Michael Huppe is a music industry executive and attorney who serves as president and CEO of

SoundExchange SoundExchange is an American non-profit collective rights management organization founded in 2003. It is the sole organization designated by the U.S. Congress to collect and distribute digital performance royalties for sound recordings. It pays f ...

, a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

collective rights management Collective rights management is the licensing of copyright and related rights by organisations acting on behalf of rights owners. Collective management organisations (CMOs), sometimes also referred to as collecting societies, typically represent ...

organization that provides technology solutions to make the business of music easier and advocates for fair music royalty compensation on behalf of its community of 570,000 creators. In his decade as SoundExchange CEO he has been a leader in driving the modernization of the music industry into the streaming era.

Career

Huppe began his career as a commercial litigator and joined

as its General Counsel in 2007, where he is now President and CEO. Huppe, who has been named multiple times to Billboard's Power 100 List, helped lead efforts for the passage of the

Music Modernization Act The Orrin G. Hatch–Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act, or Music Modernization Act or MMA (, ) is United States legislation signed into law on October 11, 2018 aimed to modernize copyright-related issues for music and audio recordings due t ...

, which was passed by Congress in 2018. In 2015, Huppe led a “contentious” effort to raise the rates music streaming companies pay to performers and creators for use of their work. The case went before the Copy Royalty Board. Huppe claimed the difference in proposed rates between existing industry standards and rates SoundExchange proposed could amount to up to $5 billion over a five-year period. Huppe is a member of the Community Advisory Board of The

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

and on the National Board of Trustees for T.J. Martell Foundation.

Education

Huppe received his bachelor's degree from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

in 1990 and a JD from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1995.

Personal

Huppe lives in

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

with his wife Maria, their beloved two children, and two dogs, Lulu and Murphy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huppe, Michael 1968 births Living people American music industry executives University of Virginia alumni Harvard Law School alumni