texas School of Law (JD, 1994) where he was Chief Articles & Notes Editor of the Texas International Law Journal and winner of the national Scribes Awards for his article on the human rights ramifications of U.S. reservations to international death penalty treaties.

Ned is active in alumni affairs for Brown University and is currently Southern California Chair for Brown University's Alumni Interview Program. He has traveled extensively from Europe to Asia to South America to Northern Africa. Ned is married and lives with his wife, son and daughter in Los Angeles, California.

Ted Cohen, Managing Partner
TAG Strategic

In an industry that’s been slow to embrace change, Cohen is the exception to the stereotypical music-exec rule. Of course, when you start a career on the road with the Sex Pistols and Van Halen, you're more primed for the unexpected.

In his previous role as SVP Digital Development & Distribution for EMI Music, Cohen led next-generation digital business development worldwide for this "big four" record company. During that time, EMI led the industry by embracing and exploiting new technologies and business models such as digital downloads and online music subscriptions, custom compilations, wireless services, high-definition audio and Internet radio.

Cohen also led two highly successful new media consulting operations, DMN Consulting and Consulting Adults, attracting clients such as Amazon.com, Universal Studios and DreamWorks Records. Cohen also held senior management positions at both Warner Bros. Records and Philips Media.

A 30-year industry veteran, Cohen served as Chairman of the Mobile Entertainment Forum idemNet. Cohen serves on the boards for NARAS, the Neil Bogart Memorial Fund and co-chairs the new media arm of the T.J. Martell Foundation.

Jay Baage, VP, Content
Digital Media Wire

As VP of Content, Jay wears many hats. He oversees the content in DMW's publications as well as for conferences and other events. Jay furthermore runs the day-to-day operations for the popular DMW news and community site, where he also serves as a Senior Writer. Last, but not least, he works with marketing, public relations and business development across the board for DMW.

Jay got into journalism after high school when he served a year of military service in the Swedish Armed Forces and was selected to join its highly regarded conscript writing staff. He has been hooked on working with media and communication ever since.

Jay now has over 10 years of experience in the media industry serving in a wide range of capacities - from a technology writer and editor at several newspapers and magazines (Reuters, Dagens Industri, Aftonbladet etc.) to working in television (ABC Good Morning America, TV4 Ekonominyheterna), both behind and in front of the camera.

Jay has a Masters Degree in Media, Entertainment and Technology Management from New York University and a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Goteborg University in Sweden.

He is a recipient of the Wallenberg Scholarship 2004 and 2006 (Academic Scholarship), The Sweden-America Foundation Fellowship 2005 (Academic Scholarship) as well as awarded a scholarship for being "A Promising New Media Manager" by Swedish Newspaper Publishers' Association 2005 and 2001.

Joakim has a keen personal interest in digital media, music and pop-culture. On his desk, you will find a video iPod, the latest issue of US Weekly and a pair of Cutler and Gross shades.

He claims to listen to music by Paris Hilton only because he "has to be familiar with mainstream music" while heavily promoting new bands from his native Scandinavia like "Peter, Bjorn & John."

Kevin Bacon, Owner
AWAL (Artists Without A Label)

Kevin's introduction to the record industry was back in 1978 as bass player and founder member of the ComSat Angels. Hailing from Sheffield (UK) Kevin went on to make 9 albums for Polydor / Jive and Island before leaving the band in 1989 to focus on record production and artist development. Always at the forefront of technology, ie geek or techno junkie !, Never far away from a computer - starting back with a Sinclair ZX81 - Kevin now develops digital solutions to content delivery / management and royalty payment systems in his (somewhat sparse) spare time. Bacon & Quarmby as they have become known, have almost 20 years of artist development and record production - achieving both Grammy and Brit awards having worked with artists as diverse as Finley Quaye, Pretenders, David Bowie and Ziggy Marley amongst many others. In recent years they have consulted at A&R level to Nick Gatfield at Island Records and developed joint venture businesses with Universal Publishing and TVT Records (US). In 2004 they moved into RAK Studios in London were they since become based, and it is in this historic venue that the new AWAL London office is based. Recent productions include Oi Va Voi and Beverley Knight.

Ryan Barkan, Senior Director, Advertising & Video Games
Primary Wave Music Publishing

Ryan Barkan is responsible for creating innovative and integrated campaigns utilizing Primary Wave music within the advertising and video game spaces. Most recently, Ryan worked with Pontiac on an integrated music campaign that not only featured new artist Shwayze’s hit single “Buzzin’,” but also starred the artist himself. As a result of this partnership, Pontiac will be featured in Shwayze’s upcoming MTV reality show. Ryan works with the top game publishers and developers to integrate Primary Wave music into their video games. He has placed songs in games such as Guitar Hero, SingStar, Rock Band, American Idol: Karaoke Revolution, LIPS, Tap Tap Revenge, and more.

When not at work, Ryan spends his time checking out new bands and attending shows. He chronicles each show with his trusty camera and writes about them on his music blog, Fresh Bread (http://freshbread.blogs.com). His photos have been picked up by publications such as Billboard, Rolling Stone, and the Village Voice, and blogs like Brooklyn Vegan, MTV VMA 2006 Blog, and Live Music Blog. Lastly, Ryan does a mean backspin…but not on request.

Anjula Acharia Bath, Chairman, President & Founder
Desi Hits!

Anjula Acharia Bath is the face of Desi Hits!  She combines extensive advertising and recruiting knowledge with a keen ear for music position to propel Desi (South Asian) culture and artists into the public eye.  Desi Hits! is an innovative multi-platform media company that is undoubtedly creating a cultural shift in the digital field and pop culture worldwide. 

Steering the company to global influence, Anjula creates and executes deals with US Major labels such as Universal, Warner Music Group and Sony, and South Asian/Bollywood film studios.  Anjula’s pioneering efforts have led the company to some of the biggest names in music, 50 Cent, Pussycat Dolls, Britney Spears and Sonu Niiggam have all been featured on DesiHits.com

While Anjula is busy with Desi Hits! you can still keep up with her in the press!  She receives global press, radio and television recognition for her achievements.  She’s been recognized in the Wall Street Journal, VOGUE, Business Week, Rolling Stone, WWD, on BBC and NPR, and Fox.  She speaks regularly at media conferences.  She was a guest speaker at NYU’s Clive Davis School of Music, served as a judge for the “Music Video Award” at The Ibiza International Film Festival and holds many media industry awards.

The Desi Hits! spokeswoman began her career leading strategy and delivery for emerging technologies practice at the Forsyth Group.  She co-founded the media and entertainment search firm Merchant McKenzie where she placed executive talent for companies such as Walt Disney Internet Group and Universal Pictures International.  As director at London TMP Worldwide, Anjula worked strategically with the CEO and Board to develop and guide direction for Monster.com. Committed to the arts and media, she holds a B.A. with Honors in Theatre Arts and Communications from Middlesex University and is a published writer. 

Anjula continues to excel and just completed her first fiction novel that is a fun, sexy journey of three women and explores the second generation South Asian experience.  When it comes to pushing for innovation and excitement, Anjula leads the way!

Rich Bengloff, President
A2IM

Rich  Bengloff joined A2IM as it’s President in January of 2007.  Rich also serves as a board member representing the Independent music label community on the boards of the SoundExchange and the Alliance of Artists and Recording Companies ("AARC").  Rich has spent much of his career in the music and entertainment industry, having served in various capacities at SONY Corporation of America. As Vice President of Columbia Pictures Entertainment; as Vice President, Finance and Administration at Relativity Records/R.E.D. Distribution; and as Vice President, Distribution Operations for Sony Music Distribution between 1989- 1998. He then joined Elektra Entertainment Group to become Senior Vice President/CFO. In 2005, he became WNYC Radio’s Vice President of Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer.

Rich holds a BA degree from SUNY–New Paltz and an MBA from Columbia University. Rich also co-teaches  the music industry course in the Media and Entertainment Department of Fordham University’s MBA program.  

Aydin Caginalp, Partner, Entertainment & Media Group
Manatt, Phelps, and Phillips, LLC

Mr. Caginalp’s practice concentrates on business transactions, including acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures, private equity and general corporate and commercial matters, with an emphasis on international matters, entertainment and new media. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

He has worked extensively in the media and e-commerce field in connection with the acquisition of technology companies, music, broadcast and production companies throughout the world. In connection with Internet activities, he has worked in the establishment of ISP services, search engine companies, e-commerce companies and various initiatives involving delivery of music and entertainment products through the Internet, as well as digital rights management.

Ben Campbell, CEO
OurStage, Inc.

A Virginia native, Campbell is a graduate of the University of Richmond and Harvard Business School. He is a perpetual entrepreneur who, in the 15 years since graduating from business school, has yet to have a normal job. He spent 7 years founding, building, and subsequently selling European operations for UNIFI Communications - a $50m data communications operator. He has also held successful positions as COO of Mentor Technologies, (an online eLearning partner of Cisco Systems) and as CEO of BTS Partners, Inc. (a venture-backed, network infrastructure services firm).

Following the sale of his last company, Campbell, an avid music enthusiast, noticed the total lack of effective sorting technology in the emerging Web 2.0 world - causing great musicians to be lost in the noise of millions of pure amateurs online. In the summer of 2006, he began assembling a team of top engineers and Web experts to address this Internet-wide problem, and in October 2006, OurStage.com was born.

OurStage is an online music destination unlike any other – a meeting space for music lovers and the place where tomorrow’s stars get discovered. Artists, fans and the industry come together on OurSage to celebrate and influence independent music. Undiscovered artists submit their tracks to monthly music channels, fans rank their material in the Company’s cheating-resistant judging engine, and industry professionals keep tabs on who’s rising through the charts, and reward the best of the best with priceless opportunities. Fans and artists are eligible for monthly prizes and life-altering opportunities, made possible through our partnerships with media giants like MTV; major radio conglomerates like Citadel and Radio One; web giants like AOL Music, and major music festivals such as Bonnaroo, Bumbershoot, Noise Pop, and CMJ.

Launched in 2007, OurStage delivers music and editorial coverage to 4 million monthly visitors from over 170 countries, as well as development tools to more than 120,000 artists. For more information on the world’s most authentic online music community, visit www.ourstage.com.

Ben lives in Winchester, Massachusetts with his wife Kerry and their three children

Scott Campbell is CEO of Virtually Atomic. Scott has been a pioneer of emerging digital content technologies and business models since the early 1990s. He first established Virtually Atomic in 1997 to help clients define web based properties and turn them into tangible functional requirements and actionable business plans. Scott continues to work with clients and is an active committee member of NARAS (Grammys) Producers & Engineers Wing in NY. He also occasionally delivers training seminars for the Negotiation Institute of New York.

Rio Caraeff, President & CEO
VEVO

Rio D. Caraeff serves as President & Chief Executive Officer of VEVO, the new online premium music and entertainment service that blends the very best in top-notch music content with Google/YouTube’s leading edge video technology and user community.  Created in partnership by Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and Abu Dhabi Media Company, VEVO operates independently with offices in New York and Los Angeles.  

Most recently, Mr. Caraeff was Executive Vice President of Universal Music Group’s (UMG) eLabs, the division responsible for handling the company’s electronic commerce initiatives, Internet exploitation, and new technology business opportunities worldwide.  In that role, Mr. Caraeff was responsible for leading the implementation of the company’s digital strategy, working closely with all of UMG’s subsidiary labels and divisions, and exploring, developing and maximizing all of the new digital opportunities and business models emerging in the marketplace.  

Previously, Mr. Caraeff served as General Manager of Universal Music Mobile (UMM), the division he launched in 2005. Under his leadership, the company sold over 300 million mobile music units and its business expanded more than 200%. UMM also became the first company to launch the direct-to-consumer mobile sales business "GetMusic," which enables every UMG label and artist to sell music directly to fans mobile phones via Web and WAP channels including the "30303" SMS shortcode; while pioneering "Made For Mobile" releases, including innovative "native wireless audio/video programming" from artists including Eminem, Snoop Dogg and The Pussycat Dolls, among many others. UMM also scored a number of firsts, including becoming the first company to have a mastertone hit double platinum (Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’” now quadruple platinum) and the first music company to have two different mastertones hit platinum level sales before the release of the physical album (Rick Ross’ “Hustlin’” and Jibbs’ “Chain Hang Low"). 

Prior to joining UMG, Mr. Caraeff’s extensive background included working in new technologies in virtually all areas of entertainment including film, television, music and games.  He served as Vice President, Wireless Services for Sony Pictures Digital, where he established and operated the worldwide mobile entertainment publishing & licensing division of Sony Pictures Entertainment.  And before that, Mr. Caraeff was Vice President of Business Development and Investments at Sony 550 Digital Media Ventures, having begun his tenure at the company as Senior Director, New Technology Business Development. 

In between his stints at Sony, Mr. Caraeff served as Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Fabric, a consultancy firm whose client roster included Sony and Miller Brewing Company.  His 13+ years in the industry also include positions at Capitol Records Group, Propaganda Films/PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Generator Digital Post, and Crunch Media Group. 

Mr. Caraeff was featured in The Hollywood Reporter’s “Next Generation,” as one of the top 35 executives under 35 in Hollywood. He was also listed in Fortune magazine’s 40 under 40 and was named one of the top digital executives to watch in 2010 by both the Los Angeles Times and Digital Media Wire.

Cameo Carlson, EVP
Universal Motown Republic Group

Cameo Carlson, Executive Vice President of Universal Motown Republic Group, has been at the forefront of the digital music revolution from its earliest stages. From terrestrial radio to online radio to digital and mobile commerce, she has demonstrated an ability to stay one step ahead of the industry throughout her career. Her current role at UMRG includes mobile, online and digital sales and marketing for artists such as Colbie Caillat, Amy Winehouse, Lil Wayne and Jack Johnson. Cameo has been responsible for three of the ten biggest digital albums in history as well as breaking mobile ringtone records for first week sales, top-selling of all time and number of multi-platinum sales. In September 2008, Ms. Carlson was named one the Top Mobile Executives by Billboard Magazine for her work at UMRG. Prior to her work at UMRG, Ms. Carlson worked as the editorial and label relations manager for iTunes, and the alternative & rock programmer for Spinner.com/Radio@AOL.

Jayne Charneski, Executive, Intelligence Group
Creative Artists Agency

Jayne Charneski is currently an executive at the Intelligence Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of CREATIVE ARTISTS AGENCY (CAA), the country's leading entertainment and sports talent agency. As a Managing Director and head of consumer insights, Charneski consults some of the most recognizable talent and brands in the world, including Microsoft,  HBO, Target, BBC, and Honda on their brand and consumer strategies.

Jayne Charneski was formerly VP of Consumer Insights & Strategy for EMI Music, and oversaw worldwide consumer insights for EMI Music. Charneski sat in EMI’s global strategy and business development group. Under Charneski’s guidance, EMI Music led with its understanding of consumer behavior in the digital world, identifying insights and opportunities to put EMI music in the reach of consumers, whenever and wherever they are.

Charneski is a recognized expert on consumer culture who has been quoted in numerous publications including the New York Times, USA Today, Blender and Billboard and has appeared on CNN and NPR’s All Things Considered. Charneski has addressed numerous entertainment industry events and conferences in the U.S., U.K., and Canada.

Prior to joining EMI Music, Charneski was a Vice President at Edison Media Research. While at Edison, conducted audience research for media groups around the world, including audience and programming work in the Middle East that launched a U.S. government-backed radio network there. Charneski also authored three groundbreaking studies on consumers in the digital media world, including in 2001, one of the first major research studies to quantify the impact of file-sharing on music purchasing behavior.

Charneski founded Jayne Charneski, LLC., a boutique consumer insights agency and ethnographic insight film production company. Jayne Charneski, LLC clients include Universal Music Group, Citibank, Boston Consulting Group, and the National Exit Poll.

Richard Conlon, VP, New Media and Strategic Dev.
BMI

As BMI's Vice President, New Media and Strategic Development, Richard Conlon is responsible for the company's New Media and Strategic Development initiatives. An expert in global digital media, he leads a team that manages performance royalty revenue streams in the digital world, across all new media applications. The group spearheads analysis, planning and strategic development for BMI’s future directions in the media and entertainment worlds.

Under his direction, BMI licenses a wide variety of leading digital media properties including Yahoo, MSN, AOL, Napster, Rhapsody and others; in addition to mobile entertainment, podcasts, social networks, online gaming and other digital properties. It also offers the industry’s first online licensing utility, the Digital Licensing Center, offering totally electronic click-through copyright licensing agreements.

A BMI executive for over 14 years, he holds a Masters Degree from the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California. and B.A. in English from Boston College.

Russ Crupnick, VP & Sr. Industry Analyst
The NPD Group

Russ Crupnick provides expert media commentary and executive-level guidance, industry analysis and overall strategic value to The NPD Group's clients in the music and film/video industries. Steeped in the entertainment sector, with more than twenty years of experience in the development, management and application of consumer tracking panels, Crupnick has appeared as a commentator for broadcast news outlets and has been extensively quoted on industry trends in the print media as well. He is also a sought-after speaker at a host of industry conferences and trade shows. Crupnick has served NPD as president of the Behavioral Tracking business unit, and as VP of Corporate New Business Development. Prior to NPD, he held several positions for ACNielsen, including VP/group director of the Homescan Consumer Panel unit and VP/director within Nielsen's Category Management team.

David Del Beccaro, CEO
Music Choice

David Del Beccaro is President, CEO and Founder of Music Choice, the leading multi-platform digital music network. He pioneered innovative ways to produce, program, and deliver video and audio entertainment content to millions of consumers nationwide through their TVs, PCs, and cell phones. As a national authority on music and technology, Del Beccaro has been quoted extensively in The New York Times, AP, Reuters, and Billboard, among others. Del Beccaro founded MUSIC CHOICE in 1986, securing financing for his ground-breaking concept through a partnership of major cable and music companies, as well as Microsoft and Motorola.

Michael Doernberg, CEO & Founder
ReverbNation

Mike is a serial entrepreneur responsible for founding and successfully building several venture capital backed technology companies focused on helping organizations use the internet to more effectively market their products and services. His past ventures include SmartPath (acquired by DoubleClick, Inc.), and The Marathon Group (acquired by Merant, PLC). Mike began his career at Ernst & Young in their Entrepreneurial Services Organization. In February of 2006, Mike founded the Music 2.0 Company ReverbNation.com.

Serving over 560,000 artists, labels and managers, ReverbNation provides the innovative marketing solutions that musicians need to compete, cooperate, and differentiate in an increasingly noisy online environment.  Unlike typical “closed” communities, artists use ReverbNation as their home base for approaching marketing and promotion across the Internet as a whole - be it via social networks, blogs, email, IM, or the artist’s homepage.  Tools like FanReach, The Reverb Store, and low cost distribution give the artist the power to spread their music and information virtually anywhere.  ReverbNation’s mission is to help the artist wherever possible by providing the tools and opportunities they need to develop their careers.

Seth Freed, Director of Non-Traditional Sales & Partnerships
Nettwerk Music Group

Harlan Frey, VP, Touring & Artist Development
Roadrunner Records

Harlan Frey is Vice President of Touring and Artist Development at Roadrunner Records. Roadrunner concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands and is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Daryl Friedman, VP, Advocacy & Gov't Relations
The Recording Academy

Daryl P. Friedman is Vice President, Advocacy & Government Relations for the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (The Recording Academy).  Called “the D.C. chief for music’s creative community” by Daily Variety, Friedman serves as the Washington representative for the 20,000 members of The Recording Academy (the GRAMMY Awards organization).   

Friedman joined The Academy in 1997 and established the organization's first Washington office.  In addition to representing music creators on Capitol Hill, he oversees the Academy’s "GRAMMYs on the Hill" initiatives, which include a number of programs to advance the rights of the music community through advocacy, education and dialogue.  He is speaks on numerous music policy panels each year and has been quoted in media such as Business Week, BBC World News, Variety, Billboard and The Washington Post.  

An arts and government affairs professional for nearly 25 years, Friedman previously directed external affairs for the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts and was named Executive of the Year in 2000 by the Washington Area Music Association.  Friedman received his B.A. in Economics from the University of California (Santa Cruz) and his M.A. in Arts Management from the American University in Washington, D.C.

Daniel Glass, CEO & Founder
Glassnote

Daniel Glass’ career in the music industry has been marked by such success stories as artists Billy Idol, Wilson Phillips, Sinead O’Connor, Jon Secada, Warren Zevon, Blur, Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish, Erykah Badu, Paula Abdul, Baha Men, Kurupt, Susan Tedeschi, The Pretenders, Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society, Sugarcult, Better Than Ezra and now with the launch of Glassnote Records, Secondhand Serenade, Phoenix, Justin Nozuka, Jonas Sees In Color,The Temper Trap, Mumford & Sons, and Two Door Cinema Club.

It began when Daniel Glass became one of Brooklyn College radio station WBCR’s hottest disc jockeys. While still in college he was hired as the first DJ for the world famous discotheque Regine’s.

He served as Vice President of the cutting edge dance/rap indie SAM Records, working with Gary ’s Gang, John Davis and the Monster Orchestra and the Evasions. His time at SAM laid the foundation of what would be an overriding philosophy that would propel him through many multi-platinum artists; he began by developing artists’ careers, rather than just trying to pick hit records. Significantly, Glass embraced street bands when other more conservative and larger labels were loath to do so. This long-term strategy began to define Glass’ rise and empowered him within the creative community.

In early 1983, Glass took his philosophy to Chrysalis Records as Director of New Music Marketing, advancing later to Senior Vice President. Throughout his six years with Chrysalis, Glass helped to guide the careers of such superstars as Pat Benatar, Huey Lewis and The News, Billy Idol, Spandau Ballet, Jethro Tull, Icehouse, The Divinyls, Sinead O’Connor, and Was (Not Was), among many others. Glass also developed a strong college and intern program, which cultivated a number of talented young executives who have since gone to high-level positions throughout the entertainment industry.

In 1989, Glass’ success led him to become one of the first executives to join the newly formed SBK Records as Senior Vice President of Promotion, bringing his trademark aggressive, streetwise approach to the start up label. This approach quickly produced success in breaking new artists, including the multi-platinum debuts of Jesus Jones, Technotronic, Wilson Phillips, Vanilla Ice, as well at SBK/Liberty country artist Billy Dean.

In 1990, Glass was promoted to Executive Vice President/General Manager of SBK Records. With the consolidation of SBK, Chrysalis and EMI Records USA several years later, he quickly rose to President/CEO where he was instrumental in catapulting Jon Secada, Selena, Barrio Boyzz, Blur , D’Angelo, Roxette and Arrested Development into platinum and Grammy Award-winning status, as well as the hit soundtrack to the critically acclaimed film, “The Crying Game”, which featured Boy George.

In 1996, Glass’ entrepreneurial spirit and artist-driven success caught the attention of current Universal Music Group Chairman, Doug Morris. Together, they started Rising Tide Records, which later became Universal Records with Daniel Glass as President.

Glass’ willingness to empower artists and his prowess within the creative community was quickly reflected by the label’s success in breaking new artists, including the multi-platinum debut of Erykah Badu, Billie Myers, Goldfinger, and the Lost Boyz. And recognizing the changing landscape of the industry, Glass strategically aligned Universal with such independent record labels ad Kedar Entertainment, home to Erykah Badu and India Arie, and Mojo Records, home to platinum artist Reel Big Fish.

In 1999 Daniel Glass joined Danny Goldberg at the newly emerging label Artemis Records as Executive Vice President. After a few months, Daniel was named President and achieved great success with the gold record rapper Kurupt, Grammy-Award winning Warren Zevon, rocker Steve Earle, gold record female hard rock group Kittie, and the triple platinum pop stars Baha Men.

At a time when consolidation was dominating the music industry, there was an opportunity for independent labels to break through and make significant impact on the controlling climate. This led Daniel Glass to start Glassnote, an entertainment company encompassing Glassnote Records, Music Publishing and Merchandising. Glass, with his particularly artist friendly and effective style created a winning environment able to compete on any level. For the first release on Glassnote Records Daniel chose Secondhand Serenade- at the time the number one unsigned artist in the history of Myspace with 17 million plays and roughly 200,000 friends. Now a multi-platinum selling artist, Secondhand Serenade was soon joined by VH1-favorite Justin Nozuka and, most recently, up-and-coming Greensboro-bred Jonas Sees In Color and the Grammy nominated Phoenix.

Profiled as one of Crain’s New York Business “40 under 40” success stories, Glass is a Vice Chair of the UJA-Federation of New York, which honored him as Music Visionary of the Year 2002. He, along with his wife and three children, were honored as Family of the Year at the 2005 T. J. Martell Foundation Family Day. He is the Founding Board President of LIFEbeat, the renowned AIDS advocacy and hands-on service organization he co-founded in April 1992 with the late manager Bob Caviano. He is a Founding Board Member of the Dance Music Hall of Fame, Vice President of The New York Music for Youth Foundation, Chairman of the Development Committee, member of the Brooklyn College Foundation and Trustee at the Dalton School. Glass is an also a veteran of the New York City Marathon-having completed it 14 times. For the 2006 New York City Marathon he formed a 25 person team to run with who have raised several hundred thousand dollars for the Mt. Sinai Hospital Children’s IBD Unit.

Mark Ghuneim, CEO & Founder
WiredSet / Trendrr

As CEO of Wiredset, Mark Ghuneim is a new media visionary with expertise in social engagement, technology and behavioral trending as well as marketing for music, television and brands. Mark launched Wiredset in 2004 as a futuristic digital agency with the ability to incubate, create and execute all aspects of digital marketing. Recognizing the need for real time actionable data for his clients, Mark oversaw the development of a proprietary online tracking service that allows for unparalleled visibility into user behavior and market intelligence across a myriad of internet categories such as social networks, search engines and video sites. With headquarters in New York City and offices in L.A. and Seattle, Wiredset services top entertainment properties such as HBO, MTV, Bravo, Comedy Central, ESPN, Oxygen, Atom Films, Virgin Records, Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, and leading consumer brands such as Apple, Microsoft, Puma and Armani Exchange.

Prior to starting Wiredset, Ghuneim spent 16 years with Sony Music USA, where he was most recently Senior Vice President for Online Services. In that role, he created and implemented online marketing campaigns and was responsible for Sony Music's online sales. As Senior Vice President of Online & Emerging Technologies for Sony's Columbia Records Group, Ghuneim was instrumental in the careers of artists such as Destiny's Child, Jeff Buckley, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Billy Joel.

Mark has pioneered innovations in new media as the music industry has evolved during the past three decades. Before joining Sony, Ghuneim was Director of Press and Video Promotion for the legendary independent label Beggars Banquet Records. In the nascent days of music video, he was program director and production manager at the New York City video night club Private Eyes.

Ghuneim frequently moderates panels at top industry gatherings and guest lectures at universities such as NYU's Stern and School of Music in New York City and UCLA in Los Angeles. He has worked as a mentor with the Center of Communications. His work in the Information Securtity Space was feature in Time Magazine and cited by the head of the FBI in addressing national infrastructure vulnerabilities. He has worked with NYCLU and ACLU addressing surveillance in public spaces and Ghuneim’s photographs have appeared in publications such as New Musical Express and the British Music Weekly. Known to many online as Mediaeater, Ghuneim reads 10 print newspapers each morning and 100s online each day in his RSS reader. He resides in the tranquil West Village in Manhattan.

Jim Griffin, Founder / Advisor
Choruss / Warner Music Group

For the past year, Jim Griffin has advised Warner Music Group on digital distribution and licensing models with the goal of bringing an end to the litigation that has put a wedge between the major labels and their customers and replacing it with a regular flow of income for right holders. The project known as Choruss, which is being incubated at Warner and is planned to be rolled out as a non-profit with Griffin at the helm, proposes to build a small music-royalty fee into university tuition payments received from students, and, if successful, could be expanded to make ISPs the collector of the fees. In this keynote presentation and Q&A, Griffin will give attendees an exclusive look under the hood of Choruss, an initiative that just could save the music industry. Don't miss the opportunity to hear from and meet the man who CNN Money calls "one of the sharpest minds in digital music."

Michael Huppe, EVP & General Counsel
SoundExchange

As EVP and General Counsel, Mr. Huppe is responsible for overseeing all legal, regulatory, legislative and corporate issues for SoundExchange.  In recent years, he has directed SoundExchange’s strategy for various rate-setting proceedings, including those which set new rates and terms for webcasting and satellite radio services.  With more than ten years experience working on intellectual property matters, he has helped develop industry reaction and strategy (both political and legal) to the fastest growing sector of the music industry. 

Mr. Huppe is responsible for implementing regulations that apply to SoundExchange, the sole Collective designated by the U.S. Copyright Office for the collection of performance royalties in digital media.  His department also interacts with international performance rights organizations to obtain foreign performance royalties for SoundExchange members, and addresses enforcement issues for domestic services that fail to comply with their legal obligations.  He is a spokesman for SoundExchange in the courts, on Capitol Hill and in the press and thus represents an extremely broad coalition of music industry participants, including featured artists, musicians, managers, unions, “major” and independent record labels, and sound recording owners of all sizes.

Prior to joining SoundExchange, Mr. Huppe was Senior Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs and Deputy General Counsel with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) where he was involved in protecting the rights of the RIAA's member recording labels and their artists, in both digital and physical media.  Before that, he was a litigation attorney at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P. in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Huppe received his B.A. from the University of Virginia, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School.  He clerked for The Hon. Leonie M. Brinkema in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. 

Mr. Huppe is admitted to the bars of Virginia and the District of Columbia, and is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Copyright Society, the Recording Academy, and the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference.  He is also a past member of the Board of Governors for the Intellectual Property Section of the Virginia bar.

He is an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School, and has also lectured at George Washington School of Law and George Mason Law School.  In the past he has also been a certified instructor with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, teaching a course on Intellectual Property Crimes. 

Vito Iaia, SVP, Music Services
Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc.

Vito Iaia is Senior Vice President of Music Services at Ticketmaster Entertainment, the diversified live entertainment and marketing company, overseeing Ticketmaster’s tour consulting teams worldwide.  Iaia manages the company’s music-based strategic partnerships, including relations with record labels, digital music distributors, fan club companies, online music marketing firms, and VIP packagers.  

In this role, Iaia also oversees Ticketweb, the nation’s leading self-service online ticketing company, providing ticketing and marketing services for more than 1300 independent clubs, events, and promoters in the U.S. 

Prior to joining Ticketmaster in 2003, he served as Director of Business Development for radio promotion company Jeff McClusky & Associates.  Previously, Iaia has worked in mergers and acquisitions, and as an equities trader. 

Iaia holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Virginia.  He serves on the board of advisors for BlueHaze LLC, and is a member of the Recording Academy.  

 Iaia is based in Ticketmaster’s West Hollywood offices.

Peter Kafka, Senior Editor
AllThingsD

Peter Kafka has been covering media and technology since 1997, when he joined the staff of Forbes magazine. He made the digital leap to Forbes.com in 2005. He may have been the first national business reporter to interview Steve "Stone Cold Steve Austin" Williams. In 2007, Mr. Kafka became the first hire at Silicon Alley Insider, where he was until recently the managing editor. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and lives in Brooklyn.

Lee Knife, Executive Director
Digital Media Association

Lee Knife is Interim Executive Director for the Digital Media Association (“DiMA”) in Washington, D.C.  Lee joined DiMA in 2005, when he started as General Counsel to the organization and assumed the role of Interim Executive Director at the end of 2009.  DiMA is the ambassador for the digital media industry:  webcasters, online media, digital services, and technology innovators.  DiMA advocates for business and regulatory environments that support our members’ growth and success, including fair competition, fair royalties, innovation and consumer welfare. DiMA members include Apple’s iTunes, YouTube, Microsoft, RealNetworks, MTV Networks, Live 365 and many others.   

Over the past four years with DiMA in his role as General Counsel, Lee has focused on the negotiations and arbitrations associated with sound recording and musical composition royalty rates, both in the United States and internationally.  He has also been and will continue to be involved in lobbying and public relations efforts.  

Lee joined DiMA with more than 15 years experience and practice in entertainment law, predominantly in the music business. He served as a Business & Legal Affairs Executive at several major record companies including EMI, BMG and Polygram – and most recently was Vice President, Legal and Business Affairs at Sanctuary Records.  He has also worked at and provided consulting services to several internet-based, new-media companies, as well as representing musical instrument manufacturers, individual artists, and small record and production companies. Lee is a graduate of St. John’s University and Brooklyn Law School and admitted to practice law in both the State of New York and New Jersey.

David Leibowitz, Chairman
Sir Groovy

David E. Leibowitz is Chairman of Sir Groovy, a music synchronization technology platform and licensing solution connecting TV Producers, Music Supervisors, Filmmakers and Advertising Executives to premium label music worldwide.

Among his other activities, Mr. Leibowitz serves as Executive Vice President of Gotuit
Media (a leading provider of premium metadata based video discovery, advertising,
personalization and monetization technologies to major program networks and sports
leagues), and as Partner in The A&R Channel (a cable VOD service on Comcast available in over 17 million homes). In addition, as Managing Partner of CH Potomac, Mr. Leibowitz is a Senior Advisor to Motorola, National Datacast (a subsidiary of PBS), and Musicane, among others.

In recent years, Mr. Leibowitz served as Chairman of Ezmo (an independent online social music subsidiary of FAST Search and Transfer - since acquired by Microsoft) and as an advisor to BMI, Gibson Guitar, Haystack Media, Peppercoin and others in the content and technology industries.

Mr. Leibowitz also is a co-founder of VERANCE, the preeminent audio watermark technology provider employed by the content industries to protect, manage, and monitor audio and audiovisual content, including Blu-Ray formatted motion pictures, and served as its Chairman and Co-CEO.

Earlier in his career; Mr. Leibowitz served as: Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), responsible for business, policy, legal and standards setting issues facing the industry with particular emphasis on how to position the industry to best utilize new physical formats and electronic delivery platforms; a partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm Wiley & Rein, representing a number of Fortune 100 media and entertainment companies, television personalities, a major league professional baseball team; and media and CE trade associations; as Policy Planning Advisor to the Register of Copyrights; and as an adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Miami Law School, and at the Communications Law Institute of the Columbus School of Law (Catholic University).

Marty is an accomplished new media industry leader with a track record of successful multi-business collaboration and excellence in pioneering the distribution of content via new technologies . During his career, he has served in senior positions for some of the world's most innovative entertainment and technology companies.

Marty joined DCIA from Lafferty Media Partners LLC (LMP), where he served as Managing Partner. Prior to LMP, he was CEO of Zoom Culture, which he transformed from a year-old dotcom into a thriving digital television and new media firm in 24 months, working with partners including NBC and PAX TV. He also led Zoom's software development team and partnered with Apple engineers to serve as the first Beta client for Scale 8's advanced global storage network and edge content distribution system.

Previously, Marty served as CMO for StreamSearch.com, where he oversaw the conversion of its streaming video search engine from a technological to an entertainment market focus, working with and for major studios such as Paramount and Artisan. While there, he also led the creation of the interactive multimedia site for Sundance Film Festival. Before StreamSearch, during his tenure as Microsoft TV VP of Corporate & Service Marketing, he supported the strategic refocus of Microsoft's WebTV acquisition from a purely B2C niche subscription offering to a B2B application suite for multichannel service distributors and their set-top suppliers, in addition to introductory plans for the Xbox game console.

As President of FutureVision, Marty supervised the redesign and rollout of the industry's first true switched-digital-network service offering and the company's acquisition by Verizon. Before FutureVision, as VP of TV Answer, he led the development of numerous technically diverse simulcast interactive applications using IVDS over-the-air transmission spectrum, and secured affiliations with PBS and commercial broadcast station groups, culminating in a strategic alliance with CapCities/ ABC.

Marty was also CEO of NBC's Olympics joint venture, where he led multiple vendors to develop alternative security solutions for a satellite-delivered mini-subscription PPV service, as well as oversaw cable and broadcast affiliate marketing. Prior to that, as GE Americom VP of Cable Services, he contributed to GE Astro's new fleet development and deployment, generating $445 million in sales to television programmers in 18 months. Finally, as VP of TDBS, Marty led Turner Broadcasting's internal and GI engineering teams to develop and deploy the industry's first signal-scrambling security technology for basic programming services.

He has received recognition from, and held leadership positions in, numerous industry organizations throughout his career. Most recently, he was awarded the Council for Entrepreneurial Development Award as a top-fifty new company. Marty served as Membership Chairman of the Interactive Services Association, and as Chairman of the International Digital Satellite Television Symposium. He also co-founded the Satellite Broadcasting Communications Association and served as its first Vice Chairman.

Marty holds a Master's degree from Yale University and Bachelors with honors from Williams College. He has received the NCTA's President's Award and a CTAM TAMI Award for industry service.

Jenna LoMonaco, Head of New Media
Glassnote Records

With a degree in Audio Engineering Jenna started out her career in the music industry as an assistant engineer. When a position as the Studio Manager opened up Jenna jumped at the opportunity to be more involved with the management of the studio. She quickly learned that the business side of the industry was a much better fit. After a year spent running the studio Jenna felt it was time for a more challenging position and a chance to be more involved with the development of new acts. Always one to accept a challenge Jenna started from the bottom once again and became an intern at Girlie Action. Only a few months into her internship she was promoted to work in the New Media Department handling online press. Very quickly Jenna realized New Media was the perfect fit for her inner geek. While working at Girlie Action Jenna represented many well-respected artists such as, They Might Be Giants, Cary Brothers, My Morning Jacket and Suzanne Vega. Two years after beginning her stint in New Media she was offered the position as of Head of New Media at Glassnote Records. This was once again a chance to challenge herself and grow, simply an offer too good to pass up. Jenna has been Head of the Glassnote New Media department for over 2 years now. She handles all Online Press, Social Media, Mobile Marketing, Digital sales and is glassnote.com’s Webmaster. Jenna has handled many successful online initiatives from Glassnote artists including Phoenix, The Temper Trap, Justin Nozuka, and Secondhand Serenade. She is currently working on up and coming releases from Mumford & Sons and Two Door Cinema club. 

Steve Machin, CEO
stormcrowd

A pioneer of the European live entertainment space, Steve brings with him a wealth of experience in ticketing strategy and marketing. In particular Steve is an evangelist for the uniquely powerful role that the live experience plays throughout a fan’s relationship with an artist and how that relationship can be nurtured and developed through technology.

Steve recently founded Stormcrowd – global consulting and media for the live and digital entertainment sectors. Stormcrowd works to help brands and stakeholders develop meaningful strategies that will engage consumers where entertainment intersects with online and social media.

Earlier in his career Steve was Head of Music Services for Ticketmaster Europe where he was responsible for developing new services and client strategies across Europe and before that ran UK National Operations for Channelfly (MAMA Group). While at Ticketmaster, Steve introduced the concept of dynamic pricing to European concert promoters and initiated the charity ticket auction program used by iTunes.

More recently Steve worked with Tixdaq, the UK ticket comparison and data service launched in 2007, to monitor the burgeoning ticket resale market. Before Tixdaq, Steve worked as VP of International Business Development for UltraStar Entertainment, the fan club management and marketing service owned by Live Nation where he developed marketing programs and oversaw the European fan ticketing strategy for artists including U2, The Rolling Stones, Madonna and Celine Dion.

Steve started his music industry career in Manchester in 1991 at NorthSouth Distribution, a part of So What Arts, where he cut his teeth importing and wholesaling dance music by day and sampling the Manchester clubbing scene by night. A brief time in artist management subsequently earned Steve and his charges, Geek, a record deal with Columbia.

Steve also serves as an adviser to the following organisations:

Global Cool – Celebrity climate change campaign (London)

Sound Advice – Financial and legal services for the music industry (London)

Connected Talent – Creative talent management (london)

Barry Massarsky, President, Massarsky Consulting
Former Senior Economist, ASCAP

As the former Senior Economist of ASCAP and now the President of Massarsky Consulting Inc, Mr. Massarsky has pioneered the field of music copyright economics serving revenue-related interests within the U.S. music industry, facilitating strategic opportunities for advancing royalty income, and inspiring new license regimes. He has cultivated and maintained clients whose businesses own or manage over 85% of owned song copyrights and over 90% of sound recordings in this country. In addition, his range of songwriter/composer clients covers the wide spectrum of the music industry and includes such writer luminaries as the Estate of George Gershwin, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, James Taylor, Garth Brooks, Lionel Ritchie, Guess Who and Green Day. Mr. Massarsky's expertise ranges from music royalty valuation, to strategic and analytic counsel for significant collective rights and trade associations, to expert witness litigation in numerous copyright infringement cases, His experience also extends to the music production library marketplace where he has lead many performing rights initiatives on behalf of both its trade organization and individual market leaders.

Mr. Massarsky received an MBA from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Arts (cum laude) from Boston University. He has lectured extensively on music industry topics at educational institutions and industry seminars, is cited frequently in major news publications and industry journals, and is the author of "Operating Dynamics Behind ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, the Performing Rights Societies," which appeared in the Journal of Interactive Multimedia Association in conjunction with the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Dermot McCormack, EVP, Digital Media
MTV Networks, Music & Logo Group

Dermot is Executive Vice President of Digital Media for the MTV Networks Music & Logo Group, providing strategic oversight in digital for MTVN brands including MTV: Music Television, MTV 2, MTV Tr3s, VH1, VH1 Soul, VH1 Classic, CMT and LOGO. In this role McCormack is responsible for setting strategy and vision and charting the course on how the Music and Logo brands evolve in today’s digital world.

Previously, McCormack was the SVP of Interactive Product Management at Cablevision.  Before his tenure at Cablevision, he was Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Flooz.com, the world’s first online gift currency. And prior to that was one of the early executives at iVillage.com

McCormack is a seasoned executive and entrepreneur and has been heavily involved in the strategic implementation of technology for both new and established companies over the past 2 decades, particularly specializing in the intersection of Marketing, Technology and Digital Media. In 2000, he was named to Irish America magazine's Business 100, a list celebrating achievements by Irish Americans in business. In 2006, McCormack was named to the Top 40 under 40 Executives in cable list by Multichannel News.

McCormack is also a published author with titles such as Web 2.0 and Ten Technologies Every Executive Needs to Know. His last book, Outsourcing, was published in October 2005 by Aspatore/Thompson Financial. 

Ted Mico, Head of Digital
Interscope Geffen A&M

In May 2007, Chairman Jimmy Iovine appointed Ted Mico Executive Vice President of Digital for the Interscope/Geffen/A&M label group.  Mico is responsible for the business development of the group’s new ventures, plus digital strategy and operations of all IGA initiatives.

Previously, Mico was Senior VP of Strategic Marketing at Capitol Records., where he was responsible for all non-traditional revenue streams. He and his department oversaw all corporate alliances, plus digital, mobile and merchandising initiatives. Mico also assisted in the branding and positioning of all Capitol artists, including campaigns for Coldplay, Radiohead, and The Beatles.

Prior to joining Capitol Records, Ted Mico was the Senior Vice President, Programming and Marketing for LAUNCH/Yahoo Music where Mico oversaw all the marketing, content development of the LAUNCH/Yahoo Music brand. This included supervising a staff of 80 across three business units (TV, a radio Network, plus the dot com destination) from IPO on the NASDAQ thru to its acquisition by Yahoo two years later.

Mico has been Executive Producer at Virgin Records from 1997-1999, reporting to the Vice Chairman of Virgin Records worldwide.

Mico was also founder and CEO of The Mixed Media Works marketing company based in LA and NYC whose clients included Lollapalooza, Peter Gabriel, David Bowie, and The Rolling Stones (for whom he has worked as a marketing consultant for over 16 years). He is the author of three books. Before moving to the U.S., Mico was Features Editor for Melody Maker. A native of the UK, Mico still occasionally follows his passion for cricket by working with Mick Jagger on Jagged Internetworks- a venture dedicated to promoting the game on the internet through an alliance with Cricket.org.

Alan Miller, Co-Owner/CEO  / Co-Publisher
Filter Creative Group & Filter Magazine

A renowned pioneer in the music and entertainment industry, Alan Miller has earned an unrivalled reputation as a dynamic visionary, a driving force, and a touchstone of taste making and trend-setting in a changing landscape over the past decade.

Driven by his long-time passion for music, Alan quickly moved up the corporate ladder at PolyGram Group Distribution and established himself as an innovative marketing mind, a shining light amongst his peers. Throughout the 90’s he was pioneering creative sales and marketing campaigns across the country for artists such as U2, Sheryl Crow, Portishead, and many others. In 1998 he moved to San Francisco to accept a Regional Sales & Marketing role with Geffen Records. The label folded a year later but the experience proved invaluable, giving Alan the opportunity to create Geffen’s first-ever marketing website, and providing the catalyst for future business plans born of inspiration and ideas shared with his now business partner Alan Sartirana.

In 2000, with co-founder Alan Sartirana, Alan launched Filter Music Media Marketing. A creative marketing company born of entrepreneurial spirit, vision, and desire to expose music in new and effective ways, with an unwavering commitment to credibility and integrity. The timing was impeccable. The burgeoning digital music environment was raising big questions for record companies and media players alike. FilterMMM fast-established itself as a cutting-edge and passionate marketing team that artists, managers and labels could turn to for support in getting their music heard in the spirit of true partnership. Uniquely customized marketing campaigns were designed and implemented, organic grassroots initiatives reached previously untapped niche markets, and fresh and innovative methods connected artists to music fans in interactive environments as well as to broader lifestyle, and pop culture partners via more traditional media outlets.

Seven years later, Filter Music Media Marketing/Filter Creative Group continues to thrive. An ever-evolving, multi-platform media company diversifying into magazine publishing, creative agency, record label, and recognized breeding ground for an avid and dedicated community of tastemakers, lifestyle partners, and music fans looking to discover quality in amongst the masses. It has also expanded to include films, art and other products deemed as credible and of interest to their discerning demographic. Music marketing clients have included Radiohead, Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Keane, The Beastie Boys, Modest Mouse, and all major and indie record labels. Lifestyle partners and sponsorship clients include Landmark Theatres, Ben Sherman, Diesel, Levi’s, Atari, MTV, Comedy Central, Fox Searchlight, Anthropologie, American Rag, and Puma.

In the summer of 2002, frustrated at the lack of quality magazines available, and aware of a growing audience of discerning music fans looking for an alternative to an unfulfilling mainstream offering, Filter launched, Filter Magazine. A 112-page book dedicated to discovering great music and it’s intertwining with art, fashion and related lifestyle. Twenty five issues later, Filter Magazine has become the fastest growing music magazine in America available at all fine retailers (including Urban Outfitters, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Virgin Megastore) and distributed internationally (UK/Europe, Japan, Australia/NZ) Lauded for it’s inherent editorial credibility, hand-crafted aesthetic and cutting edge content, cover artists have already included: PJ Harvey, Lou Reed & The Strokes, The Cure, Michael Stipe (R.E.M), Bjork, Beck, and David Bowie.

2004 Filter Magazine spawned Filter mini, a 32 page free version of Filter (Filter Good Music Guide) with all unique content and advertising.

2005 marketed the debut of Filter US Recordings, home to international Norwegian artist Magnet, the UK outfit Amusement Parks on Fire, Australia’s Panda Band and international recording artist Devics.

Jeff Minsky, Director, Next Emerging Media
OMG Ignition Factory

David Oxenford, Partner
Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP

Mr. Oxenford’s practice focuses on media issues, representing broadcast stations, financial institutions, consulting firms, program providers, trade associations, and others involved in the industry. His practice involves both transactional and regulatory matters, including counseling clients on issues relating to the Internet. He represents the International Webcasters Association, and represented 29 State Broadcast Associations in filing comments before the Copyright Office on the issue of the applicability of Digital Millennium Copyright Act to broadcasters who stream their signals.

He is a graduate of the College of William and Mary, and received his law degree, with distinction, from Emory University.

David Pakman, Partner
Venrock

As a Partner at Venrock in New York, David focuses on early stage venture investing in internet and digital media companies. His active investments include Media6Degrees and Crunchyroll. Previously, Pakman was the CEO of eMusic, the world’s leading digital retailer of independent music, second only to iTunes in number of downloads sold. After buying eMusic from Vivendi Universal, in the three years that Pakman ran it, he grew the business by more than 850%, from $7M in revenues to more than $68M. Pakman transformed the business from an obscure also-ran with 50,000 subscribers to the second largest digital music retailer in the world, with more than 400,000 subscribers and more than 12% market share.
 
Prior to joining eMusic, Pakman was Co-Founder and President of Business Development and Public Policy at Myplay, Inc., the company he co-founded in 1999 in Redwood City, CA that introduced the “digital music locker” and pioneered the locker category.  In 2001, Myplay was sold to Bertelsmann’s ecommerce Group. Before Myplay, he was Vice President at N2K Entertainment, which created the first digital music download service.  He also was the co-creator of Apple Computer’s Music Group.
 
Pakman is a graduate of and a member of the Board of Overseers at University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science with a degree in Computer Science Engineering and is an avid musician and songwriter. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the First Growth Venture Network whose mission is to identify high potential entrepreneurs and to surround them with the network they will need to support their growth. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of ITHAKA, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping the academic community take full advantage of rapidly advancing information and networking technologies.
 
Venrock is a premier venture capital firm with offices in Palo Alto, New York, Cambridge, MA, and Israel.  Originally established as the venture capital arm of the Rockefeller family, Venrock continues an eight-decade tradition of partnering with entrepreneurs to establish successful, enduring companies.  Having invested $2.3 billion in 430 companies resulting in 124 IPOs and 128 M&A exits over the past 40 years, Venrock's investment returns place it among the top tier venture capital firms that have achieved consistently superior performance.  With a primary focus on technology, healthcare, and energy, portfolio companies have included Apple Computer, Centocor, Check Point Software, DoubleClick, Gilead Sciences, Idec Pharmaceuticals, Illumina, Intel, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Sirna Therapeutics, and StrataCom.

Michael Petricone, SVP, Gov't Affairs
Consumer Electronics Association

Michael Petricone is the senior vice president of government affairs for the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). In his position, Michael has been responsible for representing the CE industry’s position before Congress and the FCC on critical issues such as digital television broadband, privacy and home recording rights. Mr. Petricone is a frequent speaker on policy issues impacting the consumer electronics industry, and in 2003 Michael was featured by Dealerscope Magazine as one of the technology industry’s “Top 40 Under 40”. Mr. Petricone received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and his undergraduate degree from Tufts University. CEA represents more than 1000 U.S. manufacturers of audio, video, accessories, mobile electronics, communication, information and multimedia products that are sold through consumer channels. CEA also sponsors and manages the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world’s largest annual trade event showcasing consumer electronics products.

Chris Phenner, EVP, Business Development
Thumbplay

Chris Phenner is EVP Business Development at Thumbplay, with over 12 years experience around software, digital media and online subscription services.  Chris is responsible for new customer acquisition via Integrated Partnerships, including exclusive relationships Thumbplay has with AOL, Clear Channel, Comcast, MSN & iLike.  Chris is also responsible for all content acquisition and programming on Thumbplay’s web and WAP sites, as well as the developer platform for partners via OPEN (http://open.thumbplay.com).

Prior to Thumbplay, Chris was Director of Business Development at Audible, Inc., Business Development Manager at CNET Networks' Download.com and Director of Business Development at Napster (1.0). Chris was also business development manager at RollingStone.com and in marketing with Spyglass, Mosaic's original licensor. 

Chris is the original author of the "business development" article on Wikipedia, and is a member of the International Academy of the Digital Arts & Sciences (who presents the Webby Awards).  Chris has a B.A. in Political Science from Miami University, and an MBA from a dual-degree program with U.C. Berkeley and Columbia University.

Jonathan Potter, Digital Media Consultant

Adam Powers, Director of Standards and Emerging Technology
Rovi Corporation

Jaclyn Ranere, VP, Marketing & Corporate Communications
The Orchard

As Vice President of Marketing & Corporate Communications for The Orchard, Jaclyn oversees global marketing for online and mobile retailers, interactive and promotional activities for The Orchard’s clients, and corporate marketing and communications.  When Jaclyn joined The Orchard in 2004 she was responsible for North American online and mobile retail.  Prior to The Orchard, Jaclyn ran a music marketing and video production company that created and used digital media as the central piece of independent artists’ marketing plans.  She has also served as Brand Marketing Manager at eMusic.  Jaclyn holds a Bachelor of Science in Film/TV from Boston University and is a reformed jam band groupie.

Kelli Richards, President & CEO
The All Access Group

Kelli is a veteran in the traditional music industry as an A&R exec (EMI), and is an early pioneer & veteran in digital music and entertainment as well. She is also a sought after talent producer, having produced a wide range of concerts, award shows, and celebrity fundraiser events over the past two decades. She led music and entertainment initiatives at Apple for over a decade before launching her own company, The All Access Group, a digital music and media consultancy. Her company advises some of the most influential, cutting edge companies in technology and entertainment today.

Kelli is highly artist-centric with a large network of artists, producers, and industry influencers in her extensive rolodex. She has a special passion for enabling established artists to connect more directly with their fans, and to monetize their brands more broadly across the full spectrum of the digital landscape. Kelli is the co-author of two books, including the acclaimed "The Art of Digital Music", and is renowned globally as an expert and speaker on digital media and music convergence.

Matthew Ringel, SVP, Strategic Alliances,
Live Nation

Matt Ringel passionately believes that today's leading brands can uniquely benefit from the transformative power of the live music experience. As Senior Vice President, Strategic Alliances for Live Nation, has the privilege to evangelize that every day. Working across the full range of Live Nation's capabilities-from concert promotion and venues, to merchandising, to online and social media-Ringel structures strategic partnerships and marketing programs that enable brands to engage the 50MM passionate music fans that Live Nation touches each year. These partnerships develop and expand Live Nation's business and serve as a significant driver of revenues and profitability.

Such partnerships and entrepreneurial activities have been a common theme throughout Ringel's career. Prior to Live Nation, Ringel founded and served as President of Games Media Properties. A venture of William Morris Agency and Edison Ventures, Games Media was known for its pioneering work in live, online and televised video game competitions. Ringel served as Commissioner of the World Series of Video Games, a global series of competitive gaming events, and as Executive Producer of related programming on CBS, MTV and hundreds of hours of broadband distribution. Ringel also created GameRiot, a groundbreaking gaming festival with over 400 appearances at major music festivals and other venues. Numerous brand advertisers expanded their entertainment marketing efforts in conjunction with Games Media Properties, including Intel, Microsoft, Nestle, Mountain Dew, Kraft, Blockbuster, the US Army and virtually every game publisher.

This focus on games-based marketing for Fortune 500 companies derived directly from Ringel's prior work as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Digital Solutions for digital services firm KPE. Credited with coining the term and the concept of "advergaming", Ringel created customized entertainment marketing solutions for such accounts as Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, Honda, and Siemens. Ringel also worked with television networks, studios, and cable operators, providing them with interactive technology solutions. He led the creation of business plans and digital solutions for clients such as the World Wrestling Federation, Carsey-Werner-Mandabach, Essence Communications, Discovery Networks, Microsoft, Cablevision, and IFC/Bravo Networks.

Ringel started his entertainment career in television and live entertainment. He previously served as President of CAMI Spectrum, the Television and Events Production subsidiary of Columbia Artists, where he developed and produced numerous entertainment properties. Prior to CAMI Spectrum, Ringel served as a strategy consultant for Monitor Company, where he worked with a variety of Fortune 500 corporations. Ringel earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale, and a Ph.D. in Music from the University of London, where he studied as a Marshall Scholar. A recognized authority on music, gaming and digital media issues, Ringel tweets regularly @mattringel.

Jamie Roberts, VP, New Media & Publicity,
Big Machine Media

Jamie Roberts has over 17 years of experience in Publicity and Artist Relations along with many of the more recent years focusing on work in the New Media field.  Her career has included turns at Roadrunner Records (Nickelback, Slipknot, The New York Dolls); Universal/Republic Records (Godsmack, 3 Doors Down, Nick Lachey); KSA Publicity (Paulina Rubio, Trisha Yearwood, Ike Reilly) and The Enclave (Sloan, Belle & Sebastian, World Party). Media training, setting up of strategic alliances for clients, cutting edge Social Media campaign planning and the integration of all these with PR campaigns are highlights of Roberts’ work in her current position at Big Machine Media.

Jim Rondinelli, SVP, Strategic Development
Slacker

Jim Rondinelli is a seasoned veteran of the digital entertainment industry. Jim started his career in music as a Producer/Mixer, achieving Gold and Platinum records for his work with artists like: Matthew Sweet, Wilco, Everclear, and the Jaywawks. Mix Magazine has listed his work on Matthew Sweet's Girlfriend album as one of their "Top 25 Best Sounding Records of All-Time".

Foreseeing the disruption that broadband access would bring to the traditional music industry, Jim joined the management team of Internet music pioneer MP3.com prior to their public offering in 1999. After several years managing investments in entertainment and technology for a San Diego-based private venture fund, Jim returned to music as SVP Digital Strategy and Business Development for Warner Chappell Music Publishing. Jim is currently SVP Strategic Development at Slacker, developer of Slacker Personal Radio, the World's preeminent music application for RIM's Blackberry devices, the iPhone, Android, and the Palm Pre.

John Rubey, President,
AEG Network Live

John Rubey, brings over 25 years of digital content and entertainment marketing experience to his position as President of AEG Network LIVE.

Maurice Russell, Vice President, Licensing, Collections & Business Affairs
The Harry Fox Agency

Maurice A. Russell is the Vice President of Licensing, Collections and Business Affairs for the Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA). In this role, Russell oversees the Licensing and Collections Departments, which together work with licensees such as record labels and digital music services to provide fast and accurate licensing and the collection of royalties on behalf of HFA’s nearly 36,000 affiliate publishers. At the close of 2007, HFA administered nearly 14 million license and almost 1.9 million songs. As part of the Business Affairs team, he works closely with Business Development to implement new licensing opportunities, such as those for ringtones, lyrics, and tablature. He reports directly to Michael Simon, Senior Vice President of Business Affairs, General Counsel and Chief Strategic Officer.   

Russell has directed the development and launch systems to handle the intake, processing and execution of the over 200,000 physical product license requests received and over 1.5 million digital licenses issued by HFA per year, including eMechanical, HFA’s main online licensing system; eSignature, the electronic approval system; and the enhanced Songfile® application, HFA’s online mechanical licensing tool for smaller quantities of licenses.  Russell has also supervised bulk licensing enhancements, licensing reports and other licensing related technical projects. 

Russell is a sought-after expert on licensing issues. He is the co-chair of the Musical Works Licensing Working Group of Digital Data Exchange (DDEX), which defines and implements solutions for the standardization and exchange of digital data between trading partners. He has also spoken at numerous industry events, including SXSW, Digital Music Forum East and West and the ASCAP Expo.

Before joining HFA in 2002, Russell was the founder and CEO of Machine Enterprises Inc., where he provided commercial artist management and business consulting services to creative enterprises in the media, entertainment and design fields. In this capacity, he also advised firms on structuring operations and new business development strategies.

Prior to that, Russell was Vice President and General Manager of Razorfish Studios, Inc., where he oversaw the fast-growing start-up’s daily operations. In this role, Russell implemented corporate operations, including finance and accounting, business affairs, human resources and facilities and integrated the acquisitions of three entertainment companies.

Russell came to Razorfish Studios from Red Ant Entertainment, where he was the Senior Director, Business Development and Licensing, heading up the special products and licensing department.  His responsibilities included marketing recording artists and music to film and television productions, negotiating and drafting recording agreements and licensing of music for online, film, television, compilation albums and all other secondary market exploitations. Before that, he was a Senior Director, Contract Administration at Polygram Records, responsible for supervising the administration of over 250 recording, license and video agreements, as well as tracking options, product delivery and financial obligations.

Russell holds a M.B.A. degree from New York University’s Stern School of Business Administration and a B.A. from Columbia College, Columbia University.  In his spare time, Russell enjoys composing music.

Jon Satterley, SVP, New Media & Global Business Development
Roadrunner Records

Jon Satterley has worked in the music industry for almost twenty years - first in retail at legendary Melbourne indie stores Greville Records and Missing Link, later for independent distro company Siren Records and ultimately for Roadrunner Records where he was Managing Director of Roadrunner Australia for 12 years before being asked to move to New York in 2007 to head up New Media and Global Strategy for the US and International Roadrunner companies.

During his time in the industry Jon has also completed a law degree with honours, an arts degree and later in his academic career an MBA from Melbourne Business School.

Syd Schwartz, SVP, Global Digital Marketing
EMI North America

Syd Schwartz is Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy for the EMI Music North America. Syd is responsible for managing the strategic, creative and technical direction of all EMI artist websites, digital platforms and online campaigns, as well as evaluating new platforms and technology for integration into EMI Music's sales, marketing and promotional efforts. Syd is also EMI's "digital evangelist", driving digital awareness and thought process into all departments at EMI.

Prior to EMI, Syd was with Wind-Up Records, where he began in 1995 as Director of Sales & Marketing, but a persistent push to get the company online resulted in his assuming the newly created position of Director of Technology in 1996. He was promoted to Vice President of New Media in February 1998, and Sr. VP of New Media in 2000 where he was responsible for a series of groundbreaking online campaigns for multi-platinum artists Creed and Evanescence. Syd joined the EMI team in the Fall of 2002.

Syd's entrée into the music industry began in high school manning the cash register at Sam Goody (where many-a-paycheck was blown entirely), then managing an independent record store while in college. Upon graduating, Syd landed a job in 1989 as Independent Label Buyer at CD One Stop (now Alliance Entertainment). He became Purchasing/Advertising Manager in 1992, developing the database and inventory control system that would become the All Music Guide. He was promoted to Director of Purchasing in 1994 where he oversaw all purchasing operations for Alliance which had grown to be the largest music one-stop in the U.S.

Syd is a graduate of the State University of New York with a BA in Sociology. Online since 1992, he is an active participant in many online music communities, has written liner notes for the progressive rock group Yes, co-authored a reference book on the legendary jamband Phish, and fondly remembers Prodigy for DOS. Syd is actively involved in the Mockingbird Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to generating funding in support of music education for children.

Mike Scogin, VP, Wireless
MTV Mobile at MTV Networks

Michael Scogin, Vice President, Wireless for MTV, is responsible for managing the day-to-day wireless production initiatives for MTV, MTV2 and mtvU. His responsibilities span across all major wireless content types, including mobile video, ringtones, graphics, games, SMS, downloadable applications and on-air interactivity.

Prior to joining MTV, Scogin served as Director of Multiplatform Programming for Fuse Networks. At Fuse, Scogin was responsible for the extension and interaction of on-air programming across multiple platforms including online, wireless, interactive television and video-on-demand.

Previously, Scogin served as Senior Director of Platform Strategy for Bolt, Inc., one of the largest online communities for young adults. At Bolt, Scogin was responsible creating the strategy to extend Bolt’s community tools, applications and user-generated content into emerging platforms such as wireless and white-label online community services and applications.

Matthew Siegel, Co-CEO and Co-Founder
Indaba Music

Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Indaba, Matthew Siegel is responsible for the company's overall vision and strategy, as well as the management of Indaba's product development, marketing, and operations. Siegel graduated cum laude from Harvard in 2005 with an AB in Economics. While a student, he co-founded Veritas Records with his Indaba partner and fellow Harvard alum, Dan Zaccagnino. Siegel recently spoke at Harvard Business School on a panel called "Trends in Digital Media and Entertainment,” and he has also recently spoken on the topic of media and entertainment at Dartmouth, Duke University, NYU and at MediaBistro.com's User-Generated Content Expo (UGCX). Matt has also logged time as a management consultant working primarily with software and telecommunications clients.

Mike Spinella, Director, Label Relations
AOL Music Network

As the Director of Industry Relations, Mike manages the relationships with labels, artists and managers in order to bring in top talent to AOL Music Network's numerous sites. Mike is also a founding member of AOL Music's Spinner.com, the web's highest trafficked indie music site.

Patrick Sullivan, President & CEO
RightsFlow

Patrick Sullivan is a leading expert in the field of intellectual property and copyright management for both physical and digital media and is the cofounder, President and CEO of RightsFlow. He has been at the forefront of many pivotal industry issues that have helped define and shape the current market for music in a digital era. Patrick’s extensive experience in industry negotiations, licensing and royalty payments, digital content management and distribution as well as legislative and legal affairs makes him a frequent lecturer at corporations, universities, and conferences around the world about intellectual property and copyright. He has been a past presenter at the 2009 World Copyright Summit, NARM, AIMP, Leadership Music Digital Summit, Popkomm, and Digital Music Forum East and West.

Patrick’s firm belief that creators should be paid for the use of their work and his understanding of the complexities surrounding U.S. copyright compliance lead him to cofound RightsFlow in 2007. Together with his cofounder, he helped pioneer a service that offers a single, cost-effective channel through which rights-holders and companies that sell or distribute music can connect, ensuring proper licensing, accurate accounting and timely payment of royalties. Today, RightsFlow is one of the leading companies helping businesses, artists, distributors and labels solve the complex issues of copyright compliance and royalty payment as new methods of consuming music emerge. The company’s proprietary licensing, accounting and royalty payment technology makes it easy for businesses selling or distributing music in a digitally enabled market to be compliant with U.S. copyright laws. RightsFlow also ensures that artists, songwriters and publishers are paid for the use of their music and provides them with an unprecedented level of data transparency. RightsFlow provides service to over 1,500 clients including such marquee companies as imeem, E1 Entertainment (US & Canada), Muzak, INgrooves, CD Baby, IODA, YouLicense, X5 Music Group, Zebralution, Liberation, Disc Makers, Deezer, Cooking Vinyl/Rocket Science, IRIS and Artspages.

Before founding RightsFlow, Patrick served as a dual Vice-President of Licensing and Music Services for both The Orchard & eMusic. Prior to The Orchard, he was a Strategic Licensing Consultant for Selverne, Mandelbaum, & Mintz, a New York-based Entertainment Law Firm. From 1999-2004 he served as the Director of Research and Development at the National Music Publisher's Association/Harry Fox Agency (HFA), where he managed industry negotiations, internal corporate policy matters, new media, and public relations for the member organization.

Patrick is a member of the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM)

Publishing Committee. He is a former Teaching Fellow from New York University (1997-2000) and is currently an Adjunct Faculty Member at Hunter College’s Film & Media Department, a position he has held since 2003

Daniel Tibbets, EVP & Studio Chief
GoTV Networks

As Executive Vice President and Studio Chief at GoTV Networks, Tibbets brings over 15 years of entertainment programming and producing to GoTV Networks. Tibbets oversees all programming, development and licensing of video content for mobile and broadband, as well as new distribution models.

Prior to GoTV, Tibbets held the position of Vice President at Twentieth Television, and ran FOXLAB, Inc. While at Fox, Tibbets developed the first convergence program to air on broadcast television and is credited with the development of the "mobisode™" including executive producing the first two original content mobisodes™ Love and Hate and Sunset Hotel (winner of the Golden Eagle Award for Excellence) which launched on Verizon's VCAST in February 2005.

Previously, Tibbets served as Vice President, Entertainment for Fireworks Television, where he developed live-action children’s half-hour series’ for Nickelodeon and NBC/Discovery Kids including Strange Days at Blake Holsey High. Tibbets was also responsible for the U.S. sale of the eight-hour miniseries Robocop: Prime Directives to the Sci-Fi Channel as well as the two-hour MOW Stolen Miracle to Lifetime.

From his work at Papazian-Hirsch/Rysher Entertainment Tibbets is credited with the development and sale of the HBO series “ROME” and television films A Mother’s Testimony and Determination Of Death for Lifetime and Face Value for Court TV.

Early in his career Tibbets served as a writer and producer on a number of notable television programs and specials including the Emmy Award winning Streetwise, World Champions of Golf and BuzzTV, and the BBC/PBS mini-series Signs and Wonders starring James Earl Jones.

Tibbets has produced and/or contributed to the production and development of other award-winning, made for television series, including: Martha Stewart Living, Bob Vila, Pensacola: Wings of Gold, Psi Factor - Chronicles of the Paranormal, News for Kids, The Extremists, George Michael’s Sports Machine, America’s Most Wanted, Good Day Live, Divorce Court, and many others.

Tibbets has a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing with an emphasis in International Marketing and business from Arizona State University. Tibbets is on the Board of Advisory for e-card site rattlebox.com.

Pete Watson, Sr. Business Development Manager
Research in Motion Limited (RIM) / BlackBerry

David Weiss, Co-Founder & Co-Editor
Sonicscoop.com

An internationally published journalist, David Weiss is the Co-Founder/Co-Editor of SonicScoop.com, a pioneering online destination that provides New York City’s thriving music and sound production community with a vital central hub.

He has been the NYC editor of Mix magazine since 2003. His work has appeared regularly in publications such as Drum!, Time Out, Remix and many more online and print outlets on music and technology.

 He is also co-author of the book Music Supervision: The Complete Guide to Selecting and Licensing Music & Sound Design for Media, published by Schirmer Trade Books in September, 2005. Visit the companion site at www.musicsupervisioncentral.com 

An avid electronic music producer, David performs and records in New York City as Impossible Objects. Check him out at www.myspace.com/impossibleobjectsmusic. He has composed for TV and radio commercials, and is currently creating a sound design collection for the library Editor’s Choice Music.

David graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Communications (1994). He lives in Manhattan.

Bill Werde, Editiorial Director
Billboard

Bill Werde is Billboard’s Editorial Director, overseeing editorial strategy and execution across the consumer music destination Billboard.com, B2B properties Billboard.biz and Billboard’s weekly print magazine and Billboard’s top-ranked B2B conferences and events. He joined Billboard as news editor in 2005. Prior to working with Billboard he worked for years as a freelance journalist, writing about the intersection of culture and technology for publications including The New York Times, Wired magazine, Rolling Stone and others.

Brian Whitman, Co-Founder & CTO
The Echo Nest

Brian Whitman (The Echo Nest) teaches computers how to make, listen to, and read about music. He received his doctorate from the Machine Listening group at MIT’s Media Lab in 2005 and his masters in Computer Science from Columbia University’s Natural Language Processing group in 2000. His research links automatically extracted community knowledge of music to its acoustic properties to “learn the meaning of music.” His composition and sound art projects consider the effects of machine interpretation of large amounts of media, such as the first actual “computer music” (as in music for computers) of “Eigenradio.” As the co-founder and CTO of the Echo Nest Corporation, Brian architects an open platform with billions of data points about the world of music: from the listeners to the musicians to the sounds within the songs.

David Zierler, EVP & GM
Ingrooves

David Zierler is currently serving as the EVP/General Manager for INgrooves, a digital media distribution and technology company.  Most recently Mr. Zierler was the Vice President Business Development and Finance for Fontana Distribution, the independent music distribution arm for the Universal Music Group.   Prior to joining Fontana Mr. Zierler served as the Director of Business Analysis for Universal Music Group Distribution, an analyst for ITU Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm and a Senior Associate for PricewaterhouseCoopers.   Mr. Zierler has an extensive background in the music industry, management consulting, venture capital, financial advisory services, business analysis, corporate finance, public accounting and business development.   He received his B.S. in Accounting from Villanova University.

Zeeshan Zaidi , COO
LimeWire

As LimeWire's Chief Operating Officer, Zeeshan Zaidi is responsible for overseeing day to day operations to support the continued growth and expansion for LimeWire, the world’s most popular peer-to-peer file-sharing software. Each month more than 50 million people use LimeWire to find audio, photos, videos, and more, and approximately 5 million people are using it at any given moment.

Prior to being elevated to COO in January 2010, as Head of Global, Zaidi has been responsible for developing and executing a global strategy for LimeWire. He joined LimeWire as Head of Global in July 2009.

Zaidi was Chief Operating Officer and Head of Business Development for NABBR, the online media startup that distributes premium entertainment content and brand advertising to a Gen Y audience, prior to joining LimeWire.

Before joining NABBR, Zaidi was Vice President of New Ventures for SONY BMG Global Digital Business Group. There, he was charged with developing and launching new businesses and developed revenue streams using subscription, retail, and advertising models, leveraging the assets of all of Sony BMG's U.S. labels as well as catalog inventory.

He was Vice President, Digital Business Operations for RCA MUSIC GROUP prior to joining SONY BMG Global Digital Business Group. He oversaw the digital business of the RCA Music Group (RMG), which included RCA Records, Arista Records, J Records and RCA Victor. In this position, Zaidi was responsible for the commercial exploitation of RMG's frontline and catalogue content in all digital formats, including digital downloads, streaming subscriptions, mobile formats, video-on-demand, and online radio.

Prior to RCA Music Group, Zaidi was Senior Director, Marketing for ARISTA RECORDS (BMG). In this position, he was responsible for all New Media Marketing and Partnership Marketing for Arista artists including: Avril Lavigne, Usher, Santana, OutKast, Pink, Sarah McLachlan, Whitney Houston and many others. Prior to that, he was Director of Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Development for Bertelsmann from October 2000 to April 2002.

Zaidi graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa with an A.B. in Economics from Harvard University in l996. He received his Masters of Business Administration with honors from Harvard Business School and a law degree cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2000.