The Many Faces of Songwriting
Historically, a professional songwriter's most reliable customer had been the major label recording artist. Whether they landed an album track, a b-side or a coveted single, songwriters based in New York, Los Angeles and Nashville could rely on a steady stream of work. Today, there are fewer major label releases selling far less than ever before, yet, many would argue that it's never been a better time to be a songwriter. From jingle-writing, to scoring films, writing television themes and collaborating with artists around the world, the opportunities are endless. Industry professionals will discuss the various ways songwriters are thriving in the new music economy.
Presenters
Justin Kalifowitz is President of Downtown Music Publishing where he oversees the company's rights management, licensing and related businesses. Since joining Downtown in 2007, Justin has quickly developed a catalog of over 12,000 titles under management. Professional songwriters signed by Downtown have recently penned hit singles for artists such as Britney Spears, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry and Taio Cruz and in 2011, Billboard Magazine named Downtown as one of the Top 10 publishers in America. Last year, Justin launched dms.FM, Downtown's synch licensing platform that represents the Downtown Music Publishing catalog as well as over 30,000 master recordings from leading independent labels including Cooking Vinyl, Downtown, Eleven Seven, Six Degrees and ZTT. Most recently, he co-founded Songtrust, the world's first online music publishing solution for early-stage songwriters and artists. Prior to joining Downtown, Justin spent six years as Head of A&R at Spirit Music Publishing, where he was named to Billboard's "30 Under 30" Top Executives List.
At Burnett, McDonough sources music and negotiates deals for some of the world’s biggest brands including Allstate, Hallmark, Invesco, Kellogg’s, McDonald’s, Samsung and Esurance among others. He is also one of the leaders of Leo Burnett’s “Artist in Residence” programs that brings popular and up-in-coming artists to the agency for guest performances and builds artist/agency relationships. Recent artists McDonough brought in include Steve Earle, RJD2, Neon Trees, MNDR and Yelle.
A well-known name in the music industry – former VP/Senior Music Producer at DDB Chicago and the promotions director for Chicago’s legendary live music venue, the Empty Bottle – McDonough’s collaborative style and strong artist-producer relationships have established him in both the advertising industry and independent music communities at the national level. In 2009, Adweek recognized McDonough’s use of Os Mutantes song “A Minha Menina” in a McDonald’s commercial as being one of the five best ad songs of all time. By including the song “Lights Out” in Bud Light Lime commercials, music artist Santigold was catapulted to fame with most press about her moving forward crediting the ads in contributing to her success.
Evan Lipschutz is Vice President of Mercury Records where he works closely with the entire roster on A&R. Since joining the restarted Mercury in 2007, Evan has worked closely with Duffy, Portishead, Neon Trees, My Darkest Days and Parachute. Evan also works on the A&R for various Island acts including The Killers, Fallout Boy, Sum 41, The Airborne Toxic Event and Melissa Etheridge. In 2008 he was named to Billboard's "30 Under 30" Top Executives List. Prior to joining Mercury, Evan spent 6 years at Daylight/Epic as Sr. Director of A&R where he worked with Good Charlotte, Phantom Planet, Franz Ferdinand, Shakira and Anastacia.
With over ten years of film music experience, Season Kent has overseen 20+ films including the 2010 Academy Award winning feature film The Fighter & 2011 Golden Globe Nominated film Machine Gun Preacher (Best Song Nomination for “The Keeper” by Chris Cornell). Kent most recently partnered with the music supervision company Clearsongs, Inc. where she is supervising ABC’s new hit show Revenge and several upcoming films (including End of Watch, World War Z, Odd Thomas & Ten Year). She also consulted on the final season of Entourage for HBO. Before partnering with Clearsongs, Kent oversaw the day-to-day Music Supervision for Relativity Media as Executive in Charge of Music for all of Relativity Media and Rogue Pictures productions – films included Limitless, Dear John, MacGruber and Brothers. Kent’s previous film credits also include The Strangers, Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay, Street Kings, Charlies Angels: Full Throttle and Austin Powers in Goldmember.
Season Kent resides in Los Angeles, CA.
Erik Eger is the president and owner of Erik Eger Entertainment, Inc. (THREEE), a boutique management company that guides and nurtures the careers of a select group of world-renowned, award winning producers, mixers, songwriters and composers. Under Erik's management, THREEE clients have penned songs for the likes of Shakira, Rihanna, Christina Aguilera, Big Boi, MIA, Santigold, Sia, Kylie, Emiliana Torrini, Jane's Addiction, and produced and mixed such superstars as Coldplay, John Mayer, and Foster the People to name a few. Erik takes a creative and hands on approach to management and believes that making records is a privilege and making good ones a responsibility. Prior to starting THREEE in 2002, Erik spent 6 years in producer and artist management working for other companies. He got his start as a music trainee at the William Morris Agency in New York City. Current clients include: Michael H. Brauer, Dan Carey, Chris Carmouche, Rich Costey, John Hill, Trevor Horn, Kid Harpoon, Stuart Matthewman, David Andrew Sitek and Sly & Robbie.
Wednesday, March 14
