Welcome & Introduction - Spotify and MMF-US
Featured Speakers:
Sharon Tapper - Executive Director, MMF-US
Sharon Tapper is the Executive Director of the Music Managers Forum-US, the leading trade association for artist managers and self-managed artists in the United States. Serving the music community by providing educational resources, networking opportunities and advocacy efforts on behalf of managers, self-managed artists, and the music community at large that supports them. The MMF-US is part of a larger global network, the International Music Managers Forum (IMMF) – an organization that connects more than sixty-five Music Manager Forums around the world (inc. Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand).
Prior to joining the MMF-US Tapper worked in London as the Assistant Manager at Sarm West Studios, before relocating to the U.S. where in Los Angeles she worked at both Left Bank Management and Gallin Morey Management. Shortly after moving to New York, she transitioned into music publishing becoming the third U.S. employee at Kobalt Music Publishing and their VP Creative for eight years. Following that she was hired to be the SVP Music Publishing at Razor & Tie Music Publishing. Tapper was elected to serve multiple terms totaling fourteen years as Governor & Secretary of the NY Chapter of the GRAMMYs, serving six consecutive terms as Co-Chair of their Advocacy Committee, on which she continues to diligently serve. She also served four years on the NY Chapter of the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP). For ten years she Co-Funded and ran the New York City Creative Community (NYC3)
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.
Chris Hardin - Founder and Owner of Hardin Bourke Entertainment
& Music Mgmt Inc, MMF-US Board Member
Chris Hardin is an artist manager, founder/owner of the music management firms Hardin Bourke Entertainment and Music Mgmt Inc. He has guided the careers of such music artists as LIVE, Robert DeLong, The HU, Starship, Indigenous, Los Amigos Invisibles, Galactic, Rahzel (of the Roots), Si*Se, Yerba Buena, Tom Tom Club, Lou Gramm, Sweet, Ed Kowalczyk and others. He’s produced multiple tours for his clients that have grossed millions of dollars and toured in over 16 countries. He has also helped his artists achieve Gold and Platinum sales awards in many countries and achieve Grammy nominations.
and Women in Music, Global Co-Chair
Neeta Ragoowansi has been a music business professional and entertainment attorney for 30+ years, serving as a strategic advisor, business development resource, and legal counsel to entertainment and tech industry clients. She is President of Music Managers Forum – US (MMF-US), Co-Founder of NPREX (National Performing Rights Exchange), a Global Co-Chair for Women in Music and Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Task Force of the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Entertainment & Sports Industries. Neeta serves on the advisory boards of IMMF (International Music Managers Forum), Gritty in Pink, and All About Music Conference (India).
Neeta was Executive Director of Folk Alliance International, Senior Counsel, Legal & Business Affairs for Global Citizen, founding head of artist-label relations and legal counsel for SoundExchange, Vice President of Business Development & Legal Affairs for Tunesat, Assistant General Counsel for The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and National Symphony Orchestra Association, and a former board governor for 10+ years for The Recording Academy (New York and DC Chapters). Neeta has served as a speaker at over 400 music industry conferences re: the global music business, artist management, new licensing models, legal and copyright topics, as well as diversity and women’s leadership and empowerment.
Madeleine Bennett - Global Head of Music Go-to-Market, Spotify
Madeleine Bennett serves as Spotify’s Global Head of Music Go-to-Market, an integrated marketing and strategy function responsible for developing, launching and sustaining new music products. She oversees a division that includes Music Studios, Music Policy, Spotify for Artists, Product Marketing and Sales.
Madeleine previously served as Spotify's Head of International Music, and was instrumental in launching Spotify’s music offering in India, the Middle East, Africa, and Korea.
Prior to joining Spotify in 2016, she was a Marketing Director at Def Jam Universal and worked closely with Justin Bieber. Madeleine was among the first employees at mtheory, providing marketing and consulting services to artist managers for Mumford and Sons, Diplo, Skrillex, Florence and the Machine, and ASAP Rocky among others. She is a graduate of Harvard University and holds a B.S. English and Creative Writing.
Madeleine is based in Los Angeles, California
Joe Hadley - Global Head of Music Partnerships & Audience, Spotify
Joe Hadley is the Global Head of Music Partnerships & Audience at Spotify. He joined Spotify in March 2022, after working as a music touring agent for 10 years at Windish Agency and CAA. At CAA, he served as the Co-Head of Hip Hop / R&B Touring, and was involved in leading the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
Currently, he oversees Spotify’s Global and North American music partnership functions - defining Spotify’s partnerships with the industry and strategizing towards targeting new audiences. He is working on improving and defining value exchange with artist teams to make Spotify the #1 partner both on and off the platform.
