Nabil Ayers

Nabil Ayers is the President of Beggars Group US, where he has run campaigns for The National (GRAMMY award winner), Big Thief (5x GRAMMY award nominee), Grimes, Future Islands and St. Vincent as well as reissue campaigns including Pixies’ platinum-selling album Doolittle. Ayers serves on the boards of A2IM and KEXP. He served as a Recording Academy Trustee and elected governor from 2018-2024 and he currently chairs 2 Recording Academy committees. Ayers has been named one of Billboard magazine's "Indie Power Players” consecutively from 2019-2024. 

Ayers co-founded Sonic Boom Records in Seattle at age 25 and has recorded and toured globally as a drummer in several bands. Through his own record label, The Control Group / Valley of Search, he has released music by notable artists including Cate Le Bon, Lykke Li, Bad Brains, The Killers, PJ Harvey and his uncle, the jazz musician Alan Braufman. 

Ayers is the host of “Identified”, a podcast about exploring family dynamics. He is the author of the memoir “My Life in the Sunshine” (Viking, 2022) and has contributed to the New York Times, The Guardian, and GQ on topics of family, race, and music.