Bassist, Composer, Producer, Educator

Sonic Camera Records/New School University

Bassist Ben Allison has developed an international reputation as a performer, composer and producer and is a leading voice in contemporary jazz. He performs world-wide with his groups Think Free, The Easy Way, and the Ben Allison Band.

Ben has released 13 albums of original music, 7 of which reached #1 on the national jazz radio charts, garnering him 9 SESAC Performance Awards. His most recent album, Quiet Revolution is the 3rd to be released on his own Sonic Camera Records label.

At the age of 25, Ben formed the Jazz Composers Collective, a non-profit organization that fostered and presented new music. He acted as the Collective’s Artistic Director from 1992 until 2005.

Ben is on the faculty of the school of Contemporary & Performing Arts at New School University, where he teaches classes in music production and entrepreneurship, as well as bass performance and composition.

Ben has served on the board of the New York chapter of the Recording Academy since 2011, where he has acted as President, Vice President and chair of the Advocacy Committee.

Ben was a featured composer and performer with the Jazz Sinfonica, 80-piece symphony orchestra, Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2005, 2008 and 2013.

He performed his Carnegie Hall debut in February 2012.

In House Label Manager

Splice

Originally from Philadelphia, Matt’s grandfather introduced him to the trumpet and jazz when he was just three years old sparking his initial passion for music. He is based in NYC and currently works for Splice where he manages the in house labels. He also owns La Reserve, a music management company that specializes in digital distribution and music supervision. Previously, he headed up the music publishing division for Flavorlab and focused on music production and acquisition for synchronization licensing.

Senior Director, Artist and Industry Relations

SoundExchange

Linda Bloss-Baum is the Senior Director for Artist and Industry Relations at SoundExchange. In that role, Linda drives awareness and visibility for SoundExchange across multiple channels related to performance and music entertainment. Previously, Linda ran Warner Music Group’s office in Washington, D.C. for six years. She also served as Vice President, Public Policy/Government Relations at Universal Music Group/NBC Universal and Time Warner, Inc. Linda graduated from Catholic University Law School. She is an adjunct professor at the KOGOD School of Business at her undergrad alma mater, American University, where she teaches a class on “Protecting the Creative Class in the Digital Age.” Linda proudly serves on the Board of Directors for Leadership Music and the Gospel Music Association.

Interim Chief Technology Officer

City of New York

Alby Bocanegra currently serves the people of New York as Interim Chief Technology Officer in the Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer (MOCTO), after having served as chief of staff for the previous CTO. He has dedicated his career to building expertise in talent architecture, business strategy and performance management with a passion for civic tech. The office of the CTO is committed to make NYC the world’s leading city for tech development, and is the central point of contact for technology companies, startups, entrepreneurs, nonprofits and academia who want to engage with government to promote tech development.

Immersive Director, Founder

Vrai Pictures

Jessica Brillhart is an immersive director, writer, and theorist who is widely known for her pioneering work in virtual reality. She is the founder of the mixed reality studio, Vrai Pictures. Previously, Brillhart was the Principal Filmmaker for VR at Google where she worked with engineers to develop Google Jump, a virtual reality live-action ecosystem. She was recognized as a pioneer in the field of immersive technology and entertainment by MIT and was part of their TR35 list in 2017. Most recently, Brillhart delivered the Convergence Keynote at SXSW 2019 and launched a spatial audio platform, Traverse, which won SXSW’s Special Jury Prize for The Future of Experience.

Commissioner, NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment

Anne del Castillo is the acting commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), which supports the economic development of the city’s creative sectors and nightlife industry. Anne has over 25 years of experience in film production, public media, and arts and nonprofit administration. Prior to joining city government, she was vice president of development and business affairs at American Documentary, producer of the award-winning PBS documentary series POV. As associate director of the Austin Film Society, she oversaw the Texas Filmmakers Production Fund and was part of the initial task force that led the development of Austin Studios. She has served as a panelist for the National Endowment of the Arts, Center for Asian American Media, and New York State Council on the Arts, among others, and presented at industry events, including South by Southwest and the Sithengi Film and TV Market in South Africa. Anne received her BA in English literature and BS in mass communications with honors from Boston University and earned her JD at Brooklyn Law School. She was honored with a Rising Star Award in 2017 and currently serves on the board of women.nyc.

Director of Entrepreneurship Programs

NYC Media Lab

Amy Chen is Director of Entrepreneurship Programs at NYC Media Lab where she leads the Combine, NYC Media Lab’s venture platform to advance entrepreneurship in emerging media technology. Amy funds and supports early-stage founders who are building scalable ventures that leverage technologies like virtual and augmented reality or applications of AI, machine learning and blockchain. Amy graduated from Barnard College with a BA in Economics and from NYU Stern School of Business with an MBA.

Senior Editor

Billboard

Danica Daniel is the Senior Editor at Billboard. Brooklyn-bred, Danica grew up with pen marks on her clothes and ink on her fingers. By 15 she was working as a consultant and freelance writer for several local magazines and serving as a “Trendspotter” and tastemaker for Teen People. In 2004 she graduated Magna Cum Laude from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, and became one of the youngest Editor-In-Chief’s in magazine history becoming the Editor-In-Chief of Black Beat & Right On! Magazines. Her work has appeared in BMI MusicWorld, Music Times, Teen People, Juicy Magazine, CentricTV, Dr. Jays Live!, Mogul and Broadway.com

Director of Record Label Business Development

Google Inc.

Waleed currently leads Record Label Business Development for North America at YouTube. In this role, he is responsible for negotiating YouTube’s licensing agreements with the three global major record labels as well as Vevo and all independent and non-standard recorded music distributors. Waleed’s work has enabled YouTube to launch the YouTube Music subscription service in 43 countries globally, adding a paid music option to YouTube’s existing ad-supported business. Prior to his current role, Waleed spent 5 years on the legal team at Google where he was most recently Senior Counsel for music across Google products and services, including YouTube and Google Play Music. Before joining Google in 2011, Waleed spent 6 years at Viacom, Inc. in the Business & Legal Affairs department.

Consumer Editorial Director

Billboard

Ian Drew is the Consumer Editorial Director at Billboard group, overseeing all consumer content across platforms. Before joining Billboard, he led global editorial teams at Apple Music and Wenner Media, publisher of Rolling Stone, Us Weekly, and Men’s Journal.

SVP, Digital Strategy & Business Development

Universal Music Group

Jonathan Dworkin is Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy and Business Development at Universal Music Group, the world leader in music-based entertainment. Dworkin works closely with the company’s senior management team to develop digital strategy, cultivate key partnerships and advance business development globally. He is responsible for overseeing the integration of the company’s digital strategy throughout its international organization. Dworkin has more than two decades of experience in the music industry, having previously held roles as an artist manager to Grammy-winning producers and executive roles at Lagardere, Nokia, MixRadio and Warner Music Group. He holds a BA from Colgate University and an MBA from Columbia University.

Senior Executive Director, Policy + Programs

NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment

Shira Gans is the Senior Executive Director of Policy and Programs at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. Shira is the architect and director of the City’s music industry economic development portfolio; directs all workforce and education programming; produces policy reports; and was responsible for setting-up New York City’s first-ever new Office of Nightlife.  Before joining the Mayor’s Office, Shira was the Senior Policy Director at the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs, the City’s consumer protection agency. Previously, Shira has held positions at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Office of Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer; the New York City Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget; the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and a San Francisco based legal firm monitoring mental health care in California prisons.

Shira holds a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in public policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at University of California, Berkeley.

Content Strategy
Splice

Throughout his career, Eric has helped companies bridge the gap between data and creativity. Previous experience includes working in a Chief of Staff capacity to the CEO of Warner Music Group, vetting marquee artist signings as well as corporate M&A transactions. And after a short stint in the A&R department of Interscope/Geffen Records, he currently works on Content Strategy at Splice, helping to build out the Sounds platform. Eric plays guitar and piano and performs in several NYC-based bands. He holds a Bachelors degree from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Owner

The Justice Dept

Jennifer Justice is an entertainment executive known for her expertise in building artists’ careers and business portfolios. JJ began her career as an entertainment attorney at Carroll, Guido and Groffman. Her roster of clients included Jay-Z, Slipknot and Mark Ronson, and negotiated the agreement for Jay-Z and Roc Nation with Live Nation, JJ joined Jay-Z to build Roc Nation in 2010. As GC and EVP, she aided the creation of major strategic partnerships and served as Jay-Z’s personal entertainment attorney for a total of 17 years as well as Beyonce’s personal attorney for a year. JJ joined Superfly in 2016 as the President of Corporate Development, a role created for her to expand the portfolio of the then 17 year old live experience company. During her 3 year tenure, Superfly expanded their portfolio of experiences and raised a funding round. JJ co-founded her newest venture The Justice Department which serves to advise and consult female founders,executives and talent from a legal, corporate & business development lens. In addition, she is a board member of USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, executive board member for She Is The Music, the domestic violence organization, Freeform, BSE Global and One Hope Wines.

CEO, Downtown Music Holdings

Co-founder, NY is Music

Justin Kalifowitz is founder and CEO of Downtown Music Holdings, a global music company that owns and operates Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust®, AVL Digital Group, and Downtown Music Studios. Through its portfolio companies, Downtown is the world’s leading provider of end-to-end services to artists, songwriters, labels, music publishers and other rights holders. Managing millions of music copyrights across its various companies, representing more than one million artists, labels, and other rights holder companies, Downtown’s catalog spans more than 100 years of popular music, including music for film and television, and the single largest independent sound recording catalogs in the industry.

Born and raised in New York, Kalifowitz is a graduate of the City University of New York—Baruch College and is co-founder of NY is Music, a non-profit coalition dedicated to advancing the importance of music in economic development, culture, and education in New York State.

President and Chief Mastering Engineer

The Lodge 

Emily Lazar Founder & Chief Mastering Engineer The Lodge Emily Lazar is a GRAMMY-winning mastering/mix engineer. In 1997 Lazar founded The Lodge, a world-renowned recording facility. Equipped with state-of-the art equipment and out-of-the-box ideology, it attracts the industry’s most esteemed artists as well as its’ most prominent newcomers. Credits: David Bowie, Foo Fighters, Beck, Coldplay, Sia, Vampire Weekend, Panic! At The Disco, Lou Reed, The Killers, Dolly Parton, Haim, Little Big Town, Destiny’s Child etc. Lazar made history as the first woman mastering engineer to win the GRAMMY for Best Engineered Album Non-Classical for Beck’s Colors. Although garnering many “ceiling-breaking” “first ever” nominations, her 2019 win coincided the Annenberg Inclusion study which revealed that women comprise only 3% of the industry’s engineers. Her acceptance speech noted the historic moment and elevated the conversation globally. Lazar serves on The Recording Academy’s P&E Wing Steering Committee, Advisory Council, Board of Governors, is P&E Wing NY Co-Chair and is a Trustee-elect. Lazar holds a BA in Creative Writing/Music, Skidmore College, and a MUMT master’s in Music Technology, NYU.

author/journalist/radio host

SiriusXM

Alan Light is the author of numerous books about music and is the co-host of the daily music talk show “Debatable” on SiriusXM. The former Editor-in-Chief of Vibe and Spin magazines and a former Senior Writer at Rolling Stone, he is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and various other publications. His most recent book is “Johnny Cash: The Life and Legacy of the Man in Black.

Vice President, Digital Strategy & Investments

Sony Music Entertainment

As VP of Digital Strategy & Investments for Sony Music Entertainment’s Global Digital Business group, Angela Lopes is responsible for evaluating, recommending and executing investment opportunities across the digital music landscape, and leading a team that supports the identification and development of new strategic digital priorities around the world. Lopes previously was focused on Business Development at Sony Music where she was responsible for finding new potential partnerships and negotiating digital music distribution deals with global partners. Earlier in her career she worked as a strategy consultant for clients across the retail, manufacturing, logistics, and energy industries in roles for McKinsey & Company in London and Port Jackson Partners in Sydney.

CEO

Audiomack Inc.

Dave Macli is an entrepreneur and the CEO and Co-Founder of Audiomack, a music sharing and discovery streaming platform dedicated to moving music forward. Dave is also the founder of DJBooth, a leading source of hip-hop and R&B editorial.

After graduating Quinnipiac University, Dave worked for Doubleclick (prior to its acquisition by Google) and later at Operative Media. In 2012, Dave founded Audiomack to provide artists a place to distribute music free of limits or fees.

Under Macli’s leadership, Audiomack is home to over one million daily active listeners, has been downloaded over 20 million times. and stands among the internet’s go-to platforms for artist discovery.

Founder & CEO

EAROS

Ronnie Madra is a seasoned entrepreneur in the nightlife, hospitality, and entertainment world. He is Co-Founder and Partner of The Butter Group and its leading global nightclub brand, 1 OAK, with locations across New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Dubai and The Maldives. More recently, after suffering from Tinnitus and Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL), Madra founded EAROS, which offers a revolutionary high-fidelity hearing protection product called EAROS ONE for the nightlife, hospitality, sports, and fitness sectors. EAROS ONE allows you to protect your ears in loud environments while still enjoying music, communicating clearly with those around you, and staying immersed in your environment.

Head of Product

Songtrust

Noam has a decade of digital Product Management experience. She has led digital solutions for companies in healthcare, sports, e-commerce, beverage and now music. Her specialty is building teams which can deliver delightful customer experiences while developing effective internal tools with a focus on data integrity.

Project Director

CUNY Creative Arts Team

Ah-Keisha is an award-winning writer, director and creative arts facilitator. She began working professionally as a songwriter and playwright as a teen, and has led workshops for students across many demographics including K-12, college, non-profit organizations, and mental health and rehabilitation centers in NYC and Philadelphia. She is a faculty member and thesis advisor for the Masters of Arts in Applied Theatre program at the City University of New York’s School of Professional Studies, and is Project Director for Sound Thinking NYC, a program of the Creative Arts Team (CAT). Ah-Keisha holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College, and an M.S.Ed in Reading, Writing and Literacy from the University of Pennsylvania.

Head of Business Development & Co-Founder

Steereo

Sean McKenzie is Head of Business Development and Co-Founder at Steereo. An award-winning entrepreneur and 3-time founder, Sean McKenzie has a proven track record of delivering results in fiercely competitive markets by deftly translating cultural trends and consumer insights into high-impact, integrated marketing campaigns. With over 15 years of experience in brand development and strategy, Sean has contributed creative insights working with companies like Nielsen, Nike, P&G, LVMH, and Universal Music Group.

Clinical Associate Professor & Director, Music Business

NYU Steinhardt

Professor Larry Miller is Director of the Music Business program at NYU Steinhardt. He is a music and technology entrepreneur, advisor and host of the Musonomics podcast. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses Music Entrepreneurship, Music Analytics, Strategic Marketing, Global Music Management and the Business Structure of the Music Industry. He advises music creators and rights holders on public policy and litigation, and provided expert testimony before the Copyright Royalty Board and in arbitration, and supports media and technology companies and their financial sponsors on capital formation and growth strategy, digital product/service development, acquisitions and restructuring. Previously, Larry was a Partner at L.E.K. Consulting and a senior member of the firm’s media and entertainment practice.

Larry has commented on CBS, ABC, CNBC, CNN, Fox News and NPR; in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Time, Business Week, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times and Billboard.

Pamela Morris is a Professor of Applied Psychology, the Vice Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs, and incoming Interim Dean at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Having spent a decade in policy research at MDRC before joining the faculty at NYU, Dr. Morris has spent two decades working at the intersection of social policy, practice, developmental psychology, and education. In her Vice Dean role at NYU Steinhardt, Morris oversees 300 faculty across 11 Departments and $39 million in annual research expenditures across 8 Interdisciplinary Research Centers. Morris also continues to engage in research activity alongside her academic leadership role; her current research activity includes an IES-funded partnership with NYC’s Department of Education to support their historic Universal Pre-k expansion, and an NIH-funded randomized trial of a tiered primary/secondary parenting intervention within pediatric primary care. A former William T. Grant scholar, Morris currently serves as a lead editor of the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness and has served on a number of boards and review groups, including the National Academy of Science’s Board on Children, Youth, and Families, and the Institute of Education Sciences’ Early Intervention and Early Childhood Education Panel.

CEO & Founder

SONGS Music Publishing

Matt Pincus is currently an Executive in Residence at LionTree. Most recently, he was the Founder & CEO of SONGS Music Publishing until the company’s exit to Kobalt Capital, Ltd. in December 2017. At the time of its sale, SONGS was the leading independent music publisher of contemporary music in the U.S.

Matt founded SONGS in 2004. Under his leadership, SONGS made itself a contender by pursuing an innovative strategy for a music publishing startup: signing songwriting deals with young contemporary hitmakers like The Weeknd, Lorde, Diplo, & DJ Mustard rather than buying old catalogs of existing songs. During that time, SONGS held the largest market share by copyright outside of the 3 major publishers.

SONGS became one of the highest-returning investments in a startup music pub company.

Vice President, Strategy & Operations

JioSaavn

Simmi Singh is currently Vice President, Strategy & Operations at JioSaavn, India’s #1 music and audio streaming service. She leads the company’s India and global strategy across the consumer, content, creator and advertiser businesses. Simmi has over 10 years of experience across investment banking M&A, corporate strategy, marketing and product management at leading tech, consumer and financial businesses including Intuit, Nomura and Lion Co (Australia’s largest beer and dairy company). She also runs her own business, The Crimson Bride, an online wedding platform for style-savvy South Asian brides to discover wedding inspiration and book vendors. She loves films, travel and photography.

CEO

Cosynd

Jessica Sobhraj is the CEO of Cosynd, an essential toolkit for creators that allows them to register their content with the U.S. Copyright Office and to easily create copyright ownership agreements with their collaborators. With Cosynd, collaborators can reach a consensus about who owns their content, how it can be used, and more through a simple, guided process. Jessica also serves as Chair of Women in Music – the longest running and largest non-profit for women in the music industry that provides resources to thousands of professionals, worldwide. Previously, Jessica led strategic traditional licensing opportunities for music micro-licensing pioneers Rumblefish, where she structured global distribution networks. Jessica also served as the Manager of Digital Content Licensing for SESAC.

Clinical Assistant Professor of Music Business
NYU

Judy Tint is a native New Yorker and lifelong music lover, with over 25 years of experience as an attorney, consultant and producer in the entertainment industry. She represents a variety of artists, songwriters, producers, labels, and other creators, from newcomers to legends. A graduate of Rutgers College and Columbia Law School, she has been a member of the faculty of the NYU Music Business Program since 2008. She serves on the Board of Governors of The Recording Academy’s New York Chapter, has made numerous trips to Capitol Hill as an advocate for artists’ rights, and has lectured extensively at music conferences nationwide. Judy serves on the Boards of both WhyHunger and The Rhythm & Blues Foundation, and is Chair of the Music Division of the ABA Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries.

While she has no intention of quitting her day job, Judy is also a songwriter and musician, and has performed at Carnegie Hall, The Apollo Theater, Radio City Music Hall, The Ryman Auditorium, and many other venues; her television appearances include NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and multiple PBS specials. She is a firm believer in the power of music to change the world.

Chief Executive

Officer Dot Blockchain Media, Inc.

Ken is the CEO and co-founder of Dot Blockchain Media, a company that has introduced a new music file technology architecture to modernize copyright management and media supply chains fit for the digital media age. Ken acts as an experienced independent investor and business advisor for music startups and artists, through his company Digital Daruma, with a specific focus on artist facing music and media service companies. He has invested in numerous promising music startups and music artists over the past decade. His past experience includes 25 years in financial services trading, asset management and senior management positions. He is involved as a board member or advisor in a number of music foundations and academic programs, including the music education charity Little Kids Rock.

CEO

Weav Music

Elomida is the co-founder and CEO of Weav Music. She worked for seven years in banking, eight years in advertising (selling her ad agency to Leo Burnett), four years in business consulting, and a decade in health-related NGOs. She has considerable expertise in health, cosmetics, food, finance, and technology. She’s also volunteered at major patients’ organizations, like EFA and EAACI, and in 2015 co-founded Weav Music with Lars Rasmussen.

Commercial Label Partnerships

Facebook Inc.

Megan West is a member of the Commercial Label Partnerships team at Facebook, Inc. The team works with Facebook’s record label partners to help them maximize the capabilities of Facebook’s family of apps (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Oculus, and What’sApp) to help their artists connect with fans across the globe. Prior to Facebook, West spent much of her career bridging the gap between music and tech, most recently as the VP of Content and Community at SoundCloud, overseeing relationships with major labels and artists, audio partners and emerging creators. Earlier in her career West helped companies including Amazon Music and Microsoft engage with and effectively partner with the music industry. She began her career in artist management.

Music Data Consultant

SoundCloud

I’ve worked in the music industry for over 20 years. Started at Arista Records in the late 90’s. Joined Universal Music Group/Island Def Jam in 2000. Specialized in strategic research and data analysis for active artists, along with finding unsigned talent. Transitioned into the tech world at Shazam, where I was the Head of Music Data Services for 2 1/2 years. Currently working at SoundCloud evaluating revenue potential utilizing their data, along with advising in the creation of data products.

VP, Content & Programming

Pandora

Alex White co-founded Next Big Sound in 2008, while in his last semester at Northwestern University. Next Big Sound raised $7.4M.

On July 1, 2015 Pandora Media (NYSE: P) acquired Next Big Sound, Inc and White is now VP, Content and Programming at Pandora reporting to Scott Greenstein, Chief Content Officer of SiriusXM.

White and his co-founders were featured in Fast Company (#1 most innovative company in the music industry, 2015), Forbes (30 under 30) in the music category three times, Billboard (10 best music companies), Bloomberg BusinessWeek (25 under 25), Entrepreneur Magazine’s 30 under 30 list and many other publications. White is an adjunct professor at NYU, sits on the NY Board of Little Kids Rock and enjoys playing soccer, reading, skiing, and traveling for work and pleasure.

Vice President of Integrated Marketing

Genius

Keisha Wright is VP of Integrated Marketing at Genius, the music media company and world’s biggest music encyclopedia. In her 15+ years as a marketing executive, expert brand strategist, and former youth trend analyst, she has contributed to trade publications, presented at industry conferences on the topic of youth culture, and generated millions of dollars in revenue for Fortune 500 companies through strategic partnerships with consumer brands. Before Genius, Keisha held positions at Vox Media, InStyle, the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center, Macy’s and MTV Networks, creating integrated marketing campaigns comprised of cause-marketing, branded content, and experiential strategies. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and a Master’s degree from Pepperdine University.

VP, Head of Brand Partnerships // Music, Film, Fashion

Nielsen Music

Matt Yazge leads the Brand Sponsorship team at Nielsen Music. Throughout his career at Nielsen, Matt has helped leaders in global entertainment and partnership marketing with their music, film, fashion, and lifestyle marketing strategies. In his current role, he helps brands activate consumers through entertainment to achieve marketing objectives, and measures the impact these entertainment platforms have on brand health and sales. He also helps artists, festivals, award shows, and other music properties represent the value of their audiences to brands and other partners. Matt brings rich experience as a former Nielsen consultant for the Wonka Candy portfolio (formerly owned by Nestle), and leading the Nielsen relationship with Universal Studios Home Entertainment.