New York Media Festival Returns to Manhattan with 20+ Events and 200+ Speakers, September 26-29 Digital Media Wire’s Annual Event Connects Innovators & Influencers in...

Mikko Joined the Rovio Entertainment team in 2006 as chairman of the board and bounced around as CFO and EVP of corporate development before settling into his current role. Mikko’s background is in the software industry where he has served as a leader, founder and investor at multiple companies throughout his career. Digital Media Wire had the pleasure of conducting an interview with Mikko. We talked about his leadership philosophy, the start of his career, what Rovio brings to the entertainment table, and, of course, Angry Birds.

Music projects on Kickstarter are some of the most successfully funded according to Molly Neuman, Kickstarter’s first head of music. Molly’s diverse background in the world of music began as the former drummer of the band Bratmobile. She also co-owned the music label Lookout! Records and was the vice-president of the American Association of Independent Music before she was brought on to Kickstarter in January, 2016. Digital Media Wire had a chance to ask Molly some questions about her career, creative control on the Kickstarter platform, and how the music business always comes back to the people – the creatives, the fans, and the collaboration between all players that make these projects happen.

Andy Swanson is a veteran of 17 years in the gaming industry and the VP of eSports and events at Twitch. Andy got his start in 1998 at Future US where he eventually became publisher of PC Gamer, OXM and PSM. He moved onto Ubisoft and GameFly before landing at Twitch in 2013. As an early team member to Twitch, Andy was brought on to plan, evangelize and execute the strategy around brand sponsorships and integrations within Twitch’s eSports ecosystem. Digital Media Wire had the chance to ask Andy about Twitch, his inspiration, eSports and gaming culture in the interview below.

PluraVida is an emerging company at the forefront of the rights tech solutions movement for digital content distributors. Producers, distributors and everyone in between the concept-to-consumer pipeline are more abundant than ever and in need of ownership and monetary tracking technology to keep business straight. After two decades in the industry, PluraVida’s CEO and founder Sam Gilchrist sought to fill that need in 2014 when the company was established.

PledgeMusic is a direct-to-fan music platform that enhances the fan-artist dynamic from the creation of music to its experience in digital and live formats. The platform...

Concurrent Media Strategies, LLC, publisher of the Concurrent Media blog, and Digital Media Wire, Inc., producers of Digital Entertainment World and the New York...

The one-day event features 8 panels, 4 keynotes, 2 presentations, 1 roundtable and discussion groups as well as exhibits, demos and networking within the historic W Hollywood. This year, for the first time, the conference also includes a Virtual Reality Innovation and Networking Lounge, co-hosted by the Open Gaming Alliance, where attendees will meet with developers, investors and game and Hollywood execs, as well as see the latest demos from the industry’s up-and-coming VR/AR companies and interactive panel discussions.

The market for streaming video on demand (SVOD) is growing fast. A new report from Research and Markets predicted 306 million homes will use SVOD by 2020, up from an anticipated 161 million by the end of 2015. Moreover, by 2020, global SVOD revenue will reach $26,794 million, which is more than twice the total revenue expected in 2015. Many companies will successfully take advantage of this growing market, but others won’t make the cut. What makes a SVOD business successful?

Perhaps the biggest indication that we are in a truly exciting and transformational time was the final session of the day with Disney’s Chief Strategy Honcho Kevin Mayer, arguably one of the most powerful executives in digital entertainment today. During his tenure, Mayer has overseen Disney’s strategic acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Club Penguin and Maker Studios and oversees the Disney Accelerator, a program designed to accelerate the growth of startup companies from around the world.