John Simson
Executive Director of SoundExchange.
John L. Simson, executive director of *SoundExchange®, has been involved in the music industry since 1971 as songwriter, recording artist, manager, entertainment lawyer and executive. His career highlights include an Emmy nomination for his music supervision of the PBS Special “American Roots Music”, serving as Executive Producer of the PBS Special, “Jubilee: Mary Chapin Carpenter Live at Wolf Trap” and managing artists who have won 6 Grammies and sold over 10 Million CD’s. Simson is a Trustee of the Recording Academy, a Board member of the 21st Century Consort, and lectures frequently on the music industry. Simson received the 10th Anniversary Outstanding Volunteer Attorney Award from Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts in 1993. *SoundExchange is the first performance rights organization formed to collect digital performance royalties for sound recording copyright owners and recording artists.
Peter J. Dekom, Esq.
Peter J. Dekom is "of counsel" with the Beverly Hills law firm of Weissmann Wolff Bergman Coleman Grodin & Evall. He formerly was a partner in the firm of Bloom, Dekom, Hergott and Cook. Mr. Dekom's clients include or have included such Hollywood notables as George Lucas, Peter Chernin, Paul Haggis, Keenen Ivory Wayans, John Travolta, Ron Howard, Rob Reiner, Andy Davis, Robert Towne and Larry Gordon among many others, as well as corporate clients such as Sears, Roebuck and Co., Pacific Telesis and Japan Victor Corporation (JVC). He has been listed in Forbes among the top 100 lawyers in the United States and in Premiere Magazine as one of the 50 most powerful people in Hollywood. In September of this year, Daily Variety named Dekom as one of the 15 top dealmaker-attorneys in the entertainment/media industry.
Mr. Dekom has been a management/marketing consultant, and entrepreneur in the fields of entertainment, Internet, and telecommunications. As a Film Advisor to the New Mexico State Investment Council, he is and was a principal architect involved in creating, writing and implementing legislation to encourage film and television production in the state and currently supervises the film loan program portion of that incentive structure. He also advises Governor Bill Richardson on film and television-related matters. New Mexico’s film incentive program has been touted as one of America’s most successful state programs, resulting in significant infrastructure development, job creation and sustainable economic development. Mr. Dekom has also been instrumental in structuring off-balance sheet, insurance-backed financing for major motion picture studios.
Mr. Dekom served on the board of directors of Imagine Films Entertainment while the company remained publicly traded and was a board member of Will Vinton Studios and Cinebase Software, among others, leaving upon change of ownership. He has also served as a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and Academy Foundation, Board of Directors, Chairman (now Emeritus) of the American Cinematheque, and on the Advisory Board of the Shanghai International Film Festival. He is currently on the Board of Governors for the America Bar Assn.’s Sports and Entertainment Law Section, where he has often authored articles and delivered lectures.
The Beverly Hills Bar Association honored Mr. Dekom as Entertainment Lawyer of the Year in 1994, the Century City Bar Association accorded him the same honor in 2004, and the Family Assistance Program named him Man of the Year in 1992 for his work with the homeless. Author of dozens of scholarly articles, Mr. Dekom also is the co-author of the book Not on My Watch; Hollywood vs. the Future (New Millennium Publishing, 2003) with Peter Sealey. He has served as an adjunct professor in the UCLA Film School, a lecturer (entertainment marketing) at the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business as well as being a featured speaker at film festivals, corporations, universities and bar associations all over the world.
Mr. Dekom graduated from Yale in 1968 (BA), and graduated first in his class in 1973 from the UCLA School of Law (JD). He is married to Kelley Choate and has a son, Christopher (b. 1983), who is a 2006 graduate of Duke University and is an investment officer with the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C.
Ralph Murphy, Vice President
International and Domestic Membership Group of ASCAP
Ralph Murphy is the author of Murphy’s Laws of Songwriting (Murphyslawsofsongwriting.com). He is a past president of the Nashville Songwriters Association, former Nashville chapter president and former national trustee of the Recording Academy (NARAS). He had his first hit in 1966 (“Call My Name”—James Royal) and has had chart success for five decades, the most recent being Cliff Richard’s No. 2 Christmas single in 2007 in England. He has produced platinum albums and written not only pop hits but scored number ones with Crystal Gayle (“Half The Way”) and Ronnie Milsap (“He Got You”). His songs have been recorded by Randy Travis, Don Williams, Shania Twain, Kathy Mattea, Ray Price, and many more. Ralph currently serves as Vice President International and Domestic Membership Group of ASCAP and guest lectures at universities, music industry conventions, and sister P.R.Os SOCAN (Canada), APRA (Australia), and IMRO (Ireland).
Press Panel Moderator
Shirley Kennedy
Shirley Kennedy is the President of SJK Public Relations, LLC, where she works as a publicist and manages blues/rock power trio Aaron Williams and the Hoodoo (Madison, WI) and hard rock band Ordain (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). She is also a founding member of Opus Entertainment Agency, which provides bookings to various artists. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science with an emphasis on Creative Writing from Agnes Scott College and an MBA in Public Administration from the University of Phoenix.
Shirley began entertainment writing by preparing articles about American Idol for The National Ledger, an on-line news publication. Shirley’s work has been published by The National Ledger and Jazz Quad, two on-line publications. Shirley was honored by inclusion in the liner notes of “Elliott Yamin” (Hickory Records), the largest selling independent CD in SoundScan history with the highest debut in the Billboard Top 100. She has since been included in the liner notes of the re-release of “Contradictory” by Lucas Cates (PopBomb Records), “These Parts Unknown” by Mike Droho (Ruff Roads Records), “All The Pieces” by the Lucas Cates Band (LucasCatesMusicBMI), “And The World Makes Sense Again,” by Mike Droho and the Compass Rose (Worthwhile Records), and “Broken Glass,” by Ordain (Syphon Records).
Shirley is a member of the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Atlanta Blues Society, and the Blues Foundation. She has served as a panelist at The Cutting Edge Music Business Conference (2008/2009) and the Atlantis Music Conference (2008). This year, Shirley is moderating the Cutting Edge Press Panel and will be a panelist at the Dewey Beach Music Conference.
Tony Moore
Musician, Producer, Entrepreneur
Tony Moore's musical career began when he moved from his home town of Bristol to London to become an original member of the group, IRON MAIDEN, where he took on the role of keyboard/synth player. The band was unknown at that point and Tony wrote and rehearsed with them for a long time until eventually playing one fairly unsuccessful gig. It was at this point that he felt keyboards didn't really work in the band and decided to leave.
After quitting Iron Maiden Tony teamed up with Brian James (from The Damned) in a group called Tanz Der Youth, recording one single called "I'm Sorry I'm Sorry" for Radar Records (home of Elvis Costello). Although a short lived line up, the band toured opening for The Stranglers and Black Sabbath as well as being at the forefront of the New Wave movement in London where they were also championed by the legendary John Peel.
In the early 80's, Tony formed a band as a vehicle for his singing and songwriting talents, called Radio Java. He signed to Carrerre Records and they made an album in studio 2 of Abbey Road. From that album he scored a number 1 hit in Holland at Xmas 1983 with a song called FOOL that was one of the fastest debuting airplay hits of the year.
In the Mid 80's Tony joined the band CUTTING CREW as keyboard player and was part of the success of their iconic hit single "I just died in your arms tonight". With the band he toured the world including playing massive US shows opening for Huey Lewis, Starship and the Bangles as well as doing hundreds of headline gigs. They were the first Western band to play to an audience allowed to dance and stand up in Taiwan, and almost caused a riot amongst the 60,000 inside as well as the tens of thousands who couldn't get in.
After leaving Cutting Crew during the making of the second album, he went on to write, play, record, produce and tour with Marie Claire D'ubaldo (author of Falling into you for Celine Dion) and once more tour the world supporting her great success in countries like Italy, Russia, Japan, and Latin America.
He was responsible for creating and building the Kashmir Klub in 1997. The Kashmir was a unique venue in central London that almost single-handedly lead the singer/songwriter acoustic revolution in the UK with debut performances from Damien Rice, KT Tunstall, Imogen Heap, Lucie Silvas, Tom Baxter as well as secret sets from Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood, Dave Stewart and many more.
In 2003 Tony took over running The Bedford in Balham. Under his musical stewardship the venue has grown into an award winning location. In 2004 it won Best Pub in the country, it has twice won the best pub and club award and has seen unique performances from Pete Townshend, Crowded House, Kiki Dee, Willy Mason as well as be a launch pad for the careers of acts such as James Morrison, Paolo Nutini, Amy Macdonald and Jon Allen.
At the end 2004 Tony Moore was made the sole Inductee into the MMF (Music Managers Forum) Roll Of Honour for outstanding contribution to the British Music Industry.
From Sept 2003 until December 2005 Tony hosted a weekly overnight show on Radio BBC London that mixed informal live performances from some of the countries most talented musicians and songwriters, creating a unique platform for promoting a new generation of long term recording artists.
For the last 5 years he has produced and presented the British Acoustic Stage at MIDEM in Cannes, working directly with the UK Music Industry to establish on of the most important showcases of the year.
Quotes about Tony Moore: “Tony believed in me, gave me a stage to be seen and a platform to be heard. I loved those days - we had fun and Tony will always be a legend to me!!!!" Paolo Nutini
“Tony is a total rock of strength to anyone doubting that music is their path in life - I aspire to remain as in love and involved with it as he is.” KT Tunstall
"Tony's passion for music is clear for anyone to see. He makes anything seem possible and has been a huge force in my career so far”. Lucie Silvas
In the Autumn of 2006 Tony worked closely with "AEG Live" in the development of The indigO2, the fabulous new Theatre in The O2 Dome, after which he went on to produce and host a series of highly successful monthly shows called The Bedford Bandstand that brought innovative music to new audiences.
In December 2006 he launched The Regal Room in Hammersmith, which has quickly become one of London's most intimate and beautiful acoustic spaces.
During August of 2007, Tony embarked on a unique touring concept called Acoustic Airwaves. As a newly qualified pilot he took a small single engine aircraft, putting a PA system and music equipment in the back and flying himself to 15 different airfields around the country where he set up and played informal acoustic sets to raise money and awareness for Teenage Cancer Trust. This never before attempted tour was such a success that he plans to visit the whole of the UK followed by some selected locations in Europe and the USA next year. www.acousticairwaves.com
At the beginning of April 2008 Tony began hosting and presenting a 1 hour live TV show on Prime TV in Malta called LETS TALK MUSIC, a13 week series of shows that looked at the music industry in great depth.
This became such a popular show that it was repeated 3 times during the Summer of 2008! There are now plans to bring this show to UK TV later in 2009.
In July 2008 Tony was the opening act for Duran Duran as they finished their world tour in Malta after which he was inducted into the Malta WALK OF FAME where he had his hand print embedded in cement and a "Star" pavement created for him.
During 2008 Tony also began a series of highly original and critically acclaimed Songwriting Master Classes that toured some of the UK's top educational establishments including LIPA, Westminster University and The Academy of Music.
Then in 2009 he took the concept to USC in California where Chair or Jazz, Professor Richard Smith said "Mr. Moore’s class was one of the best I have ever attended, and I have attended many dozens over the last 20 years as a Professor and Department Chair there. The students are still talking about the class, and there is a standing offer to have him join us again on his next trip to Los Angeles...."
In March 2009 he brought The Bedford to South By Southwest (SXSW) one of the worlds most important and influential music festivals, where he took over a venue, brought in his own team and produced 3 nights of acclaimed shows.
Craig & Charlie Reid/The Proclaimers (performers at The Bedford in SXSW): "The whole organization and promotion of the event was spot on. We really enjoyed the show, the on stage sound was perfect."
Tony is currently in the process of recording a new album of his latest songs as well as working on a one man acoustic show based on his life's experiences. This will be a show that mixes live performance of his music with amusing anecdotes and fascinating behind the scenes stories, complete with multimedia elements to create a truly unique and captivating show.
Jeffrey Brabec
Vice President of Business Affairs
Chrysalis Music Group
Jeffrey Brabec is Vice President of Business Affairs for the Chrysalis Music Group (representing the catalogues of OutKast, Velvet Revolver, Blondie, Paul Anka, Billy Idol, Jethro Tull, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, A3 (“The Sopranos” theme) Cy Coleman, Dan Wilson, TV on the Radio and Ray LaMontagne). Brabec is the co-author with his twin brother Todd (Executive Vice President of ASCAP) of the book MUSIC, MONEY, AND SUCCESS: The Insider's Guide To Making Money In The Music Industry (Schirmer Trade Books/Music Sales) and has been awarded the Deems Taylor Award for excellence in music journalism. Previously, he has been Vice President of Business Affairs for The PolyGram Music Group and Director of Business Affairs for both The Welk Music Group and Arista-Interworld Music Group. A graduate of New York University School of Law, he has also been a government legal services attorney. Brabec, a former recording artist and songwriter, is an adjunct professor at USC Thornton School of Music/Music Business Department and contributing editor to the Entertainment Law & Finance Magazine.
Todd Brabec
Former Executive Vice President
ASCAP
Todd Brabec, co-author of "Music Money and Success:the Insider's Guide to Making Money in the Music Business", is an Entertainment Law attorney, a specialist in music licensing, an Adjunct Associate Professor at the USC Thornton School of Music where he teaches Music Publishing/Licensing and Film, Television and Videogame Scoring and Song Contracts and a Governing Committee Member of the ABA Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries. During a career spanning over 30 years as Executive Vice President and Worldwide Director of Membership for ASCAP(the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), the world's largest music licensing organization, he was responsible for all writer and publisher signings and repertory retention, payment formulas and their execution and all worldwide competitive dealings resulting in annual ASCAP's revenues increasing from 60 million dollars to 1 billion dollars and a total market share increase from 20% to market share dominance in every major media.
Suzette Becker, Esq
(a/k/a Suzette Toledano Becker)
Suzette Toledano (a/k/a Suzette Toledano Becker) maintains a boutique arts and entertainment transactional law practice located Above the House of Blues in New Orleans with emphasis on copyright and trademark matters, art and music licensing, recording contracts, music publishing contracts and film industry matters. Her associate, Verena Benker, is licensed to practice law in Germany as well as in the U.S. Their national client list includes artists, composers, photographers, visual artists, screenwriters, producers, record labels, music publishers, event producers, webcasters, and motion picture production companies, with Billboard award winners and Grammy nominees/winners among them. Suzette is a member of the New Orleans’ Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation Board. She chairs the International Cultural Outreach and Exchange Committee responsible for presenting the annual Sync Up Conference and Talent Exchange which assists in making the creative works of Louisiana artists available for licensing to film, television, advertising and international touring. Suzette is the only entertainment attorney named by New Orleans Magazine as a "Top Lawyer" in 2010. She has twice been voted OffBeat Magazine’s Best Music Attorney and spotlighted by New Orleans’ CityBusiness newspaper in its “Women of the Year” series. She was the long time pro bono Executive Director for the Louisiana Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. In 1992, she and her family developed the real estate where the prototype House of Blues is located which required the creation of a new Vieux Carre Entertainment District and positively impacted the upriver quadrant of the French Quarter. A 1979 graduate of Tulane University's School of Law, Suzette regularly participates in MIDEM (Cannes), the Cannes Film Festival and South by Southwest (Austin). She has been a frequent moderator and guest speaker on entertainment legal matters for the Practising Law Institute (Los Angeles), Future of Music Coalition’s Policy Summit (Washington, D.C.), Global Entertainment and Media Summit (New York City), RadioInk Internet Radio conference (Boston), EAT'M (Las Vegas), Future of New Orleans Music Educational Conference, New Orleans Bar Association, Cutting Edge Music Business Conference (New Orleans), Tulane Law School, Loyola University, University of New Orleans and Northern Illinois State University’s Law School. She is the author of numerous published articles on subjects related to entertainment law.
STEPHANIE FURGANG ADWAR
a founding partner of Furgang & Adwar, L.L.P.
She concentrates her practice in entertainment, trademark, and copyright law. She received her J.D. from Yeshiva University, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Television Production from New York University - Tisch School of Arts, Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television. Ms. Adwar began her career in entertainment by working for The Gersh Agency, N.Y., Inc., for DeLaurentiis Entertainment, and for CBS/Fox Video in New York. She went on to produce music videos for Time Shift Video in New York. Ms. Adwar represents a wide variety of clients in the entertainment field, including independent film productions, screenwriters, producers, actors, comedians, authors, performing artists, musicians, independent record labels, music publishing companies, and television production companies. Ms. Adwar is admitted to practice before the Courts of the State of New York, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Adwar lectures on entertainment law at New York University - Tisch School of Arts, Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television and on entertainment, copyright and trademark law at The Learning Annex. She has also lectured at the 92nd Street Y, for the American Bar Association - Forum on Entertainment and Sports Law, at CMJ, at Diversafest Music Festival and elsewhere. Ms. Adwar has appeared on ABC News “Nightline” and been quoted in other news media as an expert in entertainment, copyright and trademark law . Stephanie acts as a panelist for the WeAreListening.org music opinion/contest website. She has also judged NYU's Mobil Awards for excellence in film production and acts a moot court judge for Cardozo Law School in the BMI Moot Court Competition. She authored "Trademarks: What's In a Name," Hemp World, Winter 1996, Vol. 2 Issue 3 and has been quoted in numerous publications on the subject of copyright and entertainment law. Ms. Adwar has served as a Governing Board Member of the American Bar Association - Forum on Entertainment and Sports Law as its Sponsorship Chair and then as its Membership Chair. She is also a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the International Trademark Association, the New York State Bar Association (member Entertainment and Sports Law Committee and Intellectual Property section), and the Rockland County Bar Association. Ms. Adwar is a member of New York Women in Film and Television, The Recording Academy, serves on the Board of Directors for The Colleagues Theatre Company, a not-for-profit theater group, and is a member of the American Film Institute. Ms. Adwar has received an "AV" peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory (the highest rating) and is listed in the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.
Michael Nieves
Owner/President of Sugaroo! (www.Sugaroo.com)
Sugaroo! is a music licensing, marketing and management company that represents independent record labels, artists and music publishers for visual media licensing (film, TV, advertising, theatrical trailers, video games, etc.). Michael also is the personal manager to Mark Olson (The Jayhawks), Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles and Megan Hickey & The Last Town Chorus. Founded by Michael Nieves in January of 1999, Sugaroo! was one of the first independent synchronization music licensing companies of its kind to exist in the USA, and continues to be one of the most trusted and respected music licensing companies in the visual media licensing communities. In its 11 plus years of operation Sugaroo! has successfully concluded more than 3,000 music licensing deals across the spectrum of the visual media licensing industries, including in productions/projects like Grey’s Anatomy, Gossip Girl, CSI, The Sopranos, Ugly Betty, Brothers & Sisters, Remember Me, I Can Do Bad All By Myself, adverts for Apple/IPod, Pepsi, Budweiser, Honda, Hilton Hotels, T-Mobile, Microsoft, Tropicana and many others. Sugaroo! represents a wide variety of music in virtually every significant genre, from rock (alternative, hard, indie, punk, etc.) to hip hop to country to electronica to singer/songwriters to Latin to soul/funk/R&B to pop and so on. Artists in the Sugaroo family include Ani DiFranco, Loreena McKennitt and many others; and record labels and music publishers such as Epitaph/Anti- Records (Tom Waits, Neko Case, Mavis Staples, Nick Cave…), Nacional Records (Manu Chao, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Atreciopelados), Native Tongue Music Publishing (The Veils, Oh Mercy…), Ubiquity Records (Shawn Lee, Radio Citizen…), Dualtone Records (Brett Dennen, June Carter Cash…), and more than 20 others labels. Between 2004-2008 Michael was also the co-owner/co-president of HackTone Records an independent record label that specialized in new releases by established and developing artists, and deluxe reissues of important records from the past that had been unjustly languishing in obscurity. Founded by Michael and David Gorman in 2004, HackTone Records was distributed by the Warner Music Group and was known for the elaborate, deluxe packaging that was part of every record released by the label. Michael got his start in the music business, after a five year stint on Wall Street, at MCA Music Publishing in New York in 1992, where he worked in business affairs and licensing. Starting in early 1996, he ran the licensing and music publishing departments for Rhino Records in Los Angeles during its last few years as an independent label before it was fully absorbed into the Warner Music Group. Born in Brooklyn and raised in New York, Michael holds B.A.’s in Philosophy and Political Science from Binghamton University and currently resides in Culver City, California with his two sons.
Dr. Bernd Gottinger has been active producing and engineering classical, contemporary, and popular music tracks and records for various international and national recording labels for over twenty years. His particular interest lies in commercial music composition and audio mixing and mastering. Dr. Gottinger is also a committed educator in the field of audio engineering and has held the position of Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Sound Recording Technology Bachelors of Science program at the State University of New York in Fredonia since 1999. He received his Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at New York University in 2007 with a dissertation investigating sonic signatures in sound recording technology.
Guillermo De La Barreda
Music Director at GrooveWorx and Creative Director at Mucho Noize
Guillermo De La Barreda is currently Music Director at GrooveWorx (previously Groove Addicts) and Creative Director at Mucho Noize. A graduate of Berklee College Of Music, he’s composed, produced, arranged, and served as music consultant and supervisor on many commercials, documentaries, films and TV shows. For the past 10 years, Guillermo has produced over 1000 tracks and launched 4 new catalogs of Production Music. He also started Groove Addicts' music for trailers label, Full Tilt, and was also actively contributing in the launch and upkeep of the radio and TV imaging services Groove Tools and Trynity. Guillermo’s driving energy and creativity has kept him busy as an active music producer and entrepreneur. He has been involved in national and international ad campaigns working with the likes of Danny Elfman, Stewart Copeland, Phillip Glass, etc. He hass also produced music for the Universal Music catalogs as well as compilations for BMG and Edel Records in Europe. Guillermo’s passion for music and knowledge of the indie scene have also led him to work with up and coming bands and singer songwriters from the U.S. and Europe. As a music supervisor and editor, Guillermo has also worked on several TV shows for ABC, NBC and Fox (Extreme Home Makeover, Deal Or No Deal, Super Nanny, etc.). Music videos for Michael Jackson, Jay-Z and Puff Daddy. Various films for the BET channel as well as the new documentary Walking On Dead Fish by Executive Producer Terry Bradshaw. On the commercial side, Guillermo broke LA based The Tender Box on a Chevy spot, as well as UK’s Infadels on a spot for Pontiac.
Marc Stollman Esq
Stollman Law PA
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Marc Stollman has recently re-opened his full service entertainment law practice after three years as “in-house” General Counsel for an important multi-platform entertainment company (see below). Marc has practiced transactional entertainment law for nearly 20 years, representing record companies, producers, recording artists, writers, music publishers, promoters, television studios, production companies and networks, music video producers, internet companies, radio stations, managers, executives, athletes, etc. Active representation of both companies and “talent” provides Marc with a unique perspective and the valuable ability to respect and understand "both sides of a relationship". Between 2007 and June, 2010, Marc headed the legal department and was responsible for all legal and business affairs at S2BN Entertainment Corporation (and its predecessors). S2BN is an international family show and event based entertainment company specializing in the acquisition, development, production, and promotion of high caliber touring exhibitions, unique live music tours and events, theatrical performances, and consumer and multimedia product offerings, spearheaded by Michael Cohl, the biggest concert promoter in the world. Prior to being spun off as an independent company, while during its tenure as part of the “Live Nation Artists” division of Live Nation, Marc and his group was responsible for advancing the “360 model” and the signings of Madonna, U2, Shakira, Jay-Z, and Nickelback, all of which were drafted and negotiated by Marc. Prior to receiving his JD degree from Nova University, Marc received B.A. and M.B.A. degrees from Rutgers University. Marc has taught Intellectual Property courses at Florida Atlantic University as a repeat adjunct professor and has been a frequent speaker and/or moderator at numerous entertainment industry functions and seminars.
Louise E. Dembeck
The AIMAC Center for ADR
Founder of The AIMAC Center for Dispute Resolution and recognized, in 2007, as a Power Mediator in the Entertainment Industry by The Hollywood Reporter, Esq., Ms Dembeck is a full time dispute resolution professional providing services as an arbitrator and mediator in complex business, entertainment, intellectual property, and international disputes. Formerly a Time Warner Inc. Senior Vice-President, International, Ms. Dembeck also served as Time Warner’s Chief Intellectual Property Counsel for 25 years, including three years (1990-1993) during which she opened and ran the Time Warner, European corporate headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Her career in the entertainment industry began as an Associate at Kaye Scholer followed by a stint as General Counsel to music publisher Shapiro, Bernstein, Inc. During her many years at Warner Communi-cations (and then Time Warner), she was intimately involved in all aspects of the entertainment industry from DC Comics Superman to the Warner Amex creation of MTV. In 1979, at the request of the Motion Picture Association of America, she wrote the FBI Warning Notice against unlawful reproduction of videocassettes which was adopted by the industry and appeared at the beginning of all pre-recorded videotape for many years. Primary Practice Areas Mediator, Neutral, party appointed Arbitrator or Panel Chair in more than 300 complex business, contract and commercial disputes involving entertainment industry issues, such as author's rights, talent contract disputes, interpretation of film production/distribution provisions, and music, recording and theatrical production agreements, ancillary rights, television, book publishing and other media and communications matters, as well as international, IP, technology, copyright, trademarks, unfair competition and domain name (UDRP) disputes. Dispute Resolution Experience and Training Over 320 hours of basic, advanced and international ADR training through the ICC International Court of Arbitration; CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution; World International Property Organization (WIPO); American Arbitration Association (AAA); and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Member of the following Mediation and Arbitration Panels: U.S.D.C., Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; CPR Distinguished Panels on Entertainment and Technology Disputes; AAA/ICDR; National Arbitration Forum; WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center; and New York State Board of Elections HAVA Advisory Arbitration Panel. Selected Honors, Awards, Publications, and/or Professional and Civic Associations Fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators, listed in the distinguished Roster of International Arbitrators compiled by the Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law at Columbia University and AV rated by Martindale Hubbell. Currently a Chair of the Entertainment ADR Committee of the ABA Section on Dispute Resolution, she is also a Past-President of the Association for Conflict Resolution--Greater New York Chapter, a Volunteer Reader for Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, and a former member of the Boards of the Riverside Symphony; Anti-Defamation League (NY Region); and B'nai B'rith International. Education A.B., Hunter College (Philosophy Major); J.D., Syracuse University College of Law (Recent Decisions Editor, Syracuse Law Review); Program on Negotiation, Harvard University, 1988; International Diplomacy Program, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, 1989; Global Public Affairs Program, Templeton College, Oxford University, 1992.
Wallace E. J. Collins III, Esq
Wallace Collins is an entertainment lawyer based in New York city... handling entertainment, copyright, trademark and related intellectual property matters in the music, film, television, book and fine arts areas as well as in the general communications and internet fields. Among my clients I have represented recording artists, songwriters and record producers, film producers, book authors and illustrators, magazine publishers, photographers and models, clothing and fashion designers, cartoonists, fine artists and art galleries, and website designers in contract disputes, negotiations and business entity formation.
In a career that spans more than fifty years, Deacon John Moore has endured as one of New Orleans’ most talented and most adaptive performers. “If New Orleans has such a thing as a musical chameleon, it is certainly Deacon John,” says music writer Jeff Hannusch. A warhorse and model showman, he’s entertained generations of New Orleanians, playing classic rhythm and blues, rock ’n’ roll, blues, jazz and gospel. Blessed with a great voice that was trained in the church, he began singing with his first R&B band in the seventh grade. Once he began playing the guitar, learning to play by ear from the records and books he bought, he started playing professionally in 1957 while still in high school, and has never looked back. In the 1960s, Deacon, as a guitarist, began to play on recording sessions with Allen Toussaint, Dave Bartholomew, Harold Battiste, Wardell Quezergue and Eddie Bo. He became a fixture on all of the top records at Cosimo Matassa’s studio in the late ’50s and early ’60s, playing on many classic hits—Ernie K-Doe’s “Mother-in-Law,” Lee Dorsey’s “Working in the Coal Mine,” Aaron Neville’s “Tell It Like It is,” Chris Kenner’s “Land of 1,000 Dances,” and Robert Parker’s “Barefootin’,” among others. Deacon, with his band Deacon John & the Ivories, was the first rock ’n’roll musician to play with the New Orleans Symphony in 1970. He has performed at every New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival since 1970, and his sets are legendary. In the 1980s Deacon’s prowess on the slide guitar eventually landed him a part in Allen Parker’s movie, Angel Heart, and a national television commercial for Miller Beer. In 1990, he and fellow musician George Davis released his first CD, Singer of Song, followed by his second CD, Deacon John Live at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. In 2000, he was inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame and taught blues music in the schools throughout the state of Louisiana. In 2003 Gambit Magazine named Deacon Best Male Performer, Best Rhythm and Blues Artist and Entertainer of the Year. Also in 2003 Offbeat magazine awarded him Album of the Year, Overall Band of the Year and Best R&B/Funk/Soul Band. President George W. Bush invited him to play at the Congressional Ball at the White House in 2005, and in 2006 Deacon was elected the first African- American president of the New Orleans Musicians Union, Local #174-496. In 2007, he was chosen to sing for the historic inauguration of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. In 2008, the United States Postal Service and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation honored him with a commemorative envelope and he was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. In 2009, he received a Community Arts Award from the Arts Council of New Orleans, performed at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York, and was honored with an Asante Legends Award. In 2010, Offbeat music magazine awarded him its Lifetime Achievement Award; he also received the Cutting Edge Music Conference’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the American Federation of Musicians’ highly coveted Charles Walton Diversity Advocate Award. Deacon has graced the covers of many local and national newspapers and magazines. He has appeared in movies, live musical theater, and has been featured in national TV commercials, including Lincoln Cars, Southern Comfort Whiskey, Snickers Candy and Blue Cross health insurance. Deacon has also been in many WYES-TV documentaries on New Orleans history and culture, most recently Growing Up in New Orleans; he is also in Shake the Devil Off, the 2007 documentary about Father Jerome LeDoux. He is currently featured in a local ad campaign for the United Teachers of New Orleans (UTNO), and in HBO’s series, Treme. Deacon is the star of the critically acclaimed documentary movie, Going Back to New Orleans: The Deacon John Film, and live concert DVD and CD, Deacon John’s Jump Blues. He is currently working on the HBO series, Treme, which airs in April 2010.
Zachary Werner is more than a triple-threat in the film industry. The innovative New York-based producer-writer-director also served as cameraman on his latest project, the groundbreaking cinema-verite documentary, Code 33, a co-production between Zachary M. Werner Productions (ZMW) and RUMER INC. With Code 33 about to take off and a slough of hot projects on the horizon, Zach is fast establishing himself as the hip young filmmaker of his generation.
Zach has been a film aficionado from his childhood, raised by parents that were also movie buffs. At the mere age of 12, he and longtime friend and business partner David Beilinson were making their own feature-length gangster movies, performing in them in addition to handling all the behind-the-camera duties. But it was when his mother took him to see Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas when he was 14 that Zach heard his calling and knew filmmaking was what his true destiny.
After this revelation, he attended The School of Visual Arts in Manhattan and promptly followed his education by working as a production assistant on a variety of film and television projects, including Woody Allen’s The Curse of the Jade Scorpion and Law and Order: Criminal Intent.
Zach’s career as an Associate Producer began on an episode of the critically-acclaimed PBS series, In the Mix, for which filmmaking partner David Beilinson was serving as in-house producer. The episode, “9/11: Looking Back…Moving Forward,” followed two separate schools in the New York area that were directly affected by the September 11th attacks.
Following work on a multitude of short films, Zach produced Victor Quinaz’ Chinese Dream, which won the Golden Gate Award for Best Narrative Short Film at the 2004 San Francisco International Film Festival. While Chinese Dream was in post-production, Zach reteamed with David Beilinson again to make Code 33, which chronicles a four-month manhunt for a serial rapist in Little Havana, Miami, starting from a single police sketch all the way to the ultimate criminal capture. Code 33 will have its debut at the Miami International Film Festival, will be playing SXSW and has received finishing funds from HBO. Moreover, ZMW Productions and RUMER INC are following the success of the film by launching a novel new series called Sketch, which will follow other police investigations all originating from police sketches.
Zach recently worked on LA GANGLANDS which aired nationally on Fox Televison. He is also currently attached to produce three new feature films through his Zachary M. Werner Productions, including two future projects with Chinese Dream director Victor Quinaz and Chronically Metropolitan, written by Nick Schutt. In addition, he is collaborating on a radical screenplay with The GZA from the Wu-Tang Clan. With his current resume and the productions he has in the works, Zachary Werner is firmly establishing himself as the pre-eminent filmmaker of the future – one with his finger on the pulse of his generation but who is able to speak to the hearts and minds of us all.
Jedd Katrancha currently serves as the VP of Creative at Downtown Music Services, a music marketing company that services both a publishing catalog (Nikki Sixx, Seal, Santigold, Arthur Baker, Antonina Armato, Troy Taylor, and more) and a network of record labels including Downtown Records, Eleven Seven, Cooking Vinyl, Naïve, and more. Jedd has orchestrated brand partnerships and music licenses for his artists and writers with Anheuser Busch, Verizon, Ask.com, Nike, Cadillac, Heineken, and more. Jedd Katrancha oversees strategic marketing efforts for Downtown Music and all related properties, including Downtown Records, Downtown Music Publishing, RCRD LBL.com, and Downtown Music Services, the largest licensing destination for independent music. First as a music supervisor and then as a music publisher, Jedd has spent the past decade marrying music and media, working with songwriters and artists such as Lou Reed, the Bob Marley estate, Santigold, Mos Def, Kid Sister, Cold War Kids, and Justice. At Downtown, he has worked on strategic partnerships for his artists with brands such as Anheuser Busch, Nike, Ask.com, Zune, Verizon, Ford, and Cadillac.
Nicholas is an accomplished actor and screenwriter living and working in Los Angeles, CA. Over the past few years Nicholas has acted in the films In Good Company (Dir. Paul Weitz) American Dreamz (Dir. Paul Weitz) The Wackness (Dir. Jonathan Levine, Winner 2008 Audience Award Sundance) and State of Play (Dir. Kevin MacDonald).
In addition to acting in the occasional film Nicholas is a working screenwriter. Represented by William Morris Endeavor and BenderSpink, Nicholas has a number of films in development. His feature film screenplay Citizen is in active development with the up and coming Alfonso Gomez Rejon (second unit director on the feature films Babel, The Eagle of the Ninth, and eat, pray, love) attached to direct. Citizen is being produced by the Academy Award nominated Producer Steve Golin.
Nicholas also worked in casting. He was the Casting Director for the horror film All The Boys Love Mandy Lane. He was also a casting assistant on the features In Her Shoes, Charlotte’s Web and Let’s Go to Prison.
Adam Salky made his feature film directorial debut with DARE, an official selection and Grand Jury Prize Nominee of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival in the Dramatic Competition Category. DARE was acquired by IMAGE Entertainment, and released theatrically in November of 2009. The film stars Emmy Rossum, Zach Gilford, Rooney Mara, Alan Cumming, Ana Gasteyer, and Sandra Bernhard and was produced by Mary Jane Skalski (THE STATION AGENT, THE VISITOR) and Jason Orans (GOODBYE SOLO, FLANNEL PAJAMAS).
Salky has directed several award-winning short films, including a short version of DARE in 2003, on which the feature film is based. It screened in over 50 festivals around the world, garnered six ³best of² awards, and was picked up for distribution by Strand Releasing. In 2007, Salky filmed RECRUITER, a documentary short film, which was a finalist for the 2008 Student Academy Awards. THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT, a short comedy that Salky wrote and directed, won a special jury prize at the 2005 Palm Beach Film Festival.
A creative writing major, magna cum laude graduate of Emory University, Salky completed his MFA with honors at Columbia University's Graduate School of the Arts Film Division. His work at Columbia was recognized by three prestigious prizes The Kodak Cinematography Speaker Series grant, The Panasonic Kids Witness News Fellowship for his work teaching filmmaking to under-privileged inner-city kids, and The James Bridges Award, a production grant, one of the highest honors in the Columbia Film Division.
Salky currently lives in Los Angeles
David Fiske Raymond was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, the son of prominent sound engineer, Gary Raymond. Gary Raymond engineered live event sound for such artists as The Guess Who, Eric Burdon, and Earth, Wind & Fire and took David with him to these and a variety of other major music festivals and concerts as his assistant sound engineer. David got his early training on the job, learning the value of good sound to the quality of any artistic production.
While at San Francisco State University, David was able to combine his knowledge of sound with his passion for film. Shortly after graduating, David moved back to Los Angeles where he began a promising 10-year career doing production sound for major motion pictures and television. As a sound utility boom operator and sound mixer, he has worked on such films as “Spiderman,” “The Hulk,” “8 Mile,” “Zodiac,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Star Trek,” “Where The Wlld Things Are,” “Mother and Child,” and “Inception.” His television credits include “Lackawanna Blues,” “Monk,” “In Treatment,” “Glee,” and “True Blood.”
David is currently working on the David Fincher directed “The Social Network” (script by Aaron Sorkin). He and his sound team were recently nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Sound for their work on “Star Trek.”
Actor REID SCOTT is living the American dream. Not surprising then that he recurred on the acclaimed drama in advance of booking the lead on his current hit series MY BOYS (July ’10 Season 4 premiere). The first original comedy for TBS, the show follows a twenty-something sportswriter who is looking for love despite her male-dominated group of friends. Scott stars as her lovelorn roommate. His character, Brendan, is also a DJ at one of Chicago’s top radio stations; a passion that Scott shares when recording at his home studio in Los Angeles. He’s simultaneously been filming a multi-episode arc on ABC Family Channel’s hit drama SECRET LIFE OF AN AMERICAN TEENAGER throughout the course of the season, and has since landed a coveted role as Laura Linney’s doctor on Showtime’s highly-anticipated THE BIG C.
Scott relocated to L.A. upon booking the lead in the FOX pilot WITH YOU IN SPIRIT in which he played a character loosely based on the show’s creator Steve Levitan. He ultimately went on to star on the acclaimed ABC comedy IT’S ALL RELATIVE, from the producers of the Academy Award-winning CHICAGO. The sitcom centered around two completely different families being forced to mix when Bobby (Scott), the son of Irish Catholic parents, proposed to the daughter of a worldly gay couple.
Additional television appearances include HAWTHORNE, CSI, THAT 70’S SHOW, WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU, the Farrelly Bros comedy pilot UNHITCHED, the new CBS comedy THE EX-LIST, and the telefilm REVENGE OF A MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN with Christine Lahti. He also appeared on the big screen in the New Line thriller AMUSEMENT, the comedy feature BICKFORD SHMECKLER’S COOL IDEAS which co-starred the likes of Patrick Fugit, Cheryl Hines, and Olivia Wilde; and more recently completed Caprice Crane’s short, “Passing the Time,” based upon her best selling novel, Forget About It, as well as the romantic comedy LOSING CONTROL.
Born and raised in upstate New York, Scott received a degree from Syracuse University before moving to NYC to pursue acting. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his pit bulls, Bella and Dublin, where in addition to his love of music, he is also an avid downhill skier.
Malik Yusef is one Chicago’s Top 5 Most Featured Musical Artist listed only behind R. Kelly, Common, Twista, and Kanye West and is arguably the worlds most renown and famous spoken word musician. His national debut started with his on-set job training actor Larenz Tate for the movie “Love Jones” and was featured in the film. Malik was featured on Actor and Grammy Award wining artist Common’s Platinum selling “One Day It’ll All Make Sense” and Carl Thomas’s debut double platinum album “Emotional.” He served as the poster boy for Russell Simmons HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and won a Grammy with Kanye West for his poetry performance on “Late Registration” alongside The Game on “Crack Music” and has had several Grammy nominations including Grammy 2010 for his writing on Amazing by Kanye featuring Young Jezzy from the album “808 and Heartbreaks.”
Recently, Malik won the ASCAP 2010 POP Music Award for writing and publishing “Heartless”.
His own album release under Universal Music featured such artists as Kanye West, Twista, Carl Thomas, Common, to name a few and his album features have included Raheem Devaughn (Jive), Shawnna (DTP/DEF JAM), Rhymefest (J-RECORDS), Kindred The Family Soul (Hidden Beach), Barak Obama’s:Yes We Can (Hidden Beach) UK’s Shawn Emmanuel (EMI) and Legit Ballaz (KOCH). His musical prowess has even extended to Hollywood as Malik has had soundtrack songs featured on Top 10 Movies including Coach Carter and My Baby Daddy. His film credits have also been upgraded to writer/producer/narrator for his film short “Hollywood Jerome” which won an IFP Award and 12 other International awards including an appearance in the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Malik also earned an Emmy from his performance on Russell Simmons HBO’s Def Poetry Jam the show also earned a Peabody that year.
Malik Yusef is a world renowned Fashionista and has been instrumental in fusing European and American fashion creating a symmetry not seen in hip-hop culture prior to his artistic emergence. One example was Malik’s reintroduction of MCM (MCM Worldwide/Germany) as a viable contender in the Fashion Arena in North America.
Malik is a key influencer in the community. His youth literacy foundation, For Yourself Foundation, seeks out and offers alternatives for youth that have mitigating circumstances similar to Malik and his troubled beginnings as a youth. He seeks to use his star power and influence to help curb others from making the same mistakes.
Malik’s street credibility, business acumen, and philanthropic efforts make him an invaluable icon and tastemaker in today’s global industry.
EMILY PATRICA GRAHAM, ESQ. focuses her practice on Entertainment Law. Her firm’s clients include production companies, directors, screenwriters, actors, musicians, and fashion designers. Ms. Graham authored numerous professional publications on the topics of Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law. Among her publications are: a Compiled Comparison: FL HB 697 “Entertainment industry financial incentive program” to Louisiana and New Mexico Current Film Incentives Law, published in the program materials for, “Getting Reel About Making It in Hollywood,” at the CLE PROGRAM | From Hollywood to South Beach: The First Annual International Legal Symposium on the World of Music, Film and Television, presented by The Forum on Entertainment and Sports Industries of the American Bar Association, where she was a panelist and on the Host Committee; Co-Authored Inside Hollywood: The Reel Path to Success in the Motion Picture Industry, the lead article in the journal, Inside the Minds,™ Entertainment and Media Law Contract Strategies from Aspatore Books, with Richard W. Rappaport, Esq. and Hollywood Director and Producer Dr. Kenneth J. Atchity; the Quarterly Case Summaries for the 2nd and 11th Circuits for the Trademark Litigation Committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and updates for the 9th Circuit and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, Legal Standards Project for AIPLA; Co-Editor the for the 2008 update of the Reporter’s Handbook of the Media and Communications Law Committee of The Florida Bar; Author of “LOST…in the Big Easy,” and “LOST in the Emerald Coast,” in “Beachfront News”; and Emily P. Graham on Fashion, including “Fashion in New Orleans,” on IStudioI.com. She is a former faculty member at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in the Fashion Design and Fashion Merchandising departments and developed Business Law course geared to the Fashion Industry. Ms. Graham also taught the Entertainment Law Seminar at Florida International University in the Legal Studies Institute. She gave workshops at Tipitina’s Music Office Co-Op in Baton Rouge, was a panelist at the New Orleans Actors Resource Center 2009 Actors Expo, and a speaker at the Louisiana Filmmakers Meetups. She is also an Assistant Organizer of the Louisiana Filmmakers Meetup Group. Ms. Graham was appointed to the Membership Committee of the ABA’s Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries. Ms. Graham is a reelected Executive Council member of the Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law Section of the Florida Bar. She is a frequent Program Chair, Steering Committee Member, Moderator, Speaker, and Business and International Section Liaison at EASL events throughout Florida and Beverly Hills, California. As Chair of EASL’s Legislation Committee, she steered lobbying efforts to promote the passage of new film incentives legislation in Florida. Ms. Graham was appointed by four consecutive Chairs of the Florida Bar to the Media and Communications Law Committee of The Florida Bar. She also spoke and represented the Media and Communications Committee at the First Amendment Foundation’s 2009 Sunshine Seminars. She has a passion for Animal Welfare in the Entertainment Industries, and frequently lectures on related topics. She also coached the University of Miami team to the Closing Arguments portion of the Animal Law Competition at Harvard Law School. She was on the Advisory Board for the exhibit, Music Musica: American Sabor: Latins in U.S. Popular Music, and Hands On Music, at the Miami Science Museum. She was also on the Host Committee of The Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival's Awards Dinner and Assistant Executive Producer of the Steinway/BMI Music and Arts Showcase Series, in Coral Gables, Florida. Ms. Graham received her J.D. from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and B.S. in Political Science from Florida State University. She did concentrated courses in music engineering at the Computer Music Program in the FSU College of Music. At NSU, she earned the CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Copyrights and Trademarks; Gold Level recognition in the Pro Bono Honors Program for her work for the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida; and represented the ACLU of FL at the 2003 NAACP Convention in Miami Beach; and was a member of the Palm Beach County Inns of Court. She is admitted to practice in Florida, Louisiana and The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Veleka Gray is a professional actress, educator, writer, director, and producer with credits in film, television, and Broadway. Her most recent screen roles are as Dr. Souza in "Flag of My Father," as Eleanor Cameron in "Flood Streets," as Crystal Mortensen in "Reunion," and as Nurse in "Television2." She had the title role in "Godmother," an entry in the 2009 48 Hour Film Project.
As an actress on afternoon television, she set a record by starring in nine different roles in six soap operas, seven of which were contract roles, more than any other actor in daytime drama. Her best-remembered parts include Lyla Montgomery on "As the World Turns" and the unusual dual role of Ruby Collins and Dr. Sharon Reaves on "The Young & The Restless." She is the only actress in soap history to play two roles on the same show at the same time that were not related in any way.
During the fifteen years she was on daytime, she was also a judge for the National Emmy Awards and is a member of the Academy. For six years she penned a biweekly column for "Soap Opera Digest" and wrote feature articles on daytime celebrities for other fan magazines. Her mentors were Bobby Lewis, founder of the famed Actors Studio, and Warren Robertson, a protege of Lee Strasberg. She began training actors in 1986 in New York and taught at the College of Dupage in Illinois from 1992 to 1998. In 2000 she returned to Louisiana and founded her school, The Actors Alliance, to train actors to work in film.
She was executive producer of the award-winning short film "Halfway," which was shot in January, 2009, and shown at the New Orleans Film Festival in October. Her most recent stint as a director was for the play "Breakfast," which was shown at The People Program in New Orleans in October, 2009, and as the writer/director of her student film "Reunion," also shot in October. She has several other film projects in development for 2010 with colleagues in her group, the Louisiana Filmmakers Meetup. She was inducted into the Louisiana Hall of Fame in 2004.
Shirley Kennedy is the owner of SJK Public Relations, LLC, where she works as a publicist for several independent bands. She holds a Bachelor’s in Political Science with an emphasis on Creative Writing from Agnes Scott College and a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Phoenix. Shirley’s writing talent was discovered by Bo Ball, a writing professor at Agnes Scott and a published author. Dr. Ball nurtured Shirley’s talent and helped her to hone her skills during her tenure at Agnes Scott.
Shirley began entertainment writing by preparing articles about American Idol for The National Ledger, an on-line news publication. She has been touted as one of several experts on American Idol on the Internet and is considered the southeast’s premier writer on the show. From those early writings, Shirley began interviewing and profiling musical artists, beginning with Elliott Yamin and Ace Young, the third and seventh-place finishers, respectively, on season five of American Idol. Since that time, Shirley has interviewed several independent musicians and communicates directly with Bruce Iglauer, President of Alligator Records, to schedule interviews of the artists on his label, including Tinsley Ellis and Eric Lindell.
Shirley’s work has been published by The National Ledger and Jazz Quad, two on-line publications. Jazz Quad translates Shirley’s articles to Russian and publishes those pieces in its paper magazine. Shirley continuously establishes relationships with other media, which allows her to create press opportunities for the musicians and clothing line she represents. She was honored last year by inclusion in the liner notes of “Elliott Yamin” (Hickory Records), the largest selling independent CD in SoundScan history with the highest debut in the Billboard Top 100. She has since been included in the liner notes of the re-release of “Contradictory” by Lucas Cates (PopBomb Records) and on “These Parts Unknown” by Mike Droho (Ruff Roads Records), both clients of SJK Public Relations, LLC.
Recently branching out into other areas of the entertainment industry, Shirley is a founding member of Opus Entertainment Agency, a Division of SJK Public Relations, LLC, which provides booking, artist development, and artist management services. Opus’s clients include The Lucas Cates Band (Madison, WI), Mike Droho and The Compass Rose (Madison, WI), the Sharp and Harkins Band (Stoughton, WI), the Tony Sims Band (Atlanta, GA), Ethan and the Ewox (Atlanta, GA), Falling In Two (Fayetteville, NC), and the agency’s newest addition, Fact and Fiction (Nashville, TN).
Shirley is a member of the National Writers Union, a trade union for freelance and contract writers; Freelance Writing Organization International; the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists; and the Entertainment Publicists Professional Society. Shirley is the NACA Agent and Tour Manager for The Lucas Cates Band, Mike Droho and The Compass Rose, The Sharp and Harkins Band, and Fact and Fiction. She has recently partnered with iNatty Records, which represents Know Boundaries, Natty Nation, and dumate at NACA.
Jay Rosenthal is a partner with the Washington, D.C. law firm of Berliner, Corcoran & Rowe, LLP and is a Professorial Lecturer in Law at the George Washington University Law School, teaching Entertainment Law. He is a Board Member of SoundExchange, a former Copyright Examiner with the U.S. Copyright Office, a vice‑president of the Washington Area Music Association, and an Advisory Board Member of the Songwriter Association of Washington and THE PUBLIC DOMAIN REPORT. Mr. Rosenthal has authored numerous articles on entertainment law and intellectual property, and is a periodic contributor to Billboard and other industry newsletters and journals. He has lectured extensively across the country on entertainment industry topics. Mr. Rosenthal’s former and present clients include Thievery Corporation, ESL Music, The Recording Artists' Coalition, Mya, Salt N Pepa, DJ Kool, VGR Entertainment, SEV, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Toshi Reagan, Jimmies Chicken Shack, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Rare Essence, Bill Kirchen, Butch Cassidy, Lloyd Dobbler Effect, radio personalities Albie Dee, Mark Kaye, Kristian Gamble, and Bill Curry, comedian Robert Schimmel and monument maker/sculptor Robert Berks.
Brad Hunt is the President of the Orangeburg NY based WNS Group, a independent promotion, marketing, publishing and management company specializing in roots based music since 1996. He is celebrating his forty second year of making a living doing what he always wanted to do and claims to learn something new about the industry everyday. His career includes radio programming, music retailing and major label promotion, marketing, a&r and administration. His management clients are Sonny Landreth, Tim O'Brien, Steve Forbert and Stacey Earle. Married with a daughter completing her undergraduate studies this coming year and a son entering 10th grade.
John "J-DOGG" Shaw graduated from Memphis State University in 1992 with a degree in music education. He has been a clinician, promoter, hip-hop journalist, producer and jazz musician. His articles have appeared in Murder Dog, Rap Pages, Grooveline, Street Masters and Down Magazine. Since 1995, he has worked for Select-O-Hits Music Distribution in the promotions department. He has spoken at numerous conventions, including the Southern Urban Music Conference, Omni Music Conference and Mid-Atlantic Music Conference, and is working on a history of Black music in Shreveport, Louisiana entitled "Action Speaks Louder Than Words: Black Music in Shreveport, LA 1948-1998."
Rico Brooks, President
Block Entertainment
Rico Brooks a Manager is responsible for the leadership, coordination and overall direction of an individual, team of individuals and/or enterprise. As President of Block Entertainment and Manager of Superstar Rapper Yung Joc and Co-Manager of Rapper Gorilla Zoe, Rico Brooks leads his team to their current and future success.
Born and raised in Albany, Georgia, Rico Brooks moved to Atlanta to earn an Associates Degree in History from Atlanta Metro College and attended the coveted Morehouse University to graduate with a Bachelor of Art in History. Upon graduating, life took a turn and Brooks found himself working as a Sales Associate for Peppermint Music. His undeniable love for music turned his need for a job post-graduation into a full-fledged career of 10 years in music retail. Brooks climbed the ladder from Sales Associate to Manager to District Manager and back to Manager after the decline in record sales.
Brooks’ entrepreneurial drive and leadership skills became even more evident when he formed International Music Distribution (IMD) with fellow industry pioneers, Vince Phillips, Dan Brown and Brad McDonald. IMD opened doors for new artists Lil Scrappy, Trillville, D4L and Bonecrusher to get their records heard by a wide audience of music industry tastemakers and record breakers. Brooks determination did not go unnoticed. Russell “Block” Spencer, CEO of Block Entertainment, hired Brooks to help break records for signed acts, Big Gee (Mechanicsville USA), Boyz N Da Hood, and rising star Yung Joc. Soon after, Rico Brooks became Manager to Boyz N Da Hood (previously featuring Young Jeezy) to his current title as Manager for Yung Joc, Co-Manager for Gorilla Zoe and President of Block Entertainment.
As an Artist Manager and record label President, Rico Brooks is responsible for making executive decisions daily, including: Calendar management, promotion, marketing, radio spins, New Media, publicity, and coordination of Travel Agents, Booking Agents and Publicists to smoothly transition acts from new artist to Superstar. Brooks believes in being an advocate for the artist when dealing with the major labels to fight for what’s needed to strategically brand an artist in the marketplace.
Rico Brooks notes his biggest accomplishment as bringing “new blood into an evolving industry” by helping to break phenomenal new artists. His persistence is evident when noting the fact that his determination has helped to unleash a new artist for 3 consecutive years including Boys N Da Hood (2005), Yung Joc (2006), Gorilla Zoe (2007) and R&B artist JC (2008). Yung Joc had over 200 paid dates in 2006 alone, more than any rapper during that time-a testament to the team guiding his career.
The possibilities are endless for Rico Brooks. Not one to be comfortable in his current position, Brooks plans on developing a career in Movie Production, Branding and Strategic Marketing. He also envisions the music industry’s growth in the digital age and how to best align his artists to change with the times.
As an avid reader, Brooks leaves this advice to others in pursuit of their career path: Learn about the industry, learn other jobs besides yours in the industry, don’t be dispensable and see gems in everyone from the intern to the President.
Lori Donovan started her event marketing and development career working for organizations like The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival and Musikfest (one of the east coast's largest music festivals), before starting her own company, The Fourth Leaf Agency, in 2004. Providing booking, marketing and cyber marketing services for independent artists – ranging from regional touring bands to international artists like Simone (daughter of Nina Simone), Fiona Boyes, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Ruthie Foster, and more. Offering her clients the benefit of over 16 years in event/performer public relations and marketing, as well as her own experience as a touring blues singer, Lori Donovan and The Fourth Leaf Agency provide a hands-on, personal approach to marketing from a performer's point of view.
Susie Labry from New Orleans, Actress, Organizer and Leader of the various Louisiana Film and Music Industry meetup.com Groups. Citizen
Grassroots Activist who helped lead up the movement at the State Capitol in creating, maintaining, tweeking, the Louisiana Film Industry Tax Credits, La. Music and Recording Tax Credits, Louisiana Theater Industry Tax Credits. Very successful in leading grassroots effort in helping to get the 30% La. Film Industry Tax Credits/Remove Sunset legislation through. Enjoys singing and playing guitar and upright bass. Sing in various choirs and Church events.
Steven W. Newberry
President and CEO
Commonwealth Broadcasting Corporation
Steve Newberry is president and CEO of Commonwealth Broadcasting Corporation, a multi-station radio broadcast group with stations throughout Kentucky. He began his broadcast career at the age of 14 and entered ownership at the age of 21.
Active in community and industry affairs, Steve has held a number of positions in the industry. He has served as chairman of NAB's Radio Board of Directors and as president of the Kentucky Broadcasters Association.
Steve has served as state chairman of NAB's Legislative Liaison Committee and chair of the Small Market Definition Task Force. He was the founding chair of the Small Market Operators Caucus and was a 1999 recipient of the prestigious Kentucky Mike Award from the Kentucky Broadcasters Association. He is a frequent presenter at NAB and state broadcast association conventions.
Steve has been active in public broadcasting, having served for six years as a member of the national board of trustees of America's Public Television Stations and five years as chairman of the Authority for Kentucky Educational Television.
In addition, Steve is involved in his community, having served as executive director of the Glasgow-Barren County Industrial Development Economic Authority and now as its chairman. He has served his community as a member of the boards of BB&T, the Glasgow-Barren County Chamber of Commerce, the Horse Cave Theatre, the Glasgow-Barren County Family YMCA and Glasgow-Barren County Junior Achievement. He previously served as president of the Glasgow Rotary Club and twice as chair of the local United Way campaign.
Steve received his B.A. degree in telecommunications in 1984 from the University of Kentucky. He resides in Hiseville, Ky., with his wife, Vickie, and their son, Walker. They are active members of the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
To refer to Tina Terry as a simple booking agent is like referring to the Dahli Lama as just a guy. Tina approaches the basic profession of music booking with enthusiasm, dedication and a willingness to always travel the extra mile. Tina has a degree in Paralegal Studies and spent fourteen years in the litigation field. In addition to other disciplines, she credits her studies with helping her develop an essence of gut instinct and attention to facts.
As a teenager, she recalls gathering with her friends to decipher recordings, noting tones and rhythms and grasping music at an intimate level. Though she didn't pick up an instrument, she found herself booking her first band at the tender age of eighteen. During the same time, she pursued work as a volunteer, working in promotions, publicity, and event planning. Soon after, Tina discovered the Blues while working as a cocktail waitress at Arthur’s Blues and Jazz in Greensboro. The genre would become her passion and eventually her business.
In 1998 Tina was downsized from a legal firm and decided to step back into the realm of booking professionally. She opened Sandbox Productions, a boutique agency dealing with publicity and promotion as well as booking and management. She worked with a plethora of talent, from ska funk reggae acts to blues and rock. Sandbox's reputation grew and Tina attracted the attention of Piedmont Talent in Charlotte and joined forces as a booking agent with Steve Hecht in 2003.
Tina has encyclopedic knowledge of music and the music business, having dealt with every facet of it for many years. She encourages artists to form a team before seeking representation. “It's a team mentality, and all parties must do their part and trust the decision of each person to create longevity and the best outcome for the artist's career."
Perhaps Tina understand artists so well because she also has an artist's skill and mentality. She creates special order, one-of-a-kind, memory books incorporating her own unique talents. Tina is also an excellent and astute photographer.
When asked what her personal bumper sticker would say,Tina laughs. "I think my personal bumper sticker would read, MUSIC MAKES LIFE. For me, music is an essential element in the fabric of my life. Working within the booking business allows me to connect artists, talent buyers and fans and create a network of musical satisfaction. It's indeed great to work in a field where I can be helpful and a passionate music fan as well."
Bob Baker is the author of the highly acclaimed "Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook" and the "Music Marketing 101" course at Berkleemusic, the online continuing education division of Berklee College of Music. He is an indie musician and former music magazine editor dedicated to showing musicians of all kinds how to get exposure, connect with fans, sell more music, and increase their incomes through their artistic passions.
John "Johnny Full-Time" Luttrell
John Luttrell developed a love for Blues music late in high school and a love for radio in college. Those two passions would marry one another several years down the road. A graduate of two of Indiana's most beloved broadcasting/telecommunications programs, John slowly worked himself into a full-time, on-air radio position while also earning paychecks as a postal worker, "beer man," and substitute teacher, whenever necessary.
Content to pay his dues in the news department until he could work himself into a job as a disc jockey, "Johnny Full-Time" delivered news for all of the stations in a five-station cluster and became a successful part of two different morning shows, showing his versatility. When the news department was folded as a result of massive budget cuts in 2009, Luttrell found himself, like so many fellow Americans, unemployed.
Not happy with the lack of opportunities for disc jockeys in the region, "J.F.T." took his severance pay and started Blues website http://www.fulltimeblues.com. In addition, Johnny Full-Time shifted the focus of his volunteer radio show, "Full-Time Blues," toward promoting and playing new and independent Blues music; as well as providing a voice to the local acts that he felt weren't getting much of a break either.
Full-Time Blues Radio (http://www.fulltimeblues.com) is a weekly, two-hour radio program billed as "The Home For New And Independent Blues Music." It is produced and hosted by "Johnny Full-Time" and airs Saturdays from Noon-2:00 PM Central Time on 91.5 WUEV-FM. The show is a great source of Blues music news, reviews, artist interviews, and more. John Luttrell is the owner/webmaster and creator of nearly all of the site's content.
2010 is poised to be a breakout year for Johnny Full-Time. In addition to his invitation to this year's Cutting Edge, J.F.T. was also the emcee at the 20th W.C. Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival in Henderson, Kentucky, where one festival-goer was heard to say, “Not to belittle the emcee of previous years, but as I heard someone at the CD tables say, ‘They got the right guy for the job this year.’” John has interviewed Blues artists ranging from the buzz-worthy like Albert Castiglia and Cedric Burnside & Lightnin' Malcolm to legends like Joe Louis Walker and Corky Siegel.
Tom graduated from Illinois State University in the Spring of 2002, where he majored in Radio Broadcasting. His professional career began in Bloomington and Normal, IL, working for two stations. While Tom enjoyed his work, his heart pulled toward returning to “the big city.” To satisfy that urge, Tom left his job, school, and friends and headed to Chicago. Tom began his career in Chicago as an intern at ABC Radio, which hired him on full time. In his five years at ABC Radio, Tom did literally everything he could get his hands on. He worked in several positions, from the promotions assistant, to on-air DJ. Being on air in Chicago was a career goal that Tom achieved at the age of 25. Following Tom’s work with ABC Radio and then, Citadel Broadcasting, he found his way to WGN Radio, where he served as a producer for various shows and special projects involving the Chicago Cubs. During his time with WGN Radio, Tom was hired by WGN TV and has served as the Segment Coordinator for the WGN Midday News since the fall of 2008. At WGN is where Tom found his niche. In booking segments and events, he really found what he loves to do. Tom’s primary responsibility is booking guest segments for the WGN Midday News. Tom is grateful for this position, as the WGN Midday News is seen nationally on WGN America, giving him the opportunity to do what he loves on a national level. Tom is responsible for booking bands, authors, chefs, and actors. When asked about his job, Tom enthusiastically shares, “It’s a great job and I’m blessed to do it.”
Benji Rogers is an independent musician from London England who has been making his own records since 1999. Through PledgeMusic Benji will be releasing his 5th independent record under the name Marwood. Born in London, but having lived in New York, Los Angeles and Boston Benji has variously worked in television and film, as a camera operator, and audio engineer. He has even run a bar in New York! Benji has been on tour with his band and as a solo artist with relatively few breaks since 2001 in both the US and Europe. With his mother, father and stepfather all having variously been managers, label owners, publishers and musicians, in the music industry he was literally born into it.
New Orleans native Shanda Quintal is the Executive Director of the New Orleans Actors Resource Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to the education, advancement and exposure of actors in New Orleans. NOARC hosts the annual Actors Expo, a day long event of panel discussions meant to inform and educate actors about the film industry in Louisiana. In addition, NOARC hosts casting workshops and monthly-held meetings where actors can find out what is happening in the film industry as well as have the opportunity to work-out their acting muscles with scenes, monologues and improvs. Shanda studied acting in Los Angeles under the tutelage of renown acting coach, Aaron Speiser, whose notable clients include Academy Award nominees Will Smith and Virginia Madsen. She has been an actor in film, theater and commercials since 1991.
Todd Delaney is the general manager and program director of KSLU public radio at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. Delaney developed KSLU’s edgy AAA music programming to appeal to a wide variety of listeners from high schoolers to the recently retired, earning it “Station of the Year” honors from the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters. When he’s not searching the world for the next great song, Delaney teaches radio at the university where he pulls from his 20-plus years of radio experience to train tomorrow’s broadcast leaders.
“Bun P.” has developed and executed regional and national marketing initiatives for several clients and events including national tours featuring such artist as Nelly (Nellyville), Kanye West, and Russell Simmons Hip-Hop Summit Action Network while branding products ranging from Motion Hair Care, Sprite (Ogilvy Mather), Ecko, and Salem (Media Star Promotions) to an urban targeted demographic. “Bun P’s” extensive experience in coordinating live touring events with individuals like Vincent “Vegas” Carroll (former GM of Team Lunatics-Nelly) and great success in managing street teams and special events for industry heavy-hitters like John Monopoly of Hustle (former manager of Kanye West/ former President of G.O.O.D. Music/Sony) and Don C. (current Kanye West manager) has afforded him an A class reputation in the entertainment business.
His experiences has also included entertainment endorsement deals with music artist including Swizz Beatz and Jadakiss and special events with strategic promotional partners ranging from Playboy, NBA, Complex Magazine, and Rolling Out Magazine. He has an active entertainment roster that includes events featuring P-Diddy, OutKast, Prince, Kanye West, Twista and Master P.
Bun has 12 years of shaping the industry and has set a standard for marketing, music management, music placement, record label consulting, and event planning. As an executive and co-owner of several marketing and music companies since 1996, Burundi “Bun P.” has coordinated, promoted, advertised, and consulted for several components of the Fashion, Music, Wine & Spirits, and The Beverage Industry, including Venues.
Burundi secured Twista’s Legit Ballin Records Brand a national multi-million dollar distribution deal with KOCH Entertainment. Also procured multi revenue streams including a multi-year shoe deal with Damon Dash’s Pro-Keds. Legit Ballaz Vol.4: Tha Truth as an Executive Producer.
Bun’s newest entertainment partnership is with Spoken Word Music king, Malik Yusef. Recently helping to garner a placement on Raheem Devaughn newest album “Love Behind The Melody”, securing tour opportunities with Jill Scott and Raheem, and helping to lay the foundation for Malik’s new label MY Music INC. that will release a project with Kanye West as his partner.
Bun is a strategic, innovative thinker that knows how to get the job done and with his extensive rolodex and ability to gain new relationships, the sky’s the limit.
Raymond D. Sweet
filmmaker and actor
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In 2006 Raymond D. Sweet knew that he wanted to be in the entertainment business. He came to this conclusion when he was producing his own public access TV shows in Tampa, Florida his native home. From there he started working with other independent filmmakers on special projects as he prepared himself spiritually, mentally and financially to separate from his job in corporate America. After being ready mentally Raymond decided to take the plunge and go into entertainment full time in August 2008. In August he was still trying to figure out what he wanted to do in the entertainment business. After a heart to heart with himself he knew that he really wanted to become an actor and those other jobs was to avoid dealing with his insecurities with his weight. Once he came to himself he decided that the only thing matter was what he wanted to do. While watching shows like CSI and looking at commercials Raymond knew then that he needed to build his confidence, because big men worked all the time it was just the matter of deciding that would be my path. So, in November 2008 he joined the Performers Studio Workshop in Tampa, Florida the premiere acting program in the state patterned after Eric Morris and he stayed there until January 2010 when he thought he should make another big move. Sweet moved to New Orleans, Louisiana known as the Hollywood of the south. It was his frequent visits to NOLA that was full of life and culture that made New Orleans an easier choice over Los Angeles and New York City. Not to mention the cost of living. Since moving to NOLA Raymond has booked two plays (Church Folks & The Unacquainted) and one independent film (Vixen). As he learned more about the film industry and his participation in the American Black Film Festival the words of John Singleton resonated with him. John told the audience that he could not take their music, scripts or other art, because he owed many people that helped him when he was starting. He encouraged the audience of aspiring filmmakers to look amongst yourselves and work with each other. From that message two mini/webisodes were created (“Order of the Onyx” and “The Substitute”). The 1st episode of “Order of the Onyx” was produced in February and is currently being edited. Future episodes are forthcoming and “The Substitute” will be produced soon. It is Raymond’s goal to work with as many independent filmmakers and playwrights to help them build their reel as they help him build his. Raymond’s far away mentor is Will Smith and he watches a youtube version of Will’s inspiration. He also takes notes from Spike Lee, John Singleton, Will Packer, Rob Hardy, Sylvester Stallone and other writers to create and produce your own work and not wait on others.
Scott Bomar is a Memphis-based musician, film composer, music producer and recording engineer. In 2005, Bomar composed the score for Craig Brewer's award-winning film, Hustle & Flow, for which Bomar has received much critical acclaim for his combination of Memphis soul and hip-hop. Bomar returned in 2006 to collaborate with the filmmakers of Hustle & Flow as executive music producer and composer of the film, Black Snake Moan. Bomar most recently collaborated as a producer with Brewer on the MTV New Media series, "$5 Cover." Bomar has also gained prominence as a bassist, backing legendary Stax artists such as Rufus and Carla Thomas, Eddie Floyd, William Bell, Sun Records pioneer Rosco Gordon, and Motown session guitarist, Dennis Coffey, both in the studio and on the road. Bomar is also the leader of The Bo-Keys, a Memphis soul/funk group featuring former Stax/Volt and Isaac Hayes session players Skip Pitts, Willie Hall and Ben Cauley. The Bo-Keys performed on the film and soundtrack for Hustle & Flow and can be heard in the Paramount/Nickelodeon animated feature Barnyard. The Bo-Keys appear in the film Soul Men, performing on-screen with stars Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mack and on three songs Bomar produced for the soundtrack, one of which, “Soul Music” performed by Anthony Hamilton was nominated for a Grammy in 2010. Bomar recently received an Emmy Award for his musical contribution on the documentary, I am a Man: From Memphis a Lesson in Life and produced and engineered Cyndi Lauper's "Memphis Blues" album which was recorded at his Memphis studio, Electraphonic Recording. Bomar serves as President of the Memphis Chapter of NARAS and has also served as an instructor for the after-school and summer camp programs for at-risk youths at the Stax Music Academy at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.
As executive producer and artist liaison of Comma, Bonny Dolan is that key figure between the advertising agencies and the music makers. At Comma, Bonny—working closely with six inhouse composers—produces original music for ad campaigns. An expert at sourcing, securing and properly licensing music, she is also responsible for Comma’s expansion into music supervision. Since joining Comma in 2007, Bonny has transformed and energized the music licensing business with her personalized, streamlined approach. For those looking to form a deeper brand/band relationship, Bonny curates and manages artist showcases and meet-and-greets specifically aimed at ad agency creatives and their clients. Reflecting her diverse musical taste, she has worked with several acts in this capacity, including Cyndi Lauper, Andrew Bird, Raphael Saadiq, Phoenix, Colbie Caillat, Lykke Li, Duran Duran, Eagles of Death Metal and the Swell Season. Indeed, Bonny has been a true pioneer in the world of branded entertainment. In fact, while at Leo Burnett, where she was a VP, Bonny launched and founded the agency’s Artist-in-Residence program. As the program’s director, she was instrumental—an architect—in creating the modern model for artist/agency collaborations. She brokered deals between Kellogg’s and Collective Soul, McDonald’s and Cheap Trick, and others. It was also Bonny who organized the production of the licensing deal between Allstate and the Beatles (“When I’m Sixty-Four”). Because of her insight, knowledge and pioneering spirit, Bonny has been quoted in numerous publications, including Billboard, Crain’s Chicago Business and the Wall Street Journal. Additionally, she is an in-demand speaker at advertising and music conferences around the world. Bonny also sits on the Recording Academy’s Midwest Board of Governors. ABOUT COMMA Founded in 2001, Comma is a critically acclaimed original music house, with composers and producers working out of studios in Chicago, Santa Monica and New York City. Comma’s team of composers is a talented bunch, with specialties spanning orchestral and genre music to hip-hop, rock and electronic. Comma also has deep connections within the music industry, regularly hosting artist showcases (Phoenix, Duran Duran, the Swell Season) and facilitating licensing agreements. In 2007, Comma opened Particle, an independent post-audio and sound design facility, featuring two identical surround/ISDN capable mix rooms. Also a member of the Comma family is Implement, a large library of available tracks, perfect for needle drops and other lastminute needs.
Kabir is an investment banker at JPMorgan in New York where he focuses on emerging market investment opportunities in Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. He's started several companies, one of which was dostpost.com, an educational-themed social network for Indians. He moved to India to build the tool and DostPost was offered an international partnership with AOL. A graduate of Dartmouth College, London School of Economics and a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship, he is an accomplished jazz bass player, winning the national award - Most Outstanding Jazz Bass Soloist presented by Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has performed and toured around the world with Grammy winners including jazz legend Wynton Marsalis. His first book which was published in 2008 is entitled, Jazzocracy: Jazz, Democracy, and the Creation of a New American Mythology which President Jimmy Carter says, "Kabir Sehgal brilliantly shows us how both jazz and democracy require an environment of free exchange and collective ingenuity." The book has become a textbook in several universities. With Jude Law, he co-founded Music for Tomorrow, a nonprofit jazz booking service that benefits New Orleans charities. Kabir served on the John Kerry campaign as an adviser, speechwriter, and special assistant to Senator Max Cleland. He worked at the Labour Party headquarters under Jonathan Powell, Chief of Staff to Tony Blair. Kabir also served as an adviser to the Democratic Party of Georgia. His second book is entitled, "Walk in My Shoes: Conversations Between a Civil Rights Legend and his Godson on the Journey ahead," which has received endorsements from Maya Angelou, Jamie Foxx, Tom Brokaw, Bill Clinton.
As a journalist for daily newspapers and technology magazines for the last 22 years, Todd R. Weiss has written about just about every subject under the sun, from computers to science, government, crime, the courts, personality profiles, concert reviews and much more. He added a new dimension in November 2008 after a visit to Madison, WI., where he went to see friends and family. It was there that a longtime friend took him to see a local Gypsy jazz/swing band that was performing in a downtown hotel bar. The quartet and their high-flying, hard-charging, plasma-pumping, electric-generating sound knocked his socks off, and when the band headed east on tour the following spring, Weiss took his girlfriend to the show just north of Philadelphia. It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship between Weiss and the band. Two months later, he became Harmonious Wail's publicist, working to get news and information about the rocking foursome into local newspapers, radio stations and other media wherever the band plays. An award-winning writer with 21st century online credentials, Weiss wrote for Computerworld.com from 2000 until November 2008 and is now freelancing for Computerworld.com, PCWorld.com blogs, ForecastingClouds.com, TechTarget.com, Data Center Management magazine and others. He formerly wrote for The Lancaster (PA) New Era, The (Norristown) Times Herald and The Ambler Gazette. He earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has two spectacular children who are both talented musicians and performing artists, has played the drums since he was 18 months old, and he collects miniature toy taxicabs.
Sarah Milam
Business Development & Marketing Manager Justin.tv
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Sarah began working in live music but has been working in the digital world for the past few years. As an early member of the imeem team, she created online campaigns that included original content, connecting brands to bands, and syndicating free streaming digital music in innovative ways. Currently Sarah is working at Justin.tv, the largest live video site in the world, finding ways to bring music and original artist created content to live viewers around the world.
Jason Villemarette
Fire on the Bayou
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Jason Villemarette founded Fire on the Bayou in 2006 after 10 years in the business as a commercial director and editor. Following their passions for filming and editing Fire on the Bayou has created effective television and web videos for companies all across the world.
Marc Stollman
Esq. Stollman Law PA
worked with Michael Cohl and Grand Entertainment, which became part of Live Nation for a year or so, before spinning off as S2BN Entertainment, S2BN, opened and managed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex in NYC, we sold-out MSG for Pete Seegers’s 90th birthday celebration (which aired on PBS, with Springsteen, Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, etc.), opened the 60-show Fall Tour for Yo Gabba Gabba: “There’s a Party In My City”, the live touring version of the smash hit Nickelodeon show, released our concert DVD’s of the Rolling Stones and Barbra Streisand (from our tours with them), continue to operate “Bodies, the Exhibition” around the world, managed international Scottish superstar Paolo Nutini, and finished full length feature film documentaries on Harry Belafonte and Phil Ochs. Marc Stollman also acted as general counsel of S2BN and handled all corporate and day-to-day legal matters for the company, such as employment issues, real estate, and corporate structure.
John P. Strohm is a transactional entertainment and intellectual property attorney with the firm Johnston Barton Proctor & Rose LLP . John’s practice focuses on the representation of musicians, songwriters and independent record labels. Prior to becoming an attorney, John was a professional musician and producer for over a decade. He performed and recorded as a member of several notable alternative pop/rock acts, including The Lemonheads and Blake Babies.
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Nancy Prager is an attorney based in Washington, D.C. She represents a wide range of clients on matters from intellectual property to estate planning. Before starting her own practice, she practiced with firms in Memphis and Atlanta, as well as providing business development services to technology companies. She launched her practice to offer strategic legal services to clients at an affordable rate. Additionally, Nancy is a sought after speaker and writer on issues related to the convergence of intellectual property, technology and media. Nancy was asked to write a series of commentaries for News.com on the emerging legal issues related to the transmission of content on the internet. She has spoken to organizations and conferences around the country on issues related to the convergence of technology, content and intellectual property, as well as strategic legal issues for companies, individuals and artists. Journalists often rely on Nancy as a resource for emerging legal issues. Nancy has a strong commitment to social justice. She has founded, or co-founded, a number of organizations and programs that provide tangible services to their constituencies. For example, while a student in law school she developed the Domestic Violence Advocacy Center that provides legal services to victims of domestic violence. Additionally, she has been involved with a number of organizations that provide services to children and their families, including serving on the boards of the Harwood Center and Porter Leath Children’s Services. She is a graduate of Wake Forest University School of Law and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the State Bar of Georgia and the State Bar of Tennessee. She has been a member of a variety of legal organizations including the Copyright Society of the USA and the American Bar Association.
Ellis Pailet has been in private practice in New Orleans for over thirty years. Mr. Pailet is recognized as one of the most prominent entertainment lawyers in the city of New Orleans. His concentration is Sports and Entertainment Law.
Kevin Mills has held senior business affairs positions with several studios, including Republic Pictures Corporation, Independent Artists Company, Hal Roach Studios and what is now Hallmark Entertainment. Over the past 12 years, Mr. Mills' practice has encompassed all aspects of talent representation and also the financing, production and distribution of entertainment product in the areas of both television and feature films. He has extensive experience in international television and film distribution and has studied international business transactions in London, England. Mr. Mills is a member of the Beverly Hills Bar Association. He also serves on the Copyright Protection Committee of the American Film Marketing Association, the trade association for independent producers and distributors
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Sabrina graduated Cum Laude from UCLA in a mere three years before moving on to law school. Upon graduation from UCLA School of Law, Sabrina immediately threw herself into the entertainment industry, becoming a production coordinator for a music DVD series. Prior to joining LaPolt Law, P.C., Sabrina worked for several years at a boutique firm in Santa Monica specializing in music, television and general entertainment law practice. Sabrina negotiates and drafts various agreements relating to all areas in music, merchandising, book publishing, motion picture and television, including but not limited to recording agreements with major labels and independent labels, production agreements and other joint venture related agreements, music publishing agreements, producer agreements, composer agreements, endorsement and sponsorships agreements, master and synchronization agreements and other rights clearance agreements, management agreements, film production agreements such as director, writer-option agreements, and various talent agreements, employment agreements, operating agreements and various other corporate organizational documents such as corporate resolutions and amendments. Other areas of expertise include due diligence in connection with copyright and trademark acquisitions in addition to supporting outside litigation counsel in such areas as copyright and trademark infringement, misappropriation of name and likeness and violations of the Talent Agencies Act. When not at the office, Sabrina can be found indulging in one of her varied interests, from horseback riding to photography to baking.
Christine LePera
Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp
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Commercial litigation with a focus on claims of copyright infringement, music plagiarism, trademark infringement, unfair competition and contract and commercial disputes in the entertainment industry. • BMS Entertainment/Heat Music LLC, et al. v. Christopher Bridges, et al., United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Case No. 04 Civ. 02584 (PKC) – Obtained jury verdict (2006) on behalf of recording artists and songwriters Christopher Bridges p/k/a Ludacris and Kanye West, and music publisher EMI April Music in music copyright infringement case that proceeded to liability trial in connection with the 2003 hit single “Stand Up” written by Ludacris and Kanye West, which appears on Ludacris’ album “Chicken-n-Beer.” Also, previously won a motion to preclude plaintiffs’ expert evidence in that case and for fees and costs for discovery sanctions. • Microhits Music Corp., et al. v. Arista Records, Inc., et al., United States District Court for the Central District of California, Case No. CV 05-4040 (ER) – Won summary judgment (2006) on behalf of songwriters and performing and recording artists Antwan Patton and Andre Benjamin, p/k/a Outkast in a declaratory judgment action commenced against them in the Central Division of California in which plaintiffs claimed joint copyright ownership in certain of Outkast’s recordings and compositions on their multi-platinum, award-winning album entitled “Speakerboxxx / Love Below.” Also defeated plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment on Outkast’s counterclaims for, inter alia, fraud, and unfair competition. R. Kelly, et al. v. Shawn Carter, et al., Supreme Court of New York, New York County, Index No. 04-603617 – Won summary judgment on behalf of Shawn Carter p/k/a Jay Z and his production company, Marcy Projects Productions, on tortious interference claims asserted against them by Robert Kelly p/k/a R. Kelly based upon Kelly’s alleged improper termination from the artists’ “Best of Both Worlds” Tour in 2004.
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focuses her practice on Entertainment Law, with office locations in Miami, Baton Rouge, and coming this summer in New Orleans. Her firm’s clients include production companies, directors, screenwriters, actors, musicians, and fashion designers. Her professional publications are: Compiled Comparison: FL HB 697 “Entertainment industry financial incentive program” to Louisiana and New Mexico Current Film Incentives Law, published in the program materials for, “Getting Reel About Making It in Hollywood,” at the CLE PROGRAM | From Hollywood to South Beach: The First Annual International Legal Symposium on the World of Music, Film and Television, presented by The Forum on Entertainment and Sports Industries of the American Bar Association, where she was a panelist and on the Host Committee; Co-Authored Inside Hollywood: The Reel Path to Success in the Motion Picture Industry, the lead article in the journal, Inside the Minds,™ Entertainment and Media Law Contract Strategies from Aspatore Books, with Richard W. Rappaport, Esq. and Hollywood Director and Producer Dr. Kenneth J. Atchity; the Quarterly Case Summaries for the 2nd and 11th Circuits and updates for the 9th Circuit and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, Legal Standards Project for the Trademark Litigation Committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Association; Co-Editor the for the 2008 update of the Reporter’s Handbook of the Media and Communications Law Committee of The Florida Bar. She is a former faculty member at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in the Fashion Design and Fashion Merchandising departments and developed Business Law course geared to the Fashion Industry. Ms. Graham taught the Entertainment Law Seminar at Florida International University in the Legal Studies Institute. Ms. Graham gave workshops at Tipitina’s Music Office Co-Op in Baton Rouge and was a panelist at the New Orleans Actors Resource Center 2009 Actors Expo. She was appointed to the Membership Committee of the ABA’s Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries. Ms. Graham is an Executive Council member of the Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law Section of the Florida Bar. She is a frequent Program Chair, Steering Committee Member, Moderator and Speaker at EASL events in Florida and Beverly Hills, California. Ms. Graham is Chair of EASL’s Legislation Committee and steered lobbying efforts to promote the passage of new film incentives legislation in Florida. Four Chairs of the Florida Bar have appointed her to the Media and Communications Law Committee. She also spoke and represented the Committee at the First Amendment Foundation’s 2009 Sunshine Seminars. She has a passion for Animal Welfare in Entertainment, and spoke on the topics of, “Defamation, Animal Rights and Fashion,” and “Animal Rights and Fashion,” at consecutive Annual Animal Law Symposiums, presented by the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund of University of Miami School of Law. She also coached the UM team to the Closing Arguments of the Animal Law Competition at Harvard Law School. She was on the Advisory Board for the exhibit, Music Musica: American Sabor: Latins in U.S. Popular Music, and Hands On Music, at the Miami Science Museum. She was also on the Host Committee of The Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival's Awards Dinner and Assistant Executive Producer of the Steinway/BMI Music and Arts Showcase Series, in Coral Gables, Florida. Ms. Graham received her J.D. from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and B.S. in Political Science from Florida State University. At FSU, she did concentrated courses in music engineering at the Computer Music Program in the College of Music. At NSU, she earned the CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Copyrights and Trademarks; Gold Level Pro Bono Honors Program, working for the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida; and represented the ACLU of FL at the 2003 NAACP Convention in Miami Beach. She is admitted to practice in Florida, Louisiana and The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Monica Corton, Esq.
NextDecade Entertainment, Inc
Monica Corton is Vice President of Creative Affairs and Licensing at Next Decade Entertainment, Inc. Her responsibilities include all creative exploitation of Next Decade’s works, searching for new talent, negotiating, drafting and licensing all works published and administered by the company as well as overseeing the distribution of royalties. Next Decade’s prestigious publishing clients include Harry Belafonte, the music from the band Boston’s first two albums, the Estate of Milton Gabler, Gaucho/Sandbox Music (70s R&B catalog), the Estate of E.Y. “Yip” Harburg, trance/dance writer Jan Johnston, J Joy (famous DJ from Malta), Bob McGrath (from Sesame Street), Vic Mizzy (“Addams Family Theme” and “Green Acres Theme”) and jazz singer/songwriter Nora York. In addition, she serves as a music supervisor for Next Decade’s various film, television and Broadway projects.
Since joining Next Decade in 1991, she has been involved in the supervision of Golden Harvest Films', Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III and was the Assistant Music Supervisor for Warner Bros., Grumpier Old Men. In addition, she was Music Supervisor for Paramount Pictures, The Odd Couple II starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. She served as the Music Supervisor for the Broadway play One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest starring Gary Sinise and the Broadway play Freak starring John Leguizamo. Ms. Corton was a Music Consultant to Warner Bros. for the motion picture release of The Replacements starring Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman. She was the music supervisor for the CBS television motion picture entitled Gleason. Other credits include Music Supervisor for the Off-Broadway production, Bunny Bunny, a play based on the relationship of the playwright, Alan Zweibel, and Gilda Radner during their tenure as writer and performer on Saturday Night Live.
Ms. Corton is an active member of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. In 2005 and 2006, she was the national chairperson for Copyright Awareness Week (CAW), an annual event sponsored by the Copyright Society to advance the understanding of copyright to American students in public schools and colleges. Under her leadership, CAW promoted a national radio PSA campaign with artists including 3 Doors Down, Deborah Allen, Gavin DeGraw, John Legend, Mary Mary, Martina McBride, Paul Overstreet, Leslie Satcher, Sir Mix-A-Lot and the Ying Yang Twins. She created alliances for CAW with the Motion Picture Association of America, the Business Software Alliance, the Entertainment Software Association and the Film Foundation, as well as other copyright related organizations for their participation in CAW and their contribution of curricula materials to the project. In addition, she wrote and created curricula materials which were promoted to teachers through CAW’s teacher partners which included MENC – The National Association for Music Education, NAEA – The National Art Education Association, NCTE – The National Council of Teachers of English and the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.
In 2005, Ms. Corton was a guest speaker at the International Intellectual Property Conference at Fordham Law School as well as guest speaker for the recipients of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. She is a member of the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) where she served on its Steering Committee. Her other speaking engagements have included panelist for the Copyright Society of the U.S.A.'s “Internet Licensing” forum, guest lecturer for the New York Java Users Group and guest lecturer for the Music Management Program at the Hartt School of Music/University of Hartford Career Day.
Ms. Corton is also an active member of the Friars Club where she has served on their Admissions Committee, Entertainment Committee, House Committee and Nominating Committee. She is currently the chairperson for the Licensing Committee, a committee she helped to create due to the growing licensing demands of the club. Most recently, Ms. Corton became a member of the board of ELEM, Youth in Distress, a group whose efforts support some twenty-five programs throughout Israel to advance issues for young people and give social support as well as job training in a variety of multi-cultural programs.
Ms. Corton is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford and holds a Bachelor of Music in flute performance and music education. While at Hartt she obtained certification from the Kodaly Musical Training Institute. Ms. Corton has studied flute with John Wion and Bert Lucarelli and has given classical and jazz concerts and master classes throughout the east coast.
Palazzotto is a forty year veteran of the regional, national and international entertainment industry, and has been instrumental in making the rest of the world aware of numerous Louisiana artists. A native of Baton Rouge, Palazzotto proved his penchant for spotting talent in 1970. At the outset of his career, Palazzotto introduced the legendary Cold Gritz and the Black-eyed Peas to Ode Record's Lou Adler (Spirit, Mama's & Papa's, Carole King, Cheech & Chong, Johnny Rivers) in Los Angeles, which resulted in a recording agreement for the band.
Since that 1970 coup, Palazzotto has been involved in many facets of the entertainment business. In 1971, he assisted Jay Senter on recording projects with Helen Reddy (I Am Woman), Spencer Davis, Bukka White, Son House, and Mississippi Fred McDowell. From 1971 to 1973, he worked on a daily basis as associate manager for Schiffman & Larson and guided clients Loggins & Messina, Poco, and Manna through performance and radio promotional campaigns. His responsibilities included coordinating all administrative duties between the groups, their record companies (CBS) and their booking agencies. He received two gold albums for his efforts with Loggins & Messina.
As professional manager of Portofino Music, he auditioned and signed new writers, made calls to producers, filed copyrights, and gained in-depth insight into the music publishing industry. During his tenure, covers were secured on such artists as: Rita Coolidge, Bobby Vinton, Skeeter Davis, Michael Nesmith, Bob Luman, Garland Frady and Lynn Anderson. Anderson's cover of Jimmy Messina's "Listen to a Country Song" went to #2 on the Billboard Country charts.
He has attended many entertainment business conventions such as SXSW, NARM and MIDEM, also participating as a judge for The American Song Festival and Louisiana Songwriters Association. He judged a young songwriter by the name of Bruce Hornsby in the American Song Festival in 1974 and Hornsby won the top award. Palazzotto's reputation of sensing an artist's potential and helping shape a viable career direction is uncanny. He represented Bobby McFerrin during McFerrin's days in New Orleans in 1979. Besides the aforementioned Cold Gritz project, Palazzotto engineered a recording agreement with ABC Records in Los Angeles for Louisiana country-writer-artist Butch Hornsby, whose album was produced by Cyril Vetter at Malaco Studios in Jackson, MS. in 1975. He secured a cover recording on the Cajun National Anthem "Laissez Les Bon Ton Rouler" written by his business associates Julie Didier and Casey Kelly. Laissez enabled Palazzotto to establish his publishing company, Ertis Music Company (ASCAP). In 1979, he engineered and negotiated a recording agreement for Ron Cuccia's Jazz Poetry Group with Takoma Records, which he also co-produced with Denny Bruce (Leo Kottke & Fabulous Thunderbirds). The Jazz Poetry album included the New Orleans classic "My Darlin' New Orleans," written by Cuccia, Ramsey McLean and Charles Neville published by Ertis Music/Nevkat. In early 1980, Palazzotto secured a songwriting and publishing contract for Leigh (Lil Queenie) Harris and John Magnie (subdudes) with Almo Music Corp., the publishing affiliate of A&M Records.
During his 11 years in Los Angeles, from 1969-1980, he also secured a recording contract for Los Angeles band Blue Heaven with Epic Records. The album was produced by Jack Richardson (Guess Who, Bob Seger, Poco.) He also managed ex-Fairport Convention member Iain Matthews through two albums on Columbia in 1975-76. Palazzotto secured Nik Venet (Beach Boys, Stone Poneys, Jim Croce, Lou Rawls, Bobby Darin) for Matthews highly acclaimed Hit and Run album.
Upon his return to Louisiana in 1981, Palazzotto joined up with the Baton Rouge rock group, The Times (US) and co-produced two albums, both of which received extensive college radio air play throughout the United States and were on the cutting edge of "new music." He provided invaluable counsel for guitarist Gregg Wright, exposing Wright to Michael Jackson at a performance in Los Angeles in 1980. Wright went on to be lead guitarist on Jackson's Victory Tour. He operated Skratch Records in Baton Rouge during the years of 1982-85, releasing, marketing and distributing albums on bluesman Kenny Acosta, and new wave rockers Living Links, in addition to The Times recordings. During this period he also represented The Chimes, a restaurant-bar, which occasionally featured live entertainment, as entertainment coordinator. Palazzotto was responsible for bringing such acts as: Soul Asylum, The Georgia Satellites, Drivin' n Cryin', Jesse Winchester, Leo Kottke, Dr. John, Leon Redbone, and Willis Alan Ramsey among others. He also brought Dinosaur Jr. and The Meat Puppets to another Chimes St. bar, The Bayou. In 1985, he signed Zydeco artist Major Handy, recording and producing an album entitled "Wolf Couchon." The album was licensed to GNP/Crescendo Records from Pal Productions Co. and released in the United States. The same recording was also leased to Bedrock Records in London in 1988 and has worldwide distribution as a result of a meeting at MIDEM in Cannes, France. Two other Major Handy recordings have been released by Maison de Soul on the 101 Proof Zydeco CD and are also internationally distributed. Both were produced by Palazzotto through Pal Productions.
Johnny R. Palazzotto is a current member of the Louisiana Music Commission and served as secretary of the commission's Executive Committee during Governor Roemer's administration. He was formerly entertainment editor of Gris-Gris magazine in Baton Rouge (1987-89). He is currently operating Main St. Studios, a 24 track audio recording/Avid video editing suite. The studio is the incubator for Club Louisianne, the in-house label, which releases CD's and markets its artist recordings internationally.
Pal Productions Co. has produced concerts in Shreveport, Lafayette, New Orleans and Baton Rouge, presenting artists such as "Grammy" winners Dr. John, Buddy Guy, Eric Johnson, Gatemouth Brown, Leo Kottke, Laura Nyro, and Michael Hedges. Pal Productions Co. produces Baton Rouge Blues Week, entering its 13th year as a successful week of numerous events and performances from world renown Blues artists such as: Coco Montoya, Charles Brown, John Mayall, Buddy Guy, Philip Guy, Mose Allison, Linda Hopkins, and the late greats Gatemouth Brown, Johnny Adams, Earl King, Luther Allison. Pal also produces a Baton Rouge Blues Week TV Special airing ob Cox 4 in Baton Rouge and music/video recordings at Main St. Studios. Previously he produced The Louisiana Music Show radio program. In addition, his publishing companies Ertis Music and Rhythm Nation Music companies are affiliated with ASCAP & BMI. Pal Productions Co. also represents Record Company of the South (RCS), a division of Vetter Communications Co., Inc. The label has released recordings on Louisiana legends Irma Thomas and Luther Kent.
* 2002 Inductee to Southern University Jazz Hall of Fame for service to Louisiana Music
* Production Coordinator for Vetter Communications production of Deacon John's Jump Blues Concert
* Entertainment Coordinator for both inaugural balls for Govenor Mike Foster
* Voting member of NARAS
Palazzotto continues to use his knowledge, experience and contacts to bring Louisiana's entertainment business to the rest of the world in the most capable and professional manner possible.
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