WELCOME TO LAUNCH 2021
A LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR What an incredible feeling it is to gather together again. Damn, have I missed this. Damn, have I missed you! The 13th Annual LAUNCH Music Conference & Festival comes at an unusual time of year, and I’m so grateful to each and every one of my industry colleagues for charging back into the fold to lend their experience and expertise to us all. I’m also grateful to all of the musicians and would-be industry people who traveled from near and far, in pursuit of knowledge, relationships, collaboration, and FUN! 2020 LAUNCH was virtual. I took the journey with all of you, live from my kitchen. The panelists and performances were simply stellar. The experience, while unique, was making the best of a lousy situation, and it kept us all on track, and engaged. That being said, MAN am I glad to see YOU, live, in living color, in person! We will get together by day to listen to some amazing advice and best practices, and we’ll do the same at night, to listen to some fantastic live music! The return of LAUNCH alums, Ice Nine Kills is sure to be incredible! Heck, from the Holiday Inn lobby, to the ballrooms, from Marion Courtroom, to the Lancaster City Square, from Fest Friday at Binns Park, to The Vine Street Commons at The Convention Center, prepare to be blown away.
Thanks to our incredible Brand Partners, who came on board immediately, and with terrific financial and rousing emotional support, as well. They are essential to our ability to stage LAUNCH year in and year out, but most especially in 2021. We’ve seen a lot change in our lives and careers over the last year and a half. What hasn’t changed is our need to interact, to exchange ideas, to learn and to grow, together. What hasn’t changed is mine, and my entire team’s determination to perpetuate and make these things possible. You’ll see some new faces in team LAUNCH, and you’ll see some new places where LAUNCH is taking place, but what you can count on always, is the L.ogical A.dvice and U.nique N.ecessary C.areer H.elp you’ve come to expect from LAUNCH. Oh, and you can also count on one hell of a party, and some killer memories. Let’s freakin’ go! Jeremy Weiss LAUNCH Founder & Director
STAFF Jeremy L. Weiss Conference Director Dakota Baker Associate Director Deborah “Zuke” Smith Panel Coordinator Caleb Leaman Production Manager Bryan Naranjo Production Manager Tammy Eno Registration & Exhibitor Coordinator Kayla Forgrave Fest Friday Coordinator Joe Caviston Social Media Marketing Corey Oatman Administrative Assistant Andrew Zell LAUNCH Guide Marquis Lupton/TCI LAUNCH Video Team Whitney Lupton/TCI LAUNCH Video Team
Annie Weeks LAUNCH Consultant Bob Anderson LAUNCH Logistics Team Alexa Scranton Collegiate Volunteer Liaison Annie Weeks LAUNCH Consultant Aaron Burton LAUNCH Consultant Scarlett Weiss LAUNCH Team Olivia Weiss LAUNCH Team Stella Weiss LAUNCH Team Maxine Weiss LAUNCH Team Jennifer Jester Sound Technician Titus Irvin Sound Technician
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PANELISTS ALI ABUALBURAK ENCORE Ali Abualburak is the General Manager of Encore, formerly known as 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, Jadakiss, Ray J and Ace Hood.
LAURA CATANA INDIEFLOW Laura Catana is a trilingual, first-generation New Yorker who is passionate about music as cultural diplomacy. Laura dove into the music industry in 2015 after co-founding Cuba’s first urban indie music label, Guámpara Music, based in Havana, Cuba. She has experience as a professional artist manager, label manager and live event producer. Currently, she heads up Artist Relations and Sales at IndieFlow, a music tech company that provides tools for independent artists to manage and streamline their workflow, all from one central dashboard.
DR. E. MICHAEL HARRINGTON MUSIC BUSINESS LAW Dr. E, Michael Harrington is a course author and professor at Berklee Online, as well as a composer, musician, consultant, professor. He created the Berklee College of Music/ Coursera Copyright Law In The Music Business class/MOOC which has been taken by students from 159 countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, the Berklee Online Graduate Music Business Law class and the Berklee Online Music Business Capstone course. He has created more than 30 courses at several universities including Berklee.
MICHAEL KEALEY MUSIC PUBLISHING Michael Kealey is a fifteen-year-veteran of the music industry with a specific focus in record label and music publishing rights management and licensing. His scope of licensing includes artist deal structures, platform rights and synchronization rights for film, television, gaming and digital media.
KEVIN MCCOVE MUSICIAN & PRODUCER Kevin McCove is both a successful musician and passionate educator. He has performed opening shows for Drake, Billy Joel, Kid Rock, One Republic, Backstreet Boys among other major names. As a composer and songwriter experienced in synchronisation, Kevin has had music placed in TV networks including CBS, Fox, MTV and Telemundo, as well as advertising placements with Delta Airlines, Gannett, Toyota and more. Kevin has inked performance contracts with LiveNation, worked on songwriting teams with artists from Atlantic Records, UMG and RCA.
DAVID “5-1” NORMAN TOUR MANAGER & ACCOUNTANT David ‘5-1’ Norman has worked with a who’s who list of artists. He was Tour Manager and Tour Accountant for Earth, Wind & Fire, John Legend, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Alicia Keys, Matchbox Twenty, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco, and so many others. Having previously worked as a promoter rep for Live Nation, he possesses the unique ability to view touring and events from both sides of the table - for the artist as well as from the promoter/event manager side.
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.
MIKE MOWERY 10TH STREET ENTERTAINMENT Mike Mowery is the manager of Ice Nine Kills and Solence for 10th Street Entertainment. Mike is the original founder and former owner of Outerloop Group Management and Outerloop Records. Mike is currently a Chapter Advisor of the Washington DC Chapter of The Recording Academy and a board member of the Shirts for a Cure. He is passionate about educating artists and managers, often partaking in conference panels and guru workshops for Kevin Lyman’s (Vans Warped Tour) The Education Institute. He resides in Washington, DC, with his wife, Caroline.
JOE CAVISTON HARRISBURG MIDTOWN ARTS CENTER Joseph Caviston began his career like every other DIY punk kid: Throwing shows anywhere he could. This hobby eventually evolved into a career. His work in music and marketing has spanned 20 years and has seen many evolutions. Caviston is currently the Director of Marketing for the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center, Stage West (Scranton & State College locations), Damn Millennial Promotions, and the Pavement Rave EDM series. He is the founder of the Electric City Music Conference and Steamtown Music Awards.
JEANNE HOFFMAN BRYCE DOWNEY & LENKOV Jeanne concentrates her practice in intellectual property and business litigation and transactions. She handles all facets of business and intellectual property litigation and has extensive experience handling diverse matters in both the state and federal courts. Jeanne has represented clients in protecting their intellectual property by providing clearance opinions for trademark filings, preparing copyright and trademark applications and prosecuting matters in the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
MARION KINARD CHECKMATE ENTERTAINMENT Beginning in 2001, Marion Kinard A.K.A. Chill C. opened his first business. In 2011, Kinard founded Checkmate Entertainment. Kinard has attended multiple networking events up and down the East Coast gaining knowledge of the industry while building lasting relationships. These relationships have helped Checkmate Entertainment gain access to several well-known artists, musicians, managers and agencies. Checkmate Entertainment will begin their 2022 concert series on February 12th, 2022 with Remy Ma and Papoose.
SHAWN MILKE REVIVAL RECORDINGS Shawn Milke has been a member of the hard rock band Alesana for the past 17 years with multiple side projects including Tempting Paris and TLE. He is also President and Founder of Revival Recordings, a record label based out of Raleigh, North Carolina. After opening its doors in 2013, the label has grown substantially over 8 years and currently hosts an active roster of 16 artists including The Home Team, We Were Sharks, and Eyes Set To Kill.
ULF OESTERLE SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY Dr. Ulf Oesterle has been teaching about the music business for 17 years with courses touching on recorded music, live music, social media and TikTok strategy and data within the music business. He completed his doctorate in Mass Communications from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University in 2007, spent several years as the Music and Entertainment Industries Department Chair and was the Interim Director of the Bandier Program (B.S.) and Audio Arts (M.A.).
LOU PLAIA REVERBNATION In 2006, Lou Plaia co-founded ReverbNation, the global leader in empowering independent artists to advance their careers. Plaia dedicates most of his time brokering valuable opportunities for the 5 million artists on ReverbNation by connecting them to record labels, festival and venue talent buyers, managers, publications, blogs, podcasts, brands, radio stations, and other industry professionals. Prior to ReverbNation, Plaia worked 12 years at Atlantic Records where he was VP of Strategic Marketing.
RICKY ARMELLINO ICE NINE KILLS Rick Armellino, an English Graduate of The University of Alabama, is an accomplished guitarist and singer. He currently performs with HAWK and Ice Nine Kills. While on the road with these artists doing a collective 48 domestic and international tours, he worked on recording projects. Armellino runs a recording studio, Rick Armellino Production, in Lancaster, PA where he writes, produces, and mixes a variety of artists in the rock, alternative, and metal genres. His work as a producer and/or engineer can be heard on HAWK, Currents, Ice Nine Kills, Carousel Kings, Jason Richardson, and many others.
DR. 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. Dain’s songs have been licensed to numerous television shows, films, and commercials. In 2011, he co-founded the Vinefield Agency, an artist management/booking agency based in Denver, Colorado.
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.
STEPHANIE MAKSIMOW WHOA, THAT’S FRESH! Steph Maksimow is the owner of Whoa, That’s Fresh! Marketing & Publicity Agency currently represents a diverse roster of bands and artists at all levels such as MxPx, Radkey, M.A.G.S., RIVALS, and Prinze George. Steph is an accomplished Marketing & PR professional with over 10 years of project management experience in building and promoting brands, and she also holds a Master’s in Music Business Administration. WTF Publicity provides customized and creative marketing and publicity campaigns for a holistic, supportive, and adaptive client experience.
RANDY NICHOLS MOMENT HOUSE Randy Nichols was an early innovator and sought after thought leader in the live streaming market after producing some of the earliest successful streaming events. He has guided artists to multiple Gold records and Grammy nominations. He is regularly invited to speak about artist management, live streaming, merchandise and technology at conferences including SXSW, CMJ, Launch Music Conference, Montauk Music Festival as well as multiple universities. He was an angel investor in Bandsintown and advisor for atVenu.
NICK ONORATO REVIVAL RECORDINGS Nick Onorato is a Partner and Vice President of Revival Recordings record label. He handles the business and financial planning, manages projects for the multitude of artists on the label, and assists in guiding their release campaigns. When he’s not working on the label, he is one part of the trio dadpunk band, TLE.
JOHN RICCARDI REVERBNATION John Riccardi brings over 15 years of music industry experience to his role at Eventbrite, where he’s focused on using his background to provide strategic guidance in working with organizers of some of the largest and bestknown venues and festivals in the music and comedy spaces. In addition, he has overseen marketing, sponsorship and/or ticketing for several thousand combined concerts, festivals and special events in more than 130 markets, including some of the most successful tours of all time.
BRIAN ROSENBLATT BRYCE DOWNEY & LENKOV Brian joined Bryce Downey & Lenkov in 2016 after leaving one of Illinois’ top 25 largest law firms after nearly 15 years. Brian has previously developed and co-chaired both an “Entertainment, Media and Privacy Practice Group”, and an “Intellectual Property Group” at his past firms. Brian’s practice is focused in three main areas: entertainment (including media and advertising), intellectual property, and litigation. He also handles intellectual property transactions and litigation, specifically copyright, trademark matters and unfair/deceptive trade practice litigation.
JASON SPIEWAK NOBLE STEED MUSIC Jason Spiewak is the president and founder Noble Steed Music, an artist management and label services company with offices in New Jersey and a recording studio in historic Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Spiewak is an accomplished music business professional, with credits and accomplishments on stage as well as in the office. Prior to establishing Noble Steed, Spiewak served as the President of Warner Music-distributed Rock Ridge Music for 9 years. Spiewak has been a Grammy voting member since 2003.
SHAWN YOUNG YORK COLLEGE OF PENNSYLVANIA A veteran of the U.S. Army Band and former management with MARS Music, Inc., Shawn David Young, Ph.D. is Director of Music Industry Studies and Associate Professor of Music at York College of Pennsylvania. Young has earned degrees in Music Industry Studies and American Studies, and has published research on topics such as rock music history, 1960s counterculture, communal living, and music festivals. . He specializes in American popular music and religion, concert promotion, and cultural history.
CARSON SLOVAK ATRIUM AUDIO Carson Slovak of Atrium Audio has become known for the consistent quality output and super-efficient workflow among regional, national and international artists. Carson opened a boutique recording studio alongside Grant McFarland in Lancaster, PA under the name Atrium Audio and spent years establishing a reputation as a powerful production team, particularly in the rock and metal genres with releases by August Burns Red, Everclear, Candlebox, Rivers of Nihil, Lorna Shore, and more.
JIM THORPE PROMOTER & ARTIST MANAGER Jim Thorpe has been in the music industry for over 20+ years as a musician, club owner, musician, promoter, artist manager, talent buyer and Festival director. im made his stamp on the Philly Music scene when he was at The Grape Street Pub from 1992 to 2007 as a partner, promotions/marketing/branding and booking agent. From 2001 - 2016 Jim worked with Vikki Walls at The Dewey Beach Music Conference arranging panels, artists and events.
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.
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. In Spring 2021, Weiss/The CI Companies accepted the role of House Talent Buyer for the historic Harrisburg PA live music venue, Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center (HMAC), a building with (350) and (1100) capacity venues that run concurrently.
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