Phil Antoniades
Co-founder
Nimbit
A DIY pioneer, member of the “scrapper” generation, and an honors graduate of the Berklee College of Music, Philip Antoniades is consistently focused on finding innovative business solutions that create real income for musicians.

With over twenty years of experience in the music industry, Philip Antoniades is familiar with the many facets of the field, propelling his expertise into what is now Nimbit.com. He has toured nationally as a professional drummer, cementing his knowledge of the music industry from a musician’s point of view. At the same time, Philip has been consistently involved in the business side of the music world, having owned a record label, managed nationally touring artists, and worked as a producer and promoter.
In the early 1990’s, Philip Antoniades started Johnny Brock Management, a promotions and booking agency centered in and around the New England area. Johnny Brock Management was a principal partner in the International Acoustic Underground Competition. In 1996, he founded Artist Development Associates Inc., which provided mastering, CD manufacturing, design, and promotion services to independent artists on tour.

In 1997, Philip Antoniades launched CDfreedom.com to provide an online retail venue for fulfillment of CD’s and other merchandise to a growing Indie customer base. Since then, Indie music and its artists have continued to emerge as a popular, avant-garde genre; Philip Antoniades has continued to pursue this client base through Nimbit, Inc.. Nimbit first surfaced when it merged with Artist Development Associates in 2004.

Martin Atkins
Author
Tour:Smart
Invisible Records
Martin Atkins is the definition of entrepreneurial activity in cultural arts endeavors, his 30+ years in the music business spans across genres and borders and industries.

He was a member of Public Image Ltd and Killing Joke. He founded industrial supergroup Pigface, The Damage Manual, and Murder Inc., and has contributed to Nine Inch Nails and Ministry. He is the owner of Invisible Records and Mattress Factory Recording Studios (est. 1988). He is the author of Tour:Smart, a Suicide Girls columnist, and a full time lecturer at Columbia College Chicago. Martin is a producer, drummer, documentary film maker, DJ, and father of four. Whatever the future of music is, you can pretty much bet that he’ll be in the middle of it.

Martin wrote his book Tour:Smart in 2007 and has since spoken around the world at the Midi Institute in China, NAMM, SXSW, CMJ, NYU, USC, Drumtech in London, By:Larm in Oslo, and many more. A distillation of Martin’s 30+ years in the music business, the book and Martin’s Tour:Smart presentation contains not only valuable insight into his methods, but an unusually candid discussion of mistakes and failures. It covers routing strategies, strategies to sustain, sponsorships, geography, guerrilla marketing, and entrepreneurial activity in the music industry.

Kissy Black
Owner
Lotos Nile
Kissy Black is the owner and driving force behind Nashville-based Lotos Nile – Media Marketing Music and the Director of Business Development for Colligent, Inc. Lotos Nile builds brands and utilizes a full service menu of PR and marketing services to create and track growth. Each campaign executed is an integrated service solution working toward discovering avenues for sustainability for brands and content creators of all kinds. Lotos Nile is proud to be the home of the technology company Colligent’s Nashville office. Colligent creates actionable consumer research derived from social networks, measuring affinity when most media research measures exposure. Affinity, as expressed in social networks, provides an entirely new dimension for understanding purchase drivers and loyalty.

Vinnie Brown
Naughty By Nature Inc
As the entrepreneurial and marketing genius behind hip hop icons Naughty By Nature, Vinnie Brown has developed a reputation as a leading panelist and expert on the convergence of new media, Hip Hop music and technology.

In 2009, Vinnie initiated a promotional partnership with Microsoft to help launch the Windows HTC Touch Pro 2 mobile device. And long before Hip Hop clothing lines and websites were a natural part of the marketing of successful artists, Vinnie was responsible for launching Naughty Gear Inc., Hip Hop’s 1st authentic brick and mortar shop. Thereafter, Vinnie utilized his tremendous business savvy to maximize www.naughtybynature.com to keep the group tapped in to its global fans.

Vinnie lectures on issues surrounding hip-hop culture, community activism as well as on the convergence of technology and entertainment.

Alex Cameron
Senior Vice President, Market Manager
Emmis NY
Alex, a Toronto born Canadian, lives by a “work hard, play hard” philosophy to squeeze the most out of life! When she is not at work doing what she loves, as the Senior Vice President, Market Manager for Emmis NY representing stations HOT 97, 101.9 RXP and KISS FM…. she is in boxing training for the Women’s Golden Gloves with her coach recently featured on “The Contender” or surfing with Hans Hedemann, pro-surfer and previous #4 world champion.

Alex is driven by guiding the Emmis NY cluster as SVP, Market Manager with the mission ” To lead the radio industry in innovation, accountability and collaboration by delivering measurable results for all customer segments and performance growth for Emmis”. While this is a massive goal, she is confident in her leadership to get there with talented associates that she recruited and credits to most of her success.

Brian Carpizo
CEO
Eventric
Brian Carpizo is an entrepreneur, executive, and consultant working in the software and information technology industry for 20 years. He is the CEO of Eventric, provider of software and online services for the music touring and live events industry. Prior to Eventric, Brian founded and was the CEO of a $30M software company and earlier founded and sold a technology consulting firm. He holds a BA from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Rob Cantrell
Comedian, Actor, Musician
Website
Rob Cantrell has appeared on several major networks, including NBC, CBS, VH1 and Comedy Central. He helped write and performed in promos for HBO ‘The Flight Of The Concords’. Rob’s cannabis cult-like following has lead him to tour with ‘The Marijuana-logues’, as well being featured in “High Times Magazine”. His 2005 documentary/ performance film “Metaphysical Graffiti – A Road Movie” was screened at the Cannes Film Festival. Rob is married, lives in Brooklyn and is a proud parent of a 10-year-old beatmachine.
Rob’s debut album, “Keep On the Grass,” features a full stand-up set recorded in his former adopted hometown of San Francisco, CA and four musical tracks inspired by his 10-year-old beatbox machine and recorded in his current hometown of Brooklyn, NY.

Maragret Cho
Comedian, Actor, Musician
Website
Revered for her crass in-your-face style, Margaret Cho burst onto the scene in 1994 with her sitcom All American Girl and has since become one of the most prolific and critically acclaimed comedians of our time. In 1999, she chronicled her legendary struggles with network executives over her weight and ethnicity into a groundbreaking one-woman show, I’m The One That I Want, praised by Entertainment Weekly as one of the “Great Performances of the Year!” In her following stand-up concert tours and films, Notorious C.H.O., Revolution, Assassin and Beautiful, Margaret’s tackled the axis of evil, organized religion, homophobia, revolutionizing one’s self-esteem, the joy of bodily functions, and of course, her now world-famous mother. Margaret is currently starring in the all-new comedic drama series, Drop Dead Diva, on Lifetime, Sundays at 9pm ET/PT. Her latest stand-up concert film, Beautiful, is airing on Showtime and is available on DVD from Image Entertainment.

A brilliant, taboo-busting comedian in the spirit of Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor and George Carlin, Margaret Cho is known as much for her enormous contributions as a social equalizer as she is for her raunchy humor. She has been honored by the ACLU, NOW, GLAAD, LLDEF, NGLTF, AALDEF, and PFLAG for making a significant difference in promoting equal rights for all, regardless of race, sexual orientation or gender identity.

Margaret is making a foray into musical comedy this fall, releasing Cho Dependent, an album of comedy songs, on August 24. Cho Dependent features collaborations with Tegan and Sara, Andrew Bird, Grant Lee Phillips, Fiona Apple, and Ani DiFranco, among others. Margaret is self-releasing though her own label, Clownery Records, in conjunction with Redeye Distribution. On August 26th, Margaret will embark on a brand new stand-up tour, Cho Dependent, which will also feature live performances of a handful of songs from her album. Visit her on the web at MargaretCho.com for a complete list of tour dates and ticket info.

Corrie Christopher
Agent
APA
Corrie Christopher is an agent who specializes in developing acts from the ground up, taking acts from clubs to arenas. Currently, she is the agent for Rise Against, Sublime with Rome, The Dirty Heads, Jason Ellis, Flobots, The Spill Canvas, Good Old War and more. Corrie began her career in the music business while still in high school when she was hired as an assistant at Tahoe Agency, a small boutique agency in Lake Tahoe, California. There, she worked closely on acts such as Blink-182, Sublime, Less Than Jake, Goldfinger, and more. In 1999 she started her own boutique agency, Fierce Talent. Fierce was home to acts such as Rise Against, Yellowcard, Avenged Sevenfold, Against Me! and Lucero to name a few. She ran Fierce Talent until 2005 when she joined The Agency Group Los Angeles. In early 2009 Corrie accepted a Vice President position at APA in Beverly Hills.

John Clarke
Radio Host
Q104.3
Jonathan Clarke joined Q104.3, New York and America’s most listened to Rock Station, as an on-air personality and morning show co-host/newsperson in 1997, and continues to be on the air there. Clarke is also host and executive producer of the highly rated “Out of the Box,” new music show on Q1043, a show that debuted over nine years ago and has remained #1 in the ratings in it’s timeslot since the show’s inception. He also is on the air with New York’s 106.7 WLTW (Lite-FM),the most listened to music radio station in America and is the mid-day host of 103.7 The Band, KKSF Radio in San Francisco. He also has a bi-monthly column in Boulevard Magazine. Jonathan can also now be seen as the host of “The Director’s Chair”on Time Warner Cable, a show all about indy films and filmmakers. Clarke is also a recurring guest host with the MSG Network with recent appearances on “MSG NY Extra” and “Soundcheck”. In addition, For close to two years, Clarke was heard nationwide across America on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Classic Rewind channel. For more, go to q1043.com, keywords “JC” or “Out Of The Box”

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 Americas and currently chairs international music conference MidemNet. 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.

Frank Cooper
VP, Portfolio Brands
Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages
As Vice President of Portfolio Brands for Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages (PCNAB), Frank Cooper III oversees PCNAB’s entire cola and non-cola CSD portfolio, including the Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Sierra Mist trademarks. Cooper also leads the company’s efforts to develop brands, marketing campaigns and retail programs that effectively connect with multicultural consumers, including African-American, Latino, Asian-American, and urban lifestyle consumers.

Prior to Pepsi, Cooper spent a decade working as a senior business executive and entrepreneur behind some of the most powerful urban and new-media brands in the world. From 2001-2003, Cooper headed the Interactive Music Marketing division at America Online, Inc., where he managed the music sales and marketing teams across the country, developed music-based campaigns for consumer products and services companies and worked with advertising agencies in cooperative ventures.

Bob Cramer
CEO
Nimbit
Bob Cramer is Nimbit’s CEO. Bob is a blues guitarist, private investor, and advisor with 26 years experience in high-growth venture-backed businesses. Recently, Bob was CEO of LiveVault, one of the first software-as-a-service businesses targeting the SMB market, which was acquired in 2005. Bob was also CEO of FirstSense, which was acquired in 1999. Cramer has also held senior sales and marketing positions at Oracle, CenterLine and Ingres. He received his BS from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his MS from the University of California at Berkeley.

Kelly Cutrone
CEO & Founder
People’s Revolution
CEO and founder of People’s Revolution, a full service PR and Marketing agency, with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Paris. She is a New York Times Best selling author and a regular television personality, making frequent appearances on MTV’s The Hills and The City and most recently is the star of Kell On Earth on Bravo. She has one daughter named Ava.

Corey Denis
Founder
Not Shocking, LLC
Corey Denis has been pioneering digital music marketing for twelve years using everything from ListServs & forums to social networks and MMORPGs. She got her music industry start at What Are Records? where she leveraged online street teams, increasing sales and broadening fan bases for Frank Black, Figurine, Stephen Lynch, Maceo Parker, The Samples, innocence mission, & many others. By 2003 Corey was Director of Online Marketing at What Are Records & published the label’s first online music sampler as a podcast. In addition, Corey built W.A.R.?’s digital strategy, helping the label became one of the first independent record labels to sign a direct deal with iTunes. She moved to San Francisco in 2005 to work at IODA where she helped create and market Promonet, the promotional distribution source for licensed mp3s out of the IODA catalog designed for music bloggers and online promoters. She went on to lead the marketing efforts as VP of Marketing at boutique digital distributor reapandsow, creating a social network strategies for steampunk’s famed Dr. Steel & jazz legend Charlie Hunter. Corey now runs her own consulting firm, Not Shocking, where clients include Michael Tilson Thomas (Music Director, SF Symphony, Artistic Director New World Symphony, Principle Guest Conductor, LSO), The Ferocious Few, Stellah Records, Rob Cantrell, Inu and literary project P William Grimm. Not Shocking recently announced certified partnership with Ning, inc to develop networks for artists. Corey is also the founder of Musician & Promoter Workshops in San Francisco, Music Editor at SFappeal.com, One of ReverbNation’s Expert Marketers & Bloggers, and a volunteer for the Sunset Youth Service music program for at risk teens in San Francisco. Corey can play (but totally sucks at) violin, guitar, autoharp & dulcitone, has one patent, two cats and 6 ipods.

Mike Doernberg
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 2006, Mike co-founded the Music 2.0 Company ReverbNation which launched October 2006 and now serves 700,000+ Artists, Labels, Managers, Venues/Promoters and other Music Industry Pros with a complete solution for fan management, promotion, distribution, direct-to-fan commerce, and analytics.

Jamie Dominguez
Associate Director, Writer/Publisher Relations
SESAC
Jamie Dominguez is Director, Writer Publisher Relations for SESAC, Inc., the nation’s fastest growing performing rights organization. With the performing rights organization for over eight years, based in New York, Dominguez is responsible for identifying and cultivating new music talent in the rock/pop genre. Dominguez serves as a liaison between SESAC and affiliated writers and publishers working closely with such affiliates as MGMT, Coheed and Cambria, Brand New, Mates of State, The Drums, Ted Leo, Killswitch Engage, among many others.

Jay Frank
Senior VP of Music Strategy
CMT
Jay Frank is Senior Vice President of Music Strategy for CMT. Frank oversees music strategy as it relates to all of the network’s on-air and digital music initiatives across all properties, including CMT, CMT.com, CMT Mobile, games, touring and other businesses. He works closely with music labels and artists to create multi-platform promotions that leverage all of the CMT brands to enhance artist reach and drive awareness for the channel.

Under Frank’s leadership, music video ratings have reached an all-time high for the channel, with an incredible 43 percent growth in 2009 with stunt programming and exclusive premieres as part of an aggressive multi-platform promotional strategy. Frank came to CMT from Yahoo! Music where he was Vice President of Music Programming and Label Relations While at Yahoo! Music, Frank was instrumental in growing its audience exponentially to a monthly audience of approximately 25 million people.

His first book, “FutureHit.DNA,” was published last year. A respected worldwide leader in the music and digital communities, Frank has spoken at such conferences as MIDEM, South By Southwest, Canadian Music Week, ASCAP Expo, MusExpo, Digital Music Forum, CMJ, SF Music Tech Summit and Mobile Entertainment Summit, among others.

Eric Garland
Founder
Big Champagne
Eric Garland is the founder and CEO of BigChampagne Media Measurement, a new kind of music metrics company charting the new business of music. BigChampagne’s Ultimate Chart uncovers what’s really popular – and where – from Apple to YouTube (and everywhere in between).

BigChampagne examines information about airplay, sales, streams, downloads, other revenues, listens, views, mindshare, fan interactions, social connections – all of the factors that more completely describe the relationship between artists and their fans.

Eric contributed data and analysis to Chris Anderson’s best-selling book “The Long Tail” and partnered with Radiohead on “In Rainbows, On Torrents,” a critical examination of the band’s pay-what-you-wish album experiment. Colorful stories from his early career were told in Steve Knopper’s history “Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age.” Eric’s advisory board membership includes the digital initiative of the Recording Academy (The Grammys), where he has served alongside artists Kelly Clarkson and Kanye West. Eric was formally recognized for his outstanding contribution to the Recording Academy in 2007.

Jim Glancy
Partner
Bowery Presents
Jim Glancy is a partner at The Bowery Presents, an independent promotion company based in New York City. Since joining in 2006, Jim has helped create the company’s mission to bring the best bands to the best venues in the country and to provide a great concert experience for fans and artists, along with reasonable ticket prices.

In his role, Jim oversees all the company’s activities which center on programming live music in the venues that the company owns and operates including several New York and New Jersey music venues, such as the Bowery Ballroom, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Terminal 5, Mercury Lounge, and the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ. Jim also books concerts and presents shows at other venues in New York City and across the Northeast for Bowery Presents.

Rick Goetz
Founder
Musician Coaching
Rick Goetz is a Music Marketing Consultant and a Music Business Coach by way of being a bass player for twenty years and a ten year career at Major Record labels such as Atlantic, Elektra and EMI. He currently runs the music business advice blog MusicianCoaching.com and handles major content licensing projects for technology companies. He is available to be hired hourly for strategic consulting for those seeking to advance their career in music and is often retained by artists, labels and managers to market music releases and tours.

David Goodman
President
CBS Interactive Music Group
David Goodman has served as President of the CBS Interactive Music Group since May 2009. The newly formed CBS division includes CBS RADIO’s digital properties and online assets, as well as the music discovery site, Last.fm. In this position, Goodman is responsible for the digital music assets, bringing together the resources of CBS Interactive with the content, promotional, advertising and sales opportunities provided by CBS RADIO, as well as monetizing the division’s ongoing digital initiatives. Goodman previously served as President, Digital Media and Integrated Marketing for CBS RADIO, a position he has held since December 2007. Prior to that, he was President of Marketing since February 2005.

For the past several years, Goodman has lead CBS RADIO’s digital strategy and sales efforts by developing supervising and creating new content partnerships and monetizing CBS RADIO’s online inventory. Furthermore, Goodman was responsible for launching online audio streams of all of its stations and several custom channels, and enhancing the websites of the Company’s 134 stations with video, on-demand audio and interactive features. Additionally, he developed and executed a number of significant sponsorship and advertising opportunities for CBS RADIO, developing multi-dimensional radio platforms for major clients through CBS RADIO’s integrated marketing department.

Throughout Goodman’s career he has successfully launched some of the world’s leading music, television and theatrical properties. He has also created award-winning integrated media sponsorship campaigns for a variety of advertisers both domestically and abroad, including American Express, Heineken and AT&T, among others.

Courtney Holt
President
Myspace Music
Courtney Holt serves as President of MySpace Music, a landmark joint venture among MySpace, The EMI Group, SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony ATV. In this role, Courtney oversees the growth and development of the MySpace Music brand. Courtney brings extensive music industry depth and relationships to MySpace Music, as well as experience and focus on product, promotion, and marketing that will serve to solidify the company’s position as a global leader in the digital music space as well as the platform of choice for artists at every level. Prior to joining MySpace Music Courtney served as Executive Vice President of Digital Music for the MTV Networks Music and Logo Group where he oversaw all digital initiatives for the company’s MTV, VH1 and CMT music brands, as well as for Logo. In this role, Courtney was responsible for identifying ways to further engage audiences across a spectrum of touch points, expanding the reach of the music brands online and content syndication. He also worked closely with Integrated Marketing and Ad Sales teams to drive new business partnerships and advertising models within the MTV Networks Music & Logo Group portfolio. Courtney’s team led the way on a number of instrumental initiatives that are providing the audience with the new means to interact with music including the recent launch of mtvmusic.com. He also helped broker the creation of Rhapsody America, a joint venture between MTV Networks and RealNetworks and worked to develop the partnership between Rhapsody America and Verizon.

Ariel Hyatt
Founder
Ariel Publicity
Ariel Hyatt is the founder of Ariel Publicity, a New York based digital PR firm who’s Cyber PR Campaigns place musicians and authors on blogs, podcasts, and Internet radio stations and helps facilitate authentic relationships with key Social Media makers and fans. Over the past 15 years Ariel Publicity has represented over 1,500 musicians of all genres.

Helping creative minds navigate the confusing world of Social Media and Online Marketing is her passion and several times a year, she leads sold-out online and in-person workshops for musicians and music industry professionals and her book: Music Success in Nine Weeks has helped hundreds of musicians do just that.

Her bi-weekly newsletter and weekly YouTube TV series “Sound Advice” has over 15,000 subscribers and she is regular blogger at MusicThinkTank.com

Ariel has been a guest speaker at SXSW, CMJ, The Future of Music, The ECMAs, NARAS, The BMI Music Panel Series, and The Taxi Road Rally, and dozens more.

Ralph Jaccodine
Founder
Ralph Jaccodine Management
Ralph Jaccodine began his career in music promoting concerts, then joined Mike Dreese, co-founder of Newbury Comics, one of the nation’s leading retail music chains, in starting Black Wolf Records, an independent record label.

In 1994 he then started Ralph Jaccodine Management guiding the career of songwriter Ellis Paul, then expanded with additional artists including: Martin Sexton, The Push Stars, Flynn, Antje Duvekot, The Adam Ezra Group, Johnny A, WPA (Glen Phillips, Sean Watkins & Luke Bulla), Vinx (World Music/Sting’s percussionist), Averi, and Bang Camaro.

Ralph is co-founder of the Boston Management Group, a professional organization started 15 years ago with Tim Collins, longtime manager of Aerosmith. He is on the board of directors of Club Passim, on the advisory board of Ernie Boch Jr’s ‘Music Drives Us Foundation’, a frequent speaker at industry events (SXSW, CMJ, etc) as well as Berklee College of Music, Northeastern University, Harvard University, Passim School of Music and the Boston Conservatory of Music.

Tom Jackson
Live Music Producer
Tom Jackson Productions, On Stage Success
Tom Jackson, #1 Live Music Producer in the industry, helps artists develop their show into “unique memorable moments!” A Live Music Producer does onstage with the live show, what a record producer does in the studio. Tom’s Live Music Methods make your live show engaging, exceeding audience’s expectations and creating fans for life. Many successful artists have learned from Tom: Taylor Swift, Jars of Clay, Jordin Sparks, James Bryan, Casting Crowns, Francesca Battistelli, Gloriana, and other acts you admire! For more info, go to www.onstagesuccess.com

Marc Jacobson
Owner
Marc Jacobson, P.C.
Marc Jacobson owns Marc Jacobson, P.C. a boutique law firm focused on representing clients in the Entertainment, Media and Technology Industries. He advises many clients on the business and intellectual property issues faced by entertainment businesses in the digital age. Music is a principal component of his work, but he also advises regarding the creation, development, and exploitation of intellectual property rights in traditional film, television, video, and theatrical opportunities. Marc also advises companies on business and financing strategies in connection with such properties. He is well known for his experience with regard to the enforceability of minors’ contracts. Additionally, as the former General Counsel, Chief Financial Officer and SVP of Public Policy for Prodigy Communications, Marc was a principal draftsman of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act. He is also the founding Chairman of the New York State Bar Association Section on Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law.

Peter Kafka
Senior Editor
All Things Digital
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.

Michael Kauffman
SVP, Sales & Marketing
Rightsflow
Michael Kauffman is SVP of Sales and Marketing at RightsFlow, a leading licensing a royalty service provider. He leads company sales, marketing, media relations, and social media initiatives.

During two decades of industry experience, Kauffman co-founded The HiFive Group consultancy, was SVP of Sales and Catalog at Universal’s Verve label (NARM 2005 and 2006 Label of the Year), and held senior sales and management positions at Windham Hill Records, BMG Distribution and Sound Warehouse. He has a broad palette of early career experience as a DJ, record store clerk, concert promoter, copywriter, media buyer and cartoonist.

Joe Kennedy
CEO
Pandora
Joe Kennedy is Pandora’s CEO. He joined the company in 2004 following a five-year stint at E-LOAN, where he was President and COO. From 1995 to 1999, he was the Vice President of Sales, Service and Marketing for Saturn Corporation, which he grew to over $4 billion in revenue and established as the top brand for customer satisfaction in the auto industry. Joe holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Princeton, where he dabbled in music theory and learned to compose his own Gregorian chants. Joe has also been playing the piano for more than 30 years, most of which has been spent attempting to master Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

Linda Lorence Critelli
Vice President of Writer/Publisher Relations
SESAC
Linda Lorence Critelli is Vice President of Writer/Publisher Relations for the performing rights organization, SESAC in New York City. She is responsible for signing and working with SESAC’s up and coming roster of talent as well as working with the organizations established professionals. SESACs roster includes some of the biggest names in today’s market including Nate “Danja” Hills (Justin Timberlake, Keri Hilson, Madonna), Bryan Michael Cox (Mary J Blige, Mariah Carey, Usher), Billy Mann (Pink, Jessica Simpson), Swizz Beatz, Coheed & Cambria, MGMT, Cassandra Wilson, Stefon Harris, Greg Osby and legendary writers like Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond and the band RUSH.

Linda works to promote SESAC and its songwriter and publisher affiliates through various outreach efforts. She hosts a popular showcase in New York City for unsigned songwriting talent and produces workshops to help educate the songwriting and music community on current related music business issues. She is involved in the production of SESAC’s award celebrations which honor the organizations top talent.

Liz Leahy
Co-founder
Secton 101
Elizabeth Leahy is one of the founders of Section 101, a leading destination for artists wishing to take control of their digital world. The New York-based interactive company has developed new ways for artists and brands to market, promote and leverage their product. Liz is a recognized expert in the field of interactive marketing and client services.

Liz has spoken on numerous panels, including this year’s SXSW and NXNE. She was a founding member of the E-marketing Best Practices Council and serves as a Mentor to students at Columbia Business School.

Gwen Lipsky
Chief Strategist
SoundThinking NY
Gwen is Chief Strategist and a Founder of SoundThinkingNY. She spent the first half of her career working as an Account Planner at some great agencies: Y&R, Ogilvy and Chiat/Day. She migrated into the world of content as SVP of Strategy at MTV, and then as EVP of Branding and Programming at Vulcan Ventures. A naturally geeky music and comics loving FanGirl, she’s figured out how to use her job as Chief Strategist to get paid to study her real interests. She oversees all strategic planning projects for the firm whose clients include Yahoo, Sony, Nielsen, AMC, R/GA, Mediacom, MasterCard, Wizards of the Coast and some “stealth” startup stuff that she dearly hopes will put her son through college.

Little Steven
Musican, DJ, Actor
E Street Band, Little Steven’s Underground Garage
“You may know Steve from The Sopranos (he plays Silvio Dante) or as the longtime guitarist from Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. Now you can get to know him as the coolest DJ in the country, a proud throwback to the late-night hipster jocks of long-gone 1960s and ’70s FM radio.” – Kurt Loder, MTV News.com, April 15, 2002

On April 7, 2002, coincidentally (or not?) the same date in 1967 that Tom Donahue kicked off “progressive FM radio” on KMPX in San Francisco, Little Steven’s Underground Garage had its inaugural broadcast on 23 stations throughout the United States. No radio show has ever received this much media attention. During the week preceding the first broadcast Van Zandt appeared on ABC, CBS, and Fox, and a national press blitz of mega proportions took place. In addition, the premiere star-studded broadcast at New York’s Hard Rock Cafe on April 7 achieved placement on both local and network news and print press.

Being the coolest D.J. in the country is just the latest chapter in a long and distinguished musical career. He is an acclaimed record producer for artists such as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Artists United Against Apartheid, Darlene Love, Lone Justice, Gary U.S. Bonds, Michael Monroe, Lords of the New Church, the Arc Angels, the Charms, Tina Sugandh, Davie Allan and the Arrows, Jean Beauvoir, and the Chesterfield Kings.

Dave Lory
CEO
DJL Live Music Productions
Dave Lory has an in-depth understanding of the music business that stems from a wealth of experience in several areas of the industry. He is one of the few executives to have worked in every major genre of popular music including rock, pop, country, folk, classical, jazz, hip-hop and R&B. Lory. His resume includes being a musician, chairman to artist management firms, heading international operations at a major record label, starting up one of the most successful independent record companies in the past decade, producing memorable live events, and coordinating and managing large-scale international tours.

In September 2009, Lory started DJL Music Productions LLC as a company which does production of live shows, events and tour management, as he returns to the roots of the entertainment industry he loves the most. Lory’s first clients were the New Music Seminar, where he is a partner with original NMS co-founder Tom Silverman of Tommy Boy as well as the Producer of the events, tour managed Perez Hilton’s US tour and coordinated Kid Cudi’s US while tour managing Semi Precious Weapons tour of the US with Lady Gaga.

Some of the highlights in an almost 30 year career includes managing artists such as Jeff Buckley, The Allman Brothers and Courtney Love, to running International Records at Mercury Records and Sr. VP of Artemis Records. where the latter he was nominated as Artist Development Executive of the Year by Pollstar. Artist Lory has worked with include Bon Jovi, KISS, Shania Twain, Warren Zevon, Steve Earle and Elvis Costello among others. Two of the most memorable events Lory has produced were the “The Songwriters Hall of Fame Dinners” in 2000 and 2001 and The Grammy’s ‘Songs of the City” event when the Grammys last returned to New York City.

In addition, his teaching duties in the music business programs at William Patterson University and New York University, (where he attended college with a major in both Music Performance and Music Business) as well as his involvement in “Grammy in the Schools” program for N.A.R.A.S., has proven him to be a great motivator and educator.

Chris MacDonald
Founder
IndieFeed
Chris MacDonald founded IndieFeed, the curated music discovery service that offers free music tracks, each with a story about the band and where to find more. IndieFeed has delivered over 90 million listens to fans through podcasts, Facebook, Twitter, iPhone app and www.indiefeed.com

Chris also founded Prsh.us, a new service that creates one-of-a-kind VIP experiences with rock stars, creatives and thought leaders. He loves speaking at events like SXSW, Future of Music, NAB, Ad-Tech, Dow Jones Investment Summit and wherever interesting conversations about music and technology happen.

Brian Meece
Co-Founder
RocketHub
Brian was born and raised on The Gulf of Mexico – that odd and magical little pocket of the American South where country and beach mingle, Jimmy Buffet blares, and hunting trucks have surfboards on the roof. Brian plays a mean ukulele and is a co-founder of RocketHub, a grassroots crowdfunding platform. Brian and the RocketHub team share a bold vision, that crowdfunding is the new path to creative empowerment. Brian is the co-author of The Crowdfunding Manifesto, a popular foundational resource for the rising Creative Class.

Stephane Minier
Founder
Distortion Concerts
Stephane started working in the mid 80s in Orleans, France as a local promoter with French and international acts in clubs, theaters and arenas. Then moved to Paris in the early 90s where he booked the Chesterfield Cafés in Paris, Madrid and Moscow as well as clubs and arenas booking acts such as Marylin Manson, Korn, Alanis Morissette, Daft Punk, R Kelly, and Dido. He also developed touring artists from roots to large arenas in France like The John Butler Trio or Fall Out Boy, Panic At The Disco, Gallows just to name a few. He is a promoter for hip hop and RnB in France booking clubs to large arenas to stadiums for foreign and French artists like Mary J blige, Nas, R Kelly, Busta Rhyms, Boyz Two Men, Brian Mcknight, Supreme Ntm, Matt Houston, Keith Sweat, Ganstarr, Angie Stone, Seyfu and more. With the new music model Stephane started a new venture, Distortion Converts, a year ago and he is currently working with bands like You Me At Six, Travie McCoy, Kaki King, Rolo Tomassi, and Bullet For My Valentine.

Karim Peter
Artist Relations
IndieMerchandising
Karim spent the past 7 years on the road with some of the world’s top independent metal bands. Starting out as a merchandiser, he worked with The Haunted, Martyr AD & Dead To Fall across North America and Europe before taking on the role as tour manager for God Forbid. In 2006 he started working as tour manager and merchandise manager for successful Metal Blade Record’s artist The Black Dahlia Murder. In that time he accompanied them around the world and helped shape their instantly recognizable, genre influencing merchandise. During their off time he has also worked with Lacuna Coil, In Flames, Funeral For A Friend, Gallows, Napalm Death and a slew of other bands.

Currently he has taken his experience with band merchandise and brought it over to his artist relations role at IndieMerchandising, where he works with such bands as Between The Buried And Me, A Day To Remember, Job For A Cowboy and former tour mates The Black Dahlia Murder and Napalm Death.

Cassie Petrey
Owner
Crowd Surf
Cassie is the co-founder of Crowd Surf, which is a digital music marketing company that specializes in working directly with consumers. Cassie founded the company with her business partner, Jade Driver, in 2007 with one primary goal in mind: to help fans feel closer to the artists and music that they love.

Crowd Surf has successfully launched and developed digital media campaigns for many different major label, indie, and unsigned artists in a variety of genres. Some of the company’s past and current clients include Britney Spears, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, Capitol Records, and MTV Networks.

Nile Rodgers
Artist, Producer, Writer
Nile Rodgers’ career is one of the most enduring, prolific, commercially successful, and artistically significant in music. He has written, produced, or performed on songs that have sold over a hundred million records making music that has shaped three decades and continues to exert his influence today.
His groundbreaking work with Bernard Edwards on Chic, Sister Sledge, and Dianna Ross in the 70’s were preludes to a long career marked by musical excellence, technical mastery, impeccable taste, and business acumen.
In the 80’s, Rodgers collaborated with David Bowie, Madonna, Duran Duran, Jeff Back, Eric Clapton, and Rai music superstar Cheb Mami with Sting.
In 1996, Nile was Billboard’s Top Producer in the World and he has won Grammies for “Best Rock Instrumental” and “Best Rock Instrumental Performance.” In fall of 2005, CHIC was inducted as artists into the Dance Music Hall of Fame. The National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences where Nile has been a Governor and Trustee, has given him its Lifetime Achievement Award and the New York Chapter’s Heroes Award.
He earned wide acclaim for the We Are Family Project, A Celebration of Our Common Humanity after the events of September 11. In 2002, he established the We Are Family Foundation to promote tolerance and multicultural education. As the music industry changes, Nile is on the cutting edge of new opportunities for artists, recently executive producing, producing and contributing to Halo 2: Original Soundtrack, Vol. 1, the number one selling original video game soundtrack of all time.

Phil Sarna
Managing Director
PS Business Management
Phil Sarna has been a business manager for the last 17 years. After graduating from NYU School of Business with degrees in accounting and economics, he went on to work at several large and prestigious NYC accounting firms. In 1993 he set his sights on the music business and began his business management career at Provident Financial management, one of the largest and most successful business management firms. He left almost 10 years later as the Managing Director of the NYC office to start PS Business Management, LLC.

PS Business Management LLC offers its unique brand of business management by providing emerging artists with the business acumen to navigate both the normal challenges of running a business and the complexities of the new business models facing musicians today.

Shannon Schlappi
Founder
RockDex
Shannon has been working professionally in the music business for 15 years. An early proponent of Internet technology adoption for musicians and online social networking tools to foster and nurture organic fan communities, Shannon launched Punknews.com in 1996. One of the first Internet-based social music communities, Punknews became a testing ground for new technologies and music discovery. Shannon also advises and acts as label manager of Doomtree Records. Shannon has run many successful labels as well as having worked in retail distribution and has been instrumental in helping emerging artists build long-lasting careers and fan communities.

Joe Serling
Co-Founder
Serling Rooks Ferrara McKoy & Worob
In 1973, Joe joined the law offices of Fredric B. Gershon and represented the Robert Stigwood Organization, which counted RSO Records and numerous other entertainment ventures among its clients. Mr. Serling became Vice President of Business Affairs for Private Stock Records, Ltd. in 1975, whose artist roster included Blondie, Frankie Valli, and Jose Feliciano. Five years later, Joe formed his own law firm and in 1987 became a partner in the law firm of Rosenblum & Serling, LLP. In 1989 Joe formed Serling Rooks & Ungar which in January of 1996 became Serling Rooks & Ferrara (SRF). SRF grew in stature and size, and in 2009 became Serling Rooks Ferrara McKoy & Worob, which has evolved into one of the music entertainment industry’s most prominent full service music business law firms with a substantial client and corporate roster.

Joe represents a diverse client base, including record companies, artist managers, booking agencies, numerous high profile artists, record and publishing executives.

Tom Silverman
NMS Co-founder
Tommy Boy Entertainment
In the course of three tumultuous decades in popular music, Tommy Boy founder and Chairman, Tom Silverman, has created a striking success story for himself and his company. In the process, Tommy Boy has earned gold, platinum and multi-platinum albums by such artists as Everlast, Queen Latifah, Coolio, Naughty By Nature, Club Nouveau, De La Soul, Digital Underground, and House of Pain, and has been Billboard Magazine’s number one dance label for six years in a row.

In addition to unique artists and great records, Silverman’s innovative ideas about packaging, marketing and distribution of music helped separate Tommy Boy from the pack. In 1981, Silverman and his partners (Joel Webber and Marc Josephson) created the original New Music Seminar as a new kind of grassroots music industry gathering for disenfranchised music business upstarts.

From humble beginnings, New Music Seminar became the biggest and most important convention in the music industry; its combination of panels, workshops and live showcases became the model for CMJ, Canadian Music Week, Winter Music Conference and SXSW, among other followers.

Silverman is a founding member of the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) and Merlin; sits on the board of SoundExchange, the RIAA and We Are Family Foundation and has served on the boards of NARM, NAIRD, AFIM, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Dance Music Hall of Fame.

Ralph Simon
Founder
Mobilium
Ralph Simon is Mobilium…

…an energetic visionary with over 40 years’ international experience in entertainment, publishing and licensing, business incubation, development and management, and for the last 15 years, the mobile and wireless industry.

Ever-connected to a worldwide network of highest-level experts in media companies, telcos, handset manufacturers, technology and research, Ralph accesses a vast knowledge base of tomorrow’s emerging technology and trends to create successful, innovative and revenue-generating cross-platform solutions for you and your business in mobile.

Ralph Simon is mobile. Always on the move, he’s a global mobile warrior and proven leader whose logic, experience and insight can help you assess your needs and define a winning commercial and creative strategy to achieve your mobile goals and widen the reach and scope of your business.

John Simson
Executive Director
SoundExchange
John L. Simson is the Executive Director of SoundExchange, the non-profit performance rights organization responsible for paying recording artists and master rights owners of sound recordings. John has been involved in the music industry since his 1971 signing with Perception Records as a singer/songwriter, which he calls ‘so successful I went to law school’. His career has included a ten-year partnership in Studio One Artists, managing country superstar Mary Chapin Carpenter (1988-1995), among many others. John has practiced entertainment law since 1980, and was counsel to the firm of Berliner, Corcoran & Rowe from 1990 through 1999, before joining SoundExchange in 2000. John was one of the founders of the Washington Area Music Association and its first President (1985-1990), as well as serving, at various times, as President of the Washington , D.C. chapter of NARAS ( Recording Academy ), on the Recording Academy Board of Governors in 1997 for the Washington , D.C. chapter, and as a National Trustee of the Academy (1997-2000). John is currently an adjunct professor of Entertainment Law at American University ’s Washington College of Law, and taught Entertainment Law for two semesters at Catholic University ’s Columbus School of Law, and has lectured frequently on entertainment law and business.

Swizz Beatz
Artist. Designer. Producer. Philanthropist.
Official Website
Each label describes Swizz Beatz, but none define him. Since composing his first hit record in the early 90s, he’s crafted a career that’s hard to capture in one word, yet easy to understand in another: innovative. As a producer he’s created hits for a laundry list of music legends including Madonna, Britney Spears, Metallica and Jay-Z. From Beyonce’s, “Ring The Alarm” to Limp Bizkit’s “Rollin’” nearly every song he’s touched has turned to gold, platinum or diamond. As a fashion designer, he’s emerged as beacon for where street culture and luxury meet. At Kid Robot, Beatz has infused art-inspired decadence into the limited-edition apparel and accessories line. For Swizz, style and sound double as a conduit of inspiration for his art. The aficionado has graduated from an avid art enthusiast, to collector and now painter. Sharing his love of art has taken him full circle, back to his birth place of the South Bronx. Here’s where he’s adopted Bronx Charter School for the Arts in the neighborhood of Hunts Point. The school, founded by an entrepreneurial group of parents and educators, is aimed at enriching creativity within its students. Since adopting the school earlier this year, at the school’s first art auction, Swizz Beatz helped in raising over twenty-thousand dollars to be used towards supplies and outings.

Seamlessly weaving through the parallel worlds of fashion, music, art and philanthropy has become effortless for a creative driven by a deep passion for life. He’s currently multi-tasking on a myriad of projects including designing a menswear collection for Christian Louboutin, developing a new watch for Audemar Piguet and returning to the studio to work on his next solo album.

Tony Van Veen
CEO, President
Disc Makers, CD Baby
Tony van Veen is CEO and president of Audio and Video Labs, Inc, the parent company of Disc Makers and CD Baby. Having performed and toured with several bands and run a small independent label, he joined Disc Makers in 1987. As president of Disc Makers he has been at the forefront of empowering independent artists to release, distribute, and promote their own music. In the process, he oversaw the company’s growth from a small regional vinyl pressing plant with less than 40 employees, to the undisputed leader in CD and DVD manufacturing for independent artists in the US, with close to 400 employees, producing over 50,000 new independent titles a year. In August of 2008 the company acquired CD Baby, the largest independent music store in the world with 300,000 independent album titles and over 2.6 million songs in its catalog, which it sells on its own cdbaby.com store and distributes to dozens of the largest download stores in the world, including iTunes, Amazon MP3, Rhapsody, and eMusic. Tony continues to be actively engaged with independent artists while splitting his duties between Disc Makers and CD Baby.

Chris Vinson
Founder/CEO
Bandzoogle
Chris Vinson has helped tens of thousands of artists – from Grammy winners to garage bands – grow their fan base online. In the late 90s, grassroots promotion helped his alt-rock band land a record deal. Impressed by the online community he built for his band, the label hired him to head their web department where he created online marketing campaigns for dozens of multi-platinum selling acts. Chris built a web based “control panel” to let band managers update their websites and track promotions. He realized this software could help indies as well, so in 2004, he launched Bandzoogle.com, an all-in-one musician marketing platform. Since then, Bandzoogle has helped thousands of bands build professional websites, promote their music, and sell directly to fans.

Bill Werde
Editorial Director
Billboard
As Billboard’s Editorial Director, Bill Werde leads the editorial strategy and vision for the brand, which includes the weekly print publication, websites (Billboard.com and Billboard.biz) and other digital content offerings, as well as industry-leading conferences and events. Werde joined Billboard in July 2005 as Senior News Editor and has steadily climbed the ranks of the organization, having been promoted to Deputy Editor and later Executive Editor of the brand. Prior to Billboard, Werde was the Associate Editor for Rolling Stone. Before that he worked as a freelance journalist for a number of publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Village Voice and Wired Magazine writing about culture, politics, business and technology.

Terri Williams
Head of Sales & Brand Integration
JamBase
Terri Williams, VP Sales and Brand Integration at JamBase.com, got her start in the music business counting records and reporting sales at Tower Records. She still has her Spinal Tap extra long box to prove it.  In the late 80s she became the head of marketing and was part of the team that built the company to a worldwide billion-dollar retailer, using a robust music “selection and recommendation” model supported with innovative sales and marketing plans.  In the early 90s she was putting together bundled download campaigns for Tower.com and for the last couple of years she has been connecting fans to their favorite bands shows through 1000s of targeted marketing and brand integrated plans on JamBase.com to get more people to Go See Live Music!
    
From Tower to JamBase Terri has been marketing bands, their music and their shows in every nook and cranny of the US. Terri has known, worked and adapted to many models of the music business throughout the years covering the marketing of live shows and recorded music within the physical retail space as well as the digital retail space using all forms of traditional and digital media.

Emily White
Co-founder
Whitesmith Entertainment
Emily White is the co-founder of Whitesmith Entertainment, a boutique talent management and consulting company specializing in Music and Comedy based in New York and Los Angeles. Whitesmith artists include Margaret Cho, Brendan Benson (Raconteurs), Family of the Year, W. Kamau Bell, Sydney Wayser, Elon James White, Sara Benincasa, Urge Overkill, Selene Luna, and GOLD MOTEL (Greta Morgan of The Hush Sound). Over the past year, Whitesmith has guided Cho, Family, Urge Overkill and others on independent content release plans that resulted in fan building and success within each artists’ own brand and business both online and off.

Colin Willis
Product & Business Development
Next Big Sound
Colin has over 30 years in the music industry holding positions of increasing responsibility from College Representative to Sr. Vice President at CBS Records/Sony Music. He is currently advising Vanguard recording artist Daphne Willis on creative and business related direction and, in addition, is working with Next Big Sound on product and business development. On Next Big Sound, Colin says “It is very exciting and gratifying to be working with such a talented crew who share the belief that data and analytics will play an essential role in evolving the way the music industry measures results, builds artists’ careers and discovers opportunities for driving revenue.”

Pam Workman
Founder
Workman Entertainment and PR
Pamela Workman is the founder/owner of Workman Entertainment and Public Relations (WE + PR), a refreshingly innovative PR and brand-marketing firm based in New York City. WE+PR creates, connects and delivers 360 media solutions to meet each of its clients strategic business goals be it a major brand or start up company, indie or major label artist, not for profit organization or digital entity. WE+PR prides itself on consistently delivering top-notch press results and unique brand solutions.

Prior to WE+PR, Pamela worked with the highly respected music/entertainment industry PR veteran, Jody Miller as VP and General Manager of JLM PR. During her tenure at JLM PR, Pamela oversaw numerous national campaigns including Russell Simmons’ charity arts organization, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation; major red carpet events such as Art For Life East Hampton, The Songwriters Hall of Fame, The Gold Rush Awards, all VIBE Media Group Events; The SESAC Awards; indie and major label artist campaigns, online/digital initiatives and many more.

Richard Yaffa
CEO & President, North America
GroupM Entertainment, Sports and Partnerships
As Chief Executive Officer and President, Richard Yaffa oversees this leading sports, entertainment, and cause marketing agency for North America. GroupM Entertainment, Sports and Partnerships, North America include IEG, MEC Access, Mindshare Performance, Mediacom ESP, and the GroupM Retail Promotions Group. GroupM Entertainment, Sports and Partnerships combines the rigor of data, processes, and innovation to develop innovative marketing solutions for prestigious brands such as Citi, Colgate, Dell, Volkswagen, Jones Apparel Group, Bayer, E&J Gallo, Genworth Financial, XEROX, Monster, BP, The Tribeca Film Festival and many others.

An industry expert with over 20 years experience in the new media, sports, entertainment, cause marketing and related business fields in North American and the Global Markets, Rich brings a distinct perspective to building business, enterprise value and brands. His strategic approach to the convergence of content, media and brands has allowed Rich and his team to develop successful business growth strategies for their clients. At the core of this approach they utilize unique business development processes, measurement and valuation tools. Rich and his team have also been at the forefront of monetizing and developing strategic content opportunities. As CEO, Rich has played a critical role in the success and significant growth of this business and business discipline.