Rethink Music Event Announces Lyor Cohen, Warner Music's Vice Chairman

BOSTON and PARIS, Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Rethink Music today announced the full schedule and over 50 confirmed speakers for its inaugural conference to be held in Boston and Cambridge, MA, April 25-27, 2011. The conference "Rethink Music: Creativity, Commerce and Policy in the 21st Century" – presented by Berklee and MIDEM, in association with Harvard University's Berkman Center and Business School – is designed to provide a forum for high-level deliberation among creators, industry experts and academics about the future of the music industry.

The symposium will include a fireside chat with Lyor Cohen, Vice Chairman, Warner Music Group and Chairman and CEO, Recorded Music, Americas and UK. Mr. Cohen is responsible for all aspects of WMG's U.S., U.K., Latin American and Canadian recorded-music operations, including the U.S. labels groups – The Atlantic Records Group and Warner Bros. Records; WEA Corp., the company's sales, marketing and retail distribution company; and Rhino Entertainment, WMG's catalog-marketing division. Cohen was responsible for the restructuring of WMG's Recorded Music division in 2004 and for leading the company's transition from a physical to a digital music company. Known for developing and guiding the careers of many early pioneers of rap music, including LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Run DMC, Kurtis Blow and the Beastie Boys, Cohen is widely credited with expanding Island Def Jam during his tenure there to a wide range of musical genres.  These top artists include Melissa Etheridge, Elvis Costello, Bon Jovi, Mariah Carey, Shania Twain, Ashanti, Everlast, Ryan Adams, Nickelback, Slipknot, Hoobastank, Sum 41 and Slayer.

Other notable speakers include:

• Cary Sherman, President, RIAA
• Joe Kennedy, President and CEO, Pandora
• Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
• Mark Piibe, Executive Vice President, Digital Business Development, EMI
• Tom Rubin, Chief Counsel for Intellectual Property Strategy, Microsoft
• Jon Platt, President of Creative, EMI North America
• Amanda Marks, EVP/General Manager, Universal Music Distribution
• Zahavah Levine, Director of Content Partnerships, Android
• Amanda Palmer, Artist
• Bill Whelan, Composer, Riverdance
• Michael McDonald, Founder, Mick Management
• Richard Gottehrer, Founder and Chief Creative Officer, The Orchard
• Don Gorder, Chair, Music Business/Management, Berklee
• Dave Kusek, VP, berkleemusic.com
• Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive/Music, Electronic Arts
• Rio D. Caraeff, President and CEO, Vevo

Other speakers include executives and industry experts from Sony Music, Island Def Jam, Topspin, Nimbit, MOG, Sonicbids, the Echo Nest, Harry Fox Agency, Berklee, MIT, and more. View a full list of speakers and their bios at www.rethink-music.com/en/Speakers.

Programming will cover a wide range of topics, including licensing, the current state and future of copyright, "cloud" music services, financing creativity, DIY and ancillary revenue streams, and alternative compensation schemes. At one forum, six entrepreneurs will present their concepts in 10 minutes intervals. Registered delegates will be treated to private live entertainment at Harvard on April 25 and at Berklee on April 26. The conference concludes with the award presentation for the winners of the $50,000 business model competition and the policy proposal paper competition. View the full schedule at www.rethink-music.com/en/Schedule.

Rethink Music, presented by Berklee and MIDEM, in association with Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society and Harvard Business School, will focus on economic and policy concerns that dictate the viability of creative industries. The event is designed to provide a forum for high-level deliberation by experts, with input from creators and stakeholders from across the spectrum, about the future of creative works, their distribution, and the laws that regulate them. The event is a solutions-based symposium, focusing on law, economics, and emerging business models together; extensively involving creators; soliciting input from both within and outside of traditional music companies and organizations; and inviting submission of policy proposals and business models.

To register online, visit www.rethink-music.com/en/Registration

Rethink Music: www.rethink-music.com

Berklee College of Music: www.berklee.edu

MIDEM: www.midem.com

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu

Harvard Business School: www.hbs.edu

SOURCE Reed MIDEM