2 Days of Innovators, Instigators and Industry Leaders

David Airaudi's main focus at Interscope Geffen A&M Records is translation - taking the ideas, insights and inspirations of the creative community in and around Interscope and rendering real businesses that can flourish in the modern music industry landscape...  David has sat at the forefront of change across Universal Music with deals ranging from Jay Z as Def Jam President to Lebron James "More Than a Game" film - from the creation of the industry's top joint venture (Aftermath, Octone), publishing and recording deals (Gwen, Gaga, U2, Eminem) to the non-traditional ventures (management, film and TV, social media, apparel, consumer electronics, etc.) that are defining the new model...

Mitch Bainwol is Chairman / CEO of the RIAA, the trade group representing the music labels that create, manufacture, or distribute 85 percent of all legitimate music recordings sold in America.  He joined the RIAA in 2003 following a twenty-five year career on Capitol Hill and in politics. During his tenure, Mr. Bainwol has helped the music industry transition its business to the digital world.   He has been a chief advocate for ensuring a level playing field for competing music models and helped secure needed Congressional reforms, such as the PRO-IP Act, that updated our nation’s anti-piracy laws.  Bainwol is widely recognized as one of the entertainment industry’s leading voices in Washington.
 

Scott Borchetta is founder/CEO of the Big Machine Label Group, including Big Machine Records, The Valory Music Company and Republic Nashville. Big Machine Records was Billboard’s #1 Country Album Imprint of 2009, the highest-selling record label group on Music Row.

Big Machine’s signature artist Taylor Swift was the best-selling all-genre artist of 2008 and her album, Fearless, was 2009’s highest-selling album of the year across all genres and was the most awarded album in country music history, having earned Grammy, American Music CMA and ACM
Awards

Formerly Sr. VP of Promotion & Artist Development for all three of UMG’s country imprints, Borchetta was instrumental in the careers of George Strait, Reba McEntire, Randy Travis and Toby Keith.

The Big Machine Label Group’s rosters include Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, Reba McEntire, Jewel, Justin Moore, Jack Ingram, Jimmy Wayne, Steel Magnolia, Melissa Peterman, The Band Perry, Eli Young Band, Sunny Sweeney and Shel.
 

Darren Briggs leads Landmark's Development, Infrastructure and Operations departments, and is responsible for creating the business processes, systems and operational structures that support Landmark's audio recognition technology. He also directs the deployment and implementation of the company's nationwide music monitoring network utilizing BlueArrow technology, a cornerstone for many of Landmark's initiatives and endeavors.Briggs was formerly the Senior Director of BMI's Department of Strategic Development, where he was responsible for investigating and projecting new technology trends in the music industry. He previously worked for 12 years at blue-chip music publishers Tree, Sony and Sony/ATV UK as Director of Global Systems Development. In 2000 Briggs co-founded Fatbubble, Inc., a San Francisco-based social network technology company.

Drew is a Co-Founder at Aloompa, a multifaceted, design and innovation firm that services top entertainment and event brands. He currently oversees sales and business development, working to create strategic partnerships and finding new opportunities for growth in the mobile marketplace. Prior to founding Aloompa, Drew worked with the William Morris Agency and as a tour manager for country artist Gretchen Wilson.
 

As SoundExchange’s VP of New Media and External Affairs, Bryan Calhoun is instrumental in reaching out to artists and rights holders, enhancing and strengthening SoundExchange’s role in the music business community. Bryan was once a disk jockey for the University of Georgia’s radio station, and was already active in the music business upon graduation. He went on to found a concert production company (producing Hip Hop shows in the early 90s with Cypress Hill, Tupac, Digable Planets, and many others) before moving into street promotions and retail marketing. In 2003, Bryan founded Label Management Systems, which created business tools for indie labels and
artists. He has consulted on new media issues for Kanye West, Ludacris and others including working closely with powerhouse management company Hip Hop Since 1978 (Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne, Drake and Young Jeezy).

Ashley Capps founded and owns AC Entertainment, one of the foremost independent concert promoters and event producers in the country.  Capps founded Big Ears and Moogfest and is one of the founders and creative forces behind the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.  AC Entertainment also operates two historic theatres in their home base of Knoxville, TN.

Troy Carter is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Coalition Media Group. He manages multi-platinum Grammy award winner Lady Gaga, among other recording artists. Coalition is a talent management and full-service film and television production company. Carter began his career in Philadelphia working for Will Smith and James Lassiter’s Overbrook Entertainment. In 1995 he joined Bad Boy Entertainment where he worked in the marketing department under Sean “Diddy” Combs, with artists such as Notorious B.I.G. Carter formed the boutique urban talent management company, Erving Wonder, in 1999.

Chris Castle is Managing Partner of Christian L. Castle, Attorneys with offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco.  Founded in 2004, the firm represents a variety of clients in music, motion pictures and television, as well as technology companies and video game publishers.  Chris also consults leading organizations on public policy matters relating to copyright and artist rights including Arts+Labs.  Prior to founding the firm, Chris held senior positions at technology companies and record labels.

Before law school he was the drummer for Long John Baldry, Rand Bishop, Yvonne Elliman and Jesse Winchester among others, and was a member of Local 47, American Federation of Musicians AFL-CIO.

Jamie Cheek is an Entertainment Industry Business Manager with Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy Inc., specializing in comprehensive business and financial management for a select roster of recording artists including:  Pearl Jam, Butch Vig, Wynonna, The Black Keys, Kings of Leon, Dierks Bentley, Shirley Manson/Garbage, Kaki King, Gomez, Mason Jennings, The Low Anthem and Eric Church.  Jamie is a graduate of the University of Richmond and received his MBA from the Owen School of Management at Vanderbilt University.  He is former Treasurer for the Nashville Film Festival, a graduate, former Treasurer and current President of Leadership Music, board member of CASA, Inc., Charter Board Member of TN Volunteer Lawyers for The Arts, an active volunteer for the Nashville Humane Association and a member of both NARAS and the Country Music Association. Prior to joining Flood Bumstead McCready & McCarthy Inc., Jamie was an Audit Consultant for the New York Stock Exchange.

Ben Cockerham is co-founder, CFO and Chief Strategy Officer at RightsFlow, a leading licensing and royalty service provider.  He has an extensive background in business development, international rights issues and negotiations, accounting, IT, network operations and music history.

Ben's lifelong passion for and involvement with music and songwriting has fueled his commitment to finding a way to simplify publisher licensing in order to ensure that creators are paid for their work.  RightsFlow represents 10,000+ clients including artists, labels, distributors and music services, helping them to properly license, account and pay songwriters and publishers worldwide. Ben's understanding of the ever-changing copyright landscape also helps the company navigate new legislative changes impacting rates and licensing requirements.

Prior to RightsFlow, Ben worked for The Orchard, Metropolitan Talent/Hybrid Records, and Sam Griffin & Co., and holds degrees from Baylor University and New York University.  He was recently selected for Billboard's '30 Under 30' list.

Cohen knows how to create “buzz” that successfully elevates brands to cult status. In 1997, Cohen partnered with music promotions whiz Rob Stone at Cornerstone. Together they successfully apply their collective music marketing knowledge to launch emerging brands and re-energize high profile consumer brands such as Mountain Dew, Microsoft, Levi’s, Converse, and Red Stripe. In 1998 Cohen and Stone launched FADER, an edgy culture magazine. Years later, Cohen and Stone launched artist-friendly FADER Films, that has  released critically acclaimed motion pictures including “Hooked: The Legend of Demetrius ‘Hook’ Mitchell” and “On The Outs.” Prior to Cornerstone, Cohen served as Vice President of Columbia Records’ alternative music department.
 

Russ Crupnick is a nationally recognized expert on entertainment trends and provides executive-level guidance, and industry analysis to NPD's clients, as well as expert media commentary.

Russ led the team that founded NPD's MusicWatch services in 2000 and developed the Entertainment practice by adding a concentration on home video, and expanded the focus again with tracking of consumer trends in entertainment, social networking, device usage and connectivity.

Russ has appeared as a commentator for broadcast news outlets including CBS "Marketwatch", Fox Business Channel, NPR and CNBC. He has been extensively quoted on industry trends in Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Billboard, Video Business, and Variety and other leading business and trade publications. He is a regularly featured speaker at the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA), Digital Media Wire, DisplaySearch and Home Media Retailing conferences.

Russ is Executive-In-Residence at the NYU Steinhardt Music Business Graduate Program. He is a 2009 alumnus of Nashville's prestigious Leadership Music program.

Ansel Davis is an entertainment attorney with a nationwide practice, whose transition from securities law began with a chance introduction to Neil Diamond. Since that event over 15 years ago, he has served in a variety of industry roles, including head of business affairs for Capitol Records Nashville and co-managing partner of the Atlanta office of Greenberg Traurig, which boasts one of the largest entertainment practices in the country. Ansel later returned to Nashville and established his own firm.  Ansel Davis & Associates provides legal counsel to a variety of artists, songwriters, publishers and music industry executives. More recently, he also serves as personal manager to select artists through Martingale Entertainment, LLC.
 

Karl Dean is the sixth mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Karl’s priorities as mayor are education, public safety, economic development, and improving Nashville’s high quality of life. During his two years in office, Karl has acted as a strong advocate for education reform in Metro Nashville Public Schools, fully funding the budget for Metro schools despite cuts in most other departments. He formed the Project for Student Success task force to increase student engagement and reduce high school dropouts and added initiatives related to teacher recruitment and school choice. Karl spearheaded the creation of a Procurement Non-Discrimination Program within Metro Government to help women- and minority-owned businesses receive a fair share of Metro Government contracts.  Mayor Dean also served as Nashville’s Public Defender  and as Metro Law Director before running for the office of mayor.
 

James DeLong is a Visiting Fellow at DigitalSociety.org, and has worked on issues of intellectual property and tech generally for the Convergence Law Institute, the Progress & Freedom Foundation, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and the National Legal Center for the Public Interest.  His government service included tours as Research Director of the Administrative Conference of the United States; Assistant Director for Special Projects in the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the FTC; and Senior Analyst in the Office of Program Evaluation at the United States Bureau of the Budget. Mr. DeLong is a magna cum laude graduate of the Harvard Law School, where he was Book Review Editor of the Harvard Law Review, and a cum laude graduate of Harvard College, where he majored in U.S. History. He is the author of many scholarly and popular books, articles, commentaries, legal briefs, speeches, and blogs, and has appeared often before congressional committees.
 

Mr. Dreskin is a founder and co-CEO of Ticketfly, Inc., a fast growing ticketing and marketing company. He is a founder of the Virgin Mobile Festival, a music and arts festival. Mr. Dreskin was a founder, and president and CEO of TicketWeb, the first company to sell event tickets via the Internet and later acquired by Ticketmaster in 2000. Prior to founding TicketWeb, Mr. Dreskin was the co-founder of Energy Media, an early web design firm; the executive vice president of Beserkley Records; and the director of marketing at California Concerts. Until its acquisition by Knitting Factory Entertainment, Mr. Dreskin was the largest outside shareholder in the Big Easy Concert House chain of concert venues in the Pacific Northwest. He holds a B.A. from Tulane University, where he is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council. He serves on numerous Boards of Directors including Headcount, a non-profit voter registration organization.

Tim DuBois' storied career has included recognition as a songwriter, manager, record executive and producer. Five songs that he has co-written have been No. 1 hits and he has received two Grammy Award nominations. As a producer, he's had over twenty No. 1 and top 5 singles and more than a dozen gold, platinum, and double platinum albums. Tapped to open a Nashville division of Arits Records in 1989, DuBois discovered and signed Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Brad Paisley, BlackHawk, Pam Tillis and Diamond Rio, selling more than 75 million records worldwide in just four years. After serving as president of Gaylord Entertainment's Creative Content Group in 2001, DuBois went on to head Universal South Records from 2002 until 2006. He joined ASCAP in 2010 as Vice President and Manging Executive in Nashville. DuBois is currently or formerly on the boards of CMA, ACM, CMF, NSAI, Leadership Music, NARAS, and SunTrust Bank. He is a co-founder and board member of MyWerx LLC and also the former chairman of the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"Justin Eshak is a talent manager at Mick Artists Management - a boutique management company based in Brooklyn, NY whose roster includes John Mayer, Ray Lamontagne, Natalie Merchant, Brett Dennen, The Walkmen, Erin McCarley, and Rocco Deluca. Before joining Mick Artists Management in 2007, Justin served as the Director of A&R for Universal Republic Records. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 2002."
 

Rod Essig is with Creative Artists Agency, a full service talent agency representing the most creative and successful professionals working in film, television, music, theatre, video games, and sports. He is presently the responsible agent for some of the biggest names in music including Buxton Hughes, Heart, Julianne Hough, LeAnn Rimes, Martina McBride, REO Speedwagon, Styx, Tim McGraw, and Whitney Duncan. He has many affiliations on boards in the community. In 2008, Rod served as Chairman of the Academy of Country Music. Through the years, he has gained the respect of his clients and industry peers and has received numerous awards and honors. Rod enjoys giving back to the community and is a donor and volunteer to many local charities.

Mike Flynn is a Grammy nominated producer/songwriter and the current Head of A&R at Epic Records. He has worked with many successful artists such as The Fray, Sara Bareilles, Howie Day, Shakira, Incubus, Sean Kingston, The Script and more. He produced both of The Frays albums selling over 4 million records and 15 million singles. Mike has been working with Sony Music for 6 years and is now at an executive level where he is finding, developing and producing new talent.

Nick Francis creates websites for Project83 in Nashville, Tennessee. He specializes in user-friendly design, front-end development and the mobile web. He is also co-founder of web startup Brightwurks, creators of an app called Feed My Inbox, who now has over 150k customers worldwide.

As Senior Vice President of Music Strategy for CMT, Jay Frank oversees music strategy for all of the network's on-air and digital music initiatives including CMT, CMT.com, CMT Mobile, touring and other businesses.  He works closely with music labels and artists to create promotions leveraging all of the CMT brands to enhance artist reach.  Under Frank's leadership, music video ratings reached an all-time high for the channel with an aggressive multi-platform strategy.  Frank came to CMT from Yahoo! Music where he was Vice President of Music Programming and Label Relations.

The Ultimate Chart is the first and only measure of all of the ways in which music is popular, everywhere. Partners and sources for the Ultimate Chart include retailers, broadcasters, subscription services, social networks and other venues where fans demonstrate their passion for music: Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, VEVO, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, MTV, ClearChannel, Yahoo! Music, AOL, Microsoft, Rhapsody, Napster, We Are Hunted, LastFM and many more.

WIRED magazine declares BigChampagne is "the Nielsen ratings" of online music. Fast Company: "The Ultimate Chart will shake up an industry." The New York Times: "BigChampagne taps into a common frustration about how success can be measured." Bob Lefsetz: "It's like we're putting glasses on the music industry, the details are finally coming into focus." MTV: "synthesizes the statistics and determines which songs are truly the biggest."

Steve Goodgold started his career in music in 1998, when he went to work for a boutique music booking agency called Chaotica, which was owned by Gerry Gerrard.  Chaotica's roster at that time was focused on the best in electronic music:  The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, Underworld, The Orb and many others including rock bands like Primal Scream.  Within 10 years he helped Chaotica grow to be one of the most reputable agencies in dance music.  In 2008, he was recruited by Tom Windish and The Windish Agency where he presently works as a booking agent, with a client roster including acclaimed artists:  Little Boots, Dan Black, The Glitch Mob, UNKLE, Sasha, John Digweed and Steve Angello.

Richard, co-founder of The Orchard, is a legendary songwriter, multi-platinum producer and music industry executive. His songs have been recorded by David Bowie, George Thorogood, Aaron Carter, Jerry Lee Lewis and many others. Richard co-founded Sire Records (later sold to the Time Warner Corporation) which quickly became one of the industry's leading independent record companies. Its roster included Madonna, the Talking Heads, the Ramones, the Pretenders and Depeche Mode. Drawing on his wide range of experience and broad overview of the music industry, Richard has been instrumental in developing and shaping the way music is distributed and sold throughout the world.
 

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. Jim started and runs Choruss LLC, incubated by Warner Music Group. He started and ran the technology department at Geffen Records. Jim testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee at its oversight hearing on file sharing and music licensing. He also serves as an expert witness in digital entertainment. In addition to work with music, his expertise includes wireless work in Europe, including Nokia's Research Center in Helsinki, Finland, and other numerous companies throughout Europe.

Jay Harren began his career in the music industry in 1997 at Atlanta’s powerhouse alternative radio station 99X/WNNX where he was the music director of the station as well as founder and host of the acclaimed program Sunday School a show credited with helping break several bands including The Killers, The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys and more. During this time Jay also managed bands including Universal/Polydor’s The Hiss. In May of 2006 Jay left 99X, to accept the position of A&R Manager at Columbia Records in New York where he has signed buzz band Manchester Orchestra, who just finished a sold-out headlining tour of the US, and Hey Monday, a power-pop band that too just wrapped up a sold out national headlining tour.

Daniel Higbee is the Creative Director in the licensing department of Secret Road, a boutique music services company in Los Angeles. Hailing from Kansas City, Higbee traded his midwest Triple A radio job for a position at LA company Sugaroo!, pitching clients like Ani DiFranco and Epitaph Records for film & television. On the side he freelanced for Jennifer Pyken, assisting the music supervisor with her television projects Las Vegas and LOST. Now at Secret Road, he pitches a small roster of independent acts and labels for a variety of film, television, and advertising projects landing notable placements in shows like Grey's Anatomy, Parenthood, Entourage and ads like the 2009 Honda Insight campaign. Secret Road specializes in one-stop shop pitching and are the licensing home of several Nashville acts, including Katie Herzig, Matthew Perryman Jones, Apache Relay and Andrew Belle.
 

Linda Edell Howard is a partner with Adams and Reese and the Entertainment/New Media Team Leader on Music Row. She represents recording artists, their Estates; songwriters; online music distributors; artist-friendly industry players; innovators; and key industry executives.

She practiced in NJ then NY where she handled international copyright matters for Elvis Presley and George Gershwin estates.

She was VP Operations (NY) for PolyGram Music. She was a partner with Loeb & Loeb.

NBJ “Best of the Bar”-Entertainment Law (2004-07). Chambers Leader in Media/Entertainment. The Best Lawyers in America (Entertainment/IP). Mid-South SuperLawyers (Entertainment & Sports)(2006-10). She was selected for “2010 Best 150 Lawyers in Tennessee.”

She was raised on the Jersey shore, where she was a photographer for the likes of Springsteen and BonJovi. While in law school, she held “court” at the Stone Pony, where any artist (Sundays 10pm-2am) could bring in contracts and she would help them for the payment of a slice of pizza (and a beer).

As EVP and General Counsel, Mr. Huppe is responsible for overseeing all legal, regulatory, legislative and corporate issues for SoundExchange, the sole Collective designated by the U.S. Copyright Office for the collection of performance royalties in digital media. In recent years, he has directed SoundExchange’s strategy for various rate- setting proceedings, including those which set new rates and terms for webcasting and satellite radio services.

Prior to joining SoundExchange, Mr. Huppe was Senior Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs and Deputy General Counsel with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) where he was involved in protecting the rights of the RIAA's member recording labels and their artists, in both digital and physical media.

Mr. Huppe received his B.A. from the University of Virginia, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School, and has also lectured at George Washington School of Law and George Mason Law School.

"As a teen all Seth Hurwitz wanted to do was put on shows.  Though he tried to produce a concert in junior high, he was told he was too young.  So he waited – but not for long. The first show he produced took place in his high school.  Not long after, working out of his bedroom in his parents’ home, he and his high school teacher Rich Heineke launched I.M.P., which today is one of the most successful independent concert promotion and production companies in the nation.
 
In its 30 years, I.M.P. has presented 10,000 events, hosting millions of music fans. In addition to launching Virgin Festival in the U.S., and managing and programming Merriweather Post Pavilion, I.M.P. also own Washington, D.C.’s legendary 9:30 Club, the most attended club of its size in the world. The company recently launched a new label: 9:30 Records.
"
 

"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.

Her book Music Success in Nine Weeks has helped over 1,000 musicians navigate the confusing world of Social Media and Online Marketing.

She proudly serves on the boards of Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, SoundCtrl, and she is on the advisory board for the New Music Seminar.M70"
 

David Israelite is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA).

Previously Israelite served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Counselor to the Attorney General of the US, and was appointed as Chairman of the Department’s Task Force on Intellectual Property.

Israelite was Senator Kit Bond’s Administrative Assistant, and later Campaign Manager. Israelite then served as the Director of Political and Government Affairs for the RNC.

Israelite practiced law in Missouri, earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri and received a B.A. in Political Science and Communications from William Jewell College.

In 2000, Naveen Jain, founder and CEO of Sparkart, did a WHOIS lookup on the domain for a band he liked and called the phone number on the listing.  He convinced the band to work with Sparkart on their website and got his break in the music business.  Since then, Naveen has executed hundreds of successful campaigns for top entertainment and consumer brands and has built Sparkart into an industry powerhouse.  In 2003, he conceived of Bandbuilder, an analytics platform for flash applications that was used by Warner Bros. Records, Interscope, Geffen, and Capitol.  In 2006, he conceived of Clique Tools, a content management and direct-to-consumer platform with millions of users.  Naveen is also the co-founder of award winning social gaming startup vDream Racing.

"John Janick understands what kind of music teenagers like: He was a teen himself when he launched indie record label Fueled By Ramen from his University of Florida dorm room.

His first bands sold just a few thousand albums apiece. But in 2002, the Florida native hit the charts with Chicago band Fall Out Boy. The group released three albums on the Fueled By Ramen label, and two of them went platinum.

After Mr. Janick orchestrated a deal that moved Fall Out Boy to major label Island Records, his company continued to thrive, thanks to new groups such as Paramore and Panic at the Disco. In 2007, Mr. Janick inked a distribution deal with Atlantic Records and moved his label to Manhattan, 11 years after its humble launch.

“He works hard to develop a band from embryo on out,” says Atlantic Records President Julie Greenwald. “John doesn’t stay an island unto himself.”

Mr. Janick’s hands-on style has enabled him to forge a close-knit community with his artists and employees, offering both the resources of a major label and the familiarity of an indie.

“When you work constantly, you have to like the people you work with,” says the entrepreneur, who often invites artists over for dinner.

And despite industrywide woes, Fueled By Ramen’s “360 deals” which cover everything from album production to concert tours give the firm access to myriad revenue streams. The label has sold more than 10 million albums since 2003, and sources say it has annual revenue in excess of $30 million."

Born in 1973, Matthew Perryman Jones is a singer-songwriter who currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Jones began his career in 1997, playing his first public performances in Georgia. In 2006 he released the critically acclaimed album Throwing Punches in the Dark. In 2008 he released the highly anticipated “Swallow the Sea.” Between those two records, his songs have found their way into over eighteen film and network television shows. Jones has toured the country extensively with artists such as Shawn Colvin, Ingrid Michaelson, Katy Herzig and others and will continue on the road this fall in support of his latest project, “The Distance In Between EP."
 

Cassie Lord is General Manager and Executive Producer of 5 Alarm Music and Rescue Records. 5Alarm Music encompasses every aspect of the music production industry; creating original works, representing composers, publishers, music libraries and independent artists. Recent feature films licenses are "The Karate Kid", "The A Team Movie", “Killers”, and television shows like, “Gossip Girl”, “United States Of Tara”, “The Office” “The Good Wife”, “Castle”, “True Blood” “Hung”, “Breaking Bad”, and “Big Love”.

Her 20-year background began with BMI, and then transitioned to the show “Star Search.” She played a pivotal role in building EMI/BMG’s, APM from its inception as their National Sales Director. She was instrumental in establishing the Film & Television Division for Zomba’s music library company, FirstCom. During the Internet boom, she worked with “Thomas Dolby’s company, Beatnik, delivering music and ringtones for digital devices. Cassie currently is on the Board of the PMA.

Dennis Lord gained fame in the country music field as the co-writer of Travis Tritt’s breakthrough hit “I’m a Member of the Country Club (Country Music is what I love).” After years of refining the craft of songwriting, he had finally gained the success he wanted and yet he realized a life as a songwriter wasn’t for him. He stepped back into his legal background and combined his passion for music as the President of SESAC. He discovered that licensing music was challenging and very rewarding for him and soon the company grew and expanded.
 

Jim has worked in digital music strategy and corporate development for 10 years. Before The Echo Nest, Jim was a music lawyer at Greenberg Traurig, specializing in music and digital media deals. Clients included multi-platinum and independent artists, music publishers, digital entertainment companies and branded entertainment. Prior to GT, Jim held sales and corporate development positions at Hughes, where he managed market development and sales with annual revenues exceeding $20 Million. Jim was also Chief Strategy Officer of Webnoize/DMN, a digital entertainment research and advisory company serving over 500 clients. Jim plays drums and still represents a few indie artists pro bono for fun.
 

Kent Marcus established KMM, P.C, an entertainment law firm based in Nashville, Tennessee, to provide focused business affairs and legal counsel for current and established artists and new-model, entertainment/marketing companies in the redefining music industry. Today, KMM, P.C. represents some of the top names in the entertainment industry, including a diverse array of grammy award-winning, cross-genre artists, record labels and distributors, producers, writers, major and independent publishers, film production companies, actors, music festivals, digital service providers, management companies, and artist estates.

The attorney behind Kings of Leon, Kent was also instrumental in the creation and drafting of the first new artist "360" agreement, and continues to provide counsel to labels, publishers and management companies for the structure and operation of new-model agreements. Kent is a frequent guest speaker at some of the top universities and graduate programs across the United States, remains an active volunteer for the Tennessee Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, Musicians on Call, and Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, and is a member of Leadership Music class of 2010.
 

Matarazzo is the head of Search Party’s new west coast office. Her recent feature projects include director Thomas Campbell’s surf movie THE PRESENT and Wes Anderson’s FANTASTIC MR. FOX, along with Randall Poster. Recent commercial campaigns include AMERICAN EXPRESS “Zync” for Ogilvy & Mather, New York and TARGET’s upcoming 2010 holiday push through Wieden+Kennedy.
Prior to joining Search Party, Sara was a music producer at Ogilvy & Mather, New York where she actively worked on a long line of A-level brands including: American Express, Motorola, DHL, Unilever, and Fanta.
While at Ogilvy, one of Sara’s notable American Express spots, a joint effort with Search Party and director Wes Anderson, took home numerous awards, including a Gold Effie, a Silver Andy, and two AICP Awards for Visual Style and Advertising Excellence.

 Michael W. McKeehan is the Executive Director, Internet & Technology Policy for Verizon.  Previously, Mr. McKeehan was a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff in the Verizon Technology Organization, responsible for developing platform and service requirements for a variety of narrow- and wide-band communications initiatives. He holds multiple U.S. patents on call forwarding services using advanced intelligent networking technology.  Mr. McKeehan has B.S.E.E., M.B.A., and J.D. degrees, all from the University of Maryland, and is a member of the Maryland and federal bar associations.
 

Tamara leads marketing for Eventbrite; focusing on customer acquisition, retention, and branding. She is passionate about spreading the good word for Eventbrite and the magic of bringing people together through events. She is equally obsessed with the power of social media and believes that technology changes everything. Prior to Eventbrite, Tamara was a senior analyst with Forrester Research, an independent technology research and consulting firm. As an expert on eCommerce and trends in how consumers integrate technology into shopping, Tamara authored research reports and worked with both retailers and technology vendors to help them shape their strategies. She spoke regularly at industry events, sat on the advisory boards of several industry associations, and has been quoted in top newspapers and journals. Tamara is a graduate of MIT Sloan School of Management and received her bachelor's degree in comparative literature and economics from Wellesley College.

Lawrence Mestel brings 20 years of entertainment industry experience to Primary Wave Music Publishing. Primary Wave's extensive catalog includes the songs of Kurt Cobain, Steven Tyler, John Lennon, Def Leppard, Hall and Oates, Chicago, Steve Earle, and Steven Curtis Chapman among many others.  In addition to music publishing, Primary Wave has a talent management division, a games division, and an intellectual property creation company which also includes records. Before forming Primary Wave Music, Mr. Mestel was Chief Operating Officer and GM of Virgin Records, where he was responsible for all marketing, sales and business-related aspects of the company. During his tenure, Mr. Mestel worked with iconic artists including The Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson, and Lenny Kravitz. Prior to that, Mr. Mestel was EVP and GM at Arista, managing sales, international and strategic marketing, A&R and marketing administration, finance and business affairs. While at Arista, he developed such artists as Avril Lavigne, Outkast, Usher, Pink, Carlos Santana, Dido among many others.

Mark Montgomery is a Nashville-based music and technology entrepreneur and consultant best known for his pioneering use of B2C marketing and e-commerce in the entertainment industry. An active advocate, speaker and philanthropist in the Nashville business community, he was co-founder of a multi-faceted digital marketing and distribution company known as echo. After exiting in 2009, he began pursuing a variety of entrepreneurial ventures. In addition to serving as EIR for Claritas Capital, he is a frequent keynote speaker and panelist at industry functions throughout the US. Additionally, Montgomery sits on the boards of numerous professional and private organizations including the Nashville Center for Entrepreneurship, Leadership Music  and is the co-chair of the Branding and Jobs Committee for Nashville Music Council.  More at hellomarko.com.

Christopher Moon has over 15 years experience as an artist manager, working both independently (at his own company Anhedonia Management) and within a larger collective (spending 5 years at Nettwerk Management).  Along with developing the career of international artist Josh Rouse, Chris has also worked with Landon Pigg, Rosie Thomas, Venus Hum and Kyle Andrews.  Chris enjoys explore creative ways to further his artists careers, whether it be nurturing partnerships with Blue Man Group  for Venus Hum, spearheading a ground breaking subscription based digital download store for Josh Rouse utilizing Topspin or helping to secure a role for Landon Pigg in a Drew Barrymore film.
 

Brenden Mulligan has seen the music industry from almost every angle. Throughout his career, he's worked as a label exec, manager, agent's assistant, promoter/talent buyer, and tour manager. In 2008, he launched ArtistData to help artists manage the overwhelming number of online resources continually appearing online and offline. Today, tens of thousands of musicians use ArtistData, which was recently acquired by Sonicbids, to simultaneously publish information to over 20 social networks and concert databases, as well as print tour documents and alert local press about upcoming gigs. Mulligan continues to innovate in the music industry and create products that help musicians take the next steps in their careers.
 

Oertley is responsible for directing the annual Leadership Music program, the Leadership Music Dale Franklin Award, the Leadership Music Digital Summit, and other related events. In her 20 year career with VNU Business Media, Oertley served as Vice President of the Billboard Music Group, Group Publisher of Musician magazine, and Publisher and Editor in Chief of Amusement Business. She also held oversight of VNU's Nashville office housing Billboard, Airplay Monitor, Amusement Business, and Musician. She later served as Publisher of Hospitality Design magazine, in New York.

Oertley is a Leadership Music alumna, class of 1995. She has served on the Leadership Music Board of Directors, as well the Alumni Committee, the Digital Summit Marketing committee and other program committees. She has also served on the board of directors of the Academy of Country Music (ACM), the International Entertainment Buyers Association (IEBA), and the Nashville Sports Council.

Kenneth Parks is a digital media executive specializing in the intersection of technology and media.  Parks is currently Managing Director of Spotify USA, responsible for the company's North American operations.

He has held a number of senior management positions in internet-related businesses, including Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development for EMI Music, where he had worldwide commercial and business affairs responsibility for exploiting EMI’s recorded music and video repertoire across the spectrum of digital music platforms.  Prior to EMI, he served as General Counsel for GetMusic LLC, a Web 1.0 online music/lifestyle start up, and Chief Technology Counsel at Reuters Group PLC.

Parks obtained his Law Degree from the Columbia University School of Law. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering from Lafayette College and a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University.

Dorrian Porter is the founder and CEO of Mozes. He is an entrepreneur who co-founded HigherMarkets, an on-demand software company in March 2000. He later became CEO and led it to its acquisition by a Nasdaq listed company in 2002. Dorrian worked with the combined company until July 2005, where he helped significantly grow the business and shape the company's product offerings. Previously, Dorrian practiced law at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, California where he represented a wide range of tech companies. Prior to joining WSGR, he worked in Canada as an associate at McCarthy Tetrault, an analyst at Harrowston, Inc. (now TD Capital) and at the Canadian Parliament, including the Prime Minister's Office.

Randall Poster is the music supervisor for some of the year's most talked-about features, such as Mark Romanek's NEVER LET ME GO, Jake Scott's WELCOME TO THE RILEY'S and Shana Feste's COUNTRY STRONG; along with HBO's BOARDWALK EMPIRE (Martin Scorsese/Terence Winter). Other recent credits include Wes Anderson's FANTASTIC MR. FOX, Sam Mende's AWAY WE GO, Todd Phillips' THE HANGOVER and Jason Reitman's UP IN THE AIR. Poster has collaborated with many of the world's most creative and successful filmmakers, including Danny Boyle, Richard Linklater, Jay Roach, Mike Newell, Frank Oz, Kevin Smith, Harmony Korine, Todd Haynes, Allison Maclean, and Sean Penn, among others.

Jeff Price is the Founder and CEO of TuneCore, an aggregator which helps get digital music into online stores. He started the spinART record label which released over 230 releases, including Apollo Sunshine, Apples In Stereo, Frank Black, Vic Chesnutt, Clem Snide, John Doe, Echo and The Bunnymen, The Eels, Michael Penn, The Pixies, Ron Sexsmith, Richard Thompson, and many more. After SpinArt, Price went on to work with eMusic.com, where he eventually became 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.

"Gelya Robb brings a wealth of experience and an innovative point of view to her work with Randall Poster and his Searchparty ventures. Gelya Robb has worked in advertising for eight years producing international television and online campaigns for clients including Coca-Cola, American Express, Kraft, Pepsi and Burt’s Bees. Working both in New York and abroad, Gelya has  consulted for eco-business and artist development in internet radio, electronic music, and consumer insights. Gelya is passionate about sustainable branding and is keenly active in exploring how broadcasting platforms can be used to change mass behaviors. While upholding the standards of traditional advertising, Gelya and her colleagues are focused on ingenuity and creativity in the fast paced changes of current culture, including interactive initiatives, gaming concepts, print, broadcast, eco- and corporate responsibility programs."
 

Steve is responsible for identifying and/or breaking these unsigned acts and hit songs while at Orlando Alternative Rock station 101.1 WJRR: Collective Soul, "Shine", Seven Mary Three ("Cumbersome"), Tabitha's Secret "3 AM",  later became Matchbox 20. After breaking a string of unsigned bands at WJRR, Atlantic Records hired Stevo as an A&R guy to find and develop bands for them full time.  Stevo's signings include platinum rockers Shinedown  and Paramore.  He's been working for Atlantic Records for the past 12 years from his office in Orlando, FL.

Ian Rogers, Chief Executive Officer of Topspin, is a music and technology industry veteran with roots in defining the way artists and consumers promote and experience digital media online. Rogers has been building digital media applications since 1992. He created one of the first music-related Web sites and built many of the original promotional sites for the music and movie industries. Prior to Topspin Rogers was VP and GM Music at Yahoo!, President and CTO at Mediacode, President New Media at Grand Royal, and Webmaster at Nullsoft, makers of Winamp, SHOUTcast and Gnutella.

After moving to Nashville in 1993, Rivers quickly found his place in the world as an entertainer, studio guitarist and songwriter. In 1996, Rivers signed with Universal Music Publishing and remains with the company today. Rutherford's songs have been recorded by many artists, including Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, Blake Shelton, Montgomery Gentry, Chuck Wicks and many other notables.  Rivers received ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year award in 2006, along with Brett James.

While Rivers continues to enjoy songwriting success, he plans to expand performing and recording. "When I'm happy is when I know I've written something I really love," says Rutherford. He wrote Toby Keith's title track "Bullets In A Gun", Lady Antebellum's "When You Got A Good Thing", and several others that have been recorded by Reba, Tim McGraw, Trace Adkins, LeAnn Rimes and Jimmy Wayne.

Julie Samuels, a Staff Attorney at EFF, focuses on intellectual property issues. Before joining EFF, Julie litigated IP and music cases in Chicago at Loeb & Loeb and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Julie spent time as a legislative assistant at the Media Coalition in New York and as an assistant editor at the National Journal Group in D.C.  Julie earned her JD from Vanderbilt University and her B.S. in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Fred Santarpia (MS) is General Manager of VEVO, the web’s number one premium music video and entertainment service. Created in partnership by Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and Abu Dhabi Media Company, VEVO operates independently with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and San Francisco.

Santarpia, who oversees all operations at VEVO, is based in the company’s New York City headquarters.

Prior to joining VEVO in 2009, Santarpia was Vice President, Operations and Finance at UMG’s eLabs division, where he was responsible for the expansion and operation of UMG’s digital media business across its network of artist & label web properties and syndicated affiliates.

Previously, Santarpia held senior roles in the UMG Global Finance and Global IT organizations. Prior to that, he was Finance Manager of Techspace Inc., a start-up technology company. He began his career at Arthur Andersen LLP.

Brian is Co-Founder and COO of Eyes & Ears Entertainment. After graduating from Berklee College of Music, he moved to Chicago to begin working with young, emerging artists. Seeing a huge demand for results based services, Brian, and business partner Austin Mayer, founded Eyes & Ears Entertainment. Since then, he's developed campaigns and strategies for national and international artists such as Ultimate Fakebook, Eric Bobo of Cypress Hill, Wave Machines, Hey Champ, Hollywood Holt, and Flatfoot 56. As a certified member of Topspin Media's ecosystem, E&E recently began working closely with the company on various projects. When he's not running Eyes & Ears, Brian enjoys seeing new bands live, drumming on his steering wheel, and hanging on the beach in Chicago (or anywhere else for that matter!)

Howie Singer (PhD, MS), Senior VP of Strategic Technology & CTO for Warner Music Group (WMG), is the leading subject matter expert on the implications of technology for the future of WMG. He is responsible for analyzing technology issues related to new business models and services that enhance or threaten WMG’s business.

He played a leading role in the transition from physical products to digital music services. In the 90s, he co founded 2b music one of the pioneering services providing a secure digital music distribution platform based on audio and security technologies developed at AT&T Labs.

He spent the first 20 years of his career at AT&T and Bell Labs developing speaker phones, cellular phones, and videophones and is listed as an inventor on over 15 patents.

Derek Slater is a Senior Policy Analyst on Google's public policy team. Since joining the company in September 2007, he has supported the company's advocacy on effective copyright and broadband policy.

Derek has been writing about digital music since he bought his Diamond Rio PMP300 MP3 player as a teenager.  As a fellow at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, he co-authored a study on playlist sharing tools' effect on consumer behavior, and analyses of how public policy could support emerging business models.

Barry Slotnick is a nationally recognized copyright and trademark litigator who has represented clients in the entertainment, advertising, licensing and merchandising industries in courts throughout the United States.

His clients have included entertainment companies such as SONY/ATV Music Publishing, Bertelsmann, EMI Music and many more. He also has represented artists and creators such as the Allman Bros. Band, Beastie Boys, Linkin Park, Billy Squier, Queensryche, Gian Marco and the J.R.R. Tolkien Estate. His representation includes companies such as Anheuser-Busch, CKx, Dell Computers, DDB Worldwide, Eveready Battery, Motorola, Toyota and Harley Davidson.

Mr. Slotnick has litigated scores of copyright and trademark infringement cases as well as numerous matters in the entertainment industry addressing the respective rights of copyright and trademark owners and users, including numerous cases involving rights of privacy and publicity.

John’s practice in Birmingham focuses on the representation of musicians, songwriters, record producers, music publishers, and independent record labels.  John has taught Entertainment Law at Cumberland Law School and has lectured on entertainment law and copyright at numerous conferences, including South by Southwest, the Americana Music Association, The Future of Music Policy Summit, and the Midwest Music Summit.  Prior to becoming an attorney, John was a professional musician and recording artist. These days in addition to teaching at Cumberland and U of A law schools, he’s an artist's rep for rock, indie, and singer/songwriter clients, plus producers, songwriters and labels.  Clients include (among others) Bon Iver, of Montreal, Jens Lekman, Ben Lee, Azure Ray, Dawes, Juliana Hatfield (my former musical collaborator), The Civil Wars, Toro y Moi, Gayngs, Matthew Perryman Jones, Elf Power, Peter Wolf Crier, and John Vanderslice.
 

Julie Swidler (J.D.) is Executive VP, Business Affairs and General Counsel for Sony Music Entertainment. Previously, Julie has served as Executive VP of Business and Legal Affairs for the BMG U.S. Label Group, RCA Music Group, J Records, Arista Records, as well as Mercury Records. In 1999, Julie worked for Clive Davis as head of Business and Legal Affairs for Arista Records. In 2000, Julie and Clive formed J Records, a joint venture with Bertelsmann's BMG. In 1988, Julie left J. Walter Thompson advertising agency and started at PolyGram Records as Senior Attorney, rising to Assistant General Counsel and Vice President-Assistant General Counsel, North America.
 

Mark has been VP of Business Development for Colligent since the company launched its services in 2007. Colligent (which stands for Collective Intelligence) tracks the affinities of more than 145 million consumers expressed through social networks. He comes with an extensive background within many facets of the Music Industry. He was SVP, GM for Nielsen Entertainment’s Music division representing SoundScan and BDS for more than 8 years. He also held various positions with A&M Records for over a dozen years, as well as stints in both broadcast radio and music retail.

Livia Tortella is the GM/Executive VP of Atlantic Records. She began her career in 1989 at PolyGram Canada in A&R, and then continued as a product manager for artists on newly acquired labels Island and Def Jam, in addition to Mercury, London, and Beggars Banquet Music Group. After transferring to New York and spending 5 years at Island Def Jam Music Group, she joined Atlantic following its merger with Elektra in 2004.

In the past 10 years, Tortella has helped develop the careers of numerous artists including Paramore, Death Cab For Cutie, Rob Thomas and Kid Rock.

Moreover, she has facilitated the launch of several label ventures, including Fueled By Ramen, Photofinish and notably Chop Shop Records, whose Twilight soundtrack franchise debuted at #1, and sold over 5 million units globally.

615 Music is a world leader in the creation of original music themes for the Broadcast, Cable, Production/Editing companies and new media platforms.  The company creates and distributes over 40,000 tracks across 23 production music catalogs worldwide in over 60 countries.  The company is a multiple EMMY(tm) Award-winner and has garnered over 90 other awards.

Randy is Chairman of the PMA (Production Music Association) and has been a featured speaker and panelist at industry events, including PROMAX, Hollywood Film & TV conference and the  NARAS "Grammy in the Schools" program and has served on the NATAS and Recording Academy Board.

Ray Waddell has covered the live entertainment business for more than 20 years. He joined the Billboard family in 1987 as an LA-based reporter for Amusement Business, and relocated in 1991 to Nashville still reporting for AB. In 2000, Waddell moved over to Billboard full time to spearhead the magazine's expanded touring coverage. He authors Billboard's weekly On The Road column, and provides features and news coverage on the global touring industry for Billboard, Billboard.com, Billboard.biz, and Billboard Bulletin. Recent cover stories include features on Bruce Springsteen, Phish, Dave Matthews Band, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Kings Of Leon and Zac Brown Band. Waddell also helps produce the annual Billboard Touring Conference & Awards each year in New York City and the Country Music Summit in Nashville. He is also the co-author of "This Business of Concert Promotion & Touring," considered the definitive guide to staging, promoting and producing live concerts.

Pandora Founder Tim Westergren serves as the Company's Chief Strategy Officer, guiding the overall strategy and vision of Pandora, the leader in internet radio.  In 2000, Tim conceived of The Music Genome Project,  a richly detailed, hand-built musical taxonomy that powers personalized radio by using musicological "DNA" and constant listener feedback to instantly craft personalized radio stations.  Now more than 60 million people in the United States turn on Pandora to hear music they love from a collection populated by more than 90,000 artists.  Tim received his B.A. from Stanford University, where he studied computer acoustics and recording technology.  A musician himself,  Tim is extremely focused on helping talented emerging artists connect with the music fans most likely to appreciate their music.

Alex White got into the music business 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 etc.)  He also went on a nationwide tour with an 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 venture financing in the fall of 2009. This year Billboard named Next Big Sound one of 10 Startups To Watch and Alex to their 30 Under 30 Power Players list.

Marcus Whitney is the CTO and co-founder of Moontoast. As CTO at Moontoast, a "Social Commerce Platform" launched in December 2009, Whitney leads technology efforts and also engages with customers to design and execute marketing and merchandising strategies that best leverage the power of the Moontoast platform.

Prior to Moontoast, Whitney was partner and Director of Technology at Emma. Whitney has also established several well-received community events such as Nashville’s first Barcamp and Podcamp, as well as the inaugural Enterprise LAMP Summit.
 

"Sam Wick joined the executive team of MySpace Music as Senior Vice President of Marketing in 2009. In this role, he is responsible for developing and executing all marketing and promotional campaigns, overseeing the editorial direction, as well as driving innovation and maximizing brand value for MySpace Music.
 
Wick brings to the company a proven track record of over ten years of online leadership experience in marketing, business development, sales strategy and operations, most recently serving as Vice President of Corporate and Strategic Development for Platform A - AOL’s advertising business and the industry’s largest digital advertising platform."
 

Jason Moon Wilkins is currently the CEO of Next BIG Nashville, the co-founder of synch license consultancy Full Service Music, and has a new record coming out on Austin-based indie Chicken Ranch records with his band Blue Eyed Blacks. Wilkins is also a Member of the inaugural Nashville Mayor’s Music Council (where he is the Co-Chair of the Branding Committee), is a Leadership Music Alumi, has served on the Board of The Recording Academy Nashville Chapter and was recently nominated for a 2009 Nashville Emerging Leader Award by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.

His music business career, begun at the age of 18, includes time logged as a music journalist (The Tennessean, the Nashville Scene, American Songwriter, NME and others), a Music Director & DJ, touring/recording bass player for Josh Rouse, Garrison Starr and Neilson Hubbard among others, as an artist and as a manager with Kip Krones and Christopher Moon.

Hunter Williams got his start in the music industry as many do, by booking / producing events while in College at University of North Carolina - Wilmington.  After graduating, Hunter immediately made the transition to a full time position at The Progressive Global Agency in Nashville, TN where he is now not only general manager of the company but also the responsible agent for over 30 acts including Widespread Panic, Pretty Lights, Dead Confederate, and MiMOSA.  The Progressive Global Agency has focused on building an extremely diverse roster of clients over the past 10 years, with genres ranging from electronic to rock to alt. country and more..

Kevin Williamson has been with the Warner Music Group family for 20 years.  He has had stints at Atlantic, Maverick, and Warner Bros. Records.  Working with a diverse roster including: Jewel, Sugar Ray, Deftones, Silverchair, Jack’s Mannequin, The Wreckers, Michelle Branch, The Cult, Queensryche, Foreigner, and up and coming artists American Bang, Ashley Monroe, and Meghan Kabir.  Kevin currently has offices in both Warner Bros. Burbank and Warner Music Nashville.
 

Marty has been Jefferson (Athens), GA native, Corey Smith’s personal manager since January 2006 – when Corey decided to trade his gig as a high school social studies teacher for a life as a full time musician. Born in  Brooklyn, NY and raised on the shoreline of Connecticut, Marty headed south for college in 1992. He currently resides in Simpsonville, SC located just outside of Greenville in the foothills of South Carolina with his wife and two sons, Holden, 11 and Maxwell, 8. Marty has exclusively represented Corey since the two started working together in 2006.