Name: 🚀 CAN YOU HANDLE THE TRUTH? - Marketing
Start: 2026-04-24T15:20:00-0400
End: 2026-04-24T16:00:00-0400

Individual showcase stage tickets linked in each performance slot. Weekend Badges for Conference & Festival admission can be found at https://www.launchmusicconference.com/lancaster/

🚀 CAN YOU HANDLE THE TRUTH? - Marketing

Friday April 24, 2026 3:20pm - 4:00pm EDT

CommonWealth Ballroom 3

A new twist on our most popular panel!! How confident are you in your band image and marketing? How much do you want real feedback from people who work with bands every day? The panel reviews artist submissions PUBLICLY with brutally honest feedback. How’s the band name? The logo? The photos and artwork? The website? The social posts? What is the band doing right, and what can they improve on?

Speakers

Ashlyn Bruni

Hopeless Records

Randy Nichols

President & CEO, Fly South Music Group, Force Media Managment

Randy Nichols has guided artists to multiple Gold records and Grammy nominations. He is regularly invited to speak about artist management, live streaming, merchandise, and technology at conferences including SXSW, CMJ, LAUNCH Music Conference, Montauk Music Festival, as well as multiple... Read More →

Joe Caviston

Social Media / Online Marketing, Screaming Infidelities

Joe Caviston is a seasoned digital marketing expert, live event promoter, and logistics mastermind. With a wealth of experience in the Tri-state area and DMV, he currently provides top-tier marketing consulting for some of the region's leading music venues and promoters. Joe is also... Read More →

Kevin Sutton

Founder, 11:22 MMG, 11:22 Solutions

Kevin C. Sutton - A native of Brooklyn, NY, has been in sales, marketing and advertising for over 20 years. He is a proud alumnus of both Milton Hershey School, and Grambling State University, where he received his degree in Mass Communications. He has amassed over 10 million dollars... Read More →

Brooks Dawson

Director of Tour Marketing, Foundations Artist Management

Brooks Dawson is a seasoned entertainment industry professional with extensive experience in tour marketing, artist management, and live event promotion. Currently serving as the Director of Tour Marketing at Foundations Artist Management, Brooks oversees marketing strategies for... Read More →

Jason Spiewak

CEO and Founder, Noble Steed Music

Once dismissed by The Village Voice as a “bitter, jaded alterna-Billy Joel,” NYC’s Jason Spiewak is a veteran of the music industry, celebrated for his thoughtful songwriting and dynamic piano performances. His first solo release in 21 years, Wash Me Clean, marks a defining... Read More →

Lou Plaia

Founder, Artist Services Specialist, Hot Rats Entertainment

Plaia launched Hot Rats Entertainment in 2022 to provide consulting and various artist services for solo Artists, Bands, Songwriters, Producers and Managers. At Hot Rats, he also manages the Spinefarm/Universal recording artist, Deadlands, a female-fronted metalcore band.
From... Read More →

Dr. Ulf Oesterle

Director of Marketing; Professor, After Dark Presents; Murray State University

Ulf Oesterle has spent a career operating at the intersection of the music business and higher education. Oesterle spent nearly two decades teaching at Syracuse University while also managing artists, running an independent record label, curating and hosting a commercial specialty... Read More →

BLASKO

Management, Branding, Mentoring, Consulting

Blasko is one of the rare figures who has lived in the music industry from every angle. He built a multi-decade career around one thing: his passion for heavy metal, turning it into a life on global stages with Ozzy Osbourne and Rob Zombie, managing Grammy-winning artists, and helping... Read More →

Laura Catana

Director of Content & Social Media Strategy, Symphonic

Laura Catana is a passionate advocate for independent artists, with a career rooted in empowering musicians to take control of their creative journeys. As the co-founder of Cuba’s first independent urban music label, Guámpara Music, she discovered her interest in artist management... Read More →

Monika Julien

Education, Drexel University

Friday April 24, 2026 3:20pm - 4:00pm EDT
CommonWealth Ballroom 3

Conference

LAUNCH Music Conference & Festival 2026