PANEL - Amplifying Impact: Driving Social Change Through Music
Music has long been a powerful tool for activism, raising awareness, and inspiring change. This panel will explore how artists, industry leaders, and organizations can leverage music to drive social impact and create meaningful movements. From innovative digital initiatives to grassroots advocacy, our panelists will share strategies for using music as a force for positive transformation. Join the conversation on music’s evolving role in shaping culture, amplifying voices, and fostering change.
Featured Speakers:
Bradford Watson, CEO & Founder, Spinach Records
Bradford Watson is Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Spinach Records, a wellness-focused record label. Bradford has also created the Mindful Musicianship program, utilized by Warner Music Group, to create holistic services for artist rosters. Additionally, Bradford has launched TRAINER for Live Nation which is scientifically dedicated to keeping touring artists at their physical, mental, and creative peak every night, in every city.
Reid Wick, Director of Regional Advocacy & Member Engagement, The Recording Academy
Kevin Erickson, Director, Future of Music Coalition
Kevin Erickson has been called "an authority on the ways that music industry machinations impact actual musicians." As director of nonprofit thinktank Future of Music Coalition, he works to ensure that musicians have an independent voice on the issues that impact their lives and livelihoods, envisioning a future where diverse artists can flourish and are fairly compensated fairly for their work. Kevin joined FMC in 2012; his experience spans many parts of the independent music ecosystem, from community radio to all-ages venue booking and promotion, to brick & mortar music retail. An outspoken critic of unaccountable private power, Kevin regularly offers musician-centered perspectives on complex music policy and technology topics for media outlets including Rolling Stone, The American Prospect, Pitchfork, NPR, Billboard, and The Nation. He remains active as a producer and musician; with his husband Hugh McElroy, he operates Swim-Two-Birds recording studio in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Reid Wick serves as the Recording Academy’s Director of Regional Advocacy & Member Engagement, where he handles public policy, advocacy, music-related economic development programs across the country. As an invited speaker and panel programmer, Wick has worked with many music conferences. He serves on the board of directors of Association of Music Offices, Louisiana Music & Heritage Experience, and Louisiana Music Partners. He has served on numerous boards and co-owned indie record label, STR Digital Records, which produced over 25 critically-acclaimed releases. Wick is a graduate of the Leadership Music Class of 2026. He received the 2018 Cutting Edge Music Conference Lifetime Achievement Award. Wick performs with R&B band, Bucktown All-Stars.
Ashlynn Profit, Executive Vice President of Communications, When We All Vote & Civic Nation
Ashlynn Profit is an award-winning communications and culture strategist and civic engagement leader who drives narrative, brand, and media strategy for all of Civic Nation’s initiatives, including When We All Vote. She leads the development and execution of mission-driven campaigns, culture-shifting events, and media partnerships that encourage voter participation and authentically reach young, Black, and Brown voters who have historically been left out of the political process.
Under her leadership, the communications team orchestrated high-impact campaigns, including 2024’s Culture of Democracy Tour — featuring the When We All Vote Rally with Michelle Obama and Friends in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2025, Ashlynn’s team nominated her for the Shorty Awards’ Changemaker of the Year Award, which she won in recognition of her ability to identify challenges, advocate for innovative solutions, and drive action to create a better world. Her work is centered on meeting young voters of color where they are, both online and in real life, by combining cultural relevance with strategic storytelling to drive civic engagement.
Hailing from North Charleston, South Carolina, Ashlynn has previously served as a presidential appointee during the Obama Administration in the U.S. Department of Education and deputy press secretary at DC Public Schools.
Moderator:
Emily White, Partner / CEO, Collective Entertainment; Impact Data & Events
Emily White is an Amazon #1 best-selling author of How to Build a Sustainable Music Career & Collect All Revenue Streams. She hosts the #1 Music Business podcast globally of the same name and is a Founding Partner at Collective Entertainment in NYC. White is also the Founder and CEO of Impact Data & Events, which utilizes a data-model White created through her Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University showing the top trending artists, athletes, influencers, and more in each location with the most unregistered and non-voting fans. The Impact Data & Events team utilizes this data to produce free world-class concerts and digital campaigns with precision to statistically increase voter turnout and tangibly impact non-profit causes.
