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2011 Speakers:
Gabe Adiv,
Founder & CEO, TuneUp Media
Music industry veteran Gabriel Adiv founded TuneUp Media in 2007. Prior to TuneUp, Gabe spent five years in sales and channel marketing at Gracenote, the industry leader in global metadata and enriched content solutions. Previously, Gabe spent his career in sales, marketing and business development, playing pivotal roles in several entrepreneurial ventures including WebTV and MyPersonal.com. Coupling his invaluable insight and experience from Gracenote with his undying enthusiasm for music, Gabe has guided TuneUp to Series C funding and exponential growth. As Founder & CEO of TuneUp Media, his involvement ranges from the acquisition of funding, to the oversight of marketing and business relationships, as well as overall product strategy and vision. His leadership, entrepreneurial drive, taste-making instincts and passion for music have paved the way for TuneUp's growing success. |
Jeff Bronikowski, Head of Corporate Dev. & Strategy,
The Echo Nest
Jeff Bronikowski is a 17-year veteran of the media and entertainment
industry and is currently Head of Strategy and Corporate Development
at The Echo Nest, the leading music intelligence and music application
developer platform. Prior to joining The Echo Nest in September, Jeff
was Vice President/GM of AOL Music/Winamp and prior to that served as
GM of Yahoo! Music.
Jeff spent the bulk of his career in the music industry at Universal
Music Group (UMG), where he held several positions in digital strategy
and business development, most recently as Senior Vice President of
Global Digital Initiatives.
Prior to UMG, Jeff worked in financial analysis and strategic planning at HBO.
Jeff is an Adjunct Professor at NYU's Stern School of Business, where
he teaches a course entitled "Impact of Technology on Media and
Entertainment". He is a graduate of Georgetown University and holds
an MBA in Finance and Marketing from NYU's Stern School of Business.
Jeff also serves on the Digital Media Advisory Board of Trident Capital. |
Kevin Browning, Engineer & Producer,
Umphrey's McGee
Kevin Browning oversees creative & business development for the Chicago based powerhouse improg band Umphrey’s McGee.
Browning cut his teeth on the road for 12 years mixing, recording & producing both live and studio events for UM. While not working his night job, he helped grow the band from a regional bar act into an international touring juggernaut. Under his direction, UM has gone on to sell over 2 million tracks and played over 1400 shows to 2+ million people. Browning recognized the value of a self contained organization early on and filled key roles in production, management, marketing, and overall creative & business strategy.
Finally relinquishing his road duties at the start of 2011, he now spends the lion’s share of his time growing the band & business in unique and innovative ways. Browning is constantly looking to push what’s possible for the band in a live & studio setting while refusing to accept the norm as anything but.
As a graduate of Notre Dame, he spends an equal amount of time wondering what the hell has happened to his football team.
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Richard Bullwinkle,
Chief Evangelist, Rovi Corporation
Richard Bullwinkle joined Rovi Corporation in January 2007 after the
company acquired Mediabolic, where he had served as vice president of
products and chief evangelist. Since that time, Richard has served as
chief evangelist responsible for corporate strategy. In his role,
Richard helps define the direction of Rovi's products and technology
solutions. He represents the company at numerous industry events to
gather market perspectives and understand trends that have an impact
on the company's customers and the end consumer in order to provide
recommendations to the senior team. He also works to establish
standards and lead the discussions to promote a better consumer
experience throughout the CE industry.
Richard has worked on the cutting edge of the digital entertainment
movement throughout his career with the consumer experience at the
center of his focus.
As vice president of products and chief evangelist at Mediabolic,
Richard helped pioneer the connected home strategy of connecting
entertainment media devices. As a senior member of Rio Audio's
product marketing team, Richard played an instrumental part in the
creation of some of the most popular MP3 players in the US. At TiVo,
Richard was the company's chief evangelist and a senior member of
TiVo's product marketing team. He helped create and develop the TiVo
products and was behind the campaign to make the TiVo product a
household name.
Richard graduated from Rollins College in Florida with degrees in
English and Music. |
Richard Caccappolo,
CTO, eMusic
Chief Technology Officer, Richard Caccappolo, brings over 20 years of experience in e-commerce, digital monetization, new media and product development to eMusic. He is recognized for his development of interactive and community features and has spent his career building and improving businesses by designing and implementing technology applications, while optimizing operations.
As Chief Technical Officer for eMusic, Richard leads eMusic’s network operations, engineering and product development teams. Prior to eMusic, Richard held the position of Chief Executive Officer of ORCA Digital Services, Inc. Before joining ORCA, Richard was President of Creative Commerce, LLC, an investment and advisory firm. He continues to advise and invest in early stage companies through their subsidiary, cComm Direct, LLC.
Prior to these roles, Richard was a member of the senior management team at iVillage Inc., from pre-IPO through to the sale of iVillage Inc. to NBC Universal, where he held the rolls of CTO and SVP Product Development. During his tenure he managed technology, commerce, international operations, product development, business development and interactive marketing.
Since 1999, he has focused on the internet areas of content publishing, e-commerce, interactive features, community features and digital monetization. Prior to joining iVillage, Richard served as the Chief Information Officer of Kodak Polychrome Graphics, the Director of Information Technology for Sun Chemical Europe and a senior manager of Andersen Consulting (now Accenture).
Richard holds an MBA from NYU's Stern School of Business and a BS from Cornell University's School of Engineering.
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Mike Carson,
Chief Marketing Officer, Myxer
Mike was appointed Chief Marketing Officer of Myxer in June
2010. Prior to joining the Myxer team, Mike served as Vice
President in Marketing with FTD.com Flowers and Gifts. Before
joining FTD, Mike developed customer acquisition and national
direct response programs for the Allstate Insurance Company
through his tenure at Ogilvy & Mather. Mike launched the
Orbitz.com brand in 2000 as employee number 70, and early
career highlights at Leo Burnett include brand development, a
Super Bowl ad and interactive lead generation for General
Motors. Mike received his B.S. in Business Administration -
Marketing from Marquette University and his M.B.A from the
University of Notre Dame. He serves as an advisor on the
Discover Financial Services LLC merchant advisory council. |
Ryan Chisholm,
Artist Manager, Bill Silva Entertainment
Ryan Chisholm, 25, co-manages Christina Perri, whose song "Jar of Hearts" has sold 2.5 million singles, according to Nielsen SoundScan, after it was selected for Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance." Chisholm and his team orchestrated an Internet campaign that helped drive sales. Chisholm and Tom Gates co-manage both Perri and Good Old War; Chisholm also manages James Morrison in North America. To connect his contacts, Chisholm started a dinner meeting that has evolved into the Los Angeles industry mixer Meeting of the Minds. "It's about bringing people together who are optimistic about our business," Chisholm says. "The vision is about creating an environment that helps connect people. I want to share information." |
Ted Cohen, Managing Partner, TAG Strategic
Integrating his widespread digital authority in music, mobile, IPTV and product & service development, Ted Cohen
is the Managing Partner of 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 Alice Cooper and Van Halen, you're more primed for the unexpected.
Known throughout the technology and music industries as being “part ambassador and part evangelist,” Cohen
was instrumental in crafting the licensing agreements upon which the Rhapsody subscription service and the iTunes Music
Store were built.
In his previous role as Senior Vice President of Digital Development & Distribution for EMI Music (home of artists
including Coldplay and the Rolling Stones), Cohen led next-generation digital business development worldwide for this
“big four” record company, which includes labels such as Capitol, Virgin, Angel/Blue Note, Parlophone and
Chrysalis. 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.
In addition to seeking out, evaluating and executing business opportunities for the company on a global basis, Cohen
served as both a strategist and key decision-maker for EMI’s global new media and anti-piracy efforts. He worked to
establish company-wide digital policies, which have provided EMI’s artists and labels a substantial advantage in the
digital music arena.
Prior to his role at EMI, Cohen served as Executive Vice President of Digital Music Network Inc., where he co-founded and
served as Chairman of the groundbreaking Webnoize conferences.
Cohen also led two highly successful new media consulting operations, DMN Consulting and Consulting Adults, attracting clients
such as Amazon.com, Microsoft, Universal Studios, DreamWorks Records, Liquid Audio, Wherehouse Records/Checkout.com and various
other entertainment, technology and new media organizations. Cohen also held senior management positions at both Warner Bros.
Records and Philips Media.
A 30-year industry veteran, Cohen was recently elected Chairman of the Mobile Entertainment Forum Americas board, and currently
chairs MidemNet, an international music/technology conference convened in Cannes each year. Cohen also serves on the NARAS
(Grammy) Los Angeles chapter Board of Governors as well as the national Trustee Board, the Board of Directors for the Neil Bogart
Memorial Fund, co-chairs the new media arm of the T.J. Martell Foundation, and lends his time and talents to music & technology
education efforts such as the Grammy In The Schools Program.
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Stephen Collins,
Product Manager, Live Streaming & Content, BitTorrent
Stephen Collins leads product management for BitTorrent's new live streaming and content platforms. With 15+ years in technology and digital music industries combined with an extensive background in live streaming dating back to the dial-up modem era, Stephen is uniquely positioned to drive BitTorrent's next phase of content innovation. Currently, Stephen is investigating alternative media distribution models via peer-to-peer networks.
Prior to joining BitTorrent, Stephen worked in multiple engineering management and leadership roles for Apple's iTunes division and AOL's Media Services. His professional and technical expertise is highly complemented by a lifelong interest in the music industry from a creative and distribution perspective. And from the earliest days of the Internet, Stephen was an early adopter and developer of live streaming technologies. Stephen was the first independent Webcaster in Chicago and worked extensively with Rollingstone.com and JamTV to build early streaming experiments.
Stephen studied Medical Physics in the Masters program at the University of Chicago, and holds a Bachelor of Science Biology/Pre-Med from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.
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Erin Dwyer,
VP, Digital Strategy and Integration, The Marketing Arm/Davie Brown Entertainment
Erin Dwyer is currently the VP, Digital Strategy and Integration at The Marketing Arm/Davie Brown Entertainment. Erin started her career in the advertising side of the business and has worked at prestigious agencies throughout her career including J Walter Thompson, DDB, Wong Doody and TBWA/Chiat/ Day. She transitioned to the client side leading marketing strategy in online gaming, games, software technology and entertainment categories. Erin has been passionate about the digital evolution for the past eight years and is currently helping TMA/Davie Brown provide clients digital solutions for their business and marketing goals. With digital's impact on all industries, Erin’s aim is to help companies and brands understand how to use the space and navigate it to bring them desired results and prepare for what's next. |
Bruce Flohr,
Manager, Red Light Management / A&R, ATO Records
An executive with both record company and artist management background Bruce Flohr started his career with RCA records. As Senior Vice President of A&R Bruce signed the Dave Matthews Band to RCA in 1992 when the band was still playing clubs in the northeast. A few years later he signed the Foo Fighters to RCA and helped bring Dave Grohl and his band to worldwide dominance. In 2002 Bruce traded the record business for the music business and joined Coran Capshaw to help build Red Light Management into one of the industries premiere management companies. Red Light's roster now includes DMB, Phish, Tim Mcgraw, Alicia Keys, Ben Harper and others. As part owner of ATO Records, Bruce continues to serve as A&R for many of the labels artist such as Gomez and Alberta Cross. Several years ago Bruce and Coran startedGreenLight Media which works with major brands such as AMEX, Gillette and Hyundai to develop unique content and music strategies. Bruce is based in Los Angeles. |
Jay Frank, SVP, Music Strategy, CMT (MTV Networks)
Jay Frank is Senior Vice President, Music Strategy for CMT. Frank
oversees music strategy as it relates to all of the network’s on-air
and digital music initiatives across multiple platforms, including
CMT’s vast range of properties such as CMT.com, CMT Films, games,
touring and other program enterprise businesses.
Frank came to CMT from Yahoo! Music where he was Vice President of
Music Programming and Label Relations, responsible for all the
company’s music programming, working closely with record labels and
managers to oversee artist promotions. While at Yahoo! Music
(formerly LAUNCH), Frank was instrumental in growing its audience
exponentially to a current monthly audience of approximately 25
million people.
Prior to joining Yahoo! Music, Frank was senior music director at The
Box Music Network, managing all daily music activity on the music
video network and coordinating programming efforts that resulted in
the network's first Emmy award. He has also acted as marketing and
A&R for Ignition Records, managed a live music venue, programming
broadcast radio stations and creating two local music video shows.
Frank holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Ithaca College in
Ithaca, NY and sits on the Board of Directors of the Academy of
Country Music. He is also a Member of NARAS, the CRS Agenda
Committee, Leadership Music and Leadership Music Digital Summit. His
first book, “FutureHit.DNA,” is set to be published later this year. |
Eric Garland, CEO, BigChampagne
Eric Garland is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of BigChampagne Media Measurement, a privately-held technology and metrics company specializing in entertainment media. BigChampagne provides business intelligence and strategic analysis to the world's largest entertainment companies, major brands and their agencies, and Wall Street analysts. BigChampagne's metrics include online retail (iTunes) and music streaming services, social networks (MySpace, YouTube), Yahoo and AOL, Clear Channel, MTV and through strategic partner Mediabase, radio broadcast. Garland is recognized as one of the industry's leading authorities on the intersection of popular entertainment and technology.
Garland contributes data and analysis to the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) flagship publication IT Outlook. His advisory board membership includes the digital initiative of the Recording Academy (The Grammys), where he has served alongside artists Kelly Clarkson and Kanye West. Garland was formally recognized for his outstanding contribution to the Recording Academy in 2007.
WIRED magazine anointed BigChampagne the Nielsen ratings of online music. BigChampagne pioneered the measurement of multimedia content distributed using new platforms (YouTube, BitTorrent) and is today an entertainment industry standard research tool. BigChampagne's chart syndication partners include Entertainment Weekly and E! Entertainment Television. Before co-founding BigChampagne in 2000, Garland was with global management consulting firm Towers Perrin in the Communication and Measurement practice where, according to WIRED, "he spent much of his twenties dashing through airports and hotel restaurants telling people how to run their businesses."
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Paul Geller, SVP of Business Development & Public Policy,
Grooveshark.com
Paul Geller serves as the Sr.VP of Business Development & Public Policy for Grooveshark.com His role places him at the crux of content acquisition, consumer electronic integrations and public policy. His previous role as the EVP of Information Products at Grooveshark has him dreaming-up many of the data-driven artist development tools that are now central Grooveshark’s industry offerings.
Paul is a co-founder of Sponsr.com, founder of National Metrics and a board member on street-marketing firm Bigger Markets. Paul was a founding member of the influential alternative band “Keepsake”. He has written, produced, and performed on a handful indie and major distributed records. As a touring artist he bounced around from college to college, which included stints at University of Central Florida, and Columbia University before graduating from Florida Atlantic University with a B.A. in Political Science and a Certificate in Women Studies. He continues to play a role in the content creation side of the music industry as a producer and an internationally recognize DJ. |
Jordan Glazier, CEO, Eventful
Jordan is CEO of Eventful, the leading service for discovering and promoting local events.
Over 15 million people use Eventful to discover what’s happening in cities and towns worldwide; from concerts and sports to kids events and gallery openings. With over 5 million events to enjoy, Eventful provides the world’s most comprehensive event content.
Eventful’s unique “Demand it!” service enables powerful connections between performers and fans by enabling consumers to influence events by “Demanding” them in their town. Over 75,000 musicians, comedians, politicians and others decide where to appear based upon where they’re “Demanded”. Venues use Demand to decide which artists to book based upon local Demand.
Prior to Eventful, Jordan held executive roles at eBay, ClientShop, GATX and Boston Consulting Group.
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Jim
Griffin, Managing Director, One House LLC
Jim Griffin is Managing
Director of OneHouse LLC, dedicated to the future of
music and entertainment delivery, and works as a
consultant to absorb uncertainty about the digital
delivery of art.
Today, Jim is focused on accelerating the pace of
scholarly research, especially through collaborative
tools, sharing and open access to knowledge. He
works with Mendeley, a UK company that is changing
the world of research.
In addition to serving as an agent for constructive
change in media and technology, he is an author,
serving as a columnist for magazines, and is on the
boards of companies and associations. Jim started
and runs Choruss LLC, incubated by Warner Music
Group. He started and ran for five years the
technology department at Geffen Records. Prior to
Geffen he was an International Representative for
The Newspaper Guild in Washington, D.C.
While at Geffen, Jim led a team that in June of 1994
distributed the first full-length commercial song
on-line, by Aerosmith. Geffen was the first
entertainment company to install a web server, and
Geffen World was one of the first corporate intranet
sites. Geffen was named by Network World in 1996 as
one of the world's top 25 technology companies, and
one of only seven in the United States.
While at Warner, Jim led a team the Choruss team
that successfully built a new model for sound
recordings: Sharing music with flat-fee access to
unlimited music downloads for college students.
Jim is co-founder of the Pho group. Named after a
bowl of Vietnamese soup, Pho is an organization that
meets for discussion-oriented meals in cities around
the world, electronically linked by the Pho mailing
list. Pho's many thousands of readers enjoy dialogue
on the digital delivery of art and the new economy
in music, movies, books and all media.
Jim testified in July 2000 before the Senate
Judiciary Committee at its oversight hearing on file
sharing and music licensing. He regularly moderates
video and television shows on digital entertainment.
He is often a keynote speaker or moderator at
conferences (Internet Summit, Giga Conference,
Comdex, CES, Webnoize, and many others) and lectures
annually at business schools (Harvard, USC, UCLA,
Berkeley). He also serves as an expert witness in
digital entertainment, and has presented many
Continuing Legal Education courses.
In addition to work with music, his expertise
includes wireless work in Europe, including at
Nokia's Research Center in Helsinki, Finland, and
with numerous companies in Finland and throughout
Europe. He's moderated numerous panels on wireless
and given speeches on wireless issues around the
world, ranging from music conferences to parliament
meetings in Europe. He is a regular speaker at
entertainment industry events and corporate and
association meetings. |
Dave Haynes,
VP Business Development, SoundCloud
Dave Haynes is VP Business Development for SoundCloud, a cloud-based music platform that allows music creators and professionals to easily distribute, share and stream audio over the web. With over a decade’s experience in the music industry, Dave currently works at the forefront of the latest trends in digital music. As well as his work for SoundCloud, he is the organiser of the OpenMusicMedia and Music Hack Day events that take place across the world. This year he was listed as one of UK’s Young Music Entrepreneurs 2010 and is also a frequent speaker at various events from TEDxCardiff to SXSW in Austin. |
Michael Hobson,
CEO, High Resolution Technologies (HRT)
Michael Hobson is a founding partner and CEO of High Resolution Technologies, a consumer electronics company specializing in high performance USB-based audio devices. Michael has a proven track record of successful startup ventures. Michael founded Classic Records in 1994, building it into a world-renowned position as the premier vinyl LP Reissue Company before selling the entire operation in early 2010. In 1998, Michael founded and continues to manage TheMusic.com, co-located with High Resolution Technologies in Hollywood CA. TheMusic.com is a diversified ecommerce music site with three divisions. In 1989, Michael started Hobson Ultimate Sound, a High End Audio Salon in lower Manhattan that segued into the formation of Classic Records. With undergraduate and graduate degrees in Economics and Econometrics from the University of Florida and University of Minnesota respectively, Michael was an assistant professor of Economics from 1983-1985. From 1985-1989, Michael held positions ranging from staff Econometrican to Strategic Analyst to the President at Southwestern Bell, Bell Communications Research, AT&T and AT&T Bell Laboratories. |
Jack Isquith, SVP, Digital Music,Warner Bros. Records
Jack Isquith is the executive director of Music Industry Relations for AOL Music and the AOL Radio Network, managing AOL’s relationships with more than 100 labels, managers and artists. In this capacity, he and his team are responsible for securing and developing exclusive music programming for AOL's network of leading music properties available on the AOL service and on the Web on properties including aolmusic.com, Winamp, Netscape Music, CompuServe Music and AIM Music. Mr. Isquith is also executive producer for AOL Music’s popular original music programs AOL Music Sessions, intimate in-studio performances and interviews, and AOL Music LIVE! events, exclusive live concerts. In a year since taking on the executive production of AOL Music’s events, Mr. Isquith has helped secure such A-list artists Usher, Rod Stewart, Avril Lavigne, and Toby Keith and execute productions that are played in excess of one million times in one week following each show.
For the Sessions program, Mr. Isquith has focused the team on bringing in top level talent and capturing performances that showcase unique takes on artists’ strengths in an intimate setting. Prior to joining AOL Music, Mr. Isquith served as the first head of Talent & Label Relations for CDNOW, an e-commerce music website where he directed the companies efforts to acquire exclusive content and develop programming. Mr. Isquith had transitioned to the online space building upon a career spanning more than 15 years in the music industry where he was a recognized leader in artist management and marketing for leading artists and labels. As an artist manager at Rebel Waltz, Mr. Isquith worked with artists including No Doubt, Offspring and Social Distortion. Through the 1990s, he held various senior-level positions in Promotion & Marketing at A&M Records and Epic Records, developing and leading radio and marketing campaigns for such platinum-selling acts as Sheryl Crow, Sting, Living Colour, Soundgarden, Blues Traveler and more. Mr. Isquith attended the London School of Business and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the State University of New York, Albany.
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Jeff Jampol,
Manager, The Doors, Jampol Artist Management
As the founder and head of JAM Inc.,
which manages rock legends The Doors
and the Estates of Jim Morrison,
Janis Joplin, Peter Tosh and Rick
James, Jampol has had ample
opportunity to consider such issues.
Indeed, he and his team are fond of
citing the “Hippocratic Oath of
Rock” as a guiding principle: First,
do no harm to the artist’s legacy.
But Jampol doesn’t view himself
merely as a curator of classic
catalogues. “The goal is to extend
the reach of the artist and their
work, using new distribution
channels, new technology and other
emerging resources, to place
timeless art into a modern context.”
To that end, Jampol produced, with
Dick Wolf, the 2009 Doors theatrical
documentary film, When You’re
Strange, narrated by Johnny
Depp, for which Jampol and Wolf won
the 2011 Grammy® Award, and were
nominated for a 2010 Emmy® Award.
Jampol also produced the Janis
Joplin musical, One Night With
Janis, which premiered in May
2011, and is producing an upcoming
Janis Joplin theatrical documentary.
Additionally, Jampol has produced
musical and theatrical works,
overseen deluxe reissues of classic
albums; overseen large-format art
books (The Doors by The Doors
and Jim Morrison: Treasures);
enlisted cutting-edge artists like
Shepard Fairey (Obey Giant, the
Obama “Hope” poster) to create new
graphics; authorized remixes by top
DJs; vigorously pursued film, TV and
game placements targeting young
audiences; rebooted merchandising
initiatives; developed content-rich
web destinations designed to serve
longtime fans and new seekers
simultaneously; and considerably
more.
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Kevin King, CEO,
MusicHype
Kevin King is the Chief Executive Officer of MusicHype, a technology, social music and fan engagement platform specializing in the music vertical. MusicHype.com rewards fans for promoting, listening, generating content, and spending money on the bands they love. MusicHype takes street teams digital and enables bands to use their fans to help them make money from exclusive merchandise, tickets, digital downloads, and other products.
Fans sign into MusicHype to see their fan activity across social music services like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Last.FM, Spotify, Blip.fm, Instagram, Rdio, and Grooveshark. Fans also see how they've been rewarded for promoting the bands they love.
MusicHype is powered by the social commerce Appreciation Engine®, a proprietary underlying technology which labels and artists can tap into to run their digital street teams. MusicHype has worked with OK GO, Thievery Corporation, Ke$ha, Manchester Orchestra, Sony, Warner Music Group, and most recently signed a deal with The Orchard.
King also sits on two advisory boards in the social music space, Blip.fm and Mobbase. King created the Blip.fm Sessions and executed over twenty sessions with artists including: Plain White T's, Gomez, Good Old War, One Eskimo, and The Temper Trap. At Mobbase, King has brought on over 600 artists who utilize the platform to build and distribute mobile apps.
King has been in the music business for over 10 years, working at most of the major labels. The past 6 years, King has devoted his career and passion to social and mobile music.
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Anu Kirk,
VP, Mobile Product, MOG
A musician since grade school, Anu Kirk serves as VP, Mobile Product for Mobile Platforms at MOG.
Previously, Anu was the General Manager of Product Management for Rhapsody, helping to create the Rhapsody service, PC client, and iPhone application.
Anu helped create Wal-Mart’s digital music services, developed video games, produced several albums, film and TV scores as well as professional audio hardware and software. He also taught a class on 20th Century Music at Duke University for their TIP summer program, and created an educational CD-ROM based on this class.
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Larry Linietsky,
SVP, Product & Operations, Clear Channel Radio
Larry Linietsky is the Senior Vice President of Business & Partner Development – Digital for Clear Channel Radio. Linietsky is responsible for new business and managing partner-related product development including the recent launch of the New iHeartRadio, Clear Channel’s free, industry-leading digital radio service that offers more than 800 broadcast radio and digital-only stations from 150 cities plus the ability to create custom radio stations, delivering listeners everything they want all in one fully integrated service. Linietsky is also responsible for e-commerce relationships, strategic planning and is a key negotiator with record labels on the licensing of digital content. He has led various projects over his 6 years with Clear Channel including the design and deployment of Clear Channel Radio’s media player platform; the creation of the initial mobile applications on Apple, Android, BlackBerry, HP and Microsoft Windows Phone 7; the conversion from Microsoft to Adobe Flash for all media, in partnership with Akamai; and the developed automotive solutions for Ford Sync and Toyota Entune. Larry has also been an integral part of strategic relationships with Facebook, Microsoft, HP, Zynga and RIM; andwas responsible for the initial relationship between Clear Channel and Thumbplay, the company Clear Channel eventually purchased to be the technology and product backend to the New iHeartRadio.
Prior to Clear Channel, Linietsky was Senior Vice President of Worldwide Business Development at Napster, where he led distribution, technology partnerships, mobile, retail and licensing projects. He developed key relationships including Napster’s innovative prepaid card program and fostered strategic relationships to drive subscriptions.
Linietsky also served as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Business Analysis at pressplay, a joint venture between Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group (UMG); and Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Business Development at Jimmy and Doug's Farmclub.com, a convergence-media music company within UMG which integrated Web, television and a record label into one music destination.
He was a founding member of Universal eLabs, the Internet strategy arm of the UMG, where he developed the original business plan for Farmclub.com. As Senior Director of Business Development at eLabs, he analyzed, created and implemented GetMusic with Bertelsmann Music Group, the first of its kind venture between two major music companies on the Internet.
Linietsky received a B. A. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania as well as a B.S. in Economics from Wharton School of Business.
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James Lively,
COO, DIY Media
Jim Lively has enjoyed a successful career spanning more than 23 years in management and executive positions in fortune 500 corporations, start ups, public offerings, and mergers and acquisitions. As COO, he is responsible for the overall structure of the organization with a main vision of providing a variety of diversified digital offerings to different market industries through Social Commerce tools. Prior to joining DIY Media, Inc., he was Chief Operating Officer for EDTEK Inc., a solar concentrator research and development company. While at EDTEK Inc., Mr. Lively was integral in the re-organizing of the company and securing venture capital investment for the completion of groundbreaking research and development and reorganizing the corporate structure to enable worldwide manufacturing and distribution. The company was sold to an international buyer.
Previously, he co-founded a successful IT consulting firm where one of its many projects was working with key Washington State officials to upgrade a state-wide educational computer system handling the 280 educational districts human resources, fiscal, and student information for 1.4 million students. He worked in other consulting companies as a key executive building one of the largest SAP consulting groups in the US, which was eventually acquired by Andersen Consulting and another focused on internetworking and mainframe migrations acquired by Compuware. Mr. Lively holds a BBA in Marketing and Finance from Pacific Lutheran University.
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Evan Lowenstein,
CEO & Founder, StageIt
Evan Lowenstein launched StageIt in Fall 2010 with the goal of creating a web-based platform that would empower artists to deliver and monetize interactive live experiences. While overseeing all aspects of this groundbreaking company as CEO, Lowenstein relies on his nearly 20 years of experience in the music industry as a recording artist, award-winning writer and executive.
Most recently, Lowenstein founded and served as President of HookUp Feed, a premier social networking and mobile marketing company whose clients include The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, American Airlines, Domino’s Pizza and Cold Stone Creamery. Lowenstein still remains involved with the company as a senior advisor.
Previously, he hosted USA Network’s Character Road Trip, a weekly series providing viewers with a peek into the greatest "characters" the country has to offer. Lowenstein was also a recording and touring artist with pop/rock band Evan and Jaron who scored three Top 40 hits, including the Top 10 song Crazy For This Girl.
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David Marcus,
SVP, Worldwide Artist Services, Warner Music Group
David Marcus has built his career providing business, strategic and marketing development services to companies in the live, recorded and digital music industries. Marcus is currently the Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives for Warner Bros Records, where he oversees the growth and development of non-traditional businesses including merchandising, touring, e-commerce, fan clubs, new media marketing and technology. Prior to joining WBR, Marcus served as Senior Vice President of Music for Ticketmaster, where he helped to build and lead a global team responsible for helping artists use the Ticketmaster platform more effectively. Under his leadership, Marcus's team created marketing and promotional programs that maximized ticket sales, developed market pricing and sales tools to generate strong touring revenues, and designed sales programs that helped sell recorded music, VIP packages, fan club memberships, and merchandise. His team supported these programs through innovative partnerships with companies such as Apple iTunes, American Express, Target, iLike, and Facebook. During Marcus' tenure, Ticketmaster's business grew from providing services to a handful of tours in 2005 to servicing more than 150 tours in 2008. He has also served as Managing Director for Treble Music Marketing, where he provided business, strategic, and marketing development services to companies seeking opportunities in the live, recorded, and digital music industries, including AOL MusicNow, Yahoo Music!, MusicMatch, and Jeff McCluskey and Associates among others. He has also served as a VP of Business Development and Legal Affairs for Radiowave.com, Inc. A graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law, at UC Berkekey, Marcus began his career as an intellectual property attorney with O'Melveny & Meyers. |
Vickie Nauman, VP, North America, 7digital
Vickie Nauman specializes in digital media and content strategy, the intersection of technology and music, and international business development. Nauman is Vice President-North America for 7digital, leading strategy and business partnerships for the innovative London-based media company. Through online and cloud-based infrastructure, 7digital delivers music, video and ebooks for partners including Spotify, Songbird and Phillips, Universal Music, EMI, Warner Music, MTV, HMV, Waterstones, Sony, KitKat, Samsung, Hugo Boss, Winamp, AOL, and delivered hundreds of millions of digital products in over 25 countries.
Vickie Nauman most recently led the global content strategy and partnerships for Sonos, the wireless digital music system for the home, and ran the consultancy CrossBorderWorks. Prior work includes creating the online strategy and service for boutique Seattle music station KEXP, content development for RealNetworks/MusicNet, marketing in the National Public Radio network, and Procter and Gamble. Nauman has a broad network and experience in Europe, China, and North America, and earned a 2006 MBA through the London School of Economics, New York University, and HEC-Paris, in the collaborative executive program TRIUM.
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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.
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Adam Parness,
Senior Director of Music Licensing, Rhapsody International Inc.
Adam Parness is the Senior Director of Music Licensing at Rhapsody International Inc. where he oversees the company’s music publishing and other licensing operations. Since joining Rhapsody in 2006, Adam has negotiated and managed the companies’ relationships with thousands of music publishers, licensing agencies and record labels for the award-winning Rhapsody music subscription service as well as dozens of high-profile Rhapsody television campaigns. He additionally manages a broad range of business-related matters including database technology and development, strategic partnerships and audits. Adam received a Bachelor of Music from New York University and is an accomplished guitarist both on stage and in the recording studio. |
Jeff Pollack,
Chairman & CEO, Pollack Media Group
Jeff Pollack is one of the music industry’s leading prognosticators of musical trends, advising top artists, music/media firms, and major TV networks such as MTV, VH1 and CMT. His insights and revelations play a large role in determining what consumers see and hear over the airwaves. Since 1992, Jeff has additionally been a credible and objective source for the entertainment industry by providing his music preview of the hottest new bands and artists to radio and TV networks, radio stations, media outlets, artist management, studios, agents and other key executives in the music and media business.
Jeff got his start in college radio, quickly moving on to commercial radio as a DJ and then as Program Director of WMMR of Philadelphia. His innovative work catapulted the station to the top of the rock market. That success helped Jeff launch his own company, Pollack Media Group, in 1980, and since then, his company has worked with or launched 100’s of radio stations, music channels and other music-driven companies around the world.
In addition to his consultancy, Jeff has acted as producer or advisor on numerous other events and productions, including participation in some of the largest music events of the past decade such as Live 8, Live Earth, U2/Green Day’s performance to reopen the Superdome, and the 2002 Olympics.
Jeff has also acted as producer or musical advisor on numerous other television and filmed events, including the Dave Matthews and Phish 3D films that were released theatrically; Movies Rock, a CBS tribute featuring Beyonce, Usher and others; the 70th Anniversary of the Apollo Theater, featuring Bob Dylan and others; Pavorotti's televised concert event for Bosnian war victims featuring U2 and others; "Net Aid", an Internet event featuring artists such as Bono, David Bowie and P. Diddy; Quincy Jones' Lincoln Memorial pre-inauguration event for HBO; Billboard Music Awards honoring George Harrison; "Love Rocks," EIF’s Humanitarian Award honoring Bono, with performances from artists including No Doubt, R.E.M., and Cher.
Because of his vast music experience, Jeff has been asked to conduct dozens of interviews of top musicians for both radio and TV. He has interviewed musical legends as diverse as Paul McCartney, Gram Parsons, The Who, John Hammond, Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, The Police, Tom Petty, and R.E.M. He also had a stint as on-air music correspondent for "Good Morning America”.
Jeff has also worked on over 30 films as a consultant and music supervisor, four of which received best song Oscar nominations, the latest being the Academy Award winning ‘Crazy Heart’. See HYPERLINK "http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0689388/" http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0689388/
Jeff continues to be at the forefront of the music business today. He is the most followed music blogger on the Huffington Post, to which he is a regular contributor, and he is one of the founders of the Big Bang Conference, a high level gathering of industry leaders focusing on the latest developments in the digital music and media space. |
Jonathan
Potter, President, Fan Freedom Project
Jon Potter has built his career successfully advocating for American consumers. He currently serves as President of the Fan Freedom Project (FFP), a consumer education and advocacy organization dedicated to promoting and protecting the rights of live entertainment fans, which he founded in February, 2011.
With a growing base of more than 35,000 supporters – and backing from leading organizations such as the National Consumers League, Consumer Action, the League of Fans and the American Antitrust Institute – FFP defends consumers’ ticket rights, including demanding fair access to tickets and improved transparency; ensuring ownership and transferability; and preserving a competitive ticket resale marketplace.
Prior to FFP, Potter founded and served for a decade as Executive Director of the Digital Media Association (DiMA), which represents leading digital music and media services. In this position he advocated for consumer-friendly technology and copyright policy, including by testifying in Congress many times.
In particular, Potter led industry efforts to modernize copyright law and ensure – through negotiation, arbitration, legislation and the SaveNetRadio campaign – fair royalties for digital music services. He was also instrumental in the establishment of EDiMA, the European Digital Media Association.
Potter was previously a Washington, D.C.-based consultant and attorney focused largely on intellectual property and technology-oriented public policy issues. During the 1990s, he represented and advised clients on the development of several significant legislative accomplishments, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act, the Audio Home Recording Act and the Fairness in Musical Licensing Act.
Potter is a graduate of New York University School of Law and the University of Rochester. While in law school, Potter served as a political consultant to several Members of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as several tax-exempt organizations.
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Jeff Price, CEO, Founder & President, TuneCore
Jeff co-founded New York based independent record label spinART Records and for the past fifteen years has been its General Manager and President. spinART has distributed over 180 releases since its inception, including such bands/artists as Frank Black, You Am I, The Pixies, Apollo Sunshine, John Doe, Apples In Stereo, Vic Chesnutt, Jason Falkner, Kaito, Richard Thompson, Echo and The Bunnymen, Ron Sexsmith, The Fastbacks, Creeper Lagoon, The Church, Lilys, The Eels, Clem Snide, The Dears, Michael Penn and more.
Since 2004, Jeff has contributed to the founding charter and organization of The American Association of Independent Music (AAIM), a non profit non-governmental trade organization representing the interests of its independent label members.
From 1997 to 2001, Jeff worked with eMusic.com, serving first as a consultant, next as interim VP of Content Acquisition and finally as the Senior Director of Music/Business Development. He contributed towards the creation of eMusic's initial business model and created and implemented the first subscription-based music sales and distribution structure.
In November 2005, he founded TuneCore.
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Rachel Scarpati,
Account Executive, Business Development, The Harry Fox Agency
Rachel Scarpati is Account Executive in the Business Development department at the Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA), the nation’s leading provider of rights management, licensing and royalty services for the music industry, representing over 46,000 music publishers. She is responsible for the development of HFA’s new business line of products and services, providing customized, outsourced rights administration and management solutions for companies in the music distribution chain, including digital distributors, labels, aggregators, mobile companies and publications.
Scarpati has been a member of the Business Development team since 2009. Among her achievements, she has secured a diverse range of clients who use HFA’s products and services to secure licenses quickly and efficiently, ensuring speed-to-market. She has also successfully co-managed a team of Business Analysts in the identification of new administration service offerings to enable HFA to meet the evolving needs of the market.
In 2006, Scarpati began her career in the Licensing department at HFA. In this role, she managed relationships with major record labels and leading digital service providers, guiding them through the complicated digital licensing process. Scarpati was a key player in the expansion of the company’s digital licensing systems, including enhancements to bulk licensing, eMechanical and Songfile®.
Scarpati is a graduate of The University of Hartford with a Bachelor in Music (BMUS) from The Hartt School of Music and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the Barney School of Business.
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Michael Schneider,
CEO,
Mobile Roadie
Michael Schneider is the CEO of Mobile Roadie, the leading self-service mobile app engagement platform. In just a few minutes, anyone (no programming knowledge required) can create an iPhone, Android, Blackberry, or Nokia app. The apps can stream video, audio, news feeds, Twitter, Facebook, sell digital content, physical merchandise, and much more. Customers include Warner Music, Universal Music, Sony Music, EMI, Live Nation, the World Economic Forum, Random House, and Harper Collins. Partners include Topspin Media, Soundcloud, Livestream, Songkick, and Brightcove. Mobile Roadie powers over 1,500 apps including Madonna, the Beatles, Taylor Swift, Linkin Park, Bon Jovi, the World Economic Forum, the Miami Dolphins, and the Dallas Mavericks.
Based in Los Angeles (and on an airplane), Michael attended USC’s Marshall School of Business and the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. He’s been the recipient of numerous awards including the SBA’s “Young Entrepreneur of the Year,” Business Week’s “Best Entrepreneurs under 25,” and “Top 20 in their 20s” by the Los Angeles Business Journal. |
Syd Schwartz,
Founder & CEO, Linchpin Digital
Syd Schwartz founded Linchpin Digital, the marketing and strategy firm in 2010, building on a 20-year career working in leading digital marketing posts for some of the world’s best-known entertainment brands. He is a seasoned digital marketing executive who specializes in the creative application of technology to help connect fans and brands with musical artists, films, TV and other entertainment properties. Linchpin's clients include EMI Music, Red Light Management, Current TV, The Orchard, Wind-up Records and Umphrey's McGee.
Prior to Linchpin, Schwartz spent eight years years in digital marketing leadership positions at EMI Music, based in New York, including work at EMI's Capitol and Virgin labels. While there, he was responsible for the strategic, creative and technical direction of all EMI artist websites, their online presence and digital marketing campaigns. He also evaluated and recommended new platforms and technologies to integrate into EMI music's sales, marketing and promotional efforts. He worked with a diverse roster of artists including the The Rolling Stones, Beastie Boys, Gorillaz and Katy Perry.
Schwartz is recognized as being one of the music industry’s digital pioneers. Prior to EMI, Syd spent nearly a decade at independent label Wind-Up Records. While at Wind-up, he was responsible for a series of groundbreaking online campaigns for multi-platinum artists Creed and Evanescence. Before his record label career, Schwartz learned the nuts and bolts of the music business from the cash register upwards, with a variety of managerial positions at both chain and independent retail, as well as eight years at music wholesaler Alliance Entertainment, where he oversaw purchasing operations, driving Alliance's growth to become the largest music one-stop in the U.S.
Schwartz is a frequent panelist at digital media conferences and has been an active participant in many online music communities since the ASCII days (if you have to ask…). He has written liner notes for the progressive rock group Yes, contributed to a reference book on the legendary jam band Phish, and fondly remembers Prodigy (the service, not the band) for (the operating system) DOS. Syd is actively involved in the Mockingbird Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to generating funding in support of music education for children. |
Lior Shamir, CEO,
VibeDeck
Lior Shamir is the co-founder and CEO of VibeDeck, a free and dead-easy ecommerce platform for artists. The company launched earlier in the year as a spin-off of BandCentral, a productivity application for artists, for which Lior was a consultant. VibeDeck raised $2 million in April and the team is headquartered in London.
Prior, Lior worked with or founded a number of companies in ecommerce, IP/TV and online marketing. |
Allison Shaw,
Director of B2B Marketing, Jakprints
Shaw started her music career as a DJ for mainstream rock format station 94 Rock in Albuquerque. Allison also was a writer for VH1/MTV online from 1998-2002. In 2004 Shaw started nationally distributed Hyperactive Music Magazine and the Hyperfestival and Conference in New Mexico. Shaw has interviewed over 1000 performers from Elton John to Tina Turner to Lenny Kravitz and Green Day. In 2007 Allison was the Executive Director for the Santa Fe Muzik Fest which had bands like Public Enemy, Wu Tang Clan, The Fray, and many more,. Allison helped create awareness and built relations for the music.us/.music brand, going around the world educating people on the .music extension that will be available in 2013. Shaw was the Director Of Operations for Listen Records/Sony, and is one the Event Producers and talent bookers for Rachael Ray’s Feedback parties at SXSW. Allison holds a seat on the New Mexico Music Commission and currently the Director of B2B Marketing for Merchandise and print company Jakprints and is a Marketing Consultant for the virtual online venue Stageit. Shaw also just started a new Development Production company with other Music Industry execs, including an Award winning composer, An award winning Music Supervisor and working actors that will create, compose and produce content for TV and Film. Allison also owns Manic Monkee MGMT which is a management and artist development firm and has managed and helped build careers of many bands/singer songwriters. |
Ned
Sherman, CEO & Publisher, Digital
Media Wire
Ned Sherman is CEO and
Publisher of Digital Media Wire, Inc., where he
works at the center of the rapidly growing digital
media industry. Under his leadership, Digital Media
Wire has grown from a small newsletter publisher
into a well-respected B-to-B brand that owns and
produces five annual conferences - Digital Music
Forum, Games & Mobile Forum, Digital Media
Conference, Future of Television Forum, Digital
Commerce Summit and The Billboard Digital
Entertainment Conference & Awards (now DEMXPO) - and
provides daily news, information and community to
30,000+ executives and professionals at
entertainment, media and technology companies
throughout the world.
As digital media community-builder, Ned has
established partnerships with the leading B-to-B
media companies and educational institutions,
including VNU Business Media, Billboard Magazine,
The Hollywood Reporter, Reed Business Information,
Multichannel News, Business 2.0, Business Week,
CableFax/CableWorld, VIBE/SPIN, MidemNet, NYU’s
Stern School of Business, USC’s Center for Telecom
Management and UCLA’s Anderson School of Management,
and hundreds of the leading digital media companies,
including Microsoft, Real Networks, Sony Corporation
of America, AOL Time Warner, Napster, Yahoo! and
many more.
Ned’s background is in law. Before joining Digital
Media Wire, Ned spent 7+ years as a corporate and
entertainment attorney practicing at several of the
leading law firms in the world with an international
client base across industries including technology,
Internet, media and entertainment.
As a founding member of the iLaw Group in the
Entertainment Department at Loeb & Loeb LLP in
Century City, he handled complex licensing
transactions and financings for media and
entertainment clients including Universal Studios
and MGM and launched dozens of Internet and new
media start-ups. He has counseled company founders
from initiation of a business plan to seed, angel,
venture capital and later-stage private financings
and managed all legal aspects of Internet clients
from corporate organization, stockholder
relationships, board compositions and dynamics,
stock option plans, capital raising and security
regulatory matters, Internet law issues, trademark,
copyright, content and technology licensing,
advertising and privacy issues.
He sits on
the Board of Directors of Wild Way, a non-profit
dedicated to cultivating environmental awareness and
developing educational programs for inner-city and
“at risk” kids and has traveled extensively from
Europe to Asia to South America to Northern Africa.
Ned is married and lives with his wife and kids in Hollywood Hills, California.
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James 'J' Sider,
CEO/Founder, RootMusic
James "J" Sider, 26, has squashed a lot into a year. Since he launched the company's Facebook app, BandPage, in March 2010, it's gathered more than 200,000 artist users and nearly 30 million active fans every month, making it the social platform's No. 1 music app (not to mention No. 4 overall). Under Sider's watch, the app has raked in more than $3.1 million for RootMusic, and the company itself has grown to three times its original size. "We're lucky because we have the technological tools that allow us to creatively solve problems," Sider says of the youth he and his co-workers at RootMusic share. "At the end of the day, [we aim] to have a good balance of hustle and patience." |
Lisa Tiver,
SVP, Business Development, RightsFlow
Lisa Tiver, RightsFlow’s Senior Vice-President of Business Development, spearheads the company’s strategic outreach, rights administration and licensing support for record labels, online music services, app and technology companies. With two decades of experience as a negotiator and attorney for global broadcast and media companies throughout Europe, Asia and the U.S., Tiver delivers seasoned expertise and knowledge that helps drive adoption and innovation for RightsFlow’s licensing, royalty reporting and payment enterprise service offerings as well as for its Limelight (mechanical licensing) and MySpark Copyright (registration) utilities.
Tiver has served as General Counsel for ESPN Star Sports in Asia, Head of Legal Affairs for Mushroom Records in Melbourne, Australia, and as General Counsel for Formula One Motor Racing based in London. Additionally she’s provided business acumen and support to numerous digital start-ups including Project Playlist, and has worked previously in a private legal practice specializing in telecommunications, intellectual property and trade issues. Tiver is based in San Francisco, where she established the RightsFlow West Coast office.
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Neil Vineberg,
CMO, Thinglink
Neil Vineberg is chief marketing officer for ThingLink, a
Finnish-Amerian startup that has transformed images into a smart media
platform for record companies, bands, distributors and promoters.
A seasoned PR guru and strategist, having held management and partner
positions with leading communication firms including Middleberg Euro,
Golin/Harris and founded his own agency, Vineberg Communications,
Neil’s successes include pioneering strategic work with visionaries
in MP3 digital music, social media, online communities and technology.
His experience spans the technology, B2B, consumer, digital
entertainment and philanthrophic sectors, including engagements with
Webshots, Jaiku, Sprint, MP3.com, eMusic, UNICEF, UNDP, Procter &
Gamble, Attention Span Media, United Airlines, IBM and Sony. He also
organized and managed the world’s largest run for peace in 127
nations. |
Greg "Grouchy" Watkins,
CEO & Co-Founder, AllHipHop.com
As the co-founder and co-CEO of the urban Web site and music destination, AllHipHop.com, 37-year-old "Grandmaster Grouchy" Greg Watkins is fulfilling his childhood dream as an entertainment business pioneer and entrepreneur. With his partner, Chuck "Jigsaw" Creekmur, Watkins has built AllHipHop.com into the Internet voice of hip-hop culture.
Born in Albany, N.Y. and raised in Newark, Delaware, Watkins was intrigued by hip-hop since the age of six. He briefly flirted with a recording career as a member of his rap group, The Outfit, and in 1993 launched his label, Oblique Recordings. While pursuing a career as a music label owner, Watkins attended the Art Institute of Philadelphia, studying audio engineering and marketing and graduating with an associate’s degree majoring in music business. AllHipHop.com officially launched in 1998, and this year Watkins and Creekmur are commemorating their 13th anniversary.
And almost 20 years after forming Oblique Recordings, Watkins is relaunching a new label Syncing Sun, with a talented stable of new acts. "Grandmaster Grouchy" Greg Watkins has received numerous tributes, including the Lifetime Achievement honor at the 2005 Mixtape Awards, a Rising Star Award from Black Enterprise Magazine and the first ever BET Hip-Hop Award for a website in 2009. |
Alex White,
CEO, Next Big Sound
Alex White has been around music his whole life. His dad is a professional cellist and he grew up playing cello, guitar, piano, and bass fronting a band in high school and working at a local recording studio.
He then got much more into the business side of things working two summers at Universal Records, running the production company at Northwestern University (booking and producing acts like Counting Crows, Kanye West, Flight of the Conchords, Ok Go, Girl Talk etc.) He also went on a two-month long nationwide tour with an awesome up-and-coming band called Sing It Loud (Epitaph) handling all the content and online presence for the band.
He raised two small seed rounds before closing a Series A financing in the fall of 2009. Next Big Sound has been busy hiring engineers, establishing partnerships, talking with hundreds of professionals through out the music industry and building the Premier product. This year Next Big Sound was awarded most innovative B2B startup at Midem and Billboard named the company one of 10 Startups To Watch and Alex White to their 30 Under 30 list. |
Now accepting speaker submissions for the 2011
Digital Music Forum West!
If
you have suggested topics and speakers, please
complete the speaker submission form at
http://www.dmwmedia.com/submit-speaker.
Please click the button below to submit:

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