About
Based on the belief that an artist should own their fan relationship and data, ArtistVerified also provides fans with the first app of its kind allowing music fans the ability to own their own self-sovereign digital identity through which they can be rewarded for their level of fan engagement with things like token-gated ticket presales and unique merch and content.
Founders
John has worked for major leaders in the space including Ticketmaster and Warner Music Group as well as many startups as founder, employee and advisor.
From an early age, John has had a deep passion for music, both as artist and fan. After spending most of his teens and twenties as a touring musician and college student,
John turned his passion toward helping other artists grow their careers. His unique perspective has helped him to excel in numerous areas within the music industry including Artist Management, Production, Artist Services, Radio and Ticketing.
John has worked for major leaders in the space including Ticketmaster and Warner Music Group as well as many startups as founder, employee and advisor.
John is known and trusted in the music industry as someone who understands the overall ecosystem and where it can be improved, and his extensive network of industry veteran and expert friendships is a testament to his work ethic and reputation. ArtistVerified is a culmination of everything John has worked toward in the Artist and Fan space.
Baden has been instrumental in the development of multiple successful technology products and services over 25 year career as a product, engineering, operations and business leader.
Baden has been instrumental in the development of multiple successful technology products and services over 25 year career as a product, engineering, operations and business leader.
His experience covers a wide range of domains including information security, trust and safety, defi/embedded fintech, blockchain, machine learning and AI, document storage and encryption, energy and carbon analytics, video analytics and image processing, semantic technologies, real-time distributed data analysis, software security and assurance, network operations and services, and application-specific integrated circuits (hardware).
He has been a founder, CTO several times over, both VP and Director of Engineering, Principal Engineer, CPO and VP Product, Product Manager, COO, VP Strategic Development, Principal Analyst and Consulting Director. ArtistVerified uniquely leverages Baden’s extensive experience in secure, cloud-based data and service integration; his proven ability to form and effectively manage diverse, distributed, hybrid and high-performing technology teams; his collaborative approach in building technology-enabled business partnerships; and complements his lifelong interest in a very diverse range of music.
Advisors
talent relations, integrated marketing consultant
Maria Gironas, Forbes 30 Under 30 Honoree, has followed two north stars throughout their career: elevating marginalized communities and empowering creatives to embrace technology.
Over the past 10+ years, these pillars have guided their career through companies that span the entertainment and tech industries such as Reybee, Fender, YouTube, Q&A, Human Re-Sources, and Reddit. In their career, they has worked with top artists like BTS, Isaiah Rashad, Kano, Arlo Parks, Freya Ridings, Julia Michaels, Lauv, Nick Cave, Logic, Flume, Mike Posner, Post Malone, The Black Keys, and internet favorites like T-Pain, Therapy Gecko, Madilyn Bailey, and Rick Astley.
As an entertainment and technology executive, they value driving positive change through empowering creators and building community. Currently, they are the Founder of their own company – Cool Shit, Cool People – where they continue these missions by working on artist development, talent relations, and integrated marketing with clients like Wide Eyed Entertainment, Good Party, Showcase, ShowUp, VLVT Tree and more. Outside of their work, they are the Global Chair of Diversity & Inclusion at Women In Music where they work to create sustainable change for women in music at all stages of their careers.
music-entertainment and brands
Bruce Hamilton is the Founder & General Partner of Everybody Ventures. He is passionate about using his entrepreneur experience, business development, marketing and creative background to develop brands and help them scale.Bruce previously served as Co-founder / General Partner of Mech Ventures, a $10M early stage venture fund investing in companies building the future of pop culture. He’s also a serial entrepreneur that has built and scaled several companies leading to one acquisition. As a marketing executive and CMO, he helped lead House of Glue, an art e-commerce company, to a successful acquisition.
During his career in the music industry, Bruce was an A&R at Sony Music / Epic Records where he worked with artists such as Travis Scott, Fifth Harmony, and several others. He was also the Founder & CEO of Samurai Entertainment, a talent management firm representing artists, producers and songwriters.Bruce and his work has been featured in publications such as Forbes, TechCrunch, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Complex, Black Enterprise, Fader, Buzzfeed, Vibe Magazine, The Verge, AfroTech, The Independent, Rolling Out Magazine, and more.
Alex Medana is a global executive with 20+ years of experience in the capital markets and fintech industry.
He is a repeat blockchain entrepreneur since 2015 with one exit, advocating technology-driven innovation towards more user-focused financial services and broader participation.
Bass Player for Ozzy Osbourne & Rob Zombie,
Artist Manager
Also known as “Blasko”, Rob Nicholson has established himself in numerous verticals across the entertainment space as a pioneer and visionary in rock/metal music, artist management and brand marketing.
Rob played bass for both Rob Zombie and Ozzy Osbourne for many years and started Mercenary Management where he managed Black Veil Brides among others. He currently operates BRXND Marketing where he oversees the entertainment sector marketing/branding for Liquid Death Mountain Water. Rob is also a board member of Kitten Rescue, LA.
and Fan Digital Marketing Specialist
Rian Rochford has been marketing to music fans for 20 years, holding various positions at indie / major record labels, music technology companies and artist management.
It was her role as Head of Artist Relations NY for Topspin in 2010 that shifted her focus to cater to the direct to fan relationship, which is where her speciality has remained since, spearheading e-commerce operations, product development, and D2C marketing for artists such as Ghost, Denzel Curry, Nancy Sinatra, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Robert Glasper, Manchester Orchestra, and many more.
Rian is currently VP Artist Brand Development & Merchandising at Loma Vista Recordings.
Steve Stewart is a serial entrepreneur and music industry expert. As the CEO & Co-Founder of Vezt, he developed the first platform to fractionalize song rights, giving people the ability to participate in the royalties of their favorite songs.
Steve is also the CEO & Co-Founder of SongHub - a creative collaboration platform that allows songs to be registered with publishers and performing rights organizations, and tokenized directly for tracking and future monetization.
He is also the Co-Founder of Futureworlds, a new startup, working with iconic venues, brands and real estate in the metaverse. With more than 20 years of professional experience in the music, tech and television industries, Steve is the former personal manager of Grammy award-winning, multi-platinum alternative rock band Stone Temple Pilots, managing their career from their inception through their fifth major label release on Atlantic Records.
As CEO of Steve Stewart Management, he negotiated and secured major label record and publishing contracts on behalf of approximately 20 recording artists.
Steve has also held COO positions at tech startups - GoYodel (retail deal bundler) and SportsBuddyz (sports video platform), as well as Head of Business Development at SURKUS (social engagement app).
Michael was head of Global Portfolio Management within the Global Fixed Income team in Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM).
In this role, he was responsible for leading the global team of portfolio managers that oversee multi-sector portfolios.
Previously, Michael was a senior portfolio manager and co-head of the US Fixed Income group. He joined the firm in GSAM in 2007 as a managing director and head of Structured Products. Michael was named partner in 2012.
Prior to joining the firm, Michael was a senior managing director in charge of Friedman, Billings & Ramsey’s (FBR) Fixed Income Sales & Trading Division. Prior to FBR, he was the vice president and head of the Securities Sales and Trading Group at Freddie Mac.
Michael earned a BA in Politics and Economics from Brandeis University, a General Course Degree from the London School of Economics and an MA in International Economics and Finance from the Lemberg School at Brandeis University.
and International Markets Specialist
Michelle previously ran business development at music analytics company Chartmetric. Today she advises artists, producers, songwriters and music-tech startups on digital strategy, data and analytics, and the global music business through her own consultancy. She is passionate about advancing music cross-culturally on an international scale with a focus on emerging markets and is keen on empowering the next generation in music.
Michelle studied psychology, mental health, and entertainment business at NYU before transitioning into the music industry. Currently based in Amsterdam, she’s previously lived in New York, Singapore, and Shanghai.
