Frank Handy is a dynamic music industry executive with a proven track record of driving revenue, managing teams and operations. Frank has passionately been serving music creators since 2005 when he first started at Bug Music (now BMG) and worked his way up to Sr. Copyright Administrator there before moving to Bicycle Music (now Concord). Presented with the opportunity to join the growing team at SONGS, Frank was an integral part of growing that company to be one of the biggest independent music publishers in the world. Working with such iconic songwriters as The Weeknd, Lorde, Diplo, DJ Mustard, the George Gershwin estate and many others. Currently the VP, Head of Operations and Administration at Position Music, Frank oversees global copyright, royalties, licensing, income tracking, YouTube and digital distribution duties. In addition to identifying new revenue streams and working with the VP of Finance in apprising catalog purchases and signings. Currently National Chair and AIMP LA President of the AIMP (Association of Independent Music Publishers).

www.peermusic.com

Made in Memphis Entertainment LLC

Founder and CEO, Copyright Administration Executive, Digital Royalty Distribution

www.empmusicpublishing.com

This high-level entertainment industry executive has over 30 years of experience, ranging from film to music to TV to home entertainment. He has identified and developed strategic initiatives worth tens of millions of dollars, and has a proven track record of achieving sustained double-digit income growth for his companies and their clients.

Eric Polin is the founder of EMP Music Publishing, which specializes in music publishing administration and music business consulting.

Previously, he served as Sr. Vice President of Music Publishing at Universal Pictures where he oversaw the administration of their film and TV music catalog dating back to 1928. Before that, Mr. Polin was a partner at Wixen Music Publishing where he oversaw the publishing administration of some of the top songwriter/artists in the industry.

Mr. Polin serves as VP of the board of directors for the LA Chapter of the Association of Independent Music Publishers. He is also a past president of the California Copyright Conference and is the founder and chairman of their scholarship committee. He has moderated panels on social justice in music copyright, finding music royalties, artist managers, independent music publishing, film music, and digital distribution.

Mr. Polin has been quoted in The New York Times, and his opinions have been published by Billboard magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, and the U.S. Copyright Office. He is a frequent guest speaker at the music industry programs of Northeastern University, Cal Poly Pomona, and Cal State Northridge, having also participated in industry events at those schools as well as at USC and UCLA.

He holds an MBA from the University of Southern California and a BA in Economics from UCLA.

www.reservoir-media.com

As Reservoir’s EVP of Creative, John Ozier heads the company’s Nashville office, which he helped launch in 2019. Under his leadership, the location has become a thriving music office, with a team of six, plus several writing rooms on site utilized by the Reservoir roster and others. Ozier serves on the senior management team of Reservoir, which celebrated its third year as a publicly traded company in 2024. His reputation has helped Reservoir solidify deals with some of country music’s most legendary names, while his keen ear has identified and fostered the growth of its up-and-coming songwriters. In addition, Ozier has established himself as a key player in the industry, having previously served as the National Chair of the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) for two years, and as the Nashville Chapter Head and President for eight years. Ozier continues to serve on the Board of the Nashville Chapter.

Over the last 18 months, Ozier’s signings contributed to seven Hot 100 tracks and 20 Billboard 200 Albums, including 12 #1s across all Billboard charts. Chart positions are just one metric demonstrating Ozier’s tastemaker status. His signings across the last year and a half have also garnered impressive industry recognition, with countless nominations and award wins across several industry ceremonies.

www.eclipsemusicgrp.com

Courtney Crist attended Middle Tennessee State University, studying in their Recording Industry program. Throughout her college and post-graduation career, Crist worked for Lee Ann Womack and eventually did road management and A&R for the Grammy Award-winning country singer-songwriter. After working for Womack, Crist had a long career working in both A&R and publishing, before landing at Eclipse. Crist, the 2017 AIMP Song Champion of the Year, has placed songs with artists including Jake Owen, Josh Turner, Darius Rucker, Brad Paisley, Scotty McCreery, Trace Adkins, Lee Ann Womack, Ryan Hurd, Jon Pardi, Chris Young and many more. She is Co-Chair of the AIMP Awards, The Hometown Pub Takeover and The Music Row Ambassadors for St. Jude, and serves on the AIMP Nashville Board.

A dedicated music publisher and long-term advocate of songwriters’ rights, Debbie Rose conjoins a unique global experience with a deep understanding of historical music publishing and rights that is paired with her vision, understanding and passion for the future of music.

Building on her treasured, worldwide, relationships – Debbie partnered with Joshua Fisher to build a new publishing company, Sundae Songs. Maintaining that the fundamental role of the music publisher is to protect the songwriter while promoting their music in the global marketplace, Sundae Songs is committed to supporting writers’ creative needs while up-turning every stone in search of their well-deserved income.

An active industry voice, Debbie is a publisher representative at CISAC, the governing body of international performing right societies, serving as the Publisher Chairman of the Music In Commercials Roll-Out Team, and as a member of numerous working groups including; Translated Titles, Cue Sheet Harmonization and Cable Re-Transmission as well as a member of CISAC’s IPI taskforce. With an eye of the future of music, Debbie served on an inaugural committee of the new American digital initiative, the MLC, creating policy and protocols. An impartial advocate for songwriters and publishers, Debbie was elected to the ASCAP Board of Review. She also sits on the Board of the American Mechanical Rights Association (AMRA), has been a member of the Media Committee at PRS (UK), and a talent juror for the North American Folk Alliance. Debbie is a longtime Board of Director for the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) and is currently serving as Vice President of the New York chapter.

With a focus on educating songwriters worldwide, Debbie has lectured at over 50 universities and at conferences worldwide.

Debbie was at the helm of the historic Shapiro, Bernstein for over 20 years. Prior to becoming a music publisher Debbie Rose spent many years as Director of Member Relations at ASCAP. She is a graduate of the University of Colorado – School of Journalism.

Jeff Pachman is the General Manager-N.A. of independent music publisher Domino Publishing Co.  Domino was founded in 2005 by the co-owners of the widely respected Domino Recording Co.  Launching the US publishing arm in 2006, Jeff has utilized his 20+ years of music publishing experience in all facets of the company’s North American operations including evaluating talent, negotiating agreements, pitching, securing, and negotiating licenses and ensuring the proper care of Domino’s clients’ copyrights.

Prior to joining Domino, Jeff served as Creative Director at Rykomusic (Nick Drake, Bob Marley, Andrew Bird) and the influential indie publisher Bug Music (Johnny Cash, Iggy Pop, Woody Guthrie, Muddy Waters).   Before his entry into music publishing, he wore many hats in various sectors within the independent music scene (band manager, concert promoter, indie distribution, DJ) and served as a Director of A&R for seven years at successful indie label, Roadrunner Records.

Jeff currently serves on the Board of Directors at the AIMP (NY Chapter), where he has been an active member since 2007, and on the board of the NMPA (Natl. Music Publ Assoc.) where he has served since 2023.  He has been a guest speaker at various industry conferences including the AIMP Global Music Publishing Summit, SxSW, and CMJ.

Jeff has dedicated his 30+ year career to championing independent artists and songwriters, and believes they are often underrepresented relative to their impact to our culture and the marketplace.