We are in the planning stages of MmX 2022 – more announcements to come!
Martin Atkins
Martin Atkins is the definition of entrepreneurial activity in cultural arts endeavors, his 35+ years in the music business spans across genres and borders and industries. He was a member of Public Image Ltd and Killing Joke. He founded industrial supergroup Pigface, The Damage Manual, and Murder Inc., and has contributed to Nine Inch Nails (for which he has a Grammy) and Ministry. He is the owner of Invisible Records and Mattress Factory Recording Studios (est. 1988). He is the author of “Tour:Smart, Welcome to the Music Business…You’re F*cked!”, “Band:Smart”, and is the new Music Industries Coordinator at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. Martin is a producer, drummer, documentary filmmaker, DJ, and father of four. Whatever the future of entrepreneurial music business education is, you can pretty much bet that he’ll be in the middle of it.
Wendy Day
Wendy Day is a bonafide badass in the rap game who has worked with Eminem, Lil Wayne, Master P, Twista, Hot Boyz and many more! She founded Rap Coalition, a not-for-profit organization that pulls artists out of bad contracts and helps them become successful. She offers her expertise through panel discussions, seminars, negotiations, mentorships, consultations, etc. She will be a keynote speaker talking about her accomplishments and how you can achieve your goals at the annual Midwest Music Expo.
Eddie Sanders
Eddie Sanders is a native Chicagoan who graduated from John Marshall Law School. He is a music attorney at Troglia Kaplan law firm in Chicago, Illinois. Eddie is truly a lawyer for musicians. That’s actually the name of his podcast “Lawyers 4 Musicians” that he does with Josh Kaplan. Eddie trademarked the phrase “Protect & Collect,” meaning artists should be protecting their art and collecting their money.
Last year, for MmX 2019, Eddie spoke at a panel on what he calls his contract crash course. Being an artist manager, operator of music distribution company Freshly Baked Records, and a deejay means Eddie understands the industry from many different points of view. Eddie is your go-to guy for all things music law!
Aly Swengel (Health and Wellness Panel)
Aly is the director of the Decatur Wellness collective, an organization that focuses on the wellness of its clients and the physical, spiritual, mental and financial health of its practitioners. As a therapist with a thriving full-time practice, Aly finds self care protocols vital to enduring wellness practitioners and wellness practices.
Aly Swengel began her wellness journey as a teenager in chronic pain and suffering from depression. At 16 year old, Eastern philosophy and yoga began to shift Aly’s physical and spiritual understanding of herself. Since 2008 Aly has studied yoga and massage therapy and worked in private practice to help others gain a deeper understanding of their physiology and how to manage their energy to create alignment in their nervous system and lives.