PANEL - Money: Cashflow & Access to Finance

How do artists and their teams access the funding and cashflow needed to build a sustainable career? Beyond traditional label and publishing deals, a growing range of financing options offers new ways to turn music revenues into capital. But how do these models differ, and what do artists receive, commit to, or give up in return?

Featuring Sound Royalties, beatBread, and Duetti, this panel explores different approaches to music financing and the questions artists and managers should ask before making a deal. From ownership and control to repayment terms and future income, how do you assess the trade-offs and choose the right fit for an artist’s goals?

With greater choice comes greater responsibility for understanding and running the business. How can artists and their teams prepare for funding, deploy it effectively, and balance immediate cashflow needs with long-term growth? And how can a stronger financial foundation create more room for creative risk?

Barbara Ocasio, EVP of Operations, Sound Royalties

Barbara graduated from Palm Beach State College and brings more than 10 years of experience in specialty finance operations. As the Executive Vice President of Operations at Sound Royalties, she successfully oversees the day to day operations by setting guidelines, procedures and risk management processes to ensure internal and external compliance. An employee of Sound Royalties since day one, Barbara has developed crucial relationships within the music industry, and can often be found attending the various music events and award shows throughout the year.

Julian Dunn, Head of Legal and Business Affairs, beatBread

Julian is a native of the Bay Area in Northern California. After law school, Julian began his career as a public finance attorney at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in San Francisco. From there he caught the start-up wave, joining as an early employee at several venture-backed FinTech and SaaS companies, including Segment (acquired by Twilio), Promise and Hightouch. After relocating to Los Angeles after the pandemic, Julian joined beatBread to lead its in-house legal team. In his role as Head of Legal & Business Affairs, Julian leads due diligence and contracting for beatBread’s financing of independent artists and record labels around the world.

Christopher Nolte, COO & Co-Founder, Duetti

Christopher Nolte is COO & Co-Founder at Duetti, a music finance and services platform that partners with independent artists and creators. Founded in 2022, Duetti provides capital and operational support to help creators monetize, manage, and grow their music catalogs. Since its founding, Duetti has partnered with more than 1,100 creators across over 40 countries and raised over $635M.

Prior to Duetti, Chris negotiated major licensing deals as part of Apple Music's Content Business Development team. Chris also served as Vice President of Partnerships at TIDAL and co-founded Darman Labs, an AI-based music A&R and artist management firm, as well as TapTape, a crowd-financing platform for the music industry. With an MBA from MIT and a bachelor's degree in international business, Chris's expertise extends beyond music. Chris was a manager at consulting firm Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company), where he was part of the Corporate and Business Strategy team for technology, media, and telecommunications. Originally from Germany, he is a passionate musician and enjoys snowboarding, food, travel, and art. 

Moderator: Kelly Brennan-Kleyn, CEO & Founder, KBK Management

Kelly Brennan-Kleyn is the CEO and Founder of KBK Management, a business management firm specializing in touring artists and large-scale live productions. Kelly started in music at 17, and her career spans CAA, artist management and years on the road with major artists. That background gives her an operator’s view of the financial side of the business. She teaches Finance and Accounting for Music Business at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music. She is also building a financial operations platform designed to automate the routine side of tour and festival finance while keeping experienced people in charge of decisions.  She thinks there is nothing better in the world than getting a room full of people all singing the same song.