Keynote Interviewee

David Israelite
President, CEO
National Music Publishers Association (NMPA)

David Israelite is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Music Publishers Association.  Founded in 1917, The National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) is the premiere trade association representing American music publishers and their songwriter partners. The NMPA's mandate is to protect and advance the interests of music publishers and their songwriter partners in matters relating to the domestic and global protection of music copyrights. Music publishers control the copyrights for the underlying compositions of songs on behalf of the songwriters they represent. The Harry Fox Agency, Inc., the leading U.S. mechanical rights organization, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the NMPA.

From 2001 through early 2005 Israelite served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Counselor to the Attorney General of the United States.  In this capacity he helped manage the United States Department of Justices 112,000 employees and $22 billion annual budget.  In addition to his general management responsibilities, Israelite served as the Attorney General's personal advisor on all legal, strategic and public affairs issues.  In March of 2004, the Attorney General appointed Israelite Chairman of the Department's Task Force on Intellectual Property.  As Chairman Israelite lead a team of high-ranking officials in examining all aspects of how the Department of Justice handled intellectual property issues and implemented proposals developed by the Task Force.

Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Israelite served as the Director of Political and Governmental Affairs for the Republican National Committee.  In that role he was the senior advisor to the Chairman of the National Republican Party, and was responsible for the Republican Party's Campaign Operations, Government Affairs, Research, and Presidential Liaison Divisions. 

From 1997 through 1998, Israelite served as Missouri Senator Kit Bond's Administrative Assistant, making him the youngest AA in the United States Senate.  Israelite also served as Campaign Manager for Senator Bond's successful 1998 re-election campaign.  From 1994 through 1997, Israelite practiced law in the Commercial Litigation Department at the firm of Bryan Cave, LLP in Kansas City, Missouri.  Israelite earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri in 1994 and received a B.A. in a double major of Political Science and Communications from William Jewell College in 1990.  While in college, Israelite was named Top Speaker by the National Cross Examination Debate Association, recognizing him as the nation's top collegiate debater.

Luncheon Speakers

Todd Brabec
Former Executive Vice President
ASCAP

Todd Brabec is co-author of Music, Money and Success: The Insider’s Guide to Making Money In the Music Business (6th Edition/Schirmer Books/505 pages) and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the USC Thornton School of Music where he teaches the course on music publishing, licensing of music and film, television and videogame song contracts.  Formerly Executive Vice President for the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) where he was in charge of all of the Society’s membership operations throughout the world, Brabec is the current Budget Chair as well as former Division Chair for the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries.  A graduate of New York University School of Law, he lectures extensively on all aspects of the business, legal and money side of music at universities, conventions, conferences, seminars, law firms, management firms, songwriter associations, business and law schools, and ad agencies, both in the U.S. as well as in foreign countries.

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.

Panelists

John Rudolph
CEO, Bug Music

John Rudolph is the CEO of Bug Music, Inc., a leading global independent music publisher and innovator in music business services for over 30 years, headquartered in Los Angeles with offices across the US and Europe. Handpicked by Bug’s founders Dan and Fred Bourgoise for his knowledge of music and writers and his proven, diverse business acumen, John carries on the legacy of one of the world’s most significant independent publishers. With a deep understanding of music publishing, copyright statute, technology and global finance, he is a future focused proponent of publishers and creators rights across the world. Since his tenure at Bug began, John has welcomed many significant publishers and writers, including Jamie Foxx, Evanescence, the Fred Alhert estate, the Woody Guthrie estate, and the Thomas J Valentino production music library.

Born in Chicago and raised in Hendersonville just outside of Nashville, John was first exposed to music through his father, who toured with Woody Herman and Stan Kenton’s bands, among others, in the 50s and 60s. He began his music career carrying his father’s trombone case to union gigs in the 1970s after his father left the road. From there his knowledge and love of music grew through his father’s work in promotions and radio in Nashville in the 1970s and 1980s, attending over 100 concerts by the age 12, and later working in a Nashville record store for five years throughout high school and college.

In 1989, John began his professional career in corporate finance with IBM and was a member of the LBO team that spun out the Lexmark printer company in a $1.6bn transaction in 1990. In 1991, after experiencing the entrepreneurial latitude within a large, global technology based organization at IBM, he continued to an international accounting and consulting firm, BDO, and was based in Atlanta. At BDO, his clients included a Fortune 500 client as well as middle market service and technology companies and he received awards for productivity and client service.

While at BDO in Atlanta in the early 1990s, John provided consulting and business strategy services to a small, upstart record label, LaFace Records (a joint venture of LA Reid, Babyface Edmonds, and BMG/Arista), that was recognized as a company that revolutionized Urban and Pop music, nurtured creative as well as executive talent, and put Atlanta on the map as the center of Urban music.

After a secondment with BDO in Sydney Australia in 1994, John returned to Atlanta to work as business manager to LA Reid, LaFace Records, Reid’s Stiff Shirt Music/Hitco, and other prominent Atlanta writer, producers and artists. During this time, John managed Stiff Shirt Music Publishing with Grammy winning and chart topping hits as TLC’s "Waterfalls" and Tony Rich’s "Nobody Knows". In 1996, due to the success of Stiff Shirt, he helped Reid’s Stiff Shirt create a joint venture with Windswept Pacific called Hitco Music Publishing, a premier urban music publisher.

From his experience with Windswept in the Stiff Shirt venture, John was recruited by Evan Medow, CEO of Windswept Pacific, and in 1998 was hired as Windswept’s Chief Financial Officer at the age of 30. Beyond the financial affairs, his responsibilities included strategic planning, international consolidation, technology and online markets, and the occasional creative signing. In 1999, John, with his fellow executives, engineered the sale of Windswept to EMI for a reported $200mm in what was one of the largest music publishing transactions at the time.

In 2000 John founded Sherpa Ears, LLC, a technology company based on "Influence Technology" he developed involving social networks and an early predecessor to social networking firms like MySpace and FaceBook. Managing all aspects of the business from technology development to marketing to key partnerships, he assembled the thought leaders in sociology/social networks and music from across North America as advisors.

Out of the ashes of the Internet boom in 2001, John founded and served as the CEO of Music Analytics, the leading strategic advisor to music publishers and record companies. Rudolph developed the firm into a recognized leader in the music and money space with experience in over $3.1 billion in recorded music and music publishing music transactions. Clients included Warner Music Group, Ryko, Leiber & Stoller, Saban Music Group, Dreamworks Music Publishing, Windswept Holdings/Hitco Music, Bug Music, Savoy Label Group/ZelnickMedia, Six Degrees Records, Dominion Capital/Compendia, Carlin America, and various estates, artists, private equity and legal firms, among others.

John assumed the reins of Bug Music as its CEO in July, 2006 committed to Bug’s core ethics of advancing publishers and creators’ rights and the melding of music and technology for the promotion of arts and commerce.

John received his Bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and passed the Tennessee Certified Public Accountants examination in 1992. He has spoken at such important events as the Billboard Music & Money symposium (02, 03, 05, and 06), the American Bar Association Entertainment Conference (06) and numerous other music conferences. He is an avid snowboarder and mountain climber, having climbed the highest mountain on five different continents.

John Snyder, Esq.
Grammy-Winning Producer,
Loyola University Music Chair

As an independent record producer, John Snyder, Esq. has produced nearly 300 “new” recordings since 1977 of which 34 were nominated for Grammy Awards and of those five won Grammy Awards. His record label clients have included A&M, Atlantic, Fantasy, Musicmasters, Concord, RCA, Sony, Antilles, Verve, Private Music, Telarc, GRP, Elektra, Rounder, Columbia, Evidence, and Justin Time.

Snyder is the founder and president of the Artists House Foundation, a nonprofit music company dedicated to creating educational presentations in several areas, including instruction for instruments, master classes, careers in the arts, and legendary performers.

In addition to his producing career, Snyder has held positions at the upper levels of many major recording companies. As the assistant to the president of CTI Records, Creed Taylor, Snyder oversaw legal and business affairs, publishing, manufacturing, distribution, and artists and repertoire operations. Under the tutelage of Herb Alpert, he served as director of Horizon Jazz Series for A&M Records. Snyder later served as director of jazz production for Atlantic Records, where his responsibilities included production and packaging, promotion, publicity, and marketing.

Snyder is currently a member of the New York Bar. As a former member of the New York Chapter of the Recording Academy, he served on the Board of Governors, Education Committee, and Grammy in the Schools Committee. He has been with the College of Music faculty since 2004.

Charles Driebe, Esq.
Founder and CEO
Blind Ambition Management LTD.

Charles Driebe, Esq., entertainment attorney and manager, is the founder and CEO of Blind Ambition Management Ltd. in Atlanta.  Blind Ambition manages the Blind Boys of Alabama who, during Charles' tenure, have won four consecutive Grammy Awards, appeared on the Grammy Awards television show, performed at the White House, toured internationally with Peter Gabriel, collaborated on a CD with Ben Harper, and appeared on numerous national TV shows including "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (four times) and the "Late Show with David Letterman" (twice).

Blind Ambition also manages blues harmonica icon Charlie Musselwhite, and rising singer/songwriters Pieta Brown and Steve Poltz.

Actively involved in community and professional organizations, Charles serves as a board member of the Georgia Lawyers of the Arts and is the former chairman of the Board of its predecessor the Southern Entertainment & Art Law (SEAL) Center, nonprofit corporations dedicated to educating artists and art organizations about legal and business issues.

Shirley Kennedy, Owner
SJK Public Relations, LLC

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.

John Michael Shaw
Select-O-Hits Music Distribution

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."

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).

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.

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.

Kate Bradley, CEO
Outlandos Music

A Triple-A (Adult Album Alternative) radio programming veteran, Kate Bradley has served as Music Director of the Loft at XM Satellite Radio, as well as Midday Host at heritage mainstay WYEP (Pittsburgh) and Evening Host, Production Director, and Imaging Director, at heritage mainstay WNCS (Vermont). She also co-founded Triple-A start-up WUIN (North Carolina) and took a brief hiatus from broadcasting to carve up the slopes with national ski-area condition experts SnoCountry. Directly prior to launching Outlandos Music in 2007, Kate served as Content Supervisor for Pump Audio, an independent music-licensing powerhouse recently purchased by Getty Images. Currently, she's the CEO of Outlandos Music, a music discovery service for grown-ups. In addition, Kate recently cofounded the iNsiders Network, a consortium of music industry insiders specializing in independent artist consultation, entrepreneurship, and well-being. Kate has been nationally recognized for her ardent presentation of music and her ability to champion talented, compelling artists.

Bonny Dolan, Executive Producer & Artist Liaison
Comma Music

Formerly VP and Founder of the Artist in Residence program at Leo Burnett, Bonny Dolan has been instrumental in creating the modern model for Artist/Agency collaboration. Ms. Dolan’s experience in every aspect of music and advertising from recording studio management & music marketing to creative direction, licensing, & production give her a singular perspective on the future of music and advertising. As Executive Producer & Artist Liaison, Ms. Dolan has spearheaded Comma’s expansion into Music Supervision and the West coast market. She’s often quoted in Billboard, The Wall Street Journal, Spin, and featured in Crain’s Chicago Business.

Paul LiCalsi, Esq.
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP

Paul LiCalsi handles disputes for top names in media, publishing and the recording industry, among them rappers Jay-Z, Timbaland and the estate of rapper Notorious B.l.G., Vanity Fair writer Dominick Dunne, Elton John and Yoko Ono. Last year, he successfully defended a motion to dismiss a royalties lawsuit brought by Apple Corps., the Beatles company, against EMI Group and affiliate Capitol Records. And he represented the heir of E.H. Shepherd, the original illustrator for "Winnie the Pooh" in the long-running legal battle over the rights to the character. He currently represents Dunne in a defamation case brought by former congressman Gary Condit over comments Dunne made on "Larry King Live" about the Chandra Levy murder investigation.

Joe Killian, Senior Vice-President and Discipline Lead
Music and Entertainment
Momentum Worldwide

Joe Killian is Senior Vice-President and Discipline lead, Music and Entertainment at Momentum Worldwide (a McCann-Erickson and Interpublic Company). Mr. Killian has developed entertainment marketing strategies, negotiated sponsorships and executed activations for a wide range of clients, including: American Express, Kraft, Microsoft, Anheuser-Busch, Verizon Wireless, Comcast, Marriott Hotels, Kohl’s, and others.

He has done deals with many diverse entertainment properties, including: Live Nation, AEG (concerts West, Goldenvoice, Staples Center, Coachella festival), CPI, Azoffmusic, Frontline Management, Redlight Management, NARAS (The Grammy’s), MTV, Madison Square Garden, Hollywood Bowl, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Bonaroo festival, SXSW, Bowery Presents, Nederlander Group, IAC/Ticketmaster, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, Capitol/EMI.

Mr. Killian has negotiated and activated deals with many of the top music and entertainment artists, including: The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, The Eagles, Sting, The Police, Stevie Wonder, Counting Crows, Neil Diamond, and younger artists: Coldpaly, Kanye West, Mary J Blige, John Legend, White Stripes, John Mayer, Beck, Maroon 5, Dave Matthews, Alanis Morissette, and many others. He has also done deals with such Latin artists as: Juanes, Jaguares, Juan Luis Guerra y 440, and Shakira.

Prior to joining Momentum, Mr. Killian was EVP Entertainment Marketing and Partner with Festival Marketing, Inc. While at Festival, he launched and produced the Guinness Fleadh Festival with Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Natalie Merchant and Tracy Chapman.

Mr. Killian also spent time as the Director of Concerts at Radio City Music Hall., producing shows at Radio City, Madison Square Garden, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall. He is best known as the Founder and Producer of Central Park SummerStage, New York City’s most popular outdoor music festival.

Joe Killian is married and resides with his wife and daughter in Hastings on Hudson, New York. He sits on the Advisory Boards of Central Park SummerStage and the Woody Guthrie Archives Foundation.