Media Futurist, Keynote Speaker, Blogger & Author, Strategist
Basel Area, Switzerland
- Current
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- Principal & Producer at Broadband Culture
- CEO at MediaFuturist.com
- Past
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- Author at The End of Control Book
- Co-Author at "The Future of Music"
- Author at "Music2.0" Book
- CEO at Sonific
- Founder and CEO at ThinkAndLink (Sole Proprietorship)
- Chairman and Executive Producer at Popkomm Innovation in Music & Entertainment Awards
- Founder & President at The Digital Marketing Organization
- Vice President European Development at Musicrypt
- Founder and CEO at LicenseMusic.com Inc
- Education
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- Berklee College of Music
- Recommended
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81 people have recommended Gerd - Connections
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500+
connections
- Industry
- Internet
- Websites
Gerd Leonhard’s Summary
Watch Gerd at work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUrj7CJ0CUs
Gerd Leonhard (47) is a Media Futurist, Author, Speaker & Advisor. The Wall Street Journal calls Gerd one of the leading media futurists in the world. He is the Co-Author of the influential book "The Future of Music" (2005, Berklee Press), as well as the author of "Music2.0" (released 2/2008 www.music20book.com), and of "The End of Control" (ETA late 2008).
Gerd's background is in Music (he won the Quincy Jones Award in 1986 and is a graduate of Boston's Berklee College of Music) as well in Technology and the Internet (former CEO of LicenseMusic Inc, and CEO of Sonific.com).
Gerd's work focuses on the converging sectors of music / content and technology, communications, lifestyles and culture, and he is considered a leading expert on topics such as the future of media, (incl. broadcasting and the future of TV and Radio), Web'whatever'.0, social networking, online communities and UGC (user generated content), copyright trends, the digital content economy, convergence, globalization and other media-related mega-trends, mobility and mobile entertainment, the future of advertising, branding, marketing and PR, and digital privacy.
Gerd's keynotes, talks, videos and think-tank appearances are renowned for his hard-hitting, provocative yet inspiring and motivational style. With over 100 engagements in 23 countries during the past 3 years Gerd has addressed executive level audiences in the sectors of recorded music & music publishing, radio, TV, film/video and broadcasting, online gaming and virtual worlds, telecom & wireless, and advertising and branding. His client list includes companies such as SonyBMG, RTL, ITV, the BBC, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, Orange, The Financial Times, TribalDDB, the European Commission, Nokia-Siemens, Unisys, the NFL and many others. Gerd is a fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts (London), and resides in Basel, Switzerland.
Gerd Leonhard’s Specialties:
Digital Music, Internet, Futurism, Futurology, Web2.0, Future of Advertising, radio & broadcasting, attention economy, experience economy, digital rights, privacy, digital intrusion, DRM & CRM, P2P, superdistribution, music licensing, futurists, online networking and social software, music industry innovation, B2B exchanges, content e-commerce, digital music, venture financing, online marketing, viral campaigns, entrepreneurship, lecturing, Ted, music production, coaching, mentoring, Music2.0
Gerd Leonhard’s Experience
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Principal & Producer
Broadband Culture
(Internet industry)
December 2008 — Present (8 months)
A new project... more soon
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CEO
MediaFuturist.com
(Online Media industry)
April 2003 — Present (6 years 4 months)
Watch the video of my July 2008 Google Tech Talk presentation here: http://tinyurl.com/3w2xp7
Media Futurist, Keynote Speaker, Author, Blogger http://www.mediafuturist.com
The WSJ calls Gerd ‘one of the leading Media Futurists in the World’. Gerd’s work focuses on the Future of Media, Content, Technology, Business, Marketing, Advertising, Branding, Communications and Culture; and he is considered a leading expert on topics such as Social Media, Web 2.0, UGC and Peer Production, Social Networking, Copyright Trends, Convergence, Mobile Entertainment, and new Advertising and Branding Strategies.
Gerd’s keynotes and speeches keep him very busy, with over 70 engagements in 22 countries during the past 3 years. His clients include Nokia, SonyBMG, RTL, ITV, the BBC, France Telecom / Orange, DDB, Omnicom, the European Commission, and many others. -
Author
The End of Control Book
(Internet industry)
February 2007 — December 2008 (1 year 11 months)
The first 6 chapters of this book (Gerd's 3rd) were released for free downloading at www.endofcontrol.com in late 2007. Gerd recently changed the title to "Open is King - The Future of Media Beyond Control" and will publish the book as a paperback in late 2008. 'Open is King' will expand on the key topics introduced in Gerd's 2 music-centric books while elevating the debate out of the music realm and into media and 'content' at large. OiK addresses the single most important issue underlying many debates about the future of media: who controls what, why, when, and where, and how can digital content still generate revenues when most of the traditional ways of controlling its flow (i.e., distribution) are no longer available. The book argues that in the future, controlling distribution is replaced with earning, receiving, and maintaining ATTENTION; that in media’s future friction is fiction; and that the “people formerly known as consumers” now literally run the show.
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Co-Author
"The Future of Music"
(Online Media industry)
January 2005 — 2008 (3 years)
Some early praise for The Future of Music:
“Amid all the shouting and confusion, along comes The Future of Music, which in a calm and clear voice explains the essential issues roiling the music business today. Most importantly, this is written directly for musicians and their fans, rather than business people in the music industry. If you want to know what you're getting into as you develop your music career, and where music will be coming from in the future, you have to read this book.”
Gary Burton, Grammy-winning vibraphonist
I know of no other text that as beautifully and concisely presents the fundamental challenge that music now faces. This book is essential for anyone who wants to understand what is at stake in this debate."
-Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law, Stanford University and founder of Creative Commons. -
Author
"Music2.0" Book
(Music industry)
September 2007 — December 2008 (1 year 4 months)
February 19 2008: My new book, "Music2.0" is finally available both as a 'real' printed product, as well as a 'pay what you want' - pdf. Music2.0 is kind of like a 'Best of Gerd Leonhard' compilation, 227 pages filled with the best blog posts and juiciest essays from the past 4 years, slightly remixed and tweaked, riffing on that good old subject of the next generation of the music industry. It describes what the next generation of music companies will look and feel like, and gets even deeper into some of my favorite buzz-phrases such as Music Like Water and the Flat Rate for Music, Feels Like Free (FLF), the Usator, Friction is Fiction, and the People Formerly Known As Consumers. Oooops, yes, sorry for the geek-speak! ;(
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CEO
Sonific
(Online Media industry)
June 2005 — June 2008 (3 years 1 month)
Sonific was founded in July 2005, with the mission of making large catalogs of great music available for the many types of audio-visual usages on the Internet, both for private / non-commercial or promotional purposes, as well as for professional (B2B) users, and licensed products and services. Sonific's SongSpots™ service is our first B2C release, reflecting our philosophy that offering better tools for music discovery and providing new, free platforms of exposure is what will really sell music, going forward, and that the viral nature of the Internet is perfectly suited to help get the word out for new and established artists and their music. We also believe that many of today's 'digital natives' and 'peer-producers' want to personalize their web presences, customize the look and feel of their sites, integrate multimedia where they can, and will ultimately use the web as a fully interactive, 2-way, personalized, and therefore 'sonified' medium.
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Founder and CEO
ThinkAndLink (Sole Proprietorship)
(Sole Proprietorship; Myself Only; Online Media industry)
March 2003 — February 2006 (3 years)
I founded ThinkAndLink in March 2004, as a vehicle for my work with new ventures that seek financing and strategic partnership deals. ThinkAndlink.biz connects people, companies, and ideas.
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Chairman and Executive Producer
Popkomm Innovation in Music & Entertainment Awards
(Partnership; 1-10 employees; Music industry)
May 2004 — January 2006 (1 year 9 months)
IMEA, the annual ‘Innovation in Music and Entertainment Awards’ is held annually at Popkomm in Berlin / Germany (2005 date is September 14). Popkomm is one of Europe’s leading Music, Media & Entertainment - Industry tradeshows and conferences; IMEA is a wholly-owned brand of Popkomm, and is created, chaired and produced by ThinkAndLink / AllAccessGroup. IMEA’s mission is to find, screen and present the best new business ideas, the brightest entrepreneurs and the hottest startups in the music-, media- and entertainment-technology sectors, worldwide, and provide a new platform for their global ‘coming-out’. www.popkommawards.com
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Founder & President
The Digital Marketing Organization
(Privately Held; Myself Only; Online Media industry)
May 2003 — May 2005 (2 years 1 month)
The Digital Marketing Organization
Innovative solutions to marketing in a digital world
At the heart of each DMO mission is the 360-degree understanding of the client’s product and what it does for the customers. With that background, we develop unique ideas of how to efficiently reach out to the target groups by combining online & interactive initiatives with innovative offline approaches. By devising powerful marketing campaigns that embody this online-offline connection we can achieve the maximum effect in the shortest amount of time, and with serious impact on the bottom line.
DMO’s team, led Gerd Leonhard (DMO’s Founder and President, see www.gerdleonhard.com) offers a unique understanding and years of experience of doing business online, and knows how to use the Internet and other new technologies to power winning concepts for online marketing. DMO has the ability to come up with marketing tactics that transcend the boundaries of traditional and interactive marketing. -
Vice President European Development
Musicrypt
(Public Company; 11-50 employees; MCT; Online Media industry)
December 2003 — September 2004 (10 months)
European expansion
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Founder and CEO
LicenseMusic.com Inc
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Music industry)
January 1997 — May 2002 (5 years 5 months)
I was the Founder, President and CEO until May 2002. The company is now owned by a UK music licensing company. See www.gerdleonhard.com for more details...
Gerd Leonhard’s Education
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Berklee College of Music
Jazz Performance , Jazz, Guitar , 1986 — 1987
Quincy Jones Award Winner, 1985
- Activities and Societies:
- Guitar Composition Arranging Production
Additional Information
Gerd Leonhard’s Websites:
Gerd Leonhard’s Interests:
Social media, copyright, e-commerce, web2.0, cultural industries and policy, future of marketing, branding, Pull vs Push, online networking, communities, attention economy, digital media, music, guitars, web economy, media2.0, good food, gadgets, cultural economics, future of media, futurism, futurists, advertising, TV2.0, Future of Telecom, creativity, technology, entrepreneurship, education, widgets, innovation, advertising, trends, censorship, IPR, Telco2.0, cultural policy, books, future of reading, software
