PANEL - Creator Led Marketing
Featured Speakers:
Jeff Stempeck currently works on the SoundOn Artist Partnerships team at TikTok, specializing in business development and new signings. Over the last 14 years, Jeff has held positions across distribution and partnerships at The Orchard, Spotify, and TikTok, focusing on indie and emerging artists.
Shilpa Sadagopan currently works on the SoundOn promotion team at TikTok, specializing in creator marketing and data driven trend analytics. Previously, she worked on digital marketing teams at Soundcloud and Virgin Music, and has successfully grown her own following on TikTok - helping to curate an understanding of the creator experience. Throughout all of these endeavors, the indie artist experience remains at the focal point and is the primary driving force for her work.
Blair Miller - Founder and CEO, Chaos Creators
Blair Miller is the Founder of Chaos Creators, a marketing agency focused on fan engagement and short-form content creation. Before launching Chaos Creators, Miller was the Creative Director of Jonas Group Media, a company she built alongside Kevin Jonas, Sr. Throughout Miller’s career, she has supported the social media efforts of artists such as Charlotte Sands, Kassi Ashton, Franklin Jonas, Dasha, Brad Paisley, Chris Young, Lanie Gardner, PUBLIC, and Tucker Nichol. She also launched social campaigns with influencers Charli D’Amelio and Bella Poarch, and led marketing for brands such as Nellie’s Southern Kitchen (A Jonas Family Experience) and Nashville Briefing.
Jamie Wendt- Creative & Digital Director, Starstruck Entertainment
Jamie Wendt, originally from Indianapolis, IN, is the creative and digital director at Starstruck Entertainment. In 2019, Wendt graduated from Belmont University and began working full-time at the company. She currently oversees all digital endeavors for the roster and works to fulfill their creative and visual goals.
Ed Rivadavia- SVP of Marketing & Digital, Mtheory
Ed Rivadavia is an entertainment industry veteran with over 20 years of experience in the transition to digital business models, from Napster to TikTok. Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Ed earned his masters degree from Columbia Chicago and began his music business career as an intern at Polygram Group Distribution, going on to champion music marketing innovation at A&M Records, Wind-up Entertainment, Palm Pictures, Roadrunner Records, RCA Records, Sony Music Nashville, Songfluencer, and, most recently, manager services pioneers mtheory, as SVP of Digital Marketing & Strategy for mtheory.
Moderator: Wesley T. A’Harrah - VP of Membership & Education, MMF-US
Wesley T. A’Harrah, 30, is an artist manager, marketing-tech consultant, and investor. Wesley is the founder of Hits Differently, an artist-management company whose clients include iAmTheGENIUS, Maty Noyes, Kristian Kostov, Lil Bird, Ellis Miah, and more; and Hyper Orange, a consultancy focused on helping entertainment companies, brands, and agencies build and activate the best marketing stacks. Wesley is business partners with Atlanta-based entrepreneur, rapper, and DJ, iAmTheGENIUS, in Mixtape Monopoly, a marketing agency; Monopoly Distribution, a distribution and label services company; and
RARE Sound, a record label, where he and GENIUS have spent years independently operating with K CAMP—whose song Lottery (Renegade) held as the biggest song ever in TikTok for seven months and was the first song in the world to pass 15, 20, 30, and 35 million videos created with it. RARE Sound, Mixtape Monopoly, and Hyper Orange are the only independent labels and connected marketing agencies to have been honored with the Grand Clio for Music in 2020, where they were awarded for the campaign behind Lottery (Renegade). Wesley serves as the Vice President of Membership and Education of the Music Managers Forum-US, the 501(c) (6) trade association for artist managers and self-managed artists. He holds an M.A. in Global Entertainment and Music Business from Berklee College of Music.