Opening & Welcoming Remarks
Featured Speakers:
Lindsey Major, Chief Member Experience Officer, The MLC
Lindsey Major serves as Chief Member Experience Officer for the Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC), where she is responsible for designing, implementing, and delivering world class experiences to The MLC's diverse and growing Membership base. Her multifaceted leadership ensures that The MLC remains at the forefront of innovation and excellence in serving its 70,000+ Members.
Before joining The MLC, Major held key roles at companies such as Fairygodboss, SmileDirectClub, and Lyft, where she developed and enhanced their customer experience operations, creating effective staff training programs, designing and improving processes, and building innovative support tools to improve quality interactions. Major earned a B.A. from the University of Iowa, an MBA from Belmont University, and a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt from the Six Sigma Global Institute.
Recognized for her leadership and contributions, Major was honored with the 2023 Nashville Emerging Leader Award for Arts, Entertainment, and Music Business. Additionally, she was named a finalist for Music Business Association’s NEXTGEN_NOW One to Watch award in 2023 and a finalist for CX Leader of the Year for CMSWire’s IMPACT Awards in 2025. In addition to her internal contributions, Major often represents The MLC at industry events, educating stakeholders about The MLC’s mission and the processes for registering and claiming songs. Her efforts have supported The MLC’s consistent track record of timely royalty distributions each month, with over $3 billion in total royalties distributed.
Outside of her professional work, she is an active volunteer with animal rescues in the Nashville area, including the Nashville Humane Association, and is passionate about supporting environmental conservation, ocean protection, gender equality, and diversity and inclusion initiatives through volunteer work and philanthropy.
Neeta Ragoowansi, President of 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.
Sharon Tapper – Executive Director, Music Managers Forum-US (MMF-US)
The Music Managers Forum-US is the leading trade association for artist managers and self-managed artists in the U.S. Since joining in 2022, the organization has grown by over 600%, expanding from its LA and NY roots to new chapters in Miami, Chicago, Nashville, Austin, Boston, and most recently, Atlanta. MMF-US provides vital education, advocacy, and global connections through its partnership with the International Music Managers Forum (IMMF)—supporting music managers and self-managed artists across the country.
With a background in artist management, music publishing, and studio operations, Tapper has held leadership roles at Kobalt and Razor & Tie and worked with artists including The Cranberries, Slash, George Michael, and Seal.
A longtime member of the Recording Academy’s New York Chapter, Tapper served 14 years as Governor and Secretary of the Executive Committee, including six consecutive terms as Co-Chair of its Advocacy Committee. She also served four years on the New York Board of the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) and co-founded NYC3, a network created to champion and support New York City’s creative professionals.
