PANEL - Know Your Rights

Understanding your rights is essential to protecting and maximizing your music income. This panel brings together experts from TuneCore Publishing, The MLC, and Vocana to break down what every artist and manager needs to know about royalties, rights management, and navigating the complexities of today’s music ecosystem.

Featured Speakers:

Alyssa Byrne, Director, Writer & Publisher Relations, TuneCore Publishing

An integrity-driven and passionate music industry professional, Alyssa Byrne is dedicated to helping independent songwriters and artists thrive. As Director of Writer & Publisher Relations at TuneCore, she brings a strong track record of building meaningful industry relationships — always leading with kindness. In addition to her role at TuneCore, Alyssa also works as an artist manager, offering hands-on guidance and support to emerging talent. With deep expertise in music publishing and rights management, Alyssa empowers creatives to take control of their careers and receive the recognition — and royalties — they deserve.  

Sean McNamara, Manager, Publisher Services, The MLC

Sean McNamara serves as Manager, Publisher Services for the Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC), where he plays a key role in managing relationships with music publishers to support The MLC’s mission of ensuring songwriters, composers, lyricists and music publishers receive their mechanical royalties from streaming and download services in the U.S. accurately and on time. In this role, Sean serves as a primary liaison between The MLC and publishers, ensuring clear communication, addressing concerns and providing guidance to help publishers successfully navigate the landscape of digital music royalties. He also works closely with internal teams to streamline operational processes and helps monitor The MLC’s monthly royalty distributions to publishers and songwriters. To date, The MLC has distributed over $2 billion in total royalties to its 45,000+ Members.   

Prior to joining The MLC, Sean served as Performance Rights Manager for The Orchard, where he worked closely with global performance collection societies to identify royalty growth opportunities, streamline workflows, and foster relationships with international media licensors, while also overseeing the timely delivery of millions of lines of new release metadata. Before The Orchard, Sean spent nearly 5 years at Harry Fox Agency, where he worked with publishers, songwriters, and record labels of all sizes, refining his expertise in music publishing, licensing, and content monetization.

Sean holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music Industry Studies from Loyola University New Orleans and resides in Nashville, TN. 

Moderator:

Neeta Ragoowansi, President, MMF-US & IMMF

Neeta Ragoowansi is a seasoned music business executive and entertainment attorney with over 30 years of experience. She has served as a strategic advisor, business development resource, and legal counsel to clients across the entertainment and tech industries. Neeta is President of Music Managers Forum – US (MMF-US), President of the International Music Managers Forum (IMMF), Co-Founder of NPREX (National Performing Rights Exchange), and Global Co-Chair of Women in Music. She also serves on the advisory boards of Gritty in Pink and the All About Music Conference (India).

Her past roles include Executive Director of Folk Alliance International; Senior Counsel, Legal & Business Affairs for Global Citizen; founding head of artist-label relations and legal counsel for SoundExchange; Vice President of Business Development & Legal Affairs at Tunesat; and Assistant General Counsel for The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Symphony Orchestra Association. Neeta has also served as a board governor of The Recording Academy (New York and DC Chapters) for over a decade, and as Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Task Force and Sponsorship Chair of the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Entertainment & Sports Industries.

A sought-after speaker, Neeta has presented at more than 400 music industry conferences on topics including the global music business, artist management, licensing models, legal and copyright issues, as well as diversity, women’s leadership and empowerment.

Neil Sheehan, President, Vocana

Specializing in independent music, Neil has a proven track record of entrepreneurship and innovation. He founded and successfully sold two companies: HM, a band management and concert promotion firm, and Standby Records, a renowned record label.

A sought-after speaker, he has shared his expertise at major events including SXSW, MusicBiz, and A2IM.

Neil is now President of Vocana, a social music streaming platform built for indie artists and their fans. Vocana’s user-centric payout model, social engagement features, merch integration, and robust listener analytics empower artists and bring them closer to their audience.