PMC 2025

October 7-9, 2025

HILTON, Universal City, Los Angeles

tickets on sale now
Universal-City-Walk-Courtesy-of-Discover-Los-Angeles

Sessions


Dave Hill Jr.’s career bridges the worlds of technology, artistry, and personal transformation. He began as a drummer and songwriter, but his curiosity about how music gets made led him to write the world’s first book on Ableton Live—an achievement that opened the door to an eight-year tenure at Ableton and, later, a five-year role as VP of Marketing and Sales at iZotope. Along the way, he worked with industry innovators from Roland to Cycling ’74, and shared his expertise with students at the University of Michigan and Carnegie Mellon.
 
Now based in the Pacific Northwest, Dave is a late-blooming singer-songwriter releasing original music monthly and earning airplay on KBCS. His collaborations include Jonathan Plum (Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Brandi Carlile), Brad Houser (Edie Brickell & New Bohemians), James Rotondi (Air, Mr. Bungle), and Michael Shrieve (Santana). He is also the author and narrator of Doubt Riding Shotgun, a book and audiobook exploring self-doubt and creativity, and a Master Integral Coach™, Professional Certified Coach (ICF), and Certified Enneagram Practitioner. Dave enjoys coaching others as well as challenging himself to grow as an artist, blending his passion for creativity with a deep commitment to helping others thrive.


Kick off PMC 2025 with our annual membership meeting. During this session, we'll be providing updates on PMA initiatives. We'll also be joined by industry partners for brief updates on their organization's work.

Adam Taylor
Adam Taylor

President, Chairman

APM Music, Production Music Association

Joe Saba

Co-Founder, PMA Vice Chair

VideoHelper

Morgan McKnight

Executive Director

Production Music Association


Renard T. Jenkins is the President and CEO of I2A2 Technologies, Studios, and Labs. A software development and consulting firm as well as content creation studio specializing in the creation of ethically responsible tools, solutions, and experiences for the M&E, Marketing & Research, Education, and Healthcare industries, utilizing both emerging and traditional technologies. Jenkins is an experienced executive in the Technology, Film, Television, and Radio industries. Jenkins sits on a number of corporate boards and also currently serves as Vice President of the Hollywood Professionals Association, Immediate Past President of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, and sits on the board of Exceptional Minds. He is also an active member of the Television Academy and The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. He has held Executive roles across the Technology, Media, and Entertainment industry.

Jenkins previously held Senior Executive roles at Warner Bros., PBS, TV One, Discovery, ESPN, NBA Ent., MLB, NFL, and Turner Broadcasting. Jenkins is a recipient of numerous awards, including two national Emmys, a Peabody, two Headliners, and a 2020 Broadcasting and Cable Technology Leadership award. In 2017, Jenkins was recognized as an Innovator of the Year award recipient.

Additionally, he holds certifications as a sound engineer, AI/ML engineer, and application designer, among others. Jenkins holds a deep passion for the visual arts, especially animation, photography, and music, and, when time permits, offers pro bono services in location sound recording, live mixing, studio recording, post-production, and finishing for aspiring filmmakers, animators, and musicians. His family’s guiding principle is “In all things, integrity, and integrity in all things.”


This timely panel will examine the pros and cons of licensing your music and metadata to tech companies for AI training purposes. Is this a Faustian bargain that will ultimately devalue your content or a potential new and lucrative revenue stream for library publishers?  When might these deals be considered and when should they be avoided? What guardrails should be put in place to protect your copyrights? These questions and more will be covered in what is sure to be a lively and informative discussion among our expert panel.



Industry leaders in music supervision, music production and sound design discuss how they create signature sounds that stand out in marketing campaigns, the importance of creating these sounds, and why and when they are necessary. We’ll give examples of signature sounds, instrumentals and voices in commercial music, as well as music and sounds created expressly for marketing purposes. We’ll ask for audience participation while we’re listening to tracks and we’re looking forward to a lively debate while we discuss the variety of signature sounds!


Accountability

Responsibility

Diligence

It all starts with education, and the trustworthy creative, and being a musicologist in one’s own right in understanding ‘what is an infringement’.

Making a diligent judgment of musical sound-a-likes, mitigating copyright infringements, and the chain of responsibility ~ liability in the industry.

As a production music supplier, and representing multiple music libraries, it is in our greatest interest to be pro-active and highly alert of what we are representing. The ‘chain of responsibility’ starts with the music composer and runs on through to the music producer, to the original music publisher, on through to the territorial sub-publisher representatives who license music to their local clients.

The client is the first to know of a musical infringement – they usually are the first to be sued in a likely copyright infringement, then the local sub-publisher is brought into the suit, then the local PRO, then the original publisher, then the music composer.

Ironically, this chain of suit is of course ‘the mirror image’, the reverse of the creative ‘chain of responsibility’.

This session is a critical component of how to do business rightly and safely in our music market, to avoid such an unfortunate position to find oneself - awaiting for the copyright shark to strike.

It can happen, it does happen, and we will help you to better understand the measures you should take to ensure this does NOT happen to you!

Examples will be played, stories will be told, and our panel of experts will be our educational guru’s – the top guns of this critical topic.


Not every story calls for a sweeping orchestral score. In documentaries, indie films, and intimate dramas, subtle scoring and carefully chosen tracks can shape emotion without overwhelming the narrative. This panel brings together experts from every facet of film music and will explore how authentic, understated music enhances storytelling, as well as the strategies behind licensing production music that fits both the creative vision and the budget. Together, we’ll uncover how thoughtful scoring and smart licensing decisions open new possibilities for filmmakers and music creators alike.


PUBLISHER TRACK


Open to PUBLISHER members of the Production Music Association and International Production Music Group ONLY. 

RSVP HERE: https://forms.gle/MrxRTehi9hHBmnp56


Join us for a 1-on-1, fireside chat with the CEO of the Music Publisher's Association (UK), Paul Clements - moderated by West One Music Group Global CEO & PMA Board Member, Edwin Cox.
 
Paul is a highly experienced senior-level executive in the music industry with a strong commercial background in licensing and administering intellectual property rights. After graduating with a BSc (Hons) degree in Mathematics & Management Studies from Queen Mary London University, Paul worked for a short period at Thomas Cook’s headquarters, where he worked in the foreign currency trading team before embarking on a 22-year career at PRS for Music.
 
While working for PRS for Music, he worked on MCPS business for 15 years which included overseeing MCPS Production Music, before focusing his efforts on Performing Rights Licensing, Membership, Marketing and International.
 
He is renowned as an astute, dynamic and highly skilled communicator and has a proven track record for delivering significant revenue growth through expert negotiations, business transformation and the establishment of strategic joint ventures with industry partners.
 
Paul became CEO of the MPA Group on 1 February 2019 and is thrilled to be continuing to lead the MPA, MCPS and PMLL at a time in which creators and rightsholders face as many opportunities as we do challenges.


This panel will explore how the evolution of data and automation is reshaping workflows and driving new levels of efficiency across the industry. From advanced metadata tagging and smarter search capabilities to streamlined registrations and automated data population for music albums and tracks, we’ll highlight practical examples of automation in action. The discussion will also address the strategies and governance needed to ensure accuracy, reliability, and seamless integration into business processes, empowering organizations to work smarter, faster, and with greater confidence.


With a career spanning over 20 years and credits that include FIFA World Cup, Winter & Summer X Games, Sports Center, seasonal sports package for the NBA, College Football and NFL Monday Night Football, Claude Mitchell has set himself apart as a leader in the innovative use of music in sports production.  
 
Combining sports, music and business savvy, Mitchell leads the Music Department as Coordinating Director of Music at ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports. Mitchell and his team are key players in defining the sound of the network. ESPN relies on Mitchell and his team of ten to manage the creation of original music; oversee and negotiate licensing deals with artists like Coldplay, Big & Rich, Nelly, U2 and Bruce Springsteen, coordinate placements for artists in content & events across all of ESPN’s media platforms and oversee in-house sound design and audio mixing of pre-edited features.  It is no wonder that Mitchell has contributed to many Emmy Award winning productions, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup - U2 & Soweto Gospel Choir campaign, winner of the 2011 Emmy Award for Outstanding Music and Composition/Direction/Lyrics. He won another Outstanding Music and Composition/Direction/Lyrics Emmy for the “Harmony” that re-introduced hockey fans to NHL on ESPN theme. 
 
Developing a passion for music from an early age, Mitchell honed his ear listening to Jazz, R&B and Rock as a teenager in Staten Island, New York. Influenced by the genre defying DJs on local NY radio and the diverse music his closed knit family listened to, Mitchell learned an appreciation for a variety of genres that has served him well throughout his career.
 
An avid sports fan, Mitchell was an exceptional runner and member of the track team at St. Peter’s High School. His passion for track led him to run competitively in his early years at Syracuse University. As his academic career took root, the Economics Major eventually had to sacrifice his passion for running to focus on academics. Little did he know his enthusiasm for sports would later combine with his love of music and define his career path. On his role at ESPN, Mitchell comments, “There are not many jobs where I could combine two of my favorite passions into a career. ESPN gives me that while providing great, new experiences and challenges every day.“
 
Developing an expertise for licensing and managing songwriting & producer talent for over 10 years in music publishing, Mitchell seamlessly transitioned to television and joined ESPN in 2000, immediately getting a crash course in how shows get on the air in an incredibly fast-paced environment. “One of the amazing things about joining such an innovative environment is the constantly evolution.”  Mitchell notes. “It provides opportunities for creative solutions to new business and technology challenges on an ongoing basis.”
 
That constant evolution allows Mitchell to expand his knowledge base and grow as a creative executive. His talent for management and understanding of sports and music provides him with a unique perspective that fits perfectly within the organization and assures him that he will have continued success at ESPN and beyond. 


What’s shaping music publishing across Europe today?

This panel will bring you updates on various European markets and leading publishers from various countries, along with the operational lead for the BBC Public Service Music Rights & Reporting teams will share key updates from their territories.

The discussion will explore market conditions, shifting consumption patterns driven by technology, evolving business models, and the challenges these changes pose for societies and rightsholders alike. Attendees will gain a country-by-country snapshot of insights into Europe’s music publishing sector.

COMPOSER TRACK


Open to all PMC 2025 attendees.


TrackTrove.ai is a new AI-powered platform created by production music veterans, to connect human composers with production music labels.
 
Composers upload fresh, unreleased tracks. Labels post private briefs for new albums, with text prompts and audio references. Proven AI technology—already powering search for major label websites—instantly connects the right music to the right brief.
Composers’ tracks connect directly to the briefs that need it, rather than be buried in endless inboxes.
 
For labels, there’s no more sifting through overwhelming email submissions—just fast, focused discovery of fresh, high-quality music.
 
Human-Made Music, AI-Matched.
 
In this Exclusive Information Session, Tracktrove.ai CEO Alan Lazar will provide detailed info on the new platform, demonstrate the Beta, and provide information on joining the Beta waitlist


It's your favorite demo derby feedback session! In partnership with ReelCrafter, this panel is going to take shape as a real-time pitch session. There will be three guests, and attendees who wish to pitch must select ONE guest and ONE brief, and create your ReelCrafter page centered around trying to land that gig. 
 
Need some pointers on how to set up your profiles? Check out this explainer video: https://youtu.be/IMMBzSshlgE
 
Attendees who wish to pitch will be given a discount code to get their ReelCrafter account up and running (it's a free trial for two months!), set up and ready to go. YOU MUST EMAIL INFO@PMAMUSIC.COM AND INDICATE WHO YOU WANT TO PITCH TO IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE DISCOUNT CODE. Limited to 10 per guest reviewer, or 30 codes total. 
 
5 TRACKS PER PLAYLIST, MAX
 
GUEST REVIEWERS:
 
Jonathan Weiss, Music Supervisor, Music Producer & Publisher
BRIEF ONE:
Looking for instrumental tension/suspense cues for a music library compilation whose production style would include a hybrid electronic sound that can be played behind scenes that involve tense dialogue or a conflict between two characters. These styles of cues can also feature a more aggressive production style that could be utilized behind film and TV trailers and promos that have a pulsing and percussive arrangement, but with enough sectional contrast, and buildup in tension that can sustain interest throughout the cue, but not so many busy elements going on at once where it would be distractive to dialogue.  Cues could also incorporate a buildup to a climax of tension and a release and break for editors to cut 
 
BRIEF TWO:
Music supervisor and music publisher working with several music libraries looking for hip hop cues that could be used behind professional and college sports highlight packages for an upcoming compilation release.  Cues should feature a contemporary and hard hitting hip hop beat with lyrics that could feature themes such as overcoming adversity, striving to be the best, doing the work, coming out on top, how tough we are, etc.  Cues should have a traditional song structure with a memorable and hook laden chorus, along with unique and aggressive sounding verses.  Rap or sung vocals and toplines need to sound authentic, aggressive and can lean towards braggadocio, courageousness, teamwork and bravado. 
 
Evelyn Wong, Senior Music Director, Slipstream
BRIEF:
Looking for a diverse set of vocal songs within the contemporary Country music space, for use on a variety of new tv shows included on the upcoming slate for a large Studio partner/client of ours. Open to any style from more pop country a la Taylor Swift & Kasey Musgraves to Hip-Hop/R&B influenced a la Shaboozey, Kane Brown & Jelly Roll; more classic country a la Keith Urban to deep soul/blues a la Rag'n'Bone Man. Lyrics should have a strong storytelling element that touches on the complexities of human connection - emotion, the things that bond and/or break us, joy and acceptance.
 
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SUBMISSIONS FOR KAT TOLKISHEVSKAYA ARE NOW CLOSED.
 
Kat Tolkishevskaya, Producer, Project Manager, & Music Editor, Liquid Cinema
BRIEF:
Liquid Cinema is always open to new exciting collaborators and talented writers with a unique sound. Across all three catalogs, our goal is not only excellent quality of music, but a diverse and highly useable collection of genres, appropriate for many different licensing opportunities.


Come join us as composers dissect how they integrate modular synthesis into their musical workflow. Featuring a roundtable- type discussion and a live musical demonstration.


In this workshop we will take one original composition (or potentially two, one instrumental and then one vocal) and show it arranged/edited/formatted for various types of uses such as Promos, TV Ads, Trailers, News, In-show, Tiktok/Social Media, Radio/Podcasts, etc. As we play each version we will discuss the things within the arrangement that make it work for that type of use, as well has showing some graphics to help illustrate the arrangement formulas for each type of use.


Recognized in Hollywood as an extraordinary talent, Penka Kouneva has composed on iconic video games (League of Legends, Prince of Persia, The Mummy), the Netflix animated series Dragon Age: Absolution, a NASA theme park at the Kennedy Space Center, and numerous feature films (the Oscar contender Aga, Sony Pictures releases - Encounter and Devil's Whisper, and Cannes and Berlinale favorites). Her music has received national press as "fantastic, luminous and breath-taking" (Billboard, NPR and Forbes). The Grammy-winning soundtrack Women Warriors created by Amy Andersson featured seven compositions by Penka. As one of the industry's most accomplished women composers, in 2019 she was invited by showrunner Mark A. Altman and composer Joe Kraemer to co-compose the CW primetime TV show, Pandora. In 2020, Penka scored the Super Bowl TV ad campaign for Olay, #MakeSpaceForWomen. Like a great musical storyteller, her music carries the listener forth on an emotional wave with soaring themes and innovative orchestral arrangements.

The top soundtrack label Varese Sarabande (Universal Music) released Penka's orchestral albums The Woman Astronaut (2015) and Rebirth of Id (2018) to rapturous press. Penka is a Sundance Fellow, Duke University Distinguished Alumna and has received the Game Audio Network Guild Recognition Award. In 2019 Penka was commissioned and performed by Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in front of an audience of 18,000 ("America in Space").

Penka was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria, received classical training and began composing incidental music for kids' theater at the age of 12. In 1990 she ventured out of Bulgaria with a Duke University composition fellowship and $150 in her pocket. At Duke, she studied with the celebrated orchestral composers Stephen Jaffe and Scott Lindroth and received the first-ever Ph.D. in composition. As a groundbreaking artist, mentor and passionate advocate for the advancement of women composers, Penka has been featured on NPR, documentaries, books, and in the international press.



Production music is the sonic lifeblood of so many audiovisual productions, from television programs to promotional campaigns to major theatrical releases. With its proliferation across the gamut of media productions and distribution channels, companies responsible for its contribution to the creative process are worthy of recognition.

The Production Music Association is proud to present the 11th annual Mark Awards, an awards ceremony dedicated to honoring excellence in the production music community. Named in honor of the late Andy Mark, who was a library owner and founding member of the PMA, the “Mark Awards” recognizes the very best in production music.


Join us for a powerhouse conversation with two of the best composers in Film & TV. 

Two-time Emmy® nominated composer Sherri Chung has been recognized internationally as a trailblazer in the world of film and television scoring. Her music transcends genre and fuses inspirations—both traditional and emerging—in support of filmmakers’ visions worldwide.

Sherri recently composed the score for HBO Max/Amblin’s animated series Gremlins: The Wild Batch. Previously, she scored Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai (Season1), for which she was nominated for an Emmy® for Best Music Direction And Composition for An Animated Program.  Other recent credits include Netflix’s live action feature film Happiness For Beginners, NBC’s Found, and the Peacock original series Based on a True Story, which gave Sherri her second Emmy® nomination for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score). Frequently recognized for her other television credits, including CW network series’ Kung Fu, Batwoman, and Riverdale, NBC’s Blindspot, and Ava DuVernay’s limited series The Red Line, Sherri has also scored numerous feature films, documentaries, and commercials. Recent film credits include Warner Bros Studio’s Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, Tyler Perry’s Divorce In The Black, and The Lost Husband, the latter of which garnered her a Society of Composers and Lyricists nomination for Best Score for an Independent Studio Film. She also composed the score for The Other Side of Home, which was shortlisted in the 2017 Oscars for Best Short Documentary. Upcoming work includes Eli Roth’s documentary series, Let The Devil In, slated to premiere this Fall. Her outstanding work has not gone unnoticed, as Sherri was a 2024 nominee for the IFMCA Breakthrough Composer of the Year.

Alongside her composing work, Sherri is also a pianist, vocalist, performer and songwriter. As a vocalist, she has recorded for films (Sony Pictures’ “65” and the recent A24 film “Heretic”), commercials, trailer music, and television (ABC’s Resurrection, CW’s Arrow and NBC’s Blindspot).  Her voice can also be heard on the Netflix documentary series The Keepers (Emmy nominated for Outstanding Documentary). An active member of the film music industry, Sherri also serves as Governor of the Music Branch of the Television Academy. 

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Jeff Cardoni’s talents range from intimate independent fare to full orchestral majesty. With over 55 feature film scores and several network series to his credit, one can hear his work worldwide every day. He was voted ASCAP 2019 TV Composer of The Year and recently received the award for top Network Series and Most Performed Themes and Underscore. 
 
After a brief stint as lead guitarist for the Warner Bros. band "Alien Crime Syndicate," Jeff left to pursue film scoring full time. He worked under several Hollywood composers including John Murphy (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, 28 Days Later) while studying conducting and orchestration at UCLA. 
 
His film scores include Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, Step Up: All In, Just Friends, Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off, Players, Me Time, Sitting In Bars With Cake, Sundance darling The Vicious Kind, and the upcoming Amazon action feature Playdate directed by Luke Greenfield (The Girl Next Door).
 
His television scores include the Netflix hit Ransom Canyon, Cruel Intentions, Heels, Ghosts, Silicon Valley, Training Day, Young Sheldon, CSI: Miami, The Kominsky Method, Smartless: On The Road, and the HBO limited series White House Plumbers.
 
Jeff has also penned the theme songs to Heels (co-written with Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses), The League, “Pimp My Ride”, and MadTV, with songs appearing in films such as "Hard Knock Life" in Austin Powers, “Long Road Home” featuring Gene Simmons of Kiss for CSI, and an updated version of classic “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket” with Minnie Driver. Jeff also produced several songs with Jon Lajoie for the soundtrack to The League and a Lexus Super Bowl spot with The Pixies. He recently produced a reimagined version of the Mariah Carey classic track “Fantasy” for the Ryan Reynolds feature Freeguy.
 


AI tools aren't just changing how content is made - they're transforming the entire production landscape, from Hollywood blockbusters to independent creators. This shift represents a fundamental shift in process and democratization of visual storytelling. Join FilmEvolve for a deep dive into the evolution, including live demos of what these tools can do for the film, TV & visual production industries. 



Starting with television as a foundation, this practical panel explores how music creators, publishers, and PROs can work together to improve royalty payments across international, digital, and advertising uses. Through real-world examples and shared strategies, the panel offers tools and ideas to help reduce missed income and strengthen accuracy, communication, and trust across the royalty process.


Is your music set up correctly to support posts on the social sites, both commercially licensed and user generated? The panel explores the common conflicts that can arise, and what to do about them. Will cover: what are the options for delivery and setup, what are the licensing deals that currently exist (for user generated content and commercially licensed), what are the expectations of licensees using music.


*All in-person panels & keynotes will be recorded / streamed live for virtual attendees.

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PMC 2025 Hotel Information

The PMC is returning to the Hilton in Universal City, Los Angeles for 2025. Guests can make reservations via the link below, or by calling the Hilton In-House Reservations Dept. at 818-623-1434 from 7am-7pm PT, Monday-Sunday. Please reference group code PMA25 when booking via phone.

Group Link: https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/buruchf-pma25-40ef473e-73b9-4198-8dec-79b87d60d96c/

The deadline to book at our group rate is September 3, 2025. Please be sure to reserve your room(s) before then.

If at any time you see "NO AVAILABILITY" when you are trying to reserve, please contact morgan@pmamusic.com immediately. We will do our best to add rooms to the block when needed.

Please book early. We do sell out.

PMC 2025 SPONSORS

Presenting Sponsor

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Silver Sponsors

Bronze Sponsors

Exhibiting Sponsors

Welcome & Mark Awards Reception Sponsor

Cocktail Sponsors

Mark Awards Sponsors

Supporting Sponsors

Become a Sponsor

The Production Music Conference is the place to be if you or your product appeals in any way, shape, or form to the production music community. Flexible sponsorship options are available. Contact us for information.

Contact Us for Opportunities

Registration

PMC 2025 tickets on sale now.

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About the Production Music Conference

The PMA’s Production Music Conference is the international gathering place for the production music community, and is scheduled for October 7-9, 2025 at the Hilton in Universal City, Los Angeles, CA.

This event will an in-person event, with panel programming streamed live both within the virtual conference platform and within the conference app. Attendees represent 80+ countries, ranging from publishers to composers, technology partners and financial partners, and everything in between. The PMC provides networking and educational opportunities to further advance the value of production music and the industry's community.