VersoFest’26 Panel Discussion: Coffee with the C-Suite: Creators, Technologists, and Music’s AI Frontier

Paul Sinclair, Chief Music Officer, Suno 

Paul Sinclair is a veteran music industry executive, serving as Suno’s first Chief Music Officer, bringing more than two decades of experience from senior leadership roles at Atlantic Records and Warner Music Group, where he led digital strategy, innovation, and artist development. In his new role, he guides how Suno’s AI-powered tools are integrated into songwriting and artist workflows and works to strengthen relationships with artists, rights holders, and the broader music industry. Sinclair has worked closely with major artists including Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Charli XCX, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Janelle Monáe, and Kelly Clarkson over the course of his career, helping bridge traditional and emerging music technologies.

Daniel Rowland, Vice President of Strategy and Partnerships, LANDR

Daniel Rowland is an eclectic Los Angeles–based music producer, audio engineer, tech executive, and educator, currently serving as Vice President of Strategy and Partnerships at LANDR and co-founder of Audiotool, while also teaching music tech at Middle Tennessee State University. He’s played a key role growing LANDR’s creator tools, AI mastering engine, and partnerships ecosystem to 7 million users. As a creative professional he produced the music for the Oscar-winning Pixar film Piper and has mixed and mastered multiplatinum/Grammy-nominated work for artists including Nine Inch Nails, Seal, Jhene Aiko, Gwen Stefani, Burna Boy, Nina Simone, and Flo Rida, as well as on dozens of major franchise soundtracks from Star Wars to Marvel and John Wick. He’s also been recognized as one of the top mastering engineers globally, speaks frequently on music technology and AI, and is a voting member of the Recording Academy (the Grammys).

Danny Newcomb, CEO and Co-Founder, Incantio

Danny Newcomb is a Seattle-based music industry veteran and entrepreneur with more than 35 years of experience as a songwriter, performer, and recording artist. His career has included collaborations with Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready in The Rockfords, a songwriting deal with Warner Chappell Music, and a recording artist contract with Lava Records. He is now the founder and CEO of Incantio, an AI-driven platform designed to transform how independent music is discovered and licensed for film, television, advertising, and digital media. By partnering with organizations such as American Association of Independent Music and platforms like DISCO, Newcomb is building a new infrastructure that allows independent artists to directly access global licensing opportunities. He is a passionate advocate for independent creators owning and monetizing their work — and believes technology will unlock a new era where independent music powers the soundtrack of modern media.

Sam Hendel, Managing Partner, Chord Music Partners and Dundee Partners

Sam Hendel is the Managing Partner of Chord Music Partners and Dundee Partners. He founded Chord in 2021 as a joint venture with Universal Music Group, which serves as Universal’s global catalogue acquisition vehicle. Today, Chord is one of the largest independent music rights platforms in the world, with a growing portfolio of more than 65,000 works spanning both legacy and contemporary artists, including The Weeknd, Fleetwood Mac, David Guetta, OneRepublic, John Legend, Diplo/Major Lazer, ZZ Top, and Morgan Wallen. The platform combines institutional capital with UMG’s unmatched global infrastructure, giving it unique access to premium deal flow, world-class active management, and long-term alignment with artists and rights holders. In addition to Chord, Hendel and his family have invested in media and cultural enterprises such as Knitting Factory Entertainment, Partisan Records, and Kino Lorber. He also founded JKBX (“Jukebox”) in 2022, a platform that allows catalogue owners and artists to democratize music royalties by offering shares of royalty streams as regulated securities to retail investors. Hendel’s career began in investment management, where he spent 20 years as president and portfolio manager of Easterly Investment Partners, specializing in merger arbitrage and event-driven strategies. He is also the co-founder of Dataminr, the world’s leading real-time AI company for event and risk detection, now valued at over $4 billion.

Dick Wingate, Music Industry Veteran

Dick Wingate is a veteran American music industry and digital entertainment executive with more than 40 years of experience spanning major label A&R, marketing, and pioneering work in digital music distribution and interactive technology. He is principal of DEV Advisors, a consulting firm advising tech companies, content owners, and artists. He has negotiated milestones such as the first digital download distribution licenses with major and independent labels while serving as SVP of Content Development at Liquid Audio and the earliest mobile music apps while Chief Content Officer at Nellymoser. Earlier in his career Wingate held senior roles at Columbia Records, Epic, PolyGram, Arista, and BMG, helping develop and market artists including Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Aimee Mann, Peter Tosh, Eddy Grant, Pink Floyd, Sarah McLachlan, and more, and he has been featured and quoted widely in outlets like The New York Times and Billboard. Wingate also holds lifetime membership in NARAS (the Grammys) and has long been recognized as a trailblazer at the intersection of music, technology, and industry innovation.