Diana Akin
Writer/Publisher Rel
SESAC
Diana Akin is a 10 year veteran of the music industry working in Writer/Publisher Relations at SESAC, which handles performance royalties for thousands of songwriters and song publishers including ...
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Diana Akin is a 10 year veteran of the music industry working in Writer/Publisher Relations at SESAC, which handles performance royalties for thousands of songwriters and song publishers including Charlie XCX, Mariah Carey, Green Day, Mumford & Sons and Bob Dylan to name a few. SESAC prides itself on being the technological leader in performing rights which Akin has been instrumental in implementing new and innovative ways to serve their affiliates the best and most efficient way possible.
Akin also sits on the board of the non-profit organization Women in Music, where she oversees marketing & communications with a focus on digital and expanding the organization's reach beyond physical events to a much broader audience on a national and global scale. She has spoken at Juilliard in NYC, the New Music Seminar, NYCIFF, and SXSW.
Outside of music & marketing, Diana played Division I soccer at Clemson University, was named to the U.S. Women’s National B Team as a defender in 1998, and has been a youth soccer coach for the past 15 years. She hails from San Antonio, TX and dreams of sitting on a panel someday whose topics are cowboy boots, Tex-Mex and Texas BBQ. NYC is where she calls home currently with her 14 year old English Bulldog, Tucker, and her BFF who makes her laugh until she cries/soon to be husband Gunny Scarfo.
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Kiran Gandhi
Artist in Residence
Stem
Kiran Gandhi is currently a second-year MBA at Harvard University who worked previously as a digital analyst at Interscope Records in Los Angeles. In 2013, she toured internationally for artist M.I...
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Kiran Gandhi is currently a second-year MBA at Harvard University who worked previously as a digital analyst at Interscope Records in Los Angeles. In 2013, she toured internationally for artist M.I.A. as her drummer across Europe, North America, Japan and Latin America. Kiran recently gave a TEDx talk in Brooklyn on a concept she calls "Atomic Living" that examines how to manage seemingly conflicting passions.
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Neeta Ragoowansi
Attorney/Board Member
Law Offices of Neeta Ragoowansi/Women in Music
Neeta has been an attorney for over twenty years. She is currently in a solo practice with a focus on Entertainment Law and also President of Women in Music, a national non profit organization esta...
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Neeta has been an attorney for over twenty years. She is currently in a solo practice with a focus on Entertainment Law and also President of Women in Music, a national non profit organization established in 1985, that works to support, empower, educate and provide opportunities for women in the musical arts and industry. Prior to that, she was Vice President of Business Development and Legal Affairs for TuneSat, a music technology and audio monitoring service that employs audio fingerprinting technology to detect music and advertising use on hundreds of television broadcast channels in fourteen countries and millions of websites around the world, to help copyright owners and creators maximize their revenue. Prior to TuneSat, Neeta was Director of Artist-Label Relations at SoundExchange, the not for profit organization designated by the U.S. Copyright Office to collect digital performance royalties on behalf of recording artists and record labels for over eight years. Neeta has spoken on hundreds of conference panels educating creators and copyright owners as to their rights and the new streams of revenue in the digital environment. Neeta has also served on the Board of Governors of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (the Recording Academy/NARAS) in New York City and Washington, DC for many years.
Prior to her position at SoundExchange, Neeta served as Assistant General Counsel for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC for over eight years, as well as the national and international 48 Hour Film Festivals. In private practice, she has represented the interests of numerous musicians, songwriters, digital innovators, recording artists, filmmakers, film festival organizers, record producers, club owners, production companies and music managers. She also served as General Counsel of the Songwriters Association of Washington (SAW) for over four years, and has been involved in numerous film and documentary productions (producer, music supervisor, camera operator, marketing/promotions, etc.). Neeta is also an award winning songwriter and musician, and performs in the band, The Oxymorons.
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Theda Sandiford
VP Digital Commerce
Republic Records/Island Records (UMG)
Nicknamed Theda.com by rapper Ja Rule, Theda pairs her passion for pop culture and technology to drive commerce initiatives for Republic Records and Island Records . When not at the office, Theda c...
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Nicknamed Theda.com by rapper Ja Rule, Theda pairs her passion for pop culture and technology to drive commerce initiatives for Republic Records and Island Records . When not at the office, Theda can be found either at a neighborhood wine bar, studying for her level 2 sommelier certification or in her art studio.
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The changing music business has been ripe for the voice and spirit of female “intrapreneurship.” Maverick women are developing new ideas inside companies enabling significant global impact. There is more space for women to contribute ideas and diverse voices to be heard because industry innovation is needed more than ever. Fabulous female innovators are making great strides by solving some fundamental industry problems and she who builds the solution, has the power to re-write the rules of the whole industry! Join this Women in Music panel and hear these innovating industry voices.This panel is for men and women alike looking for tools to contribute new ideas to their companies and industry.