Speaking & workshops
Programs shaped around your audience
Strategy for creative careers and organizations
A case-led keynote or workshop on choosing priorities, collaborators and routes to value.
Innovation in music and the creative economy
A facilitated session to define an experiment, decision criteria and a review point.
AI, human artistry and audience trust
A talk or workshop connecting synthetic performers and AI workflows to audience, rights and operational questions.
Diversity, equity and inclusion in the music industry
Book-based learning about access, representation and economic participation, with original discussion questions.
These formats are tailored proposals. Duration, exercises and deliverables are agreed with the booking organization.
My perspective comes from more than two decades in music, doctoral research in leadership and business strategy, university teaching, and applied artificial intelligence. I speak to companies, universities, professional organizations, government and international groups about the decisions emerging as AI changes how people create, work, compete, communicate, and influence culture.
Watch the TEDxPrincetonU talk ↗ Invite me to speak ↗Featured keynote
Do We Want AI to Become the Next Pop Icon?
Artificial intelligence can now write songs, create performers, build personalities, and compete for human attention. The larger question is not simply whether the technology works. It is what happens when the people and organizations controlling that technology also gain the ability to influence culture. Drawing from my TEDxPrincetonU talk, music-industry career, research, and work in AI, I examine virtual artists, generative music, parasocial relationships, intellectual property, corporate influence, and the continuing value of human creativity.
Themes: Artificial intelligence | Human creativity | Cultural influence | Innovation | Intellectual property | Consumer behavior | Responsible AI
Additional keynotes and conversations
Leading Through AI-Driven Change
AI adoption is not only a technology problem. It is also a leadership, strategy, workforce, and human-behavior problem. This keynote examines how leaders can evaluate new technology, prepare people for change, and preserve human judgment while building organizations capable of using AI effectively.
The Human Advantage
As machines become capable of producing more of the work once associated exclusively with people, organizations have to decide what should become automated and what becomes more valuable because it remains human. This talk explores creativity, trust, culture, relationships, judgment, and influence as competitive advantages in an AI-driven economy.
Intellectual Property and the Creative Economy
Creators, companies, governments, and technology platforms increasingly operate across borders while intellectual-property systems remain different from country to country. Drawing from music-industry experience and international professional exchanges, I examine intellectual property, ownership, compensation, technology, and the economic systems surrounding creative work.
The Value of the Ph.D.
A doctorate develops more than subject expertise. It trains people to investigate difficult questions, evaluate evidence, manage uncertainty, complete complex projects, and create knowledge. This talk explores how scholars can translate doctoral training into careers, leadership, entrepreneurship, consulting, research, and work beyond traditional academic pathways.
Build Your Music Career from Scratch
A practical examination of how artists and music professionals build sustainable careers through intellectual property, publishing, revenue streams, marketing, relationships, technology, and strategic decision-making.
Black Cultural Influence and the Business of Music
A discussion of creativity, recognition, ownership, and compensation, informed by my writing and the development of Libations for the Unknown.
Formats
Keynotes, executive conversations, workshops, university lectures, professional-development sessions, panels, international exchanges, and music-enhanced presentations. Programs can be adapted for corporate leadership teams, conferences, universities, government and international organizations, music and media companies, professional associations, and creative-industry audiences.
Selected organizations
TEDxPrincetonU | USC Thornton School of Music | Pepperdine University | Berklee College of Music | UCLA Extension | Middle Tennessee State University
Selected speaking and professional engagements
The following are selected examples from a broader record of keynotes, lectures, workshops, professional exchanges, music-industry programs, and moderated conversations.
TEDxPrincetonU - Princeton University
Do We Want AI to Become the Next Pop Icon? Artificial intelligence, virtual performers, cultural influence, human creativity, and the C.O.P.S. Framework.
U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program
Intellectual Property and the Creative Economy. Professional exchanges involving participants from Iraq, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Côte d'Ivoire, and additional countries represented across the programs. Topics have included intellectual property, the creative economy, music-industry systems, and cross-border professional exchange.
University of Southern California - Beyond the Ph.D.
The Value of the Ph.D. Keynote presentation for approximately 300 doctoral students on translating research training into professional value.
USC Center for Excellence in Teaching
Creating a JEDI Environment. Faculty presentation on teaching innovation, curriculum design, and inclusive education.
Pepperdine University
Intellectual Property Concerns with Film Music. Music licensing, copyright, and intellectual property for film directors and producers.
Middle Tennessee State University
How to Monetize in the Music Industry. Career strategy and practical approaches to building revenue in music.
Longy School of Music of Bard College
Build Your Music Career from Scratch. Career strategy, technology, entrepreneurship, and preparation for the modern music industry.
UCLA Extension
Marketing for Live Music Events. Audience development and event-marketing strategies for live entertainment.
California State University, Northridge
Music Artists' Marketing Strategies. Music marketing, audience development, and artist strategy.
California State University, Dominguez Hills
Musicians, Virtual Influencers, and Fandom. Research on social-media influence, music audiences, and human and virtual performers.
Berklee College of Music
Guest presentation for a songwriting class, drawing from professional songwriting and music-industry experience.
Songwriters of North America
Music-industry education, songwriter advocacy, intellectual property, and professional development.
Cool Out! Festival - Cayman Islands
Songwriter bootcamps and songwriting camps covering intellectual property, monetization, collaboration, and career development.
Los Angeles Songwriters Collective
Songwriter education and music-business fundamentals through the Summer Camp for Songwriters and SONA Survival Course programming.
Rave the Vote
Moderator and interviewer for civic-engagement programming with Cornel West, Seth Troxler, and Brandon Lucas.
Watch the TEDxPrincetonU talk ↗ TEDxPrincetonU speaker profile ↗ ICDLA exchange coverage ↗Plan an engagement
Tell me about the audience, the purpose of the event, the format, and the date. Include the budget range and the outcome you hope the session will support.
Inquire about speaking ↗ Request speaking materials ↗ Book a conversation ↗