Alexandru Calugar
Alexandru Calugar is the Group Legal Director at TheSoul Group, where he leads the legal and corporate administration department through a dynamic and evolving legal landscape. He views the legal function as a strategic enabler of business growth, integrating legal expertise with technological innovation. At TheSoul, Alexandru applies this interdisciplinary approach to projects such as licensing rights in the metaverse for a virtual artist, incorporating AI-generated content into media production, and advising on M&A transactions in the creator services economy.
Based at the company’s headquarters in Cyprus, he brings over a decade of experience at the intersection of law and technology. Before joining TheSoul, Alexandru worked across diverse sectors, from launching a VR start-up in California to advising on privacy and data protection with a boutique consultancy, and negotiating major technology deals as part of Philips’ global IT legal team in the Netherlands.
Driven by curiosity and innovation, he continues to explore how legal strategy can empower creativity and technological transformation in digital media.
Company Bio 150 Words:
TheSoul Group (formerly TheSoul Publishing) is a leading creator business platform positioned at the centre of the creator economy. The group brings together TheSoul Media, a leading producer of entertaining and positive social content; Underscore Talent, a talent management and creator services agency; and Mediacube, a creator services and payment platform.
With a global audience of more than 1.5 billion social followers across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Snap, TheSoul Media’s creative teams produce engaging, cross-platform content in over 20 languages for all ages. Its well-known brands include 5-Minute Crafts, Bright Side, 123 GO!, La La Life, and Teen-Z.
TheSoul Group has received multiple accolades, including honors from the Webby, Shorty, Telly, Streamy, and Stevie Awards, and was named “Digital Studio of the Year” at Digiday’s 2021 Video & TV Awards.
For more information, visit https://thesoul.group.
Ben Kessler
Ben Kessler has spent nearly 20 years in government service and advocacy, serving in both the executive and legislative branches of the United States government. He is the Director of Government Affairs for the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), the AFL-CIO affiliated union representing roughly 70,000 musicians in the US and Canada. Prior to joining the AFM, he served as Director of Congressional Affairs at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), under President Joe Biden. The NEA is a federal agency and is the largest funder of the arts and arts education in the United States.
He is a graduate of American University Washington College of Law. His legal training is in intellectual property and copyright law.
Pavlos Antoniadis
Pavlos Antoniadis is a creative technologist, pianist and musicologist, currently Associate Professor at the University of Ioannina and research collaborator of ismm and ERC REACH at IRCAM, Paris. His AI-related research includes movement modeling, technology-enhanced learning, applications in computational and cognitive musicology, automatic improvisation and multimedia composition, as well as critical thinking on the biopolitics of musical performance. He holds a prize-winning PhD from the University of Strasbourg and IRCAM, an MA from the University of California, San Diego as a Fulbright Scholar, and an Integrated Master’s from the Department of Music Studies, University of Athens. He has conducted post-doctoral research at EUR-ArTeC, Université Paris 8 and at TU-Audiokommunikation Berlin as a Humboldt Stiftung Fellow. He also was Research Fellow of ERC MUTE, and PhD supervisor and lecturer at the Doctoral program of Artistic Research in Music at Lund University, Sweden. His public speaking on AI includes forums such as the New European Bauhaus and the VOICES Festival in Berlin. Next to research and teaching, he has performed in Europe, North and South America and Asia, with new music ensembles and as a soloist. He has recorded for MODE (2015 German Recording Critics Award), WERGO and Diatribe records.
Dr. Konstantinos Christodoulou
Prof., Dr jur., Dr phil. Kostas N. Christodoulou
Dean at the Law Faculty of National & Capodistrian University of Athens
Ordinary Professor in Civil Law at the University of Athens (since 2016). Research and participation in seminars at the following universities: Ludwig Maximilian Universität, Munich (Institute of Private and Civil Law of Prof. C.-W. Canaris), Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Frankfurt, and Max Planck Institut für Geistiges Eigentum, Wettbewerbs-und Steurrecht [today: für Innovation und Wettbewerb]. Member of legislative drafting committees, mainly working on the adaptation of Greek legislation to Community Directives, e.g. on electronic signatures (Dir. 1999/93), electronic commerce (Dir. 2000/31), public projects and contracts (Dir. 1992/13), Digital Single Market Directive (2019/ 790), On-line-StaCab Directive (2019/ 789). Examiner in the examinations of the Council for the Selection of Personnel (2002-2003). National delegate to stakeholders’ network of the European Union on the creation of CFR. Ex-deputy (2011-2013), ordinary (2013-2019) Member of the Greek Data Protection Authority. Ex-Alternate member of the National Human Rights Commission. Ex-Special member of the National Committee on Geo-information. Member of Society for European Contract Law (SECOLA). Ex-member of the Greek Hight Court for Mistrial Cases
I. Indicative Monographs
‘Pecuniary obligation in view of the euro regulations’ (doctoral thesis), 1998. ‘Protection of personality and of freedom of contract in public sector networks. Personal data and competition in energy, communications and transfers’, 2007.’Error, fraud, threat: –Contract voidability grounds, 2016.
II. Course books
Copyright Law 1st ed. (2018), 2nd ed., 2023. ‘Cyber Law’, 1st ed., 2008, 2nd ed., 2013.’Law of Personal Data’, 1st ed. 2013, 2nd ed. 2020, Sports Law (2023), with M. Stathopoulos: Law of Obligations, Contracts & Torts
III. Indicative Publications
‘Issues of ‘Pure Economic Loss’ in Greek Law’, in (The Common Core of European Private Law -The Trento Project), ed. M. Bussani, V.V. Palmer, ‘Pure Economic Loss publ. Cambridge University Press, 2003. ‘Problems of the protection of the stock market investor from the doctrinal viewpoint of civil law’, in the volume of the 9th conference of the Hellenic Commercial Law Association, publ. 2000.’Tax law restrictions on the freedom of contracts’, DEE 2005, 800 et seq.-‘Mediation in private disputes’, NoB 2010, 287 -310.’European Law of Contracts -the Green Book wonders what CFR means’, EfAD 2011/1, 3 -17. ‘The fate of the insurance compensation for a traffic accident in the event of the succession in inheritance of the perpetrator by the victim’, EfAD 2014, 660 -667. ‘Thoughts on international arbitration on public projects -the case of multinational joint venture contractors with main residence in Greece’, EfAD 2014, 660 -667 Reflexions on recent evolutions in IT, IP-Law – DMA, DA, DGA, DSA, AIA EllDni 2024.
Tilo Gerlach
Dr Tilo Gerlach began his career as an in-house counsel at GVL in 1996. He has been Managing Director since 2001. A doctor of law, he is also involved in international collaboration for the rights of creators, serving as President of AEPO-ARTIS (the European umbrella organisation of collective management organisations for performers) and a board member of SCAPR (the international umbrella organisation of collective management organisations for performers). Born in Berlin, he is also a lecturer at the Humboldt University of Berlin and has created numerous publications on copyright and on the rights of performers.
Xenia Manning
Xenia Iwaszko-Manning currently serves as the Director of Global Music Policy at Spotify, leading the company’s policy engagement strategy on music, intellectual property, and cultural regulations worldwide. Previously, Xenia acted as a Consultant for Legal and Government Affairs at the International Trademark Association, advising on international trade and intellectual property issues. As the Director of International Trade at IFPI, Xenia represented major music companies and developed trade policy on a global scale. Earlier experience includes serving as an Associate at Covington & Burling LLP, focusing on international trade litigation, and as a Law Tutor at the University of London. Xenia holds an LL.M from Harvard Law School and a B.A.(Hons) in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford.
Christina Langer
Christina Langer works as Legal Officer in the Copyright Law Division within WIPO’s Copyright and Creative Industries Sector. Her responsibilities are closely linked to the Division’s role as the Secretariat for the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR).
Before joining WIPO in 2021, Christina worked at an IP law firm in Germany. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business law and a master’s degree in European and international law. In 2017, she received her doctorate for a thesis on trademark law.
Gadi Oron
Gadi Oron is Director General of CISAC, the International Confederation of Authors and Composers Societies. In this role, he oversees the activities of the world’s largest network of authors’ societies, covering more than 120 countries and representing over 230 collective management organisations and 5 million creators of music, film, TV, literature and visual art.
An entertainment and intellectual property lawyer by training, Mr Oron has had leading roles in different sectors of the music and creative industries. An expert in international copyright and entertainment law, he held both private practice and in-house positions and represented the creative sector to governments, legislators, and international bodies.
Mr Oron also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the international ISAN (Standard for Audiovisual Works Identification) agency. He is also a Visiting Professor at Queen Mary, University of London, where he teaches on copyright and the creative industries. He is one of the specialist editors of Copinger & Skone James on Copyright and has authored book chapters and articles on copyright and intellectual property.
He has been named by “Legal 500” as one of the leading lawyers in France and by Variety and Billboard magazines as one of the top Power Players in the international music industry.
Charis Alexiou
Grigoris Lamprianidis
Grigoris Lamprianidis has started to study law, but music was meant to play a decisive role in his life. He graduated from the ‘Hellenic Odeon’ in Athens, obtaining a diploma in piano and theory, and continued his studies in Paris at the ‘Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse’, where he studied composition and direction of orchestra. In Greece, he has collaborated with the most prestigious composers and singers, recording and orchestrating thousands of phonograms. Politically active even in Greece’s dark periods, he develops significant trade union activity, being elected Secretary General of the Hellenic Musicians’ Union for 14 years and its President for 8 years. He was the founder of Apollon, CMO of Musicians’ Neighbouring Rights in 1997 and its elected President for 28 consecutive years. He has been elected Vice President of AEPO-ARTIS for eight consecutive years and has been an elected member of the Executive Committee of FIM since 2008. He is totally involved with all the issues concerning the profession of musician and, in particular, performers’ rights, representing the Greek Union and CMO in committees and conferences both in Greece and abroad
Giorgos Andreou
Giorgos Andreou was born in Serres, Greece. He studied music in Greece and across Europe, where he also pursued specialised training in psychoacoustics, sound engineering, and production techniques. He has composed numerous song cycles (many set to his own lyrics), orchestral pieces, as well as music for theatre and film.
Throughout his multifaceted career as composer, lyricist, artistic director, orchestrator, sound engineer, and recording producer, Giorgos Andreou has collaborated with virtually all of the most significant Greek lyricists, performers, singer-songwriters, and musicians of our time.
From 2000 to 2020, he served as artistic director of the Astypalea Festival, an institution that has made significant contributions to strengthening cultural activities in the Greek regions. Between 2009 and 2012, he directed the AKTI live’n’studio label under Sony Music Greece, with a mission to promote and showcase emerging Greek artists—both in recordings and on stage.
He has published two poetry collections and a novel. He frequently contributes articles to the press and online media and maintains an active teaching presence in the fields of songwriting and lyric composition. Since April 2022, Giorgos Andreou has served as artistic director of the Municipal Regional Theatre of Serres (DI.PE.THE. Serres).
Jason Fotilas
Jason Fotilas was born in Patras on September 25, 1969, the son of Asimakis Fotilas and Aliki Kakouri.
He hails from a family with a long-standing political tradition, dating back to his great-grandfather, Asimakis Fotilas (a chieftain during the Greek War of Independence in 1821), and his grandfather, Aristotelis Fotilas. He is married to Konstantina Roumelioti, and they have two children, Asimakis and Aliki.
He graduated with honors from the Faculty of Law at the University of Rome, La Sapienza, where he completed a special thesis on “Relations between Church and State – The Jurisdiction of the Church in the Greek Establishment.”
He also attended specialized seminars on European law. He has a very good command of English and is fluent in Italian.
Since 1999, he has been practising law, specialising in Criminal Law. He is currently completing postgraduate studies in Digital Governance.
He has also collaborated as a lawyer with the National Bank of Greece since 2001. Additionally, he served as a member of the Board of Directors of the “Agios Andreas” Hospital in Patras. Before obtaining his law degree, he worked as a manager and public relations officer for a well-known hotel chain, as well as a commercial representative and supplier of clothing to stores in southwestern Greece.
He has a strong presence in social activities. He has collaborated with numerous expatriate associations and organisations, providing legal assistance and support to many of our compatriots in Italy.
He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Patras Carnival Committee and the Board of Directors of the Patras Carnival Municipal Enterprise.
As an amateur actor, he has repeatedly been recognised, winning the Best Actor award in national amateur theatre competitions.
In 2010, he ran as a candidate for Municipal Councillor in the Central Electoral District of the City of Patras with Mr. Dimitrios Katsikopoulos.
He was first elected as a Member of Parliament for the Achaia Electoral District in January 2015 with the “To Potami” party. In October 2016, he was expelled from “To Potami” and became independent.
In January 2017, he joined the Parliamentary Group of the “New Democracy” party. Since April 2017, he has served as Deputy Shadow Minister of Health for New Democracy.
He was re-elected in the national elections of July 2019, May 2023, and June 2023 with the New Democracy party.
On June 14, 2024, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis appointed him as Deputy Minister of Culture, responsible for Contemporary Culture.
He has served as Secretary of the Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Chairman of the Special Standing Committee for Monitoring the Social Security System, and member of the Standing Committee on Educational Affairs, the Standing Committee on Public Administration, Public Order & Justice, the Standing Committee on Cultural Affairs, and the Special Permanent Committee on Correctional Affairs.
Office address: Mitropoleos 1, 10557 Athens – Gounari 25, 26221 Patras – Mitropoleos 49, 25100 Aigio
Tel.: 210 3315406, 2610 220561, 26910 61553
Fax: 210 3709329, 2610 242840
Email: i.fotilas@parliament.gr, jfotilas@gmail.com
Website: www.fotilas.gr
Yannis Stathopoulos is the Regional Technology Officer (RTO) for Microsoft Europe South, based in Athens. With a career rooted in solution design and solution architecture, Yannis has led the development of scalable, secure, and resilient systems across cloud, cybersecurity, AI, and data privacy. He has directed cross-functional teams across EMEA, delivering technical frameworks that support digital sovereignty, responsible AI, and business continuity. Yannis’s experience spans both public and private sectors, where he has collaborated with government leaders and technology partners to architect impactful solutions. His global perspective and deep architectural expertise position him as a trusted voice in shaping technology for societal and organisational advancement.
Karin Inde is a Swedish pop and jazz singer and composer born 1974. She studied music at the Music University of Gothenburg. She has released four albums in her own name and collaborated on numerous others.
As an advocate for musicians’ and artists’ rights, she has held key positions such as the head of the Swedish Jazz Federation and national coordinator of Musikcentrum Sweden. Since 2023, she has served as the president of the Swedish Musicians’ Union.
Michael Huppe is the President and Chief Executive Officer of SoundExchange, where he champions creators and spearheads the use of technology, data, and advocacy to power the future of music.
Michael leads SoundExchange’s efforts to launch new lines of business, creating additional capabilities and advocating for industry-wide technology standards – all with the goal of enabling efficient and accurate distribution to creators. This includes the purchase of CMRRA in 2017 and the establishment of SX Works, which launched SoundExchange’s entry into the publisher services market and is supplemented by the company’s efforts on data integrity, revenue assurance, and similar products.
SoundExchange maintains the premier sound recording metadata resource and leads the music industry in efficiency. To date, the company has distributed more than $12 billion in digital performance royalties to over 750,000 music creators and growing. It’s royalty collections now comprise approximately 12% percent of all U.S. recorded music revenue.
In addition, Michael is an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School, a frequent contributor, published author, lecturer, and active community member. He is a member of YPO, Forbes Business Council and Fortune Brainstorm Trust, with opinions published in Variety, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, Music Business Worldwide, Billboard, and The Hill, among other outlets.
Follow Michael on Twitter at @MikeHuppe.
Manos Dedevesis has been active in the contemporary Greek music scene for nearly two decades. A graduate of the Department of Music Technology and Acoustics, he has built a multifaceted career as a songwriter, producer, and A&R executive.
As a songwriter, he has written more than 300 songs, over 20 of which have reached the top of the Greek charts.
As a producer and A&R, he co-founded Icon Music and Stay Independent, playing a key role in the development of digital music distribution in Greece and the establishment of Spotify as a leading platform. Through these ventures, more than 50 Greek artists have gained international exposure, achieving distinctions such as placements in Spotify’s global Top Ten Debut Albums and the first diamond-certified singles and albums in Greece. Today, Stay Independent represents a roster of more than 300 artists.
In addition, as a board member of Icon Music and co-owner of Stay Independent Greece, Manos provides consulting services in the field of music business. His work focuses on supporting and developing both emerging and established artists, with the aim of fostering a modern and sustainable music ecosystem in Greece.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/manosdedevesis
Based in London Mr Lauri Rechardt heads the IFPI global legal team, covering legal policy, licensing, litigation, and trade policy.
The IFPI legal team is responsible for formulating global legal policy priorities for the industry, coordinating strategic litigation across territories, and coordinating the work of music industry Music Licensing Companies globally.
Before his current role as the Chief Legal Officer of IFPI Lauri has held different roles at IFPI and worked in private practise as a partner and head of IP at Procopé & Hornborg one of the leading law firms in his native Helsinki.
Apart from his day-to-day duties, he is a frequent speaker at international conferences and industry events. Lauri holds a Master of Laws degree from the University of Helsinki.
Tilemachos Moussas is an Athens-based composer, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, researcher, and educator, whose work bridges jazz improvisation, artificial intelligence, embodied performance, and sound art. He is currently a PhD candidate at the Department of Music Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, where he also works as Laboratory Teaching Staff . His research focuses on the intersection of AI, real-time sound synthesis, and multimodal human-machine interaction.
His artistic and academic practice centers around interactive music systems, combining gesture recognition, AI improvisation, and sensor-based technologies. He is the creator of Kinesthesis 2.0, a gesture-controlled musical instrument designed to foster embodied expression and inclusive performance, particularly for artists with diverse abilities. His work frequently employs tools such as SOMAX2, OpenCV, MediaPipe, Max/MSP, and custom Python-based MIDI and OSC systems, enabling real-time collaboration between human musicians and machine learning algorithms.
Tilemachos has more than 25 years of experience as an educator, working extensively in both general and Special Needs education. For five years, he served as deputy director of a public Special Education school, where he developed innovative, technology-assisted learning strategies rooted in multisensory and inclusive pedagogies, particularly in music education.
His creative work explores the poetics of gesture, lament, and improvisation, drawing from Greek traditions, experimental music, instant composing, and opera-theater. Deeply invested in subversive musical forms, he merges speech, poetry, jazz, contemporary classical, and electronic sound art into original compositions and performances. His current projects include interactive sound installations and live AI-enhanced performances, where gesture, somatosensory feedback, and machine learning co-create immersive soundscapes in real time.
He holds a Master of Music from the Department of Music Studies at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and dual Bachelor’s degrees in Educational Studies and in the Science of Agronomy.
He has composed music for 75 theatre & dance performances, and also for films, and has collaborated with institutions including the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Stanford University’s CCRMA, IRCAM Centre Pompidou, Pina Bausch’s Tanztheater Wuppertal, Operadagen Festival, the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, the National Theatre of Greece, the Greek National Opera, the Athens Concert Hall, Onassis STEGI, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, the Cyprus Theatre Organization, TEDx University of Piraeus, and more. He has also served as an executive at Educational Radiotelevision & Digital Media of the Greek Ministry of Education.
He is a founding member of the ODC theater company, with which he has developed award-winning interdisciplinary performances.
His accolades include:
He has performed at international festivals and venues such as Copenhagen Opera Festival, BAM/NYC, Aalborg Opera Festival, Operadagen Festival of Rotterdam, Neukollner Oper Berlin, Singapore Arts Festival, Musiktheatertage Wien, Malta Cultural Capital of Europe, SANI Jazz Festival and more.
Selected scientific publications:
He has worked with many important musicians such as:
Damo Suzuki, Savina Yannatou, Blaine Reininger, Julia Kent, Pamelia (Stickney) Kurstin, Misha Piatigorsky, Lena Norin, Michel Hatzigeorgiou, Missirli Ahmet, George Kontrafouris, Georgia Sylleou, Thanos Anestopoulos, K. Maginas, M.Voumvaki, D. Kamarotos, Nikos Giousef and has performed with artists such as Chico Freeman, Sheila Jordan, Jerome Rothenberg .
Tilemachos and his band have played as guest in concerts for bands and musicians such as: Anouar Brahem, Nouvelle Vague, Brendan Perry (Dead Can Dance), Ozric Tentacles, Manhattan Vibes etc.
He has also performed with bands such as Ble, Ypogeia Revmata, Xaxakes, LoveLab, Acetic Voice, Medieval Death.
A musician (keyboards) in the contemporary music sector for over 25 years, he led social movements for freelancers. He held union responsibilities at the regional level before becoming Secretary-General of Snam-CGT in 2016, dedicating himself exclusively to defending the interests of male and female musicians. His responsibilities lead him to negotiate for live performance and recorded music. He participated in the negotiation of the agreement on Minimum Remuneration Guarantee for compensation of tracks exploited through streaming in 2022.
Gérard Assayag has founded and currently heads the Music Representation Group at IRCAM STMS Lab, and he also directed the lab from 2011 to 2017, overseeing IRCAM research policies at the national and international level. He was involved in the creation of international research institutions s.a. Sorbonne’s AI and Music Institutes, the French Music Informatics Association, the Journal and Society of Mathematics and Computation in Music, or the Sound and Music Computing International Conference. Interested in Machine Musicianship, i.e. the modelling of musical behaviour from a spectrum of interdisciplinary views, Assayag has defined through numerous publications and successful technologies (OpenMusic, OMax, Somax & co) the concept of symbolic interaction to account for rich and versatile human/machine musical dialogue, laying ground to the Cocreativity concept he fostered for next-generation interactive AI in the arts. Assayag holds the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant, awarding his research career achievement and vision for the future through the project REACH (Raising Co-Creativity in Cyber-Human Musicianship). REACH features an international team over three continents and develops ground-breaking theory and tools for Artificial Creative Intelligence in Music.
First Ombudsman of Costa Rica (1993-1997); Member of the Legislative Assembly (2002-2006).
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations in New York (2018-2022) and as such president, bureau member, chair or co-chair of various formal and informal bodies. President of the Board of Unicef (January thru June 2022) . Member of the Committee of Human Rights seating in Geneva (2023-2026).
Professional development in the private sector includes being a liberal professional since 1971 in the fields of Economy, Law and International Relations. He has also served as a consultant for International Organisations (Governmental, Intergovernmental, Non-Governmental) as well as for private entities—fifty-five years of experience as a businessman in commercial, industrial, tourism, agricultural and service sectors.
Academic background includes serving as a university professor in Costa Rica and in the United States and at the University for Peace; Member of the Board of the public Distance University in Costa Rica; hold a Law Degree from the University of Costa Rica and a similar degree in Economic and Social Sciences from the University of Costa Rica, a PhD in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Geneva- Switzerland and have completed further studies in History and International Law.
Works at ease in Spanish, English and French.
Born in 1948 in San José, Costa Rica, he is married, the father of four daughters, and the grandfather of eleven grandchildren.
Marcos Alves de Souza is a Master of Anthropology graduate from the University of Brasília. He is a career public servant at the Brazilian Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services. Mr. Alves de Souza has led the area of copyright at the Brazilian Ministry of Culture from 2004 to 2016. Between 2018 and 2022, he was a culture advisor to the leadership of the Labour Party at the Senate, when he contributed to the drafting of the Paulo Gustavo Law, Brazilian Supplementary Law No. 195/2022, which marks the largest investment in the Brazilian cultural scene ever. Mr. Alves de Souza is currently the Secretary of Copyright and Intellectual Rights at the Brazilian Ministry of Culture.
Julie Jueyoung Lee has been with the Federation of Korean Music Performers (FKMP) since March 2017. FKMP is the sole collective management organisation (CMO) for music performers’ rights in South Korea, representing over 50,000 featured and non-featured performers, including singers, vocalists, instrumentalists, session musicians, traditional Korean music artists, conductors, and more. Beyond rights collection, FKMP actively supports music performers by advocating for legislative and policy reforms, improving working conditions, providing welfare systems, responding to market shifts and discovering emerging talent.
During her first four years at FKMP, Julie played a key role in strengthening the organisation’s global network by signing bilateral agreements with CMOs across Europe, South America, North America, and Asia. These efforts aimed to ensure that performers get the remuneration they deserve when their music is played across borders. With the expansion of K-pop’s influence in the global market, she also led improvements to FKMP’s internal systems for data and financial exchange with overseas CMOs, which contributed to a significant increase in international collections and distributions Additionally, she was involved in the onboarding of the international databases, the International Performer Database (IPD) and the Virtual Recording Database (VRDB), developed by SCAPR.
In late 2021, she transferred to FKMP’s Business Department, where she was in charge of collecting remuneration for broadcasting, digital sound transmission (webcasting) and public performance. She also participated in licensing negotiations with major global audio and audiovisual streaming platforms, including Spotify, Meta and Netflix.
In April 2025, Julie returned to the International Department with a comprehensive understanding of performers’ neighbouring rights and licensing practices. Today, she is dedicated to sharing South Korea’s advanced position in streaming compensation models and collaborating with fellow advocates of music performers’ rights around the world.
Julie holds a BA in Economics and Political Science & International Relations from Ewha Womans University and a master’s degree in Sustainability (Business, Environment and Corporate Responsibility) from the University of Leeds. Before joining FKMP, she worked as a sustainable business consultant at KPMG Samjong Accounting Corp.
Patricia Riera is a copyright lawyer with over 20 years of expertise in intellectual property law. Since 2019, she has been a member of the International Affairs Department at AISGE, the Spanish collective management organisation representing audiovisual performers. From 2008 to 2019, she was in charge of the Catalonian Office of CEDRO, the Spanish CMO that represents authors and publishers.
In addition to her legal practice, she lectures on copyright at the Open University of Catalonia and leads specialised intellectual property training courses tailored to professional groups across various sectors, including cultural and publishing industries.
Since December 2024, she has served as Vice-Chair of Aepo-Artis.
Barrister at the Greek Supreme Court and the Council of State, Head of Legal of Autodia Greek CMO of Music Authors and Rightholders and Apollon Greek CMO of Musician’s Neighbouring Rights, Legal Counselor of National Concert Promoters and Bookers Association, National Theatre Producers Association, National Composers and Songwriters Union, National Musicians Union, National Singers Union, Legal Counselor of public and private entities in energy, finance, shipping, real estate, construction, mining, international trade, transportation, health care, education, agriculture, food and beverages, design, art, fashion, security, sports. Experienced litigator, able mediator, resourceful lobbyist and persistent negotiator with 28 years of professional experience, has also teaching and research experience. Graduate of the prestigious Anavryta’s Model Classical Lyceum (class of ’89), holds from the Law Faculty of the National University of Athens LLB (Law), LLM (Public Law specialised in Constitutional Law), MPhil (Philosophy and Sociology of Law specialised in Ethics and Methodology of Law), PhD cand. (Hermeneutics). Interested in History, Literature, Theatre, Poetry, Music, Cinema, Fine Arts, Architecture. Of Greek-Italian origin, proud of his 20,000-volume library, enjoys reading, travelling, and boxing. Fluent in English, French and Italian.
Anastasia Georgaki is Professor of Music Technology at the Department of Music Studies of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She served as head of the Department of Music Studies from 2019 to 2025. Actually, she is the Director of the Laboratory of Music Acoustics and Technology and Director of the Postgraduate Program “Music Technology and Contemporary Practices”. A graduate of the Department of Physics of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (1986) and the Ηellenic Conservatory (1981-1990), she continued her postgraduate and doctoral studies in Music Technology and 20th Century Musicology (1990-1996) at IRCAM/EHESS in Paris. He is a member of the SMC Steering Committee and the Greek Musicological Society. She has organised a large number of international and Greek conferences on music technology. She has been awarded for her book “Sound as Material in Contemporary Music Creation” by the Union of Greek Theatre and Music Critics. She has published books, articles in Greek and foreign journals, proceedings of international conferences, and collective volumes on the systematic dimension of the use of new technologies in music performance, creation, and education, as well as in musicological research. Main research areas: systematic musicology through acoustic analysis of the singing voice, singing voice synthesis, prosodic song models, analysis of biomusicological models, aesthetics and ethics of music technology in contemporary research, systematic study of technological models in music creation. She continues her musical activity as an accordionist, participating in nuevo tango and Greek poetry set to music ensembles.
Graham Davies has an extensive background in the music industry, working in digital transformation, policy, and advocacy. He advocates for the world’s largest music streaming services and has testified to the UK House of Commons, US Senate, and Canadian House of Commons.
Before leading the Digital Media Association, Davies was CEO of The Ivors Academy, where he built global recognition of The Ivors as one of the most preeminent songwriting awards in the world. He led influential governmental and policy campaigns, including the landmark UK DCMS Select Committee Inquiry into the Economics of Streaming, which resulted in important reforms.
Davies also held senior roles in the music publishing collective rights management sector, devising innovative digital licensing and administration strategies, including the ground-breaking International Copyright Enterprise (ICE). Davies is a Director on the Board of The Mechanical Licensing Collective, and previously served on the Boards of UK Music, the Council of Music Makers, the British Copyright Council, the Network of Music Partners A/S, and The Ivors Academy Trust.
Hailing from London, England, and now based in Washington, DC, Davies received his BA in music from the University of Liverpool and his MBA from Warwick University.
Lawyer, graduated from the University of São Paulo in 1977; Assistant Professor of Commercial Law at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC) Training Course of Business at the University of Louvain la Neuf, Belgium; holder law firm Mello Advogados Associados SC, founded in 1952; was Member of the National Copyright Council, under the Ministry of Culture, by appointment of President José Sarney, until their extinction; Founder and CEO of ABRAMUS – Brazilian Association for Music and Arts; President of AUTVIS – Brazilian Association of Visual Arts; President of ABDA – Brazilian Association of Copyrights; Board Member of the Committee of Dramatic Authors, Literary and Audiovisual as well as Board Member of the Committee of Visual Arts both organizations of CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers); President of National Committee of Culture and Authors Rights, Member of the Board of Directors of SCAPR – Soceties’Council for the Collective Management of performers’ Rights.
International President of the American Federation of Musicians of the US and Canada, Tino Gagliardi was elected AFM international president in 2023 and took office in August 2023. Prior to becoming Federation president, he served as president of AFM Local 802 (New York City) from 2010 to 2018 and returned in 2022. As president of Local 802, Gagliardi led the negotiations for Broadway, the Lincoln Center resident orchestras, and Radio City. In 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed him to the New York City Cultural Affairs Plan Citizens’ Advisory Committee. He also has served as an AFM International Executive Board member from 2010 to 2018, and served on the finance, electronic media oversight, and organizing committees.
Gagliardi, an accomplished trumpet player, has performed in New York City’s concert, club date, and recording fields, as well as on Broadway. Under his leadership, the AFM has achieved historic contract wins for musicians, including breakthroughs in streaming residuals, establishing critical guardrails against the misuse of AI, and securing wage increases for the musicians who create the soundtracks for film/television productions. His agreements with the Met Opera, New York Philharmonic, NYC Ballet, Broadway League, and many others ensure fair treatment for musicians in those productions. These accomplishments are a testament to Gagliardi’s unwavering dedication to solidarity and his steadfast commitment to advocating for musicians rights. Most importantly, they underscore his relentless efforts to protect the value of musicians’ contributions and artistry to the entertainment industry, ensuring a promising future for all musicians.
Gagliardi is a trustee and co-chair of the American Federation of Musicians and Employers’ Pension Fund, trustee and co-chair of the AFM & SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund, vice president of the International Federation of Musicians (FIM), and executive board member of SoundExchange. He also serves on the Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Musician and cultural manager, FIM Vice-President, Vice-President of the Swiss Performers’ Cooperative Society (SIG), SWISSPERFORM board member, former President of the International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (IFCCD).
Has studied the piano, the guitar, archaeology, cultural anthropology, orchestral conducting and arts management.
Lives in Zurich, Switzerland.
Xavier Blanc, French legal advisor, has spent over 30 years defending performers’ rights. From 2019 to 2025, he worked as a consultant analyzing laws, proposing reforms, and strengthening artist protections nationally and internationally. From 1989 to 2019, he served as Director of Legal and International Affairs at SPEDIDAM (France), handling all legal and operational aspects of performers’ collective rights management and promoting international cooperation, especially in developing countries.
Blanc was also a full member of the French Superior Council of Literary and Artistic Property (CSPLA) from 2000 to 2019. Internationally, he co-founded AEPO-ARTIS and served as its General Secretary (1994–2019), promoting advocacy and coordination among European performers’ organisations. He also helped create SCAPR and was a board member (1996–2019), overseeing global collective rights management, chairing its Legal Working Group and later its Cooperation and Development Working Group.
His career began as a lawyer at the Lyon Bar (1984–1989), combining legal skills with a background in music—holding diplomas in harpsichord and chamber music from a Conservatory.”
Vasilis Ginos studied law and music, and has been professionally involved in the music industry for the past 40 years as a musician, orchestrator, programmer, musical director and producer, participating in numerous recordings and live performances with artists and creators from many genres, both in Greece and abroad. He has been involved in radio production, owns a recording studio, and has extensive experience in music technology, with publications in print and online media about synthesizers and electronic music. He releases his own music independently, while also working for theater, cinema, television, and advertising. He has authored books on the Music Profession and Intellectual Property, topics he addresses as a professor at the Art Conservatory, through his “EMENA ROTA” YouTube channel, and as a member of “Musicians in Action” collective. He served as Vice President of the Panhellenic Musicians’ Union and is Press and Publications manager and substitute board member of the Collective Management Organization “Apollon.”
Christophe Van Vaerenbergh has been the managing director of PlayRight since 2010. PlayRight is the sole CMO (collective management organisation) for performing artists in Belgium, representing more than 22.000 directly affiliated musicians and actors. Prior to joining PlayRight, Christophe was the managing director of the Belgian Standards Bureau between 2006 and 2010. From 2000 until 2006 he was an advisor to several Belgian ministers on topics related to ICT, privacy, and intellectual property issues. He is a lawyer by training, specialized in IT law and copyright law, and currently lives in Ghent.
Paul Torremans (Lic., LLM, PhD) is professor of intellectual property law, School of Law, University of Nottingham (UK). He graduated from the universities of Leuven and Leicester and he taught at the universities of Leicester and Leeds before joining Nottingham. His main research interests are intellectual property and private international law. His recent publications include Intellectual Property and Private International Law, OUP (3rd ed, 2024), European Patent Law: The Unified Patent Court and The European Patent Convention, De Gruyter (2023), with D. Matthews and EU Copyright Law: a commentary, Edward Elgar (2nd ed, 2020), with I. Stamatoudi.
ECSA Secretary General Marc du Moulin has an in-depth understanding of the functioning of the creative industries and an extensive experience in European Affairs. He previously worked for the European Film Agency Directors, the Motion Picture Association, the European Commission (DG CNECT) and for Eurocinema. Marc holds a Masters in UK-EU-US Copyright Law from King’s College London and a Masters in European Studies from the Catholic Institute of Paris.
Starting as a tape-op at CBS studios in 1975, Steve progressed to in-house engineer and worked with many acts including The Clash, The Jags, The Vibrators, XTC & Sailor.
Beach Boy Bruce Johnson was to play an important part in Steve’s early career, culminating with Steve producing the 1985 Beach Boys album several years later.
Steve produced all of Culture Club’s classic hits and the bands’ three multi-platinum albums.
Collaborations include Honeyz, China Crisis, Gary Moore, Ziggy Marley, Louise, The Angelic Upstarts, Lemmy & Motorhead, David Grant, Westworld & 911.
A recipient of a number of prestigious awards including a Brit Award, Musicweek Award and a Grammy for his work with Deniece Williams.
His radio production company, produces high quality original radio content for the BBC and independent radio. The company has won multiple awards at the New York Radio Festival and a Sony award as Radio Presenter.
Steve composed the soundtrack to HYPERBRAWL. The game is on all major gaming consoles and platforms and the soundtrack music is released via SONY MUSIC.
Steve has been a LIPA Companion (Liverpool Institute Performing Arts) for over 20 years. Regularly working with the students who wish to become future Record Producers and Sound Engineers.
Baltic Jazz Recordings Ltd is a label set up by Steve, specializing in Jazz & Soul featuring collaborations from artists worldwide.
John F Smith has a distinguished career in music. After studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London from 1968 -1971, he joined the English National Opera orchestra in 1974 and remained there, as Principal Tuba, for almost 20 years.
In 1994, he became a full-time official of the British Musicians’ Union (BMU) and was promoted to Assistant General Secretary (Media) in 1997. In December 2002, John was elected General Secretary of the BMU, a position he held until he retired in July 2017.
John has been President of the International Federation of Musicians (FIM) since 2004. This role includes representing musicians’ interests in discussions with organisations such as UNESCO, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the ILO and the European Parliament and Commission.
John was a past President of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) and was a member of the UK Trades Union Congress (TUC) General Council and Executive Committee. He is also a former Chairman of the Trustees of the Royal Society of Musicians. He was appointed Chair of the UK Collective Management Organisation PPL Chair in 2016.
In January 2018, he was the recipient of the Association of British Orchestras’ Special Award for his contribution to British Orchestras. In 2020, HRH Queen Elizabeth II appointed him an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to music.
Engineer and philosopher by training, Jean-Gabriel Ganascia is currently Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at the Sorbonne University, a EurAI Fellow, an honorary member of the Institut Universitaire de France and a member of LIP6 (Laboratory of Computer Science of the Sorbonne University). His current research activities focus on artificial intelligence, machine learning, computational ethics, computer ethics and digital humanities. He has published more than 500 papers in conference proceedings, scientific journals and books. He is also the author of a dozen books for the general public, the latest of which, entitled “AI Explained to Humans”, has been published by Éditions du Seuil in September 2024. In addition to his academic publications and his my many other writings, Jean-Gabriel Ganascia regularly publishes two chronicles on the ethics of science, one every month in the magazine “Sciences et avenir” (https://www.sciencesetavenir.fr/), and one every trimester in the magazine “La Recherche” (https://www.larecherche.fr/). Currently, Jean-Gabriel Ganascia chairs the Ethics Committee of France Travail that is the French National Employment Agency and the Steering Committee of the CHEC (Cycle des Hautes Études de la Culture). He was also President of the CNRS Ethics Committee (COMETS) between 2016 and 2021.
Irini Stamatoudi is an attorney-at-law at the Greek Supreme Court, a professor of law at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus, and the Head of the Department of Law. She served as the General Director of the Greek National Copyright Office within the Ministry of Culture and Sports from 2007 to 2018. She holds degrees from the University of Athens in Greece (LL.B.) and the University of Leicester in the UK (LL.M. and Ph.D.). She has worked as a copyright expert on various programs in Georgia, Abu Dhabi, Turkey, Egypt, Azerbaijan, and other locations. She has taught extensively across numerous academic courses in the UK, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, France, and more. She authored the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Academy DL specialization course on copyright and has been teaching WIPO distance learning courses since their inception in 2001. She has published fourteen books, including four monographs, as well as numerous articles. Some of her works are internationally regarded as reference texts.
Ioan Kaes is a hands-on lawyer specialised in Copyright and Media law. He has been active in the music industry for over 25 years, which he has come to know from different angles: as a recording and touring musician, as a lawyer, as a teacher and for the past decade as a policy advisor.
As General Secretary of AEPO-ARTIS, the federation of European performers’ organisations, he represents a network of 41 collective management organisations active in 30 countries. In Europe AEPO-ARTIS takes the lead in defending the interests of musicians and other performers with the clear on improving their remuneration for digital exploitations. Ioan is a strong supporter of a more far-reaching reorganisation of the European legal framework regarding streaming and other online exploitation of performers’ neighboring rights and sees a great responsibility for collective management in this.
Horace Trubridge is a professional saxophonist who has written and recorded chart hits and continues to perform live with the band that he has been in for 49 years. He is a member of the Royal Society of Musicians and has a diploma in music teaching. He worked for many years at the British Musicians Union in a variety of roles including chief negotiator and General Secretary. He has written articles for the World intellectual Property Organisation, WIPO, and lectures on the importance of performer’s rights. For many years he was an active member of FIM including as Vice-President and is currently a director of the UK collecting society, PPL. He lives with his wife in the Sussex countryside and loves to fish and ride his classic motorcycle.
David Martin joined the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) in November 2019. The FAC is the UK trade body representing the rights and interests of a diverse, global membership of music artists at all stages of their careers. He also sits as a Director at umbrella trade bodies UK Music and LIVE, and at the International Artists Organisation, as well as the UK’s Council of Music Makers and Independent Venue Week.
David has more than twenty years of experience in the music industry with a background in many parts of the sector and in particular in talent booking, relationship development and event brand development. Most recently he was the lead booker and Director at Dimensions Festival, where he developed the globally recognised music programme from conception, developed the label, Dimensions Recordings and led the festival’s accompanying International Series. David has a particular passion for identifying and supporting talent and has always championed the role of artists within the industry.
David’s music industry experience comes alongside more than fourteen years working in UK central government, developing policy, and supporting and influencing some of the most senior figures of the UK’s Health Service and Members of Parliament.
Chris Castle is a lawyer based in Austin where he represents music clients in transactional matters, music-tech starts ups and public policy clients. He writes the MusicTechPolicy and MusicTech.Solutions blogs. He is a frequent commenter on artificial intelligence and copyright including a comment for the US AI Action Plan and the UK IPO Office AI consultation. His recent published writings include a study on “streaming remuneration” for musicians commissioned by the World Intellectual Property Organization co-written with Professor Claudio Feijoo. He was selected as one of the Billboard “Top Music Lawyers” for 2024.
Prior to founding the firm he was SVP and General Counsel to SNOCAP in San Francisco, of counsel to Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto and Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp in Los Angeles, SVP Business Affairs at Sony Music in New York, and VP Business Affairs at A&M Records in Hollywood.
Chris holds MBA, JD and BA degrees from UCLA and is a frequent lecturer at law schools and business schools. He is admitted to the bar in California and Texas. He may be reached at christiancastle.com. Before law school he was a working musician and a member of Local 47 AFM.
Artisjus and two-time Fonogram award-winning bassist, producer, teacher. He is a member of the Performing Artists’ Rights Bureau’s delegates’ assembly and royalty committee. Vice President of the Hungarian Musicians and Dancers Union (MZTSZ). Board member of the Music Hungary Association. Teacher at the Kőbánya Music Studio. Member of the Péter Máté Prize Committee.
In 2012 he received the Artisjus Award and the Special Award of the Hungarian Jazz Association. In 2013 he received the Smoothjazz Songwriting Award. In 2003 he won the Bass Guitarist of the Year Award at the Golden Arrow Awards Gala. In 2017, he was the Jazzy Song Contest’s Grand Prize Winner. In 2021, he was awarded the Fonogram Award for the first time and in 2025 for the second time in the category “Contemporary Hungarian Popular Music Album of the Year”. In 2021, he was included in the Encyclopaedia of Successful People in Hungary (Britishpedia V. 2021.)
In the past 30 years he has worked on 127 major albums and has been the music director of 75 television programmes over the past 15 years. His bass playing can be heard on over 1,400 commercially released recordings. He has released 6 solo albums to date.
Benoît Machuel (France) has been General Secretary of the International Federation of Musicians (FIM) since September 2002.
Before that, he developed a career as a professional musician for twenty years, both as a cellist and a gambist in various French symphony, opera, and baroque orchestras and ensembles. He participated in numerous recordings and tours in France and abroad.
He also served as Artistic Director for French CD labels specialising in classical and contemporary music.
Between 1995 and 2002, he served as a national representative of SNAM, the French musicians’ union.
He holds two Master’s degrees, in Computer Science and Business Administration.
Dinnos Georgountzos studied philosophy, music, and software engineering. He is the Secretary General of “APOLLON” – Greek Musicians’ Royalties Collecting Society, and President of a three-year cycle with one-year tenure of the GEA Organisation – Organisation of Greek Record Producers, Singers, and Musicians. He has been working in the music industry since 1986. He has participated in recordings with the majority of Greek composers, singers, and musicians, and has collaborated with world-renowned symphony orchestras as a composer, orchestrator, and producer. Since 2002, he has held administrative and executive positions in the field of Intellectual Property and Related Rights, with continuous participation in committees, conferences, and forums with state bodies and executive officials from organisations in Greece and abroad, representing his country in the commercial and administrative processes of Collective Management Organisations. As a member of the “Musicians in Action” collective and during his two-year tenure on the board of the Panhellenic Musicians’ Union, he actively addresses professional artists’ issues, transferring his experience to the field of action for Greek musicians.
