AIMP Panel

Place: View Map
Lawry's The Prime Rib
100 North La Cienega Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90211

From left, Alec Puro, Peter DiCecco, Alison Smith, Gary Gross and Alex Band.

Alex Band performs, along with musicians Maria Myrick and Sean Pike.

Photos by Liz Redwing, courtesy of Lawry's The Prime Rib.

Additional Speaker Information

The powerful, emotionally charged sound of Alex Band’s voice is immediately recognizable to millions of music lovers, thanks to chart-topping hits like "Wherever You Will Go," recently named the #1 Adult Pop Song of the Decade by Billboard, and "Why Don’t You & I" with Carlos Santana. As the lead singer and songwriter of The Calling, Alex achieved success with the release of two studio albums, Camino Palmero (2001) and Two (2004). As a solo artist he is well known for providing the vocals on the top 10 hit, "Why Don't You & I" with Carlos Santana in 2004. In 2008 Alex created his own record label, AMB Records, through which he released the five song Alex Band EP in 2008 as well as his debut full-length album in June 2010, We've All Been There. In 2011, Alex signed with Killer Tracks to write and perform an EP of original songs for worldwide licensing. Alex currently resides in Los Angeles where he is working on his next full-length album.

As the head of music for the Disney/ABC Television Group, Peter DiCecco oversees all deal making, business strategy, and legal affairs related to the production, acquisition and distribution of music for programming produced by or for ABC, ABC Studios, Disney Channels Worldwide, SoapNet, ABC Family, the ABC Owned Station Group, abc.com, ABC Business Development, and all of the Disney/ABC TV Group’s marketing and publicity departments. Peter structures music production and distribution budgets and sets all administrative and substantive music policy for top ranking TV franchises such as PHINEAS AND FERB, GREY'S ANATOMY, SCHOOL HOUSE ROCK and DANCING WITH THE STARS, and creates ancillary business opportunities for the music assets from such franchises. As part of his global responsibilities, Peter oversees music business and legal affairs for the Disney theme parks and resorts and for Disney’s TV productions produced worldwide, including those produced in Japan, Russia and India. He co-created and launched the ABC Music Lounge on abc.com and administers the music publishing catalogs for ABC and Oprah Winfrey/Harpo Productions. Peter is a member of the New York State Bar Association and is a Registered In-House Counsel in California. He was a prior member of the board of Directors for AIMP.

At the helm of Universal Publishing Production Music, the industry’s global leader in production music, Gary Gross oversees all aspects of the Company’s production music entities, managing more than 32 offices in various countries around the world. With a diverse and comprehensive portfolio of UPPM-owned repertoire, the Company's libraries include, FirstCom, Killer Tracks, MasterSource, and Network Music from the U.S.; Galerie, Koka Media and Kosinus from France; Match Music from Sweden; Edition UBM from Germany; RCAL from Italy; Vitamin A from Australia; and Atmosphere Music, Match Music, Bruton and Chappell in the U.K. UPPM has production music library operations throughout the world, including the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Benelux, Hungary, Italy, Scandinavia, South Africa, Australia, Spain, Greece, Turkey, and throughout Asia. UPPM is the preeminent supplier of high level production music and serves the burgeoning business that creates, produces, and licenses music for use in film/TV, advertising, broadcast and corporate clients. Owning both the Master and the Copyright for the composition, UPPM allows clients to license music both in an easy and affordable one-stop shop. Gary has also served as a board member on the PMA (Production Music Association) for the last nine years.(UPPM).

Spanning over fifteen years, Alec Puro’s experience includes session work early in his career playing alongside artists including Robby Krieger of The Doors and Jackson Browne. With his band Deadsy, he recorded Billboard hits and opened for marquee bands in sold out arenas such as Madison Square Garden. After several world tours, Alec changed his tune and began focusing on composing for film and TV. In addition to composing, Alec ventured into the music licensing business and founded Gramoscope Inc., creating an extensive catalog of music covering all genres for film and television. Composing music for film and TV, however, remains his prime focus. 2011 was a banner year for Alec. Two of the feature films he scored, “The Art of Getting By” and “Higher Ground”, the critically acclaimed directorial debut from Academy Award-Nominated Actress Vera Farmiga, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. More recently, Alec composed the original score for “Like Water”, which premiered at the Tribeca film festival in April 2011 and won the award for Best New Director.

Alison Smith is Senior Vice President, Performing Rights, the department that administers copyright performance royalties of BMI affiliates. She has the additional responsibility of managing the Writer/Publisher Administration & Research departments. During her tenure at BMI, Smith has piloted the development of online digital tools to benefit BMI affiliates and music customers. Considered an expert on performing rights administration, she has been a frequent guest speaker before such groups as the Society of Composers & Lyricists, the Association of Independent Music Publishers (New York and Los Angeles), the California Copyright Conference, the Church Music Publishers Association, the Production Music Association, and a number of performing rights organizations around the world. In addition to a handful of accolades from industry peers, Smith was honored two years in a row in Billboard’s Women in Music as a Top 30 Power Player. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Belmont University's School of Music Business.