A widely respected music executive, Eddie Applebaum has made his mark as a successful and innovative artist manager. From discovering, developing and launching new talent, to helping guide the careers of established artists, Eddie has been influential in the careers of dozens of the most dynamic artists of the past 2 decades. ​ In February 2020 Eddie announced a strategic management partnership with legendary artist manager David Sonenberg and his company DAS Communications. DAS currently represents superstar artists including Fergie, Prince Royce, The Pretty Reckless and Passion Pit . DAS has been responsible for overseeing the careers of countless artists including The Black Eyed Peas, Kesha, John Legend, The Fugees, Jimmy Cliff, Meatloaf and more. ​ Prior to DAS, in 2012 Eddie launched Tour De Force Music, a full service artist management and specialized live music company. Tour De Force grew to become one of the most respected boutique management firms, representing a diverse roster of successful artists including Lucky Chops, Local H, The Sounds, Ryan Star, Ghost Beach and Takida, among others. ​ Known for spotting talent early, in the mid 2000's Eddie discovered and developed the alt rock sensation Morningwood, comprised of members of The Wallflowers, Spacehog and fronted by the inimitable Chantal Claret. The debut album bowed on Capitol Records to critical and public acclaim, debuting #1 on the Billboard Heat Seekers chart. The band's sophomore album was released on Vh1 Records, a venture created by Applebaum and the cable network. ​ Eddie cut his teeth with industry legends Gary Kurfirst (Jane's Addiction/ Talking Heads), Chris Blackwell (U2/ Bob Marley/ Island Records) and Steve Smith/ Peter Freedman (LIVE) as an assistant manager for some of the worlds most beloved artists. Over the years he has worked closely with many of the most respected, accomplished and powerful executives from all corners of the industry. ​ A born and raised New Yorker, Applebaum is a Juilliard trained classical pianist, a frequent guest speaker in the Graduate Program For Music Business at NYU, and holds a BS and BFA from NYU in Music Performance and Music Education.

Steven Matrick is the owner of artist management company Kepler Events, Co-Founder of the New Colossus Festival and a brand new record label Dedstrange. Kepler Events has managed Brooklyn Noise Rock legends A Place to Bury Strangers for the past 15 years as well as upcoming Brooklyn Psych Rock band GIFT who recently signed to Captured Tracks. Steven is one of the founders of the New Colossus Festival, a 5-day showcase festival featuring 120 bands the week before SXSW at 6 independent music venues on the Lower East Side that just completed its 4th annual event in March 2023. Steven has also recently founded Dedstrange, a record label in partnership with Oliver Ackermann of A Place To Bury Strangers and Berlin DJ Mitch O’ Sullivan whose roster includes Berlin Punk Rock bands Jealous, Plattenbau, The Pleasure Majenta & Data Animal as well as Wah Together, GIFT, Randy Randall of No Age, Lunacy, Pons and of course, A Place To Bury Strangers. Steven has also been a renowned Talent Buyer for the past 15 years at Pianos, Berlin, Lola, Santos Party House and Monkey Town.

As Reservoir’s Vice President, A&R and Marketing, David Hoffman identifies new talent and catalogs to sign and facilitates creative opportunities for the company’s roster of songwriters, producers, catalogs, and performing artists. David’s expertise has led to the signing of four-time Grammy winning multi-instrumental writer-producer Michael League and his internationally renowned band Snarky Puppy, Platinum-selling alt-rock band Joywave, synch darlings Savoir Adore, as well as critically acclaimed, developing artists Photay, Madison McFerrin, and Sego, among others. In his current role, David works closely with global superstar David Guetta’s current music publisher Jack Back, as well as Stewart Copeland, and he also oversaw Reservoir’s acquisition of the historic catalog of Bossa Nova pioneer, Laurindo Almeida. In addition, David spearheads the marketing of one of the industry’s storied music publishing companies, Shapiro Bernstein Music Publishing. Acquired by Reservoir in 2020, Shapiro Bernstein is home to some of the most beloved songs in American history including “In The Mood,” “On The Sunny Side Of The Street,” and “Ring of Fire,” among others. Prior to joining Reservoir, David was at Shapiro Bernstein for 18 years, where he worked across the Copyright and Administration departments before creating the position of Creative Director where he served for over a decade in an A&R capacity, in addition to overseeing creative synch pitching for the entire Shapiro Bernstein catalog for Television, Film, Advertisement, and Videogame placements. David has also music supervised global advertising campaigns for major brands including Apple and Puma, as well as the documentary film Still Bill, about legendary singer-songwriter, Bill Withers. He has been invited to speak as a panelist and guest lecturer at SXSW, CMJ, AIMP, ASCAP, BMI, and Syracuse University, among other venues. Beyond his music business career, David spent six years as a professional drummer, often touring upwards of 200+ nights a year. He graduated from Syracuse University and lives in New York City.

Luca Landi is founder of independent booking & music agency Annibale. He also plays guitar and provides vocals for Italian Fuzz Psychedelic Punk Go!Zilla and will be joining the Global Stages: Navigating the Live Music Circuit to provide his industry insights.

I book artists of all levels to create Vevo's original content for YouTube, Connected TV and our social accounts. I am the day to day booking contact for many of our artist, label and management partners, and work as their liaison to Vevo's production team. I pitch and negotiate concepts with artist teams, often coming up with creative solutions to compromise between artist and production needs. I then provide on-site coverage at our content shoots to ensure all parties are happy with the final result. In addition to production, I book artists for Vevo's special events and sales opportunities and work on all of our artist DEI initiatives. In addition to booking and executing the shoots, I work with Vevo's editorial, programming and label relations teams to select artists for all of our emerging artist programs. I have spearheaded festival relationships with Governor's Ball and SXSW. I also recently started chairing an employee resource group at the company.

Andy Lykens leads a global team responsible for the music supervision and licensing for the Netflix marketing teams. He has been at the forefront of using music to market and promote Netflix, building a streamlined operation from the ground up to handle music supervision, custom music creation, music clearance and licensing, and payments to music vendors. As part of this work he’s done deals to use music in marketing, partner marketing, and consumer products since the dawn of the streaming revolution. Partner music companies include Universal, WMG, Sony Music and BMG and major artists like Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton, Nirvana, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, and so many more. Andy is passionate about artist independence and empowerment, self actualization and loves spending time in Italy with his wife Mary and his cattle dog Scout. He plays bass trombone and trombone, loves jazz, and surfs when he can.

Maureen “Mo” Ochs serves as Label Partnerships Manager for US indie labels at Spotify. In her role, Mo spearheads communication with artists and their teams to ensure they’re supported and educated on how to grow and maintain a career on Spotify. Her favorite part of her job is the global perspective it brings, getting to collaborate with team members and artists from different cultures all over the world. Previously, Ochs has held positions in various areas of the music industry, including artist management, sound production, music retail, and radio broadcasting. While in artist management, Mo supported artists such as Maggie Rogers, Leon Bridges, and Carly Rae Jepsen. Prior to joining Spotify in 2022, she took a break from music to work as an events manager at the women’s empowerment network, Chief.

Dom Randazzo is a client relations specialist at Chartmetric. As a graduate of the Clive Davis Institute at New York University, Dom has gained a unique perspective on the intersection of music and technology in today’s marketplace. Having experience as a Billboard charting songwriter/producer, indie artist, and label administrator, Dom understands the challenges that artists and labels face at any stage of their career. Dom’s passion for music and his knowledge of data-driven marketing give Chartmetric clients a keen advantage when it comes to optimizing their marketing efforts and release strategies.

David Fricke is a Senior Editor at Rolling Stone where he writes predominately about rock music and has spanned over 30 years, including his time as the magazine’s music editor in the 1990s. His interviews with Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love for Rolling Stone, prior to Cobain's death, were widely cited.

Melissa Somosky is currently a Senior Content Acquisition Manager at Amazon Music where she manages music licensing for mass ads and recorded performances. Prior to that, she was Director of Global Rights at A+E Television Networks overseeing commercial music clearances and Rights Licensing. Melissa is also a 2016 graduate of the Women in Cable Television Rising Leaders Program. She attended the College of William and Mary and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and American Studies in 2006. Currently, Melissa lives in Brooklyn with her two cats and enjoys live music, cooking and cultural exploration.

Carly got her start in music in the DIY scene of Boston while she was studying at Northeastern University. In 2016, she moved to New York to work at APA as an assistant until moving over to Wasserman Music in 2022. For the last eight years, she’s been booking for a roster of 30+ artists including Slow Pulp, Geese, Ultra Q, Jeff Rosenstock, No Vacation, and Alex G. When not at shows, you can find her trying to teach herself how to do card tricks.

Sharon Tapper is the Executive Director of the Music Managers Forum-US, the leading trade association for artist managers and self-managed artists in the United States. Serving the music community by providing educational resources, networking opportunities and advocacy efforts on behalf of managers, self-managed artists, and the music community at large that supports them. The MMF-US is part of a larger global network, the International Music Managers Forum (IMMF) – an organization that connects more that sixty-five Music Manager Forums around the world (inc. Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand). Prior to joining the MMF-US Tapper worked in London as the Assistant Manager at Sarm West Studios, before relocating to the U.S. where in Los Angeles she worked at both Left Bank Management and Gallin Morey Management. Shortly after moving to New York she transitioned into music publishing becoming the third U.S. employee at Kobalt Music Publishing and their VP Creative for eight years. Following that she was hired to be the SVP Music Publishing at Razor & Tie Music Publishing. Tapper was elected to serve multiple terms totaling fourteen years as Governor & Secretary of the NY Chapter of the GRAMMY’s, serving six consecutive terms as Co-Chair of their Advocacy Committee, on which she continues to diligently serve. She also served four years on the NY Chapter of the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP). For ten years she Co-Funded and ran the New York City Creative Community (NYC3).

Highly experienced Creative Director and Commissioner with an entrepreneurial spirit and background in Fine Art. Known for assembling diverse teams and consistently delivering exceptional creativity. Offering 10+ years experience in creative direction + production with an emphasis on music videos, commercial and fine art photography, branded content, contract negotiation, licensing and creative production for media, entertainment and celebrity clients. Extensive experience in high profile client facing roles, artist relations, budget oversight, production management and fearless leadership of creative teams across multiple territories. Serving a proven track record of elevating the brief and delivering award winning content on time and on budget.

Jesse Jacobsen is the US Indies Lead on the Label Partnerships team at Spotify, based in New York. His team focuses on partnering with independent labels and artists in the US to promote their releases, reach and develop new audiences, and take full advantage of the suite of tools Spotify offers creators. Prior to joining Spotify, Jesse worked on digital marketing and partnerships at Mick Management. Jesse's originally from Kansas City and went to college at Belmont University where he received BBA with an emphasis on Music Business and a minor in Philosophy. He currently lives in Brooklyn with his wife Kayli and dog Pippin.

Based in New York, Riley's career in the music business has amassed over ten years; with experience in Touring, Festival Operations, Partnerships and Endorsements, and now over seven years in Artist Management. Now a Manager at global entertainment entity Three Six Zero she is representing the likes of iconic grime-rapper, Mike Skinner (The Streets) and critically acclaimed alternative-pop artist Angélica Garcia who has been pinned by former President Barack Obama on his infamous year-end lists. Across her various efforts in the music business, she has worked with a variety of other artists including Dexys Midnight Runners; Earth, Wind & Fire; Sammy Brue; The Neon Trees; Sunflower Bean; SofiTukker; and The Knocks.

Award-winning music producer, sonic strategist, and music supervisor with proven ability to seamlessly bring media to life and catapult their growth. I utilize the power of audio to influence human emotions. I love to find strategic ways to grab a consumer's attention and have done so close to 10,000 times.

Chris Mooney is Ditto Music's Global Head of Artist & Label Services and will once again be on hand to offer expert advice to Ditto X: NYC 24 guests and artists. Chris has a wealth of top level industry experience, joining Ditto back in 2018 as Head of US Operations following an 8-year stint at Tunecore. We look forward to catching up with Chris again this March!

Dave Henry has worked in the Toronto live music industry for 10+ years, getting his start by organizing small DIY concerts and events. He grew into larger roles as a Production Coordinator and Artist Relations Manager with festivals such as VELD, Field Trip, and Digital Dreams, eventually moving on to program and manage large-scale, multi-day festivals including Canadian Music Week and NXNE. In the past few years, he has taken on the role as Production Manager with Wavelength Music, who produce a monthly concert series, often in unconventional spaces, as well as two annual festivals. He is also currently a Talent Buyer with independent promoter, Transmit Presents, booking shows in many of the venues across Toronto, and is the lead programmer of a free showcase series called Happy Sundays that features up-and-coming artists from across North America and beyond.

Yan Kogan (they/he) has a background in various aspects of the music industry - from a degree in Music Business from NYU, to working at independent music companies (labels, promoters, agencies), to playing in a local Brooklyn band (Two-Man Giant Squid). They are passionate about all things music and aspire to build an inclusive and supportive environment wherever they go. Currently working at Fat Possum, an Oxford-based independent label with a roster consisting of Al Green, Dehd, Youth Lagoon, and many more, Yan assists in developing marketing strategies for artists’ releases, handling artist contracts and licenses, as well as managing the label’s official social media accounts. Over the last few years of living in the city, Yan had started up coeo ntwrk - a photography, concert booking, and promotion service tailored to the independent NYC / Brooklyn scene. It has become an accessible resource for local bands in need of support with upcoming shows, tours, and general promotional needs. Prior to moving to NYC, Yan lived in Montreal, pursuing a business degree at McGill University. During their time there, they acquired experience through work at the local concert promoter Blue Skies Turn Black, independent label Lisbon Lux Records, and booking agency Indie Montreal.

Eli “Paperboy” Reed is a survivor. He was one of the first of the new wave of singers and songwriters to embrace unabashedly soulful music and he has been tearing up stages all over the world with his heart-stopping falsetto screams for more than a decade with no plans to slow down. From humble musical beginnings growing up outside of Boston, at 18 Reed moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi and cut his teeth playing and singing in juke joints all over the Delta. From there he took the well-trod path to Chicago where he spent a year as minister of music the Southside church of Soul legend Mitty Collier. Soon after returning to Boston, he was bit by the songwriting bug and released his first full length, “Roll with You” in 2008. Reed’s combination of powerful soulful vocals coupled with his strong pop sensibility as a songwriter made people all over the world stand up and take notice. Soon there were calls coming in from everywhere; television shows in the UK, festivals in Australia, and a jaw-dropping schedule of national and international tour dates. Major record labels came calling, deals were signed and Reed’s star kept rising, now with the help of song placements in major movies, television shows and commercials. The albums “Come and Get it” (Capitol - 2010) and “Nights Like This” (Warner Brothers - 2014) went on to do more than $2.5 million in total licensing, while Reed and his crack band continued to wow audiences on five continents. In 2016, after some much-needed time off from the road, Reed returned to the studio to cut “My Way Home” (Yep Roc - 2016); an album that is at once back-to-basics and startlingly current. Starting in 2013 Reed began teaching at an after-school music education based in Harlem called for Gospel for Teens during his breaks from touring. The program worked with at-risk youth from around the New York City area and Reed specifically began teaching these young men about Gospel Quartet music, its history and harmony. Out of those classes emerged a new project that Reed dubbed The Harlem Gospel Travelers. He produced, arranged and played guitar on their debut album which came out on the revered soul label Colemine records in 2019 to rave reviews. Now The Harlem Gospel Travelers are at work on their second full-length and have begun conquering festival stages as well. Parenthood gave Reed a newfound wisdom and self-reflection. His daughter Stella was born in 2016 and son Oscar in 2019. With that in mind he returned to the south to record his 7th full-length “99 Cent Dreams” at the legendary Sam Phillips Recording studio in Memphis, TN. This time around he was joined by Soul legends The Masqueraders on background vocals. The title track was given an unexpected boost with a feature by hip-hop pioneer Big Daddy Kane! No Depression wrote: Reed never disappoints and on 99 Cent Dreams he takes his musical game to a new level, elevating us with it.” Now approaching the 15-year mark in his career and releasing his 8th album “Down Every Road”, Reed has improbably become an elder statesman of the genre, and he’s begun seeing new artists who are taking inspiration from his unique sound. A sound that, over everything else, prizes feeling, energy, and, yes, Soul.

Pete Smolin is the founder and president of Upward Spiral Music, a full-service artist management firm established in 2019 that represents independent artists like They Might Be Giants, OK Go, The Stone Foxes and more. With nearly 20 years of experience, Pete has made a career of navigating outside the confines of the traditional music industry and focusing on DIY initiatives and projects that allow the artists he represents to forge their own paths and retain ownership over their creative output.

Being both the Indian and the Cowboy is a tall order, but it’s the only way Anishinaabe singer Tashiina Buswa can see as a way to navigate a world that’s infected to its roots with colonial ideals. ‘Indian Cowboy’ takes the old Hollywood trope of Cowboys vs. Indians and injects it with nuance. Growing up with a foot in two worlds (one where Indigenous identity is held sacred and one where colonialism works to tear that idea down), Buswa muses on the duality of organized religion/Indigeneity, and staying connected to your culture in a world designed to destroy it. “You want it? You got your Indian Cowboy” she sings in exasperation at the end of the track, defeated, yet with some secret, triumphant sense of beating the system at its own game. Love Language is the band that’s playing in the bar that all the high school kids are somehow allowed into in your favorite 90s teen movie. Within less than a year of their first show under an overpass in Montreal, they had taken their energetic, often chaotic live show across Canada, sharing stages with Dehd, Ombiigizi, Chad VanGaalen and Julie Doiron. They return with the release of ‘Indian Cowboy’ a song that reckons with a lifetime of navigating organized religion and an Indigenous culture that colonial ideals constantly attempts to erode.

min.a, the moniker of NYC-based singer/songwriter/producer Michelle Lee Bae, makes indie pop anthems that transmit all the angsty, fuzzy, and pure feelings stirring inside her heart. Since debuting in 2018 with her breakthrough lo-fi single “by(e),” she established herself as a rising talent through her self-produced EPs of introspective lyricism and glitchy electronics. Now, min.a gears up to present the next self-assured evolution of her artistry with her new EP, are you watching at all?, a collection of deeply felt and cathartic songs, arriving May 9. Having grown up between California and Seoul, min.a has always used music to process her feelings of isolation and ostracization. As a young teen, she caught attention in South Korea for her powerful singing voice on the competition show, K-Pop Star, and then later focused on crafting experimental electronic tracks at NYU's Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. She now aims to write songs that connect with fellow outsiders. “I was bullied growing up, and I never had any friendships where I felt truly seen,” min.a says. “I want people who are going through that to feel like, ‘I’m not alone, it does get better.’”

Legacy can mean different things to different people. For some, legacy is simply about blood ties. For others, it’s about making positive decisions that will impact future generations. For Austrian-born Maria Burger, who performs as indie-pop singer/songwriter OSKA, legacy is about both of these things. It’s a theme that looms over her remarkable debut album, My world, My love, Paris. The youngest of eight, with four older siblings and three half siblings above her, Maria grew up in a large family where music was in every room of the house. Her mother filled their home with the sounds of guitar, Irish music and ballets. As she grew up, Maria learned to play guitar herself, racing home after school to write songs, drawing influence from all over the spectrum. Today, Maria has taken her rich musical upbringing to Vienna. As OSKA, Maria creates an inviting world of bright melodies, grooving rhythms, and poetic, storytelling lyrics. On her debut EP, Honeymoon Phase, audiences got a taste of Maria’s elegant songwriting, which touches on familiar themes like love, heartbreak, climate change, and family. The title of her debut album, My world, My love, Paris, is an anxious reminder that the planet’s future has never been more uncertain. Conceived near the start of the pandemic, “My World, My Love, Paris,” as the album’s title track, tells the story of a couple who board a boat as the world comes to an end. As they sail away, they ask each other, “Could we have made more of our lives?” It’s a spiritual cousin to a song by one of Maria’s major inspirations, Edith Piaf, who sang, “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (“No, I do not regret anything”). Despite its various themes, My world, My love, Paris is ultimately a snapshot of a young woman attempting to make sense of getting older in an increasingly uncertain era. “My world, My love, Paris is about making sense out of that.”