A3E 2026 Anaheim
A3E is excited to be back LIVE and at the NAMM Show 2026! A3E + ARAS will once again be providing their forward thinking educational programming examining the evolutionary process and the Future of Music, Audio + Entertainment Technology™.

In 2021 A3E introduced the industry to an important new imperative: Artificial Creativity (AC) — the intersection of content creation with AI, neuroscience, and human-centric design. At A3E 2025 Anaheim we began by exploring how neurodata and the essence of human creativity itself are being captured, trained on, and reimagined through AI systems. The 2025 program challenged artists, technologists, and executives to confront both the profound opportunities of AC — adaptive, personalized creative experiences across music, film, gaming, and social media — and the equally profound risks: data ownership, manipulation, commercialization of expression, and the devaluation of human artistry.

As we move into 2026, A3E builds on that foundation with a program designed to guide the industry through both the immediate realities of AI adoption and the long-term imperatives of AC. AC is no longer an abstract concept at the edge of research — it is here, shaping workflows, business models, and human creativity in real time. The question is no longer whether AC will impact content creation, but how we as an industry will guide, govern, and integrate it.

The A3E 2026 program reflects this evolution with two interconnected days. Friday, January 23rd focuses on Creative Tools, Production & Performance, exploring the tactical realities of AI adoption in the studio, on stage, and inside creative workflows. Sessions will examine on-device AI in DAWs and instruments, new safeguards for voice cloning, and the use of game engines and neuroadaptive systems as performance tools — all while highlighting how AC is beginning to extend these technologies beyond automation into co-creation. Saturday, January 24th turns to Rights, Governance & Business Models, addressing the frameworks and responsibilities needed to ensure AC develops responsibly — from training data and attribution, to disclosure and platform enforcement, to neurodata ethics and even the cognitive health of creators in an AC-driven world.

A3E’s mission remains clear: to bring together R&D leaders, artists, technologists, and executives to ask the hard questions and uncover the next wave of answers. The 2026 sessions are designed not just to map today’s realities, but to probe tomorrow’s imperatives — ensuring that Artificial Creativity enhances, rather than diminishes, the uniquely human spark at the core of music and entertainment. Human-Driven Content Creation (HDCC) vs AI-Driven Content Generation (AICG) underscores A3E’s drive to “Define, Label, and Protect Artistic Originality”.

New Sessions, Speakers, Panelists, and Moderators are being added daily. Please check back for updates.

A3E At-A-Glance: Saturday, January 24th, 2026: Hilton Anaheim

A3E SESSION TYPE COLOR KEY

A3E GENERAL SESSION = BLACK/CHARCOL

A3E WORKSHOP = PURPLE/SHADED

A3E SESSION TYPE COLOR KEY

A3E GENERAL SESSION = BLACK/CHARCOL

A3E WORKSHOP = PURPLE/SHADED

Saturday, January 24th, 2026; 10:00AM – 11:00AM Pacific Time; Hilton Anaheim, 4th Floor, Huntington Room

Human Creativity / Neurodata Captured & Trained On by AI – Advances, Ethics, Awareness and Consent

Artificial Creativity (AC) is beginning to reach beyond music, image, and text datasets into neurodata — brainwaves, emotional responses, and cognitive signals. This emerging frontier opens unprecedented opportunities: adaptive music that responds to mood, personalized therapy, and new human–machine creative tools. But it also raises urgent questions: Who owns neurodata? What does informed consent look like? How do we prevent the commodification of human creativity at its most intimate level? This session examines both the advances and the ethical safeguards needed as AI turns its focus toward the human mind.

J. Galen Buckwalter | CEO | psyML

J. Galen Buckwalter, PhD, has been a research psychologist for over 30 years. He began his career as a research professor at the University of Southern California. Subsequently, he initiated a behavioral outcomes research program at Kaiser Permanente, Southern California. He transitioned into industry when he created the assessment and matching system for eHarmony.com. He is currently CEO of psyML, using his psychological and social media expertise to design digital systems supportive of individual growth. Galen is also a participant/scientist in a trial of an implanted brain-machine interface geared toward the long-term restoration of spinal cord injury. As such he has unprecedented access to the neural functioning of his brain. As the front man for a four-piece pre-punk band of shrinks, Siggy, he has written over 70 songs and performed at most every underground dive in LA. He is currently working to integrate the sounds of his neuronal activity into his music.

Kristen J. Mathews | Partner | Cooley LLP

Kristen is a partner in Cooley’s Cyber/Data/Privacy group at the forefront of complex privacy and cybersecurity issues with more than 25 years advising clients in technology, financial, retail, consumer products, healthcare, insurance, media, education, auto, utilities, sports and hospitality. She advises companies on privacy laws that regulate the collection, use and sharing of personal and experiential information about individuals, financial privacy, data monetization, ad-tech, neurotech, youth protection, biometrics, genetic privacy, direct marketing, artificial intelligence and ethical tech. Kristen subspecializes in neurotechnology and publishes Cooley’s neural privacy resource hub, a first-of-its-kind resource for the emerging legal landscape surrounding wearable neurotech devices and brain-computer interfaces. Kristen has been Chambers-ranked since 2010, and The Legal500US has recognized Kristen for her singular work, naming her in its Hall of Fame for Cyber Law since 2017. She has been a certified information privacy professional (CIPP) by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) since 2005.

Dani Deahl | Head of Communications & Creator Insights | BandLab Technologies

As a prominent figure in music, Dani Deahl has been at the forefront of artist discovery and meaningful industry change for over a decade. She currently is a DJ, producer, public speaker, and Head of Communications & Creator Insights at BandLab. She developed the coverage for the intersection of music and technology for The Verge, helmed YouTube series The Future of Music, and is also Trustee for the Recording Academy Chicago chapter.

BandLab Technologies is a collective of global music technology companies on a mission to break down the technical, geographic, and creative barriers for musicians and fans. Empowering creators at all stages of their creative process, the group’s wide range of offerings include flagship mobile-first social music creation platform BandLab, award-winning, legendary desktop DAW Cakewalk, powerful artist services platform ReverbNation and recently acquired global beat and music marketplace Airbit. BandLab Technologies is headquartered in Singapore and is a division of Caldecott Music Group.

Sean Sebastian Darcy | PhD student in Computation and Neural Systems | Caltech

Sean Sebastian Darcy is a third-year PhD student in Computation and Neural Systems at Caltech, working under the guidance of Professor Richard Andersen. His research focuses on brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) implanted in tetraplegic humans, investigating how the brain integrates intracortical microstimulation–evoked artificial sensations with natural sensory signals to support functional neuroprosthetic feedback. He received his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 2023, with minors in Psychology and Computer Integrated Surgery. Drawing on training in engineering and neuroscience, Sean aims to develop next-generation BCI systems while addressing fundamental questions about neural computation.

Peter F. Brown (Moderator) | Senior Director, Global Security & Technology Strategy | Venable LLP

Peter’s early interests in acoustics, technology and electronic music have contributed to a career spanning a wide-range of skills and experience covering political, societal, cultural, entrepreneurial, scientific, and technological domains, and which has led him to work on subject areas as varied as governance and policymaking; privacy, identity management, and trust; air transport and drone technology; cloud computing; artificial intelligence; internet of things (IoT); cybersecurity, and technology standards.

As a published author, and working in several languages, he has a reputation as a polymath and a polyglot. His professional career includes 25 years of experience in European public service and more than a decade in the private sector consulting on international standards engagement, technology strategy and governance. He currently works as Senior Director on Global Security and Technology Strategy at Venable LLP in Washington, DC.

He lives in Virginia with his life partner, a dog and a sometimes-functioning home studio focused on modular and analog synthesis.

Saturday, January 24th, 2026; 10:00AM – 11:00AM Pacific Time; Hilton Anaheim, 4th Floor, Palos Verdes Room

A3E Workshop: Directions of GenAI 2026 — Workflows, Interfaces & Agents

Generative AI has rapidly moved from novelty to necessity across music creation, production, and post-production. This workshop brings together leaders to examine how next-generation tools, interfaces, and intelligent agents are transforming the creative workflow itself. From prompt-driven composition and AI-enhanced sample generation to automated stem separation, adaptive mixing, and personalized co-creators, A3E will explore where GenAI is adding value—and where human artistry remains irreplaceable, and look at how companies are re-designing the user experience of creativity, redefining collaboration between artist and algorithm, and setting the technical and ethical direction of music’s next AI-powered evolution.

A3E Entertainment Technology
A3E Entertainment Technology

Jonathan Wyner (Moderator) |  President | M Works Studios

Jonathan Wyner is an audio technologist, mastering engineer, educator, and consultant working at the intersection of music, technology, and human perception. He is a longtime professor at Berklee College of Music and serves as Head of Artistic Technology Initiatives at Berklee’s Emerging Artistic Technology Lab (BEATL), where he focuses on human-centered approaches to AI and creative tools.

Jonathan is President and Chief Engineer of M Works Studios, with credits spanning decades and artists including David Bowie, Nirvana, Miles Davis, Marvel Games and the London Symphony Orchestra, among many others. He previously served as President of the Int’l Audio Engineering Society and as Director of Education at iZotope, where he helped shape products and educational initiatives used by millions of musicians worldwide.

His work centers on psychoacoustics, critical listening, and the responsible design of music technologies, with particular emphasis on how AI can augment—rather than replace—human creativity.

Christian Steinmetz |  Research Scientist | Suno

Christian Steinmetz is a Research Scientist at Suno, where he works on developing large-scale generative models for music, with a focus on high-fidelity audio synthesis. Before joining Suno, he was a PhD student at Queen Mary University of London, where his research focused on machine learning methods for automated music production, including the design of new audio effects and intelligent production tools. His interests span generative modeling, neural audio representations, and reinforcement learning, with an emphasis on building scalable systems and bridging fundamental research with real-world creative applications.

Saturday, January 24th, 2026; 11:00AM – 12:00PM Pacific Time; Hilton Anaheim, 4th Floor, Huntington Room

Human Creativity & Artificial Creativity: Awareness and Prevention of Cognitive & Creative Decline

Emerging research, including studies from MIT and Penn State, suggests that heavy reliance on AI tools like ChatGPT can reduce neural engagement, impair problem solving, and weaken memory formation. For creatives, musicians, and artists, these effects may threaten the very faculties that fuel originality. This session explores the risks of “cognitive offloading” in an AC-driven world and presents strategies to preserve critical thinking, resilience, and authentic creativity while integrating AI into daily practice.

Jessica Mendoza | AI & Human Experience Advocate | SWARM Community

Dr. Jess Mendoza is an AI & Human Experience Specialist with a PhD in Experimental Psychology, bridging cognitive science with human-centered AI adoption. She is a co-founding member of HelpNOW, where she leads AI-powered multilingual chatbot initiatives for disaster relief, connecting displaced residents to vital resources in real-time.

As part of the SWARM Community, she contributes to knowledge-transferring workshops that center around building compassionate and conscious human experiences. Her work spans on AI literacy in the Education space, AI-augmented workflows, and leveraging collaborative intelligence to make data driven decisions. Jess often mentors emerging professionals who want to explore careers in technology. When not on the screen, she enjoys quality time with her family and friends.

Anne Cantera | Sr. AI Product Designer – Conversational AI | SWARM Community

Anne Cantera is a conversation design and AI leader who blends creativity, psychology, and technology to craft intuitive, next-generation digital experiences. A hardcore advocate for women in tech, she’s also designed for learning-disabled and neurodiverse communities, bringing firsthand insight into how differently wired minds navigate the world. She pushes for AI that’s inclusive, emotionally intelligent, and built to truly serve people through clear, frictionless interaction. Anne is the creator and host of Designathon—where heart and soul meet design and AI—a podcast and community exploring how creativity, empathy, and intelligence come together to shape the future of human-tech connection.

Eric R. Burgess | Founder/CEO | Credtent

Eric “E.R.” Burgess is the CEO of Credtent.org, a Public Benefit Corporation empowering creators to reclaim control of their content in the Age of Al. With a career spanning journalism, video game design, SaaS innovation, and marketing technology, Eric is a recognized leader in creativity, technology, and content authenticity. At Disney, he spearheaded the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire video games, introducing early downloadable content and selling over 4 million copies. He later led innovations in SaaS at SmartOffice, drove content marketing breakthroughs at PublishThis, and developed industry- first tools like the Earned Media Value Index at a.network. A prolific writer and creator rights advocate, Eric combines innovative storytelling and bleeding-edge technology to inspire a more authentic and financially inclusive digital landscape.

Credtent is a B Corp bringing creativity and Al together ethically and credibly. Our platform empowers creators to exclude their work or profit from Al by setting fair licensing terms for responsible Al companies. Creators can register any type of creative work for Al protection or licensing with our low-price, high-tech solution. Our Content Origin and Sourcing Badges have set industry standards for Al transparency and ethical training. Our Credibility Science enables Al tools to train their models on truly legitimate and accurate content to maximize efficacy, minimize business risk, and increase Al acceptance by creators across the artistic spectrum.

Dan Furman, Ph.D. (Moderator) | CEO | Arctop

Dan Furman, PhD, began his neuroscience career as a researcher under neurosurgeon Dr. Christopher Duma, developing a surgical method that used brain imaging to predict the spread of malignant brain tumors and proactively halt tumor growth using gamma radiation. He went on to Harvard, where he earned his A.B. in Neurobiology with a minor in Music. After graduating, he joined a medtech company working on a brain-computer interface (BCI) for Dr. Stephen Hawking, before returning to academy to do a PhD in computational neuroscience. There, he was first in the world to demonstrate that non-invasive brain sensor data could be used to control individual neuroprosthetic fingers. In 2016, Dan co-founded Arctop to create general purpose BCI technology that unlocks human potential.

Arctop is a cognition company, founded to create widely accessible technology that profoundly improves human life. Arctop’s software applies artificial intelligence to electric measurements of brain activity in real time — translating people’s feelings, reactions, and intent into actionable data. Arctop’s clients include some of the most innovative organizations at the intersection of AI development and human experience, such as Endel (Apple Watch App of the Year), Stanford Medicine, and the U.S. Air Force Academy. The company has published in Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience, The Wall Street Journal, and been awarded multiple patents on its state-of-the-art methods of brain decoding.

Saturday, January 24th, 2026; 11:00AM – 12:00PM Pacific Time; Hilton Anaheim, 4th Floor, Palos Verdes Room

A3E Workshop: IASIG Workshop: AI In Interactive Audio

The IA-SIG has been an organization involved with interactive audio including video games since 1996. The group will present the high points of the AI Working Group WIKI. This will include the basics of generative tools, polling results, best practices, LLM research, and user stories.

Alexander Brandon | Owner | Funky Rustic

Alexander Brandon is a game audio veteran with thirty years of experience and over one hundred titles to his credit, among them the soundtracks for such hits as “Unreal” and “Deus Ex”, and more recently music, sound and voice for such games as “Stormgate”, “Wasteland 3", "Oddworld: Soulstorm", "Aven Colony", Wasteland 2”, “Alpha Protocol”, the “Neverwinter Nights” series, “Bejeweled 3”, "Skyrim"​, and “DC Universe Online”.

Alex has skills in music composition, sound design, voice acting, voice direction, audio direction and game audio technology. He has written the award winning book “Audio For Games: Planning, Process and Production"​ and written columns for "Game Developer"​and "Mix" magazines. He has also lectured at UCLA Extension, Texas State University and Berklee School of Music.

He has also worked with Hollywood voice talent, symphony orchestras, and high profile music acts such as BT. Alex continues to write on numerous game audio subjects, and is always honoring his roots, interviewing such Japanese game music rock stars like Hip Tanaka and Tetsuya Mizuguchi. As part of the game audio community continues to serve on the steering committee of the IA-SIG and has served as a founding member and as the Vice President of the Game Audio Network Guild.

He now owns his own audio production house in Seattle, Washington, “Funky Rustic”, and distributes music through Bandcamp, releasing an album every now and again.

Steve Horowitz | Founder Game Audio Institute | Faculty SFSU | Chair IASIG

Critically acclaimed as one of the foremost figures in the field, Composer Steven Horowitz is the current chair of the IASIG. He is the founder of the Game Audio Institute and teaches music composition at San Francisco State University. Horowitz is also a long standing Audio Director at Nickelodeon/Paramount games where he has worked on scoring hundreds of beloved video games as well as garnering him Webby, Kid Screen and BDA awards. Steve is well known for his original score to the Academy Award nominated film Super Size Me. His compositions have also appeared in television series like I Bet you Will and Casino Cinema for MTV Networks. Horowitz was honored with a GRAMMY award in 1996 for his engineering work on the album True Life Blues, the Songs of Bill Monroe. In addition to his work in dance, film, television, cartoons and video games, Horowitz also has a robust catalog of chamber and concert music. In addition, Horowitz is also the author of two books, The Essential Guide to Game Audio: The Theory and Practice of Sound for Games on Focal press, and The Theory And Practice Of Music For Games, published January 2024.

Gregory Pat Scandalis | CTO, Acting CEO | moForte Inc

Pat Scandalis, CTO acting CEO of moForte Inc, has held lead engineering positions at National Semiconductor, Teradyne, Apple and Sun and spent the past 32 years in Digital Media. He was an Audio DSP researcher at Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA). He co-founded/VP of engineering for Staccato Systems, a successful spinout of Stanford/CCRMA, sold to Analog Devices in 2001. He has held VP positions at TuneTo.com, Jarrah Systems and Liquid Digital Media (responsible for online digital music e-commerce properties for Walmart). He holds a BSc in Physics from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and is currently a visiting scholar at CCRMA, Stanford.

Saturday, January 24th, 2026; 12:00PM - 1:00PM Pacific Time; Hilton Anaheim, 4th Floor, Huntington Room

AI Voices + Human Creativity: Attributions, Disclosure & Platform Enforcement

As synthetic vocals and AI-generated singers move from experimental tools to mainstream production, the music industry must balance creative innovation with responsibility. This session examines how artists and labels can ensure proper attribution and disclosure when AI voices are used, protecting fan trust and artistic integrity. At the same time, platforms and distributors face mounting pressure to detect unauthorized impersonations, enforce watermarking, and deploy takedown pipelines against deepfakes. Panelists will explore how shared responsibility across creators, rights holders, and platforms can safeguard the authenticity of music while allowing Artificial Creativity to evolve as a legitimate tool for human expression.

Benn Jordan | Scientist / Recording Artist | Alphabasic NPO / "The Flashbulb"

Benn Jordan is an scientist, YouTuber, and recording artist who has released music primarily under the alias "The Flashbulb" since 1999. A pioneer in independent music business models, Jordan founded the non-profit label Alphabasic and served as an early consultant for Bandcamp, advocating for direct-to-fan distribution and copyright reform. He famously acquired his own master recordings to bypass traditional industry gatekeepers and released his library of music on music-piracy websites.

Jordan is a respected figure in the fields of audio forensics and acoustic engineering. Through his media channels, he conducts public research on topics ranging from adversarial audio attacks to acoustic espionage. He is a co-founder of Voice-Swap, and more recently created "Poisonify", an algorithm that protects music from AI training models. Jordan continues to fund independent data science research to develop equitable economic infrastructures for musicians.

Juan Elias | Co-founder/CEO | Auribus Music

Juan Elias is a composer turned creative technologist whose career bridges music, sound design, and artificial intelligence. He began by crafting original scores and sonic identities for media before transitioning into roles that deepened his understanding of how technology and creativity intersect. For nearly a decade, Juan worked at Pandora and SiriusXM, first as a composer for branded content, then as a producer managing sync deals and curating music libraries for major advertisers, gaining a front-row seat to the business side of music licensing at scale.

In 2023, fueled by the Hollywood strikes and growing tensions around AI’s impact on creators, Juan co-founded Voice by Auribus, a platform where artists license their voices to power next-gen music creation. Backed by Techstars and trusted by world-class producers, Auribus is both a response to the broken economics of voice ownership and a bet on the future of creative control in the age of AI.

Declan McGlynn (Moderator) | Chief Creative Officer | Voice-Swap

Declan McGlynn is an experienced music tech journalist and consultant who’s worked for and with the likes of Google, DJ Mag, Resident Advisor, Rolling Stone, Splice, Native Instruments, Universal Music Group and many more. He’s now the Communications Director of AI voice transformation platform Voice-Swap.

Saturday, January 24th, 2026; 12:00PM - 1:00PM Pacific Time; Hilton Anaheim, 4th Floor, Palos Verdes Room

A3E Workshop 11: TBA

A3E Workshops will complement its educational programming by offering forward-looking sessions where artists, technologists, and executives explore the practical applications of emerging tools shaping the future of music and entertainment. Building on A3E’s mission to unite R&D innovation with creative practice, these workshops provide tactical insights, real-world use cases, and collaborative learning opportunities that empower participants to navigate—and shape—the evolving landscape of Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Creativity (AC).

A3E Music Entertainment Technology
A3E Music Entertainment Technology

Presenter(s)/Speaker(s) TBA

Saturday, January 24th, 2026; 1:00PM - 2:15PM Pacific Time; Hilton Anaheim, 4th Floor, Huntington Room

Data: From Ideation to Monetization - The Next Wave of Ethical AI Development

As lawsuits and regulations reshape the boundaries of AI training, the music and entertainment industries face urgent choices about how creative data is sourced, managed, and monetized. This session explores the path from conflict to collaboration, focusing on licensed datasets, model auditability, and consent-driven frameworks that enable innovation while protecting human creativity.

Shari Reich |  Manager, Developer Relations: Intelligent Content Creation, Audio and Music |  NVIDIA

Shari Reich is the Manager of Developer Relations, Intelligent Content Creation for Audio and Music at NVIDIA. Shari leads strategic initiatives within the Media2 organization to empower developers working at the intersection of sound, AI, and immersive technologies. With over 15 years of experience in the music industry—including A&R roles at Sony Music, Warner Bros. Records, and Concord Music Publishing—Shari brings a deep understanding of both creative and technical workflows.

Her background spans music supervision for film, and documentaries, as well as artist and producer management, giving her a unique perspective on how technology can enhance the creative process. At NVIDIA, she champions tools and platforms that enable next-generation audio experiences, helping bridge the gap between developers, artists, and the future of AI-driven sound.

Shauna Krikorian |  Executive Vice President  |  SongHub

Shauna Krikorian has a diverse background in the music industry that spans music publishing, artist development, and working with new technologies to enhance the creator experience. Shauna serves as EVP of SongHub, an innovative blockchain-powered collaboration, rights management and registration platform developed for creators, music publishers, performing rights organizations and music education programs worldwide. An advocate for more transparency within the music industry, Shauna drives SongHub’s mission to help promote the standardization of clean data practices.

As a creative, Shauna has signed and developed artists for synchronization licensing across various visual media including film, TV, ads and promos. She has also spearheaded synch marketing campaigns for many iconic music publishing catalogs (KISS, George Thorogood, Elvis Presley, Charli XCX, Paul Oakenfold and others). Recent projects include Ralph Lauren, Fitbit, Macys, Squishables, Victoria’s Secret, The Good Doctor, Matlock, Yellowjackets, Sweet Tooth, Charmed, and multiple Marvel franchises.

Linnea Sundberg (Moderator) | VP of Corporate Development & Head of Partnerships | UnitedMasters Inc.

For the last ~15 years, Linnea Sundberg has operated at the intersection of music and technology. She currently serves as VP of Corporate Development, and Head of Partnerships at UnitedMasters Inc., a leading label services and platform for independent artists, reporting directly to the CEO. Previously, Linnea spent over 6 years at Spotify. There, she developed and took artist-facing products to market, including commercial strategies, and go-to-market plans for the Spotify for Artists brand. She’s also a board member & advisor (Soundverse), and investor, and has held previous Corporate Development roles (Splice), all in and around music and technology. Her expertise lies in artist services, copyright and IP value, streaming market insights, and artist services. Originally from Stockholm, Sweden, she holds a Bachelor's degree from Harvard University and a Master's degree from the University of Oxford. An advocate for innovation in the creator economy, Linnea is passionate about supporting the next generation of artists through technology-driven solutions.

Sourabh Pateriya | Founder & CEO | Soundverse Inc.

Sourabh Pateriya is the Founder & CEO of Soundverse, an ethical AI-music creation company reshaping how music is made and shared. A former product leader at Spotify, where he co-invented Basic Pitch, and Samsung, where he worked on conversational AI (Bixby), Sourabh has spent his career at the intersection of music, technology, and creativity. With multiple patents in AI, AR, and audio, he is passionate about simplifying music creation for everyone. Under his leadership, Soundverse has grown into a global top AI music platform with over a million users, pioneering ethical data attribution and artist-first tools such as DNA, AI Agent, and Trace (music attribution engine). As an electronic music producer himself (stage name BlueNucleus), Sourabh brings both an artist’s sensibility and a technologist’s vision to building the future of music creation.

Pascal Pilon | CEO | LANDR

Pascal Pilon is a dynamic entrepreneur renowned for his groundbreaking work in the music industry, notably as the founder of LANDR Audio. With a software engineering and business management background, Pilon's leadership has propelled LANDR to the forefront of AI-driven music creation and mastering technology. Under his guidance, LANDR has revolutionized the way artists produce and distribute their music, earning global recognition and multiple awards, including SXSW Innovation of the Year, CNBC’s Upstart 25 and Deloitte's Fast 50. Pilon's dedication to innovation extends beyond LANDR, as he actively mentors startups in the tech and music sectors through his involvement with YUL Ventures. His contributions continue to shape the future of music production and Canadian entrepreneurship.

Jamie Gale
A3E Music Entertainment Technology

Jamie Gale | Founder | Jamie Gale Music & Boutique Guitar Showcase

Jamie Gale: Curator, Educator, and Visionary in the Guitar Industry.

Jamie Gale is a globally recognized thought leader in the guitar industry. Known for founding and curating the Boutique Guitar Showcase, hosting the ‘Life With Strings Attached’ podcast and consulting top makers, brands, and organizations worldwide.

As a sought-after speaker and educator, Jamie has lectured at institutions like Harvard University, The NAMM Show, Mondo NYC and La Biennale di Venezia. His work focuses on brand development, business strategy, global engagement and further delving into the un-written future of guitar.

Having experienced almost every aspect of the guitar industry, Jamie Gale is redefining how we think about guitars and their place in the world of culture, art, design, and music.

Saturday, January 24th, 2026; 1:00PM - 2:00PM Pacific Time; Hilton Anaheim, 4th Floor, Palos Verdes Room

A3E Workshop 12: TBA

A3E Workshops will complement its educational programming by offering forward-looking sessions where artists, technologists, and executives explore the practical applications of emerging tools shaping the future of music and entertainment. Building on A3E’s mission to unite R&D innovation with creative practice, these workshops provide tactical insights, real-world use cases, and collaborative learning opportunities that empower participants to navigate—and shape—the evolving landscape of Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Creativity (AC).

A3E Music Entertainment Technology
A3E Music Entertainment Technology

Presenter(s)/Speaker(s) TBA

Saturday, January 24th, 2026; 2:15PM - 3:15PM Pacific Time; Hilton Anaheim, 4th Floor, Huntington Room

The Future of Recording: AI, AC & the Studio Executive Roundtable

At a time when the music industry stands at a constant crossroads, this A3E session offers an unprecedented look inside a private strategy meeting among the world’s most influential studio leaders. What unfolds is a moment of collective strategic introspection — an open, unscripted conversation where the future of the studio is contemplated in real time.

Moderated by Rob Christie, the Head of Republic Studios—the #1 label in the world—this exclusive roundtable brings together Kevin Reeves and Kelly King (East Iris Studios, Nashville), Angelo Caputo (Capitol Studios, Hollywood), and Chris Pizzolo (Chelsea Studios, NYC) to explore how Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Creativity (AC) are reshaping creative workflows, artist relationships, and studio economics.

Together, they’ll examine both the tactical realities and the philosophical implications of AI and AC: from machine-assisted mastering, metadata management, and workflow automation to emerging questions of neurodata, creative ownership, and the evolving balance between human artistry and intelligent systems.

As the recording industry navigates its role in establishing governance, trust frameworks, and new standards for authenticity and attribution, these studio leaders will share how they’re guiding their artists, teams, and labels through this pivotal transition — ensuring that the future of creativity remains human at its core.

A3E Music Entertainment Technology
A3E Music Entertainment Technology

Rob Christie (Moderator) | Republic Records* Studios Director | Universal Music Group

2 x Grammy Winning A&R Producer, former Staff Producer for EMI-Capitol Records.

*(Republic Records has been recognized by Billboard as the industry’s #1 label over the last 10 years. It is home to an all-star roster of multi-platinum, award-winning superstar artists such as: The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, Drake, Ariana Grande, John Legend, Post Malone, Metro Boomin, Stevie Wonder, among others.)

Saturday, January 24th, 2026; 2:00PM - 3:00PM Pacific Time; Hilton Anaheim, 4th Floor, Palos Verdes Room

A3E Workshop: Artist-First AI Workflows - Accelerating Creativity With Ethical Intelligence

As AI rapidly becomes embedded in the creative process, the question is no longer whether artists will use AI - but how these tools can respect originality, streamline production, and amplify artistic identity. Building directly on A3E’s focus on ethical AI development, this workshop offers a transparent look at how LANDR is designing AI systems that support, not replace, the creative human at the center.

Participants will explore real-world workflows that help artists move from idea to finished work faster and with greater confidence, including new creative assistants that respond to each artist’s unique sound. LANDR’s team will demonstrate how ethical dataset sourcing, consent-driven model development, and user-controlled decision-making can allow creators to harness AI while maintaining full ownership of artistic direction and identity.

Join members of LANDR’s leadership and product team to see how thoughtfully-designed AI can unlock more finished music, more artistic innovation, and a more sustainable creative future.

Daniel Rowland | Head of Strategy and Partnerships | LANDR

Daniel Rowland is a unique combination of audio engineer, music producer, tech executive, and educator. He is Head of Strategy and Partnerships at LANDR Audio, co-founder of online DAW Audiotool, and longtime instructor of Recording Industry at MTSU. For nearly a decade, his primary focus has been on the empowerment of music creators via LANDR’s ethical AI-driven tools and accessible design, sharing that message on dozens of panels and podcasts.

As a creative, he has worked on Emmy/Oscar-winning and Grammy-nominated music projects totaling 13+ billion streams for Disney/Pixar, John Wick, Star Wars, Marvel, Jason Derulo, Seal, Nine Inch Nails, Nina Simone, Flo Rida, Adrian Belew, Burna Boy, and hundreds of others.

Saturday, January 24th, 2026; 3:15PM - 4:15PM Pacific Time; Hilton Anaheim, 4th Floor, Huntington Room

AI for Music: Principles, Progress, and Challenges Ahead

Presented by Roland and Universal Music Group, founding supporters of the AI For Music initiative, this session overviews the latest noteworthy AI technology and licensing developments and explores how innovation can thrive without compromising human creativity. Hear from thought leading artists and music tech companies as they share insights on the reality of guiding AI innovation through policy, governance, and community collaboration, ensuring that music remains a deeply human art form in an AI-driven future.

A3E Music Entertainment Technology

BT | CEO | SoundLabs

BT is a music industry icon with an impressive 25+ year career as a Grammy-nominated producer, composer, technologist, and songwriter. His pioneering work in Trance and IDM laid the groundwork for modern EDM, and he’s also a classically trained composer and songwriter. BT’s signature plugins like Stutter Edit 1 & 2 for iZotope and Phobos & Polaris with Spitfire Audio have become essential tools for producers worldwide. BT has written, produced, and remixed for top artists such as David Bowie to Madonna, composed for films, and worked on groundbreaking projects like Tomorrowland’s music at Disneyland Shanghai and NFTs in web 3.

SoundLabs is a cutting-edge music production and software company founded by BT, Joshua Dickinson, Dr. Michael Hetrick and Lacy Transeau. With deep roots in the music industry, SoundLabs is poised to revolutionize music production with its next generation tools. This deeply dedicated team of veteran musicians and developers brings unparalleled expertise, having created award-winning plugins, groundbreaking albums, blockbuster film scores, and top-selling sound libraries. Blending human creativity with the vast power of AI, SoundLabs crafts intuitive, inspiring, and ethical tools that transform imagination into reality, redefining what is possible in music production.

Chris Horton | SVP Strategic Technology | Universal Music Group

Chris Horton, SVP Strategic Technology, leads Universal Music Group’s Office of Strategic Technology, which is responsible for the technology aspects of digital partner deals and for long-term strategic technology projects and policy. Chris has worked on UMG’s digital distribution deals for more than 25 years, including the first successful download and subscription services. Chris and his team collaborate with technology companies on the development of new music-related products and services, including high-resolution audio, stem-based formats, music-related AI, web3, AR/VR, anti-piracy and more. He has developed and co-founded various music industry standards and standards bodies, including DDEX. He currently leads UMG's AI Task Force and UMG's AI Review Team. Chris received his undergraduate and M.Eng. degrees in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Universal Music Group exists to shape culture through the power of artistry. UMG is the world leader in music-based entertainment, with a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising, and audiovisual content. Featuring the most comprehensive catalog of recordings and songs across musical genres, UMG identifies and develops artists and produces and distributes the most acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world. Committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship, UMG fosters the development of services, platforms and business models in order to broaden artistic and commercial opportunities for our artists and create new experiences for fans.

Paul McCabe | Senior Vice President of Research and Innovation, Roland Future Design Lab | Roland Corporation

Paul McCabe is the senior vice president of research and innovation at Roland Corporation with 32 years of dedicated service. McCabe has excelled in various leadership roles, including VP global marketing and multiple positions at Roland Canada, such as president & CEO, COO, product manager, and marketing communications manager. He co-authored "Principles for Music Creation with AI", a collaboration between Roland and Universal Music Group that underscores the responsible use of AI in the music creative ecosystem. His influence extends beyond this, as he plays a pivotal role in identifying, researching, and
developing concepts around emerging trends in culture, society technology, and creativity for Roland. A dedicated composer and IT enthusiast, McCabe is renowned for his expertise in AI for music and music creation technologies.

For more than 50 years, Roland’s innovative electronic musical instruments and multimedia products have fueled inspiration in artists and creators around the world. Embraced by hobbyists and professionals alike, the company’s trendsetting gear spans multiple categories, from pianos, synthesizers, guitar, drum and percussion, DJ controllers, audio/video solutions, gaming mixers, livestreaming products, and more. As technology evolves, Roland and its expanding family of brands, including BOSS, V-MODA, Drum Workshop (DW), PDP, Latin Percussion (LP), and Slingerland, continue to lead the way for music makers and creators, providing modern solutions and seamless creative workflows between hardware products, computers, and mobile devices.

Saturday, January 24th, 2026; 3:00PM - 4:00PM Pacific Time; Hilton Anaheim, 4th Floor, Palos Verdes Room

A3E Workshop: Expanding the Creative Toolkit: Unlocking New Dimensions of Musical Expression Through Sonification & Spatial Sound

Sonification transforms data into audio for discovery, communication, and accessibility of scientific information. Audification, a subset of sonification, translates data values directly into sound amplitudes and plays them back at various speeds to detect hidden features. Spatial sound adds literal dimension to these processes, leveraging psychoacoustics to help researchers catch patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed.

As AI, Artificial Creativity (AC), and neurodata-driven systems evolve, sonification is emerging as a powerful bridge between scientific exploration and artistic innovation. Platforms like Ableton, Max, Supercollider, Processing, Pure Data, and other multimedia production tools—core to today’s music technology ecosystem—can become instruments of scientific inquiry, while the sounds of science inspire new forms of data-driven music. Sonification researchers, technologists, and musicians will share real-world examples and explore how these methods are unlocking new dimensions of musical expression and expanding the creative toolkit for artists and innovators.

Kristina Collins (Moderator) | Research Scientist | Space Science Institute

Dr. Kristina Collins KD8OXT is a Research Scientist at the Space Science Institute, where she uses virtual reality and sonification to study interdisciplinary science questions in Earth system science. As the Chief Operations Scientist for the HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station Network, she coordinates with the citizen scientist maintainers of the network to identify events of interest, plan campaigns, and validate and curate data for scientific use. Her research interests center on using open-source hardware and software to broaden participation and accelerate progress in science and engineering. She is the 2025 recipient of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association's Technical Award, and a member of the American Geophysical Union, the Order of the Engineer and the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists. Outside of radio, her hobbies include sailing on Lake Erie and being largely ignored by her cats. At NAMM, she can generally be found at the 3D Music booth.

Robert Alexander | CEO | Auralab Technologies Inc.

Robert Alexander is the CEO and Co-Founder of Auralab, a company whose primary focus is to help individuals shift from surviving to thriving through transformational breathing technology. His work bridges inner space and outer space through technology, science, and art. As a NASA fellow, he developed the audification algorithms used by NASA’s CDAWeb archive to make the agency’s collective mission data available as sound, resulting in numerous publications in leading space physics journals. He is the principal investigator of the HEARTS project, which explores the impact of nature’s forces on human beings through interactive real-time data streams and multimodal displays. Before launching Auralab, Dr. Alexander served as Chief Innovation Officer at the University of Michigan and lectured on Sound Design and Psychology at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design. The Breathscape app, available free on iOS, supports deep states of relaxation and meditation through real-time biofeedback.

Saturday, January 24th, 2026; 4:15PM - 5:00PM Pacific Time; Hilton Anaheim, 4th Floor, Huntington Room

AI For Music Town Hall – Shaping the Future Together

Join us for an interactive town hall designed to bring together current supporters, prospective partners, and anyone passionate about the intersection of AI and music. Hosted by founding supporters Roland and Universal Music Group, this interactive session will provide a concise update on the AI For Music program, an update on the developing C2PA standard and how it is relevant to music creation tools, then open the floor for questions, ideas, and constructive dialogue. This is your opportunity to influence the next phase of the AI For Music initiative and connect with peers who share a commitment to responsible innovation with AI. The session concludes with a networking segment to foster collaboration and community.

Paul McCabe | Senior Vice President of Research and Innovation, Roland Future Design Lab | Roland Corporation

Paul McCabe is the senior vice president of research and innovation at Roland Corporation with 32 years of dedicated service. McCabe has excelled in various leadership roles, including VP global marketing and multiple positions at Roland Canada, such as president & CEO, COO, product manager, and marketing communications manager. He co-authored "Principles for Music Creation with AI", a collaboration between Roland and Universal Music Group that underscores the responsible use of AI in the music creative ecosystem. His influence extends beyond this, as he plays a pivotal role in identifying, researching, and
developing concepts around emerging trends in culture, society technology, and creativity for Roland. A dedicated composer and IT enthusiast, McCabe is renowned for his expertise in AI for music and music creation technologies.

For more than 50 years, Roland’s innovative electronic musical instruments and multimedia products have fueled inspiration in artists and creators around the world. Embraced by hobbyists and professionals alike, the company’s trendsetting gear spans multiple categories, from pianos, synthesizers, guitar, drum and percussion, DJ controllers, audio/video solutions, gaming mixers, livestreaming products, and more. As technology evolves, Roland and its expanding family of brands, including BOSS, V-MODA, Drum Workshop (DW), PDP, Latin Percussion (LP), and Slingerland, continue to lead the way for music makers and creators, providing modern solutions and seamless creative workflows between hardware products, computers, and mobile devices.

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