Music Biz Annual Conference 2027

Ilie Ardelean is the Chief Product Officer for Exactuals, responsible for the company’s market offerings. Exactuals serves the music industry with SaaS and advanced technology products to solve global payments problems end to end. Ardelean has spent over 20 years in payments, banking, SaaS and FinTech companies. Before Exactuals, he led the core product area at Spireon, an enterprise SaaS company, and was VP of Product at Green Dot, a high-growth payments company serving customers such as Walmart, Intuit and Amazon.

Robert Barbiere is SVP of Digital Rights for Pex. In this role, he leads the company’s digital rights strategy, business, and client relations. An experienced digital media executive, he previously served as Chief Strategy Officer and SVP of Licensing for Dubset Media prior to joining Pex. Before that, Barbiere was COO of Broad Street Digital, where he established RightsRouter as music’s first fully integrated digital distribution and rights management platform.

Jake Beaumont-Nesbitt serves as the VP of Innovation and Education for The International Music Managers Forum (IMMF). The organization brings together artist and artist representative associations from 50 countries, for networking, sharing, and discussion of trading terms and opportunities for artists. Beaumont-Nesbitt focuses on industry structural concerns including metadata issues, usage data opportunities, and B2B innovation. He has a background in financial markets, and has managed chart topping Dutch artists and signed a UK band to a US indie label.

Amadea Choplin is the Chief Operating Officer at Pex, the market leader in digital rights technology. As COO, she has guided Pex through multiple strategic transitions, funding rounds, exponential growth, and the acquisition of Dubset. Before Pex, Choplin directed Dailymotion’s corporate development and communications, based in Paris & San Francisco.

Scott Farrant is currently Global Head of Operations at Kobalt Music. He is a music industry professional with more than 30 years experience working for major & indie music publishers, CMOs and artist management in a broad range of areas including international relations, copyright, licensing, creative and business development. Prior to his role with Kobalt, Farrant served as COO of AMRA; Managing Director of KSTAR; Head of New Business, Head of Media Licensing, and International Director for STIM, and SVP Creative & International at Palan Music. He has also held positions with BMG Music, EMI Music and PRS. Farrant currently sits on the boards of ICMP, IMPA and MPA, and on committees of TOWGE and the MLC.

Cesar Fishman is the Director of Business and Government Affairs for Pex, the market leader in digital rights technology. Fishman is a business & government affairs executive with over a decade of experience in the policy and copyright space. Throughout his career, he has worked on Capitol Hill and with important stakeholders in the realm of intellectual property.

Martin Hapl is responsible for Pex’s relationships with Article 17 stakeholders in Europe. Hapl has an extensive background in technology, specifically around digital transformation and big data. After joining Pex, he combined that knowledge with extensive research of Article 17 and its impact to all its stakeholders on both the European and national levels.

Wilson Hays is the Head of Business Development at Pex, where he leads strategic and operational revenue activities, focusing on sales growth and partnerships. Prior to Pex, Hays held senior roles across digital advertising in technology companies building solutions for leading advertisers and media agencies at the intersection of media, music and social.

Jeff Liebenson is President of the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers, and serves as the editor of the organization’s “User-Generated Content: New Business Models and Legal Issues.” He concentrates his practice in music, digital entertainment and intellectual property law at Liebenson Law in New York City, where he negotiates complex rights agreements, acquisitions, international joint ventures and distribution agreements. He also consults on copyright and trademark issues, including those relating to digital entertainment. Earlier in his career, Liebenson represented EMI in the first iTunes negotiations with Apple; Sony in establishing its Pressplay online service with Universal; and Gracenote in obtaining digital lyric licensing rights from the music publishing industry. He also previously served as chief legal & business affairs executive for the international division of BMG Entertainment, overseeing music, video, video game and digital activities in 53 countries.

Larry Mills is the Founder and CEO We Are The Hits, an online music video network predominantly on YouTube which allows the aspiring artists of the world to legally share in the advertising revenue from their cover song. WATH generates billions of views on YouTube annually, and has paid out more than $10 million to both songwriters and independent artists. He is also currently on the board of directors of YEA!, a non-profit music organization that focuses on school based music programs, which has created opportunities for tens of thousands of music students across the country. Prior to founding WATH, Mills served as VP of Strategic Marketing for Sony/ATV Music Publishing, co-President of Tresona Music, and also ran the music division of Getty Images. Mills also ran independent label Autonomous Records, which spawned the careers of Sister Hazel and Creed, and served a brief stint at Roadrunner Records after it acquired Autonomous. He began his industry career founding Steam Records, which put out early releases by Rusted Root, Lisa Loeb, Shawn Mullins, Kristian Bush (of Sugarland) and others.