DAN CAMPBELL OF THE WONDER YEARS
WELCOME TO LAUNCH 2019
A LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR Thank you for joining us as LAUNCH Music Conference & Festival enters DECADE NUMBER TWO! We have an incredible group of panelists this year. These Music industry Professionals represent the broadest group, genre-wise, we have ever had! Hailing from across the country and Europe, we are STOKED to learn from them, and so grateful for their donating their time and expertise! Teaming up with Philadelphia industry titans, New Lane Entertainment, has meant for a remarkable blend of Music Industry professionals from so many angles in the business, that there’s surely a terrific and informative experience waiting to for all! Our Nighttime Festival Schedule features over 165 performances this year, on 15 stages, and over 3 nights! Please look for our newly added stages/locations this year. The Flyspace Productions/PA College of Art & Design outdoor Stage is at the corner of Chestnut and Prince Streets, featuring an AWESOME line-up of Rock, Indie, and Pop! Catalina’s Sports Bar and Nightclub has also come on board, sponsored by Young Urban America, Int’l, and features some INCREDIBLE hip-hop, R&B, Pop, & DJ’s, in one of the area’s best-known spots for clubbin’ fun! The Heritage Ballroom at The Lancaster County Conv Ctr features Atlanta hip Hop phenom, YFN LUCCI, supported by an AMAZING crop of performers from across the country, to right here in the 717. Just a couple escalator rides up in the main facility to this beautiful, top-notch concert hall! FEST FRIDAY, the 14 band, 3-stage “event within The Event,” Friday April 26th, makes the schedule for the 3rd year now. This programming piece takes place at Binns Park, just 1 block from the
front door of the Convention Center. It serves not only as the LAUNCH Annual Conference-wide Attendee Appreciation Party AND the Annual Panelist VIP Party, but also as a city-wide community event OPEN TO ALL, as well as SUPER FUN for all! While ALL LAUNCH nighttime Festival programming events are open to the public, Fest Friday marks the ONE time period during our 3-day Nighttime Festival Programming where ALL Conference Attendees & participants gather in ONE SPACE for awesome music, food, and hanging out, so we look forward to one heck of a fun time! LAUNCH continues our mission to serve aspiring musicians and industry professionals, through unparalleled low pricing, and FREE attendance for those who submitted for performance consideration, an effort that is only made possible by virtue of the support of our many generous sponsors. We cannot possibly thank Bud Light, Tröegs Brewery, Tito’s Vodka, Crook & Marker, Sweet Water IPA, York College, The City of Lancaster, The Marriott and Lancaster County Convention Center, GHS Strings, Soundrink, Lancaster City Alliance, Blue Sprocket Sound, and so many more (far too many to mention here), enough! We also wish to thank YOU...for traveling here, for digging in, for believing in yourselves, and taking the plunge, pursuant to acquiring knowledge, going for broke, for putting yourselves out there, and laying it all on the line...your determination, your talent, and your hunger continue to inspire us all here at LAUNCH. We notice, and we deride a real sense of purpose from YOU. LAUNCH’s MAIN theme is RESULTS, and we look forward to hearing back about the relationships you’ve built at LAUNCH
LMC&F Director & Founder, Jeremy Weiss, with New Lane Entertainment’s own PnB Rock (Photo: Maggie Friedman)
2019, the acquired skills you’re employing. We’re always tracking your success, and aim to always be a contributing part of your journey towards success! Finally, for those of you who identify as a music-lover, WELCOME FRIENDS! Grab a badge, or a single event ticket! See something BEFORE the rest of the world. Dance, raise a glass, celebrate the fantastic crop of talent we have had the pleasure of assembling for you! In years past, you might have had the pleasure of seeing some of our phenomenal developing artists who came to town through our submissions process; artists like 21 PILOTS, MEGHAN TRAINOR, THE
DISTRICTS, and many many more, and in the most intimate of settings. These are the experiences and memories that last a lifetime. We look forward to sharing more of them with you this year! Hit The Chameleon Club, Lizard Lounge, Altana Rooftop Lounge, York College Stage at the Square, Marion Courtroom, various locations at Lancaster County Conv Ctr, as well as our locations mentioned above, and HAVE A FANTASTIC MUSIC-FILLED WEEKEND! LET’S GO!! Let’s kick-off decade #2 with a BANG, and make it so we can look back on 2019 among the most productive, entertaining, and FUN LMC&F’s EVER!
LAUNCH MUSIC CONFERENCE & FESTIVAL 2018 STAFF Conference Director: Jeremy Weiss Associate Director: Spencer Carpenter Director of Art & Marketing: Andrew Zell Registration Coordinator & Artist Liaison: Paige Sodano Scheduling & Panelist Liaison: Jenn O’Hagan Production Manager: Bryan Naranjo Promotion & Curation Assistance: Bob Anderson Social Media & Scheduling: Jordan Trevino Registration Attendant: Kristen Oles, Tyronne Butcher, Maria Arroyo, Kriston Stover, Erika Glass Exhibitor Liaison: Tammy Eno LAUNCH Sound Technicians: Hayden Calhoun,
Titus Irvin, Woodcrest Audio Graphics & Logistics Contributors: Karli Clark (MU), Connor Powers (MU), Kylee Ramm (HACC), Braden Spangler (MU) Production Assistants: Melissa Aiello, Buddy Calhoun, Guilliana Donato, Kyle Fisher, Niki Galbraith, Bakari Hargett-Robinson, Moses Hernandez, Tabetha Hernandez, David Karppala, Corey Landis, Caleb Leaman, Josh Lofties, Alexandra Mecs, Bev Newton, Tony Pichler, Marianne Pichler, Logan Pichler, Stephen Pichler, Terriney Rodriguez, Haley Siejak,Lindsey Simmons, Matt Subers, Karly Wagner, Maxine Weiss, Olivia Weiss, Scarlett Weiss, Stella Weiss, Taylor Weiss, Susan Yohe
Conference Videography: Jordan Trevino & Sean Saman (PROJECT), Aaron Palmer (NOUN CREATIVE), Jon Garcia (SPRINGWOOD), Brian Kelly (BRIAN KELLY VISUALS) Travel Agent: Robin Ernst (Bon Voyage Travel) Conference Photography: Dan Gillespie, Josh Himes Advisors: Annie Weeks (City of Lancaster), Kayla Forgrave
(City of Lancaster), Lindsay Murray (Lancaster County Conv. Ctr.), Marshall Snively (Lancaster City Alliance), Bob Anderson (808_the_plug), Shawn Young (York College), Lou Plaia (ReverbNation), David Silbaugh (Milwaukee Summerfest), Deborah “Zuke” Smith (zuketunes), Lindsey Tellez (Lanc County Conv. Ctr)
PERFORMER SPOTLIGHT
HOT JAM FACTORY: HIFI UNDERSIDE Jordan Trevino
recording and production. The rest of the touring band is comprised of close friends and people who have been in and out of the band over the past few years.
The ever-eclectic Harrisburg indie rockers Hot Jam Factory are consistently evolving and creating. The band can always to be counted on for delivering a delightful performance that won’t soon be forgotten. Between sidewalk chalk, succulents, glitter, and pyrotechnics, Hot Jam Factory has taken promotion and performance to sky-high levels. Now, returning with a new album, the band looks to take listeners to a new place - The HiFi Underside. 1) There was a lot of acclaim on your first LP ‘Introducing Hot Jam Factory’, but it’s been almost four years since then, what took so long to complete this album? It’s the first body of work where we set out to make 12 songs that have continuous lyrical and musical themes. We took some time to write and find the statements we wanted to make and write about. We took time to build an esthetic that we felt was compelling. There was also a lot of life that happened in that time that played into it, that’s where the best songs come from. 2) Your new album ‘Hot Jam Factory and the HiFi Underside’ is a bit of a coming of age album. Are these songs about your personal life or more so observing the changes that have been happening in this country and the world? A little of both honestly. It is the first time we consciously wrote songs that are more observational rather then strictly emotionally based. I got very obsessed with generational studies for a time being. At the same time, the band was going through a number of transitions. While writing the album I moved twice and got out of a long lasting relationship.
4) We hear there is rumor of a Hot Jam Factory show in the works, can you tell us anything about this? I won’t confirm nor deny that haha. If the rumor is true, then the project is just starting and far from being premiered. We will be releasing many video projects over the next year including a documentary series called ‘Elevator’ that we’ve been working on for a while now!
One of the biggest lyrical themes of the album is change, as time went on working and reworking these songs I’ve come to recognize that conceptual writing should still be very personal. That a song about my generation can be about my personal experience. One of the best representations of the universe is a single atom. 3) You’ve had members come and go since your last album. You’ve always been the primary writer in the band, but praised the collaboration of your band, who is the band now? How is that defined? I wrote all of the songs on ‘Introducing
HJF’ and ‘HJF and The HiFi Underside’, though I’ve always collaborated with friends and band mates on every song. As of the past 2+ years I’ve mainly been writing and collaborating with Sean Saman and Margaret Gehman on everything from song writing, recording/ production and videos. To say we are close is an understatement, I’ve lived with Sean for the past two years and Margaret lives 3 blocks away, she’s at our place every night working on projects with us. They have worked to learn the band’s aesthetics (which they’ve always fit) and become a part of the band’s fabric. They’ll both be releasing solo work this year that we’ve all touched in
5) Your new album comes with 7 music videos that are all made by or touched by the video production company PROJECT. What is PROJECT? PROJECT is our lead guitarist Sean and my video production company. We both studied film and video production and forgot about it as we further pursued music. Through HJF we started tapping back into our love of making videos, it feels very full circle to combine these two worlds. 6) What can fans expect over the next 2 years? We‘ll be touring our new album this year. We’re excited to release ‘Elevator’, a documentary series that’s 4 years in the making. In short, many more songs and videos. Hot Jam Factory plays LAUNCH during Fest Friday, at Binn’s Park on Queen Street. The show starts at 5:00PM and tickets are $10 for nonbadgeholders, free for weekend and Friday badges, and free to all VIP badgeholders.
BREAK OUT BREAKDOWN
A LOOK AT THE 2019 BREAK OUT SESSIONS What’s your vocal story? Come join Deborah Zuke Smith in an intimate roundtable to discuss anything and everything about the voice. ‘Singing Is More Than Just The Voice’ and I will help you discover the Voca-Phile in you. The etymology of the word “phile” comes from the Greek word “philos” or loving. Phile is a fondness for something: bibliophiles like books and vocaphiles like the voice. V - voice O - original C - craft A - art, anatomy P - physics, psychology H - history, heard I - instrument L - life, love E - expression S - stories Your Voice is Original from the combination of your Craft and Art. Your voice is your Anatomy that uses the Physics of sound. Your voice is your personal Psychology formed from your History so you can be Heard. Your voice is your Instrument. Your voice is your Life, Love, and Expression of the self. Your voice will be heard when you share your Stories. So, fellow Vocaphiles. What’s your story? When you find your story you find your purpose. When you share your story you find your audience. Deborah “Zuke” Smith is the founder of zuketunes LLC and a Vocal Coach and Artist Mentor based in the NYC metro area.
Legal 101 William Metzger, a native Pennsylvanian, Marine Corps veteran, and entertainment attorney will lead a break-out alongside solo practicioner Joyce Dollinger, whom herself is a celebrated attorney in the field of contract court and publishing, and a returning panelist to LAUNCH. This presentation will educate artists and managers on the basics of a Recording Agreement, including the essential terms, provisions, and conditions that every artist/ manager must understand if they want to have a successful recording career in the music industry.
Time Management Music careers are unique; they usually begin as labors of love— entirely artistic pursuits—and naturally evolve into something much more complex. Regardless of industry, as careers progress, many of us discover (the hard way) that we’ve never been taught how to handle extreme complexity; we’ve never been taught how to keep multiple tracks of work organized, how to set and execute upon goals. Matthew Canning is a former professional musician who’s spent the past decade helping emerging technical and business leaders transition into incredibly complex roles. Although it can seem strange to apply this way of thinking to a creative career, mastering a few basic principles can often mean the difference between struggling and thriving. All 3 break-out sessions will take place in the lobby of the Lancaster County Convention Center concurrent with panel programming and are free for all attendees. These panelists have chosen their topics based on long careers in these fields where they are considered experts of their craft. Don’t miss the exciting opportunity to learn from them - you never know if you’ll get the chance to do it again!
SPOTLIGHT 2019
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT PROFILE: ALEXANDRA MECS
The mission of LAUNCH Music Conference & Festival, in one word, is RESULTS. These results can come in many different forms, from an artist developing a relationship with a label, agent, manager, brand, to an attendee finding their way into the industry, by virtue of a tactic they acquired or relationship they forged at LAUNCH. Some of our Attendees come in the form of hand-on Volunteers. LAUNCH Music Conference & Festival has had the privilege of hosting hundreds of volunteers, some of whom have come back to help for many years. Alexandra Mecs is one of our stand-out people, returning for each of the last four years, and making herself a valuable and reliable member of the LAUNCH team. Conference Director Jeremy Weiss had a chance to sit down with Alexandra... How did you first become aware of LAUNCH Music Conference & Festival? I heard about it as a sophmore
college student through a friend attending Point Park University.
addition to building my professional network.
How far do you travel to participate in LAUNCH? I travel from Pittsburgh, so about 4 hours each way.
What do you wish to tell our readers about the value of LAUNCH, both to you, and to the broader Music Industry and Music Fan Community? LAUNCH gives a unique opportunity for those whom are just beginnning their journey into the music business; the atmosphere is welcoming and friendly for all levels of experience, from novices to veterans. Someone who is just starting out can get experience to build their resume, while also getting contacts who can help them establish themselves and build their future career. Speakers understand
What would you say is the thing that most compels you to continue to be involved in LAUNCH, year after year? The sense of community and the crew! Every year I get to work with an extremely talented, professional group of people. The people who make LAUNCH happen are some of the most hard-working, driven individuals I’ve ever met and their passion for music continues to inspire me. They all help one another grow, learn, and succeed. How have you applied your experience from, and relationships you’ve built at LAUNCH to your current career? LAUNCH actually helped me get one of my first jobs in the industry. I applied to a local Casino looking for a production manager assistant and I beat the other candidates because I had experience as a stage manager. My employers were really fascinated by LAUNCH when I explained what the event was and how it worked. They felt that this festival gave me a wellrounded experience for managing shows in an efficient manner. I’ve also established some amazing life-long friendships, in
that we all start somewhere and they will do what they can to help you, by answering a question or even sitting down with you to have a one on one conversation to talk about how they started their own career. LAUNCH also gives a platform for local and small time bands/artists to perform in front of a larger audience and remind us all how important it is to support new artists; they are the future of music after all! Alexandra Mecs is a graduate of Point Park University. She currently resides in Western PA. She is employed as the Intern Coordinator for Opus One Productions
PERFORMER SPOTLIGHT
HAWK: READY FOR NEW ROADS Jordan Trevino, interviewing Ricky Armellino Lancaster’s brilliant metalcore quintet This or the Apocalypse went dormant a few years ago, leaving fans from all over the globe confused and curious as to if or when the politicallycharged polyrhythmic heroes would ever return. Fortunately for the fans and the band, the wait is over: they’re back, under a new moniker, and after their debut at the CI Records Annual Christmas show this past winter, they’re ready to spread their wings. LAUNCH spoke with lead vocalist Ricky Armellino to talk shop. 1) We heard a rumor that you’ll be announcing a label signing; can you give us any hints or comments about that? Since we have been able to produce our own music and create our own photo/video content we just have all of this freedom that we’ve never had before and it rules. So far, we released something we produced and backed it with video content we helped produce. That was really of cool for us. Now we are going to try something else we haven’t done yet that we feel best serves the release. 2) It had to be a big decision to change your band name. What made you decide to rebrand and change the name from ‘This or The Apocalypse’ to ‘HAWK’? It was a pretty easy decision to make because we had to switch out so many crucial members in the last few years. On one hand, we had a standard we created with these intricate and demanding patterns and finding the right players was a burden. On the other hand, we genuinely wanted to play those songs
with the original guys. We decided to do something new and do shows as TOTA whenever the OG guys were down to do it again. 3) ‘Mileage’ is a great single and music video; what inspired the concept for the music video? I sat on my couch for two days with my laptop watching music videos and taking notes, treating it the same way I would treat one of my recording projects. I don’t find a lot of rock/metal videos that show characters and performances that make me say “that’s how I feel” so when I brought the video idea to the band I wanted to make sure I had it all fleshed out since it was a pretty weird concept- Together we gathered a lot of scene references from shows, movies, etc. I wanted to spin some horror elements, make some nods to Wes Anderson flicks, a little David Lynch, and tell a story that someone my age could relate to. 4) What can fans of TOTA expect from HAWK’s first full length album? TOTA always had to hit the studio with rough demos and whatever happened during our time happened- We made so much great stuff that way but now we are doing things much differently. We are recording the stuff ourselves, assessing it and listening to the songs in the evening, rewriting a lot of the material. It’s not done until we feel something when we listen to it. Personally, I think you make much better material when you put a lot of time into it. 5) You’ve been on over 30 tours in the USA alone (not counting international tours). What is the most bizarre or unique thing or place you experienced while on tour? You’re making me pick between a lot
of weird experiences so I’m just going to do a quick supercut: An outdoor Pagan festival in Illinois that was a couple miles off of the nearest paved road, bringing a homeless guy named Baby D on stage to yell in the mix for a whole song in West Virginia, pretty much anything else that happened in West Virginia, having Poison call the cops on us for covering their tour bus with our posters in a New Orleans Walmart parking lot, being on an MTV game show, someone breaking into our bus and using it like a toilet without stealing anything, ending up on the front page of the music reddit and a Montreal newspaper for train hopping from show to show for half of our Canadian tour. I’m
going to stop the list there but it’s very incomplete. 6) What can fans expect from HAWK over the next 2 years? A lot of funny video content.
HAWK plays LAUNCH on opening night, Thurs April 25th, at the Galactic Room (Vine St Annex) in the Lancaster Convention Center. The show starts at 5:30PM and tickets are $16 for nonbadgeholders, $8 for weekend badges, and free to all VIP badgeholders.
PANELISTS ALI ABUALBURAK ALI BABA LOUNGE Ali Abualburak is the General Manager of Ali Baba Lounge where he has booked artists such as Cardi B, Tory Lanez, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Pnb Rock, Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Lil Durk, Jacquees, Tee Grizzley, and Ace Hood.
MITCH BEER PERFORMER / PRODUCER Mitch Beer is a Philadelphia-based Bassist and Producer. He has toured Internationally with the Grammy-Winning Digable Planets, and has spent the last 10 years performing with, and producing for, a number of artists from across many genres. His production and session credits include Hoodie Allen, Moosh and Twist, Stereo League, Oddkidout, 1403, Filson, and many others both locally and internationally. Mitch focuses on cultivating young artists’ sounds, developing their careers, and creating great records.
TIM BORROR SOUND TALENT GROUP Tim Borror is the co-founder and the head of east coast operations for Sound Talent Group. Borror’s impressive career in the music business spans over two decades of creating success stories for industry veterans. Throughout his career, Borror has acquired a reputation for being a tastemaker by relying on his ears to identify talent and then guiding that talent out of relative obscurity and developing them into significant artists, with healthy, consistent touring careers.
SPENCER CARPENTER THE CI COMPANIES / LAUNCH MC&F Spencer Carpenter has 11 years experience in the music industry. Starting out doing shows at the local hall in high school, to intern at CI Records, evolving into President of CI Records, Talent Agent at Artery Global, House Manager and Promoter at The Champ (also promoting at Chameleon Club and Reverb), Associate Director of LAUNCH Music Conference, and co-owning a merchandising company. Spencer has also toured with acts such as PnB Rock and 6ix9ine, holding the positions of Meet & Greet Coordinator and Merchandise Manager.
MICHAEL COLE MICHAEL COLE BEATS In 2009, Michael was introduced to Philadelphia’s own The Young Gunz Hip Hop group. Michael Released his first Mixtape, which did over 50k downloads in just a week. In 2013 Michael, released his 2nd Mixtape, which got him the opportunity of a lifetime, performing on BET 106&Park. During the course of the following years Michael had the opportunity to write for artist such as Rihanna, Jason Derulo, Chris Brown, B Howard + more.
DAIN ESTES MILLERSVILLE UNI/VINEFIELD AGENCY Dain Estes has a diverse background as a songwriter, musician, recording artist, and music industry professional. Born in Kansas City, he signed his first record deal at the age of 19 and went on to release a number of nationally distributed recordings on various independent labels and independently. In 2011, he co-founded the Vinefield Agency, an artist management/booking agency based in Denver, Colorado. Dain has consulted creative businesses on intellectual property issues, and has managed the careers of signed and independent artists.
DENNIS “AGANEE” JENKINS PRODUCER Dennis “Aganee” Jenkins is a Music Producer, Musician & Songwriter from Harrisburg, PA. His credits include a Grammy nomination for Ariana Grande’s “My Everything” as Best Vocal Pop Album, 6x Platinum Justin Bieber’s “Believe,” and 2x Platinum “My Everything” and “Yours Truly” Ariana Grande. He also has worked with Meek Mill, Jadakiss, Kxng Crooked & The Game just to name a few. He was signed to Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins as a producer working alongside the legendary mega star producer for 6 years.
BOB ANDERSON 808 THE PLUG Bob “808_the_Plug” Anderson is a Central PA talent buyer and event promoter. Anderson’s earliest work centered around the DIY hip-hop label Overproof Productions. Since, Anderson has hosted several highly successful weekly club nights, as well as produced scores of live shows, including PnB Rock, Young Gunz, Philly Freeway, and many more. He has also worked with The CI Companies, New Lane Entertainment, and under Philly Freeway’s “Team Early Management” moniker, and lent assistance with LAUNCH.
RICKY ARMELLINO THIS OR THE APOCALYPSE Ricky Armellino is a touring record producer, writer, mixing engineer, and multiinstrumentalist based out of Lancaster, PA. Known for his ten year role as the fronting vocalist for metalcore touring veterans This or the Apocalypse, Rick has contributed as a writer and producer for a wide range of releases in the rock and metal world ranging from Sumerian’s heavy I, the Breather to Victory’s catchy Carousel Kings. Rick currently performs with several touring artists as both a vocalist and guitarist.
BIZ TRAVIS SCOTT
CHRIS BIANCHI CB ENTERTAINMENT
Biz (Bilal Joseph) is best known for his role as the tour manager for Travis Scott. Biz also has experience in artist management, development, and A&R.
Worldwide Artist Manager & Entrepreneur. Working hands on in the music and entertainment industry for over a decade. The clients he’s worked with have sold a combined 25+ million albums worldwide. A member of the GRAMMY association. As seen in FORBES, Inc. Magazine, Axs.com and more.
TERRY ‘BUZZ’ BROWN DARK CHILD ENTERTAINMENT
MATTHEW CANNING AUTHOR / ENTREPRENEUR
For the past 15 years Terry has continuously impressed label executives and the rest of the world by finding and matching some of today’s most creative talent the music business has seen. He is known for his ability to identify, spot and elevate raw talent. Today, he completely understands how to fulfill the role of the “traditional A&R”. He continues to boast a lineup of talented yet humbled individuals.
THE INTERNATIONAL DJ CASPER DJ / PRODUCER Casper stepped into the local DJ scene at age 13. After expanding into the tri-state area, he began touring and opening for acts such as Akon, Young Jeezy, Diddy, and Busta Rhymes. He received his first label credit for the dance remix of Usher’s song “Lil’ Freak” in 2010, and has since had musical appearances in “Brotherly Love,” “Deadpool,” and residencies in Atlantic City, NJ casinos Caesars, Tropicana, and Resorts. His clients include Netflix, Amazon, MTV, Marvel, Wawa, Sony, and more.
JUSTIN “JD” DeBLIECK ICE NINE KILLS Justin “JD” deBlieck, commonly known as the guitarist, songwriter and producer of Boston based theatrical-metalcore act ICE NINE KILLS, has spent nearly a decade in the heart of the touring and production environment of the music industry. With international touring experience, live performance, record labels, booking agencies, merchandise management, recording, songwriting, engineering and entertainment he has collected years of experiences and insights on the inner workings of what it takes to make and break a band.
BRANDON GEPFER CHAMELEON CLUB Brandon Gepfer is the Talent Buyer and Production Manager at The Chameleon Club in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. With over 15 years of experience touring in an independent band, as well as booking shows in basements, fire halls and churches and anywhere else he could set up a PA system.
MICHAEL KEALY MOTOR SCOUT MUSIC PUBLISHING Michael Kealey is the owner of Lancaster based Music Publishing and Rights Management company, Motor Scout Music. With a roster of emerging artists across multiple genres including, Electro, Pop, Folk, Ambient and Rock, MSM excels at targeting synchronization opportunities and pitching and placing music in film, television and advertising mediums. With several dozen synchronization placements to date, Motor Scout Music is most proud of the work their clients produce and the opportunities to engage audiences all over the world.
Matthew Canning is a Philadelphiabased technologist, Fortune 50 executive, leadership/productivity educator, author, and startup advisor. He helps individuals, entrepreneurs, creatives, and business leaders navigate personal and professional complexity as their careers evolve.
MIKE CIPRARI SJC DRUMS Mike Ciprari co-founded SJC Custom Drums with his brother Scott in their Grandmother’s basement in the year 2000, in Dudley, MA. Having toured the world with bands No Trigger (Nitro Records) and Polar Bear Club, and drum-teching for acts like Rancid, New Found Glory, Jimmy Eat World, Sum 41, Ciprari was able to network his way into making drums for renown artists all over the globe. What was started nearly 20 years ago has become a shared passion for musicians across the world.
JIM DIGBY EVENT SAFETY ALLIANCE Jim has spent the last three decades producing live events and music tours across the globe for some of the world’s most celebrated talents. Working with the likes of Linkin Park, Enrique Iglesias, Meghan Trainor, Back Street Boys and more, Jim’s ability to meet and manage client and artist expectations is finely crafted. Jim is the Founder and Chairman of the non-profit Event Safety Alliance, a safety-in-live-events global advocacy group. Jim has mentored and helped to develop a large roster of some of the live event industry’s most talented individuals.
CHRIS JACKSON BLUE SPROCKET Chris is a co-owner of Blue Sprocket Sound and Blue Sprocket Pressing, a high-end recording studio and vinyl record manufacturing operation in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Through these sister companies, Chris and his team focus on helping musicians and independent record labels navigate the tasks of producing recorded music and getting it manufactured for release to the masses.
MONTE KEARNEY NEW LANE ENTERTAINMENT New Lane Entertainment CEO, Monte Kearney is self-made Music Industry success story, an American success story. Kearney is a key decision-maker behind the incredibly successful career of Philadelphia sensation, PnB Rock, and regularly travels with the performer. Kearney is a partner in two pristine, new facilities in Philadelphia, Galaxy West, which features fine dining in a high-end bar/club atmosphere, and Galaxy Live, which features many of today’s top artists, from week-to-week.
ANDREAS MAGNUSSON PLANET RED STUDIOS Andreas Magnusson is a producer, mixing and master engineer based out of Richmond VA. After beginning on a 4 track in the mid 90’s he has worked for the past 17 years to earn over a million combined sales with releases on labels such as Victory, Solidstate, Metalblade, Sumerian, Century Media, Rise, E One, Ferret, Trustkill, Prosphetic and countless others. During the time he also developed an interest in acoustics and studio design and has been a part of the design and build of several studios across the country.
JASON MCMAHON SUBSTREAM MUSIC GROUP Jason is an entrepreneur with 15+ years experience in the music industry ranging from band management, engineering/production and publishing. He is the creator and owner at Substream Media Group that publishes Substream Magazine and operates www. substreammagazine.com. Jason is also an owner/partner in NLG Records.
RANDY NICHOLS FORCE MEDIA MANAGEMENT Randy Nichols, owner of Force Media Management, has guided artists on his roster to Gold and Grammy nominations, overseen sold out tours on six continents, and sold over 5 million records. A regular of LAUNCH, SXSW, CMJ, and many universities, Randy also advises AtVenu, the premier live event merchandise platform, which reports in-venue sales to Nielsen, in addition to being an early investor in Bandsintown.
LOU PLAIA REVERBNATION Lou Plaia is the Co-Founder / EVP Music Industry & Artist Relations of ReverbNation. The company operates worldwide with customers on every continent and more than 10 million unique visitors every month. Prior to ReverbNation, Plaia worked 16 years at Atlantic Records and imprint Lava Records as the Head of Marketing & Artist Development, where he worked with Kid Rock, O.A.R., Simple Plan, George Carlin, Mike Stern and many others. Plaia was also responsible for negotiating partnerships with Nascar, Schick and Disney.
DARYL PRYOR CAPITAL ARTIST MANAGEMENT UK native Daryl Pryor grew up playing in bands through school and ended up traveling the world playing music after having signed a worldwide deal with a US label. When everything ended up rather abruptly due to some poor decisions on the managements behalf, Daryl launched his own management firm, Capital Artist Management. “I started with one simple goal in mind: ‘To always be an asset to each of its clients, no matter how established, or how particular their aspirations.’”
MARK SCHULZ THE RECORDING ACADEMY Mark Schulz is the Senior Executive Director of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Recording Academy, a professional music industry membership organization best known for its annual GRAMMY Awards. He’s held this position since 2010, returning after holding the position from 1999-2006. Previously, Schulz held the position of Project Manager for National Association of Record Merchandisers, managed Studio 4 Recording, owned an artist management company and a music festival advisement company.
DEBORAH ZUKE SMITH ZUKETUNES Deborah “Zuke” Smith is the founder of zuketunes LLC and a vocal coach & artist mentor based in the NYC metro area. She has worked with many types of artists including Frank Iero, several finalists on The Voice, X-Factor, American Idol, and America’s Got Talent. Zuke gives back to her students by sharing everything she has learned and coaching them to be not only great performers but to make a difference with their talent. Her studios are located in northern NJ and NYC.
DREW WATERS VEVA SOUND Drew Waters is the Vice President at VEVA Sound. He was VP at Capitol Records/EMI and VP at UMG. Drew holds a Ph.d. from NYU and has served in various capacities in the SUNY, CSU and private institutions of higher education as Professor, Chair and Dean. Drew is current President of SPARS and co-chair of the Studio Working Group for DDEX. An active performing musician, Drew also continues to compose and record.
JOSEPH MARRO LESSER MATTERS Joseph Marro started in music as a member of The Early November and toured near constantly from 2002-07. He was a member of Hellogoodbye from 2008 until 2012, when, The Early November reunited. He started casually managing in 2011, slowly building a roster and eventually spending time at Working Group, Synergy Artist Mangement, Brixton Agency & The Syndicate. In 2017, he launched his own company, Lesser Matters, managing The Wonder Years, Foxing, The Early November, Aaron West & The Roaring Twenties, Hellogoodbye & A.W.
ROBERT MORGENROTH SMOKEPURPP Robert quickly jumped into the music industry after completing a college baseball career. His first experience was working for an entertainment travel agency in New York City. After handling travel for tours for over a year, Robert began tour managing for Smokepurpp. He has now handled advances, tour management, day to day, and A&R work. He has managed tours in USA, Europe, Asia, and Australia. This year, his team will be performing at Coachella for the first time under the artist group “Gucci Gang” (Smokepurpp, Lil Pump & Gucci Mane).
ULF OESTERLE SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY Dr. Ulf Oesterle is an assistant professor in the Bandier Program for Music and the Entertainment Industries at Syracuse University. Outside of teaching he started an indie label and artist management company, was the programmer and host of a weekly specialty radio show and has promoted concerts in upstate New York and NYC. He received a Ph.D. in Mass Communications from the Newhouse School at SU in 2007.
MARY PLOTAS CREATE MUSIC GROUP Mary is the Distribution Administrator/ SoundCloud Coordinator at Create Music Group, and was featured in Billboard’s Digital Power Players. Create operates a number of different services: music distribution, music publishing, YouTube monetization, artist development, brand development, and production. We work with some of the most influential personalities and musicians including Future, Migos, Hopsin, Lil Yachty, Soulja Boy, Metro Boomin, Young Thug, and Trippie Redd.
JAYSON RODRIGUEZ REPORTER / EDITOR /PRODUCER Jayson Rodriguez has been a mainstay of hip-hop editorial for over 15 years having held leadership and senior roles at Vevo, MTV News and XXL magazine. Rodriguez has shown his talents across a variety of mediums, including written (Rolling Stone), audio (PNC Radio) and video content (Revolt). Rodriguez recently served as a creative consultant on the documentary “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop,” which premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. Complex named him one of the 25 must follow music writers on Twitter.
JAMES SHOTWELL HAULIX / SUBSTREAM James Shotwell is from Michigan. In 2013, he joined the Haulix team where he creates and implements all Haulix marketing efforts, including social media, blog content creation, podcasting, live appearances, and event sponsorships. In 2015, he began working for Substream Magazine where he oversaw all digital content. He plans, creates, edits and publishes content for Substream online in addition to helping with new staff recruitment and training and content collaborations with third part companies/brands.
KENT SMITH TRUMPET PLAYER/ARRANGER Kent Smith was raised in Minnesota and completed his music studies at the legendary Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He has written for and recorded with Bob Dylan, Roger Daltrey, Alice Cooper, Aretha Franklin, Sergio Mendes, Sheryl Crow, Ratt, Scritti Politti, AC DC, The O’Jays, and many others. His horn section, New West Horns, successfully completed five world tours with The Rolling Stones.
JEREMY WEISS THE CI COMPANIES / LAUNCH MC&F Jeremy Weiss is the founder and owner of The CI Companies, the umbrella brand of his career endeavors: CI Records (label), LAUNCH Music Conference & Festival, CI Productions, CI Design & Printing, & the CI band management arm. The CI Companies is the brand management moniker, as well. Weiss has facilitated in the transitioning of many of his CI Records roster acts to labels, onto tours, into licensing and endorsement deals, and much more. Weiss also works with and for New Lane Entertainment.
WILLIAM J METZGER WILLIAM J METZGER LAW, PLLC William Metzger is a native Pennsylvanian and Entertainment Attorney at William J. Metzger Law, PLLC based in Dallas, Texas. Prior to becoming an Attorney, William was a guitarist in the U.S. Marine Corps Band and served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. With his background and experience, William understands firsthand the challenges and opportunities that his clients face in the music industry. William has worked with Emmywining film producers, musicians, labels, video game designers, and more, including negotiating recording and publishing deals.
BYRON MORRISON ROK10 PRODUCTIONS Byron Morrison has been successfully running a music production studio for the past 7 years based out of Lancaster PA. Before dedicating himself to the creation of ROK10 studios he was selling out venues as a DJ in the rave scene, who went by the name ROK10. Now Byron is producing and engineering in multiple genres and working with a diverse range of artists. With the success of the EARSPACE podcast, Byron has recently expanded the ROK10 brand into consulting in the podcast space.
SUZ PAULINKSI SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY Suzanne is a mindset coach for music professionals and founder of The Rock/Star Advocate, helping them reach their goals with custom goal-setting and time management solutions that enable them to gain clarity on their next steps while maintaining a healthy work/life balance. She published her first book, The Rock/Star Life Planner, as a tool for creatives to find focus in their daily lives and her teachings can also be found in her guest posts for Sonicbids, Tunecore, and her podcast The Music-Preneur Mindset.
DREW POMPILIO DBUYER INC For over 30 years, Drew has produced live entertainment and has maintained impeccable relationships with agents, managers, venue GM’s, tour managers and production managers. After a decade in New York and D.C, the next stop was Philadelphia’s Electric Factory Concerts where once again he was the Director of Special Events. Today, Dbuyer, Inc.’s clients include casinos, private events, festivals, venues and corporate clients such as Tanger Outlets, Hersheypark, and The United States Naval Academy.
SEAN SALM VOLTAGE LOUNGE/SAD AND BOUJEE Sean is the General Manager/House Talent Buyer of Voltage Lounge, Guitarist of Left to Vanish & Founder of Sad & Boujee. As a talent buyer, he has booked notable acts such as: Post Malone, Wu Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, The Black Dahlia Murder, Dying Fetus and over 500 additional shows. Sad & Boujee is a new concept party that fuses the worlds of Emo & Trap Rap. S&B has taken the Philly nightlife by storm, selling out Voltage Lounge every month since its inception.
DAVID SILBAUGH MILWAUKEE SUMMERFEST David Silbaugh is best known as a Talent Buyer for Summerfest, “The World’s Largest Music Festival”, in Milwaukee, WI. The 11 day festival books over 800 artists in nearly all genres, featuring international headlining artists as well as up-and-coming artists. He also produces the noted Emerging Artists Series for the festival. David is also a voting member of The Recording Academy (GRAMMYs) and currently serves on The Recording Academy Advocacy Committee.
TRAV MANAGER Travis is an American Music Manager and has guided many artists and talents to successful campaigns. The New Jersey native has strategized, conceptualized, implemented and executed marketing plans for all offline initiatives, and also built and maintained relationships with sponsors, international festivals and talent management companies. Travis was given his shot by partner Bizzy (Bilal Joseph) and toured extensively with artists, delegated tasks and assured their completion.
SHAWN YOUNG YORK COLLEGE OF PENNSYLVANIA Shawn David Young is director of music industry and recording technology at York College of Pennsylvania, where he also teaches courses in American studies. Shawn has also published research on the counterculture of the 1960s, communal living, music festivals, the politics of popular music, and Christian rock in a number of academic journals. Dr. Young is the CEO of York Music Group at York College of Pennsylvania.