Ditto X: NYC is back for 2024! Making our much-anticipated return to the US, Ditto X’s globally renowned music industry conference and networking event will once again feature as part of the awesome New Colossus Festival.
Taking place on Thursday 7th March at the infamous Pianos NYC, Ditto X: NYC 24 promises to be even bigger and better than last year’s inaugural event.
Gain insider tips from the best in the biz on how to build your music career independently and learn how to unlock more revenue through your tracks with Ditto, as well as mingle with industry experts who’ve been there and seen it all.
With guest speakers from Spotify, Chartmetric and Netflix already confirmed, you won’t want to miss out on another unmissable Ditto X spectacular.
Check out our first wave of Ditto X: NYC 24 panellists below:
Director, Music Supervision & Licensing for Marketing
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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.
Artist & Label Partnerships Manager
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.
Sync Licensor
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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.
Artist & Label Partnerships Lead
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.
Client Relations Specialist
Domenico Randazzo is a Billboard-charting songwriter/producer, independent artist, and education advocate with a passion for the intersection of music and tech. Currently, Domenico helps run client support at Chartmetric, where he leverages his music industry experience to provide unique insight to clients.Originally from Morristown, New Jersey, Domenico spent his formative years playing lead guitar in bands along the Jersey Shore. He later studied at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University, where he was taught by Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest and apprenticed with producer Dave Tozer (John Legend, Kanye West).
Today, Domenico is based in New York City. His work has resulted in multiple Billboard-charting singles and collaborations with artists such as John Legend, My Chemical Romance, and Tiësto. As an independent artist, he’s earned millions of online listeners with consistent support from Spotify, SiriusXM, Splice, and MTV. His record label imprint, il Dottore, serves as a platform to uplift his own art and collaborations with friends.
In addition to his music career, Domenico co-founded the non-profit, Real World Academy (RWA), an education and human development organization designed to help young people to follow their passions. As president, Domenico has grown RWA into an international non-profit, providing counseling and career readiness training to hundreds of students and fostering a strong digital brand.
Talent Buyer
Talent Buyer at Transmit Presents, Dave Henry will be joining us at Ditto X: NYC 24 to share his expert knowledge with guests and artists. Dave brings his expertise in production management to the panel and will be on-hand to provide advice on festival production and artist relations.
Project Lead
Patrick Daniel, based in Berlin, brings over 13 years of extensive experience in the music industry. His educational foundation includes media business management and sociology. He has contributed to various capacities in indie-label and artist management, as well as festival sponsorships. In addition to his professional commitments, he actively volunteers for initiatives promoting gender equality with an intersectional approach.
For over 5 years, Patrick has had the privilege of contributing to the success of Reeperbahn Festival. Currently, he plays integral roles in various teams, including Reeperbahn Festival International, Partnerships & Sales, B2B Matchmakings, Wunderkinder – German Music Talent, FOMC (Federation of Music Conferences), and Keychange.
Executive Director
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).
Artist
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.
Artist (Two-Man Giant Squid)
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.
Global Head of Artist & Label Services
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!
Founder
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.
With many more guests to still be announced, Ditto X: NYC 24 promises to be yet another unforgettable industry event.
Grab your 2024 ticket now to secure your spot and save 30% on a full festival pass with code DITTO30.
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