Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music & Marketing, EA Games and President, Artwerk Music Publishing, who was heralded by Entertainment Weekly as one of the most influential executives in Hollywood, will actively participate at MUSEXPO Europe 2008. Schnur is a 16-year music industry veteran with experience at Capitol Records, Elektra, Arista and MTV. In less than a decade at three major labels he was involved with marketing, promoting and producing albums that sold over 60 million units. In his role at EA Steve works closely with EA production and publishing teams (he helped create Artwerk, a joint venture with Nettwerk) and the international record industry to supervise and select in-game music for EA Games. The Washington Post has called him, “The Clive Davis of the videogame industry” and he has brought established stars, breakthrough new artists and award-winning composers to such top-selling EA franchises as Madden NFL, FIFA, Need For Speed, Harry Potter, Medal of Honor, The SIMS and more, changing the industry’s perception of video games from simple “licensing opportunities” to their now-essential role in artists’ careers. Schnur is also a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS) and currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Grammy Foundation.
Jeremy Lascelles
Jeremy Lascelles, CEO Chrysalis Music, also joins the MUSEXPO Europe lineup. Lascelles started his career in the music industry in the early ’70s as a band/tour manager before joining Virgin Records in 1979 as an A&R Manager. He spent 13 years there in various A&R, Marketing and MD roles before joining Chrysalis as MD of Chrysalis Music in 1994. He has overseen the growth and expansion of the publishing company, which has now become the leading UK independent music publisher. Appointed as Managing Director of the Echo Label in 1998, he was then promoted to Chief Executive of the Music Division in 2001. He was appointed to the Board of the Company on September 1, 2006. In 2003 he was elected to the council of the BPI and also to the board of AIM, where he was made Vice-Chairman in 2004. Jeremy was appointed Group Chief Executive on September 25, 2007.
Steve Porter
MUSEXPO Europe is also proud to welcome Steve Porter, Chief Executive, MCPS-PRS Alliance to its lineup. Porter is Chief Executive of the MCPS-PRS Alliance, one of Europe’s leading royalty collecting societies. The Alliance licenses music rights and pays royalties to 60,000 composers, songwriters and music publishers in the UK and many thousands more around the world. Porter joined the Alliance in 1998 as Finance Director after previous experience in senior management positions in the record industry and with Price Waterhouse in London; in the decade since, he’s amassed extensive knowledge of the worldwide business of music rights management, particularly in relation to online business models. He is also Chairman of CELAS, the Central European Licensing and Administration Service, operated by the MCPS-PRS Alliance and GEMA (Germany) to license EMI Music Publishing’s catalogue for online and mobile usage.
Michael Chugg
Also joining the impressive MUSEXPO Europe list of participants will be Michael Chugg, President/Founder, Chugg Entertainment. Chugg is considered a pioneer of the Australian music industry, boasting 40 years of experience in not only promoting international artists in the Australia and New Zealand markets, but also tirelessly touting Australian music to the rest of the world. He founded Michael Chugg Entertainment in 2000 and since then has promoted tours for more than 150 international artists, making the company one of the most prominent promoters in the world. Among the diverse roster of acts who have toured with Chugg over the years are Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, the Who, R.E.M., Radiohead, John Mayer, Duran Duran and Robbie Williams. Chugg enjoyed what was perhaps his finest year in 2007. He was involved with the Australian leg of the worldwide global-warming awareness benefit Live Earth and, in August, hosted a series of shows by the legendary Bob Dylan. The year closed out with Elton John’s “Rocket Man” tour, showcasing the knight and his piano for delirious audiences across Australia.
Shabs Jobanputra
In addition, MUSEXPO Europe welcomes Shabs Jobanputra to its impressive early list of executive participants. He is Managing Director and among the founders of one of the UK’s leading independent labels, Relentless Records, which he helped start in 1999. Under Jobanputra’s leadership the label has seen the release of debut albums from Platinum-selling artists Joss Stone (The Soul Sessions) and KT Tunstall (Eye to the Telescope), which have collectively sold over 3.5 million albums in the UK alone. Relentless has also been home to numerous other highly successful UK and international acts, including Daniel Bedingfield and So Solid Crew, to name two.
