The Columbus Music Commission partnered with Urban One’s Power 107.5/106.3 for an all Def Jam Evening! The event included a keynote message by the label’s Senior Vice President and Ohio native Natina Nimene, who has been an influential figure in hip-hop culture for more than 15 years.

Joining Ms. Nimene are Def Jam’s SVP, Digital Commerce/Streaming Strategy Marcus Grant; SVP, Brand Partnerships Jeff Burroughs; and SVP, A&R Tuo Clark.

Blondie, The Ramones, The Go-Go’s, Madonna, Talking Heads and Digital Distribution have one thing in common…. Richard Gottehrer!

He wrote and produced some of the hit songs like Hang on Sloopy and I Want Candy, helped popularize New Wave music and established The Orchard which is the world’s biggest digital music distributor.

See Richard speak with our Columbus Music Community and give his insights and advice on succeeding in the music industry and life during pandemic.

Watch Randy Malloy as he moderates a discussion with Columbus music greats Jerry DePizzo (OAR), Evan Westfall (CAAMP), Angela Perley, Henry Morris (Radattack) and Willie Phoenix. They discuss the paths of their careers, music in Columbus and planning for the future of music.

Moderator Amber Knicole (Mojo Flo) guides a thoughtful discussion featuring Danielle Middleton (A&R Manager, Sony/ATV Music), Keithen ‘Bassman’ Foster (Producer, Composer, Bassist for H.E.R.) and Cristina Chavez (Artist and Producer Manager).

Topics include:

• What motivated them to pursue a career in music and the path of their careers -Navigating their early days as a young person of color
• Race and the music business
• Advice about advancing your career as an artist or in the business of music
• The current state and future of the music Be sure to register at

Music Business Mondays #9: The Twenty One Pilots Story! Featuring band member Tyler Joseph, longtime managers Chris Woltman and Brad Gibson along with Peter Ganbarg, President of A&R at Atlantic. Moderated by Tom Krouse, Donatos’ CEO and Music Commission Board Director.

This was our inaugural and only live event of 2020. It was an exciting presentation in collaboration with A2IM that featured representatives from Bandcamp, Facebook and Spotify giving direct and actionable advice for local musicians.

Our Executive Director Bruce Garfield sat down with Atlantic Records’ President of A&R Pete Ganbarg and Senior Director of Marketing Zeena Koda to discuss the topic ‘From Signing to Launch.’

Music Columbus Executive Director Bruce Garfield sits down with Timothy Pattison (BMI) and Linda Bloss-Baum (SoundExchange) to discuss the different ways musicians can use to collect on their recordings and performances.