Wednesday, September 27 2:15 PM - 3:30 PM Session B: Indie Labels & Artists Go Internet-Direct The record industry is having to restructure itself and the roles of artist and management, as well as Indie Labels as they relate to the industry as a whole, are up for grabs. Already major stars have asserted their position by more aggressively using the Internet and MP3 technology to better relate to their audience. Some artists have even experimented, “going independent” by setting up a direct e-commerce relationship between themselves and their audience. No one is quite certain as to how the restructuring of artist and industry will play itself out, but due to the Internet and the downloading of CD-quality music, there will be no going back to a brick and mortar world. In this session we bring together some of the most active and knowledgeable participants in the movement of going-direct to the consumer. Marc Geiger, Chief Executive Officer, ARTISTdirect Matt Farber, Chief Executive Officer, Tonos Michael Dorf, CEO and founder, Knitmedia William Hein, Chief Executive Officer, Enigma Digital Niko Bolas, Founder and CEO, Sonicbox Dr. Fiorella Terenzi, Director of New Media, Astrophysicist, Miami Museum of Science & Space Planetarium Bill Diggins, President & CEO, Diggit Entertainment (Management TLC) John Parres, Moderator Marc Geiger, Chief Executive Officer, ARTISTdirect: In 1994, recognizing the enormous potential of the Internet to provide a direct link between recording artists and music consumers, Mr. Geiger, purchased UBL.com. His vision for the company was to create a combination of an artist channel and an electronic commerce showcase. The evolution of Mr. Geiger's career is a well-balanced education in all of the key components of the music industry. From 1984 to 1991, he was a talent agent for Triad Artists, which was later acquired by the William Morris Agency. Recognizing the growth of alternative music, Mr. Geiger developed and ran a division of the agency to serve this important sector. Alongside Don Muller and Perry Farrell, Mr. Geiger created the critically acclaimed Lollapalooza concert tour, which premiered in the summer of 1991. Subsequently, Mr. Geiger was appointed Executive Vice President of Marketing and New Media at American Recordings. A Connecticut native, Mr. Geiger found his calling in music working as a concert promoter while still a computer science student at the University of California, San Diego Matt Farber, Chief Executive Officer, Tonos: Matt, comes to Tonos with a perfect mix of music and online business experience. Prior to joining Tonos, Matt worked at iCast, CMGI's entertainment company, where he was chief operating officer, and at MTV, where he was executive vice president of MTV Networks Online. Matt spent eight years at MTV Networks where he found and oversaw MTV and VH1's online businesses, achieving profitability and making MTV.com the number one rated music site. In addition, Matt launched and operated six new digital music video channels and created the MTV Radio Network, a joint venture with CBS radio. During his tenure, Matt also served as head of music programming for MTV. Matt's extensive entertainment background also includes roles as director of strategic planning at Arista Records, Program Director at WAVA, Consultant at Burkhart/Douglas and Associates, PD/national sales manager at WAPW, executive producer at WGBH-TV and program director of WWSH. Matt brings to his position a fundamental belief in the need for artists to have access to the people and resources that will help forward their careers. Matt graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Wharton School of Business. William Hein is Chief Executive Officer of Enigma Digital, and is responsible for company and product strategy, marketing and business development. A veteran music industry entrepreneur, Hein has founded and developed such successful entertainment companies as Enigma Entertainment Corporation, one of the most successful American independent record companies in the 1980s, and Restless Records, which has released both top recording artists and feature film soundtracks of the '90s. In 1982 Hein co-founded and served as Chairman of Enigma Entertainment Corporation, the company that signed and launched such artists as Motley Crue, Berlin, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ratt, Stryper, Smithereens, Poison and They Might Be Giants. Hein also opened and managed the company's Amsterdam-based European joint venture, managed an international partnership with Virgin Records, Ltd., and, finally, negotiated the sale of the company to Capitol Records/EMI Music. Prior to joining Enigma Digital, Hein served as Co-President of Restless Records, which he co-founded in 1991 and which merged with Regency Enterprises in 1997. In addition to the company's stable of popular recording artists, Restless has also released the soundtracks to such feature films as L.A. Confidential, Fight Club, Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.2 and One Upon a Time in America, among others. Hein studied Information Science and Economics at the University of California at Irvine and competes in triathlons and bicycle races. Niko Bolas, Founder and CEO, Sonicbox: Niko Bolas is Co-founder and President of Sonicbox, the company that is changing the face of radio. Bringing more than twenty years of music industry and production experience to the table, Bolas has real-world expertise in the successful management of people, products and programs, that will be applied to the growth and ongoing opportunities created by Sonicbox and its partners. It is Bolas’ mission to make listening to high quality internet radio and audio from around the world as easy as tuning your fm dial. With software and remote tuners incorporating the company’s proprietary iM Tuning technology, listeners can easily tune into a wide range of high-quality internet audio, and enjoy it on their stereos from anywhere in the home. A renowned recording engineer and producer, he has been instrumental in creating a unique audio palette for artists ranging from Neil Young, Melissa Etheridge, and Keith Richards, to Herb Alpert and Stan Getz. Bolas was recently a featured panelist at Radio Ink, and will be on a panel at the upcoming Radio & Records Convention. Michael Dorf, CEO and founder, Knitmedia: The musical leanings of Michael Dorf, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, were solidified early on when he founded his own record label while attending law school at the University of Wisconsin. In 1986, he quit school, moved to New York City and began to promote bands on his label full-time. A year later, he opened a small performing arts space called The Knitting Factory. Today, Dorf's new Knitting Factory, the state-of-the-art, 15,000-square-foot fully-wired facility in TriBeCa, has become the international home of new music, and stands as a focal point at the heart of KnitMedia and its productions. In 1994, Dorf had the foresight to see the potential and power of the internet by making the Knitting Factory the first music venue to enter the cyber-universe by launching its initial website, knittingfactory.com. Shortly thereafter, Dorf upped the ante by making the Knit the world’s first "global club" by webcasting its shows live around the globe. And thus, the groundwork was laid for what would become KnitMedia. One club has grown into three; One record label has blossomed into several, providing both new and historic music; One ambitious festival has become one of the largest festival production companies in the world; And one website has evolved into a new media company that has put forth a new benchmark model in music entertainment. In a December, 1999, Los Angeles Times Weekend Calendar cover story on Dorf, Don Heckman stated, "It was skill that allowed Dorf to transform an offbeat venue into one of the most influential companies in jazz and alternative music, and, in the process, enact some visionary methods of connecting musicians with listeners." In December 1999, KnitMedia launched JazzE.com, the most comprehensive jazz destination on the internet – giving a global platform to this important art form. With emphasis on entertainment, education, and e-commerce, this supersite has bridged the gap between supply and demand for jazz on the web. This January, JazzE acted as the official internet coverage provider for the IAJE Conference (International Association of Jazz Educators), offering streaming video footage of live panels and conducting interviews with a bevy of jazz luminaries, both artistic and industry-related. In June, it will do the same for the Billboard/BET Jazz Conference & Awards, not to mention KnitMedia’s own Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival, the world’s largest.