Michael Eames is a trained composer, songwriter and pianist with experience in film scoring who studied music at Cornell University and UCLA Extension; Michael also secured a minor in Business Management from Cornell. As President of PEN, Michael oversees all aspects of the operation as well as focuses on pitching the catalogue to all media and business development. Michael was chosen to serve (along with four other independent music publishers and five songwriters) on the Unclaimed Royalties Oversight Committee (UROC) of The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) that will commence blanket mechanical licensing of the digital services in the U.S. as of January 1, 2021. Prior to starting PEN, Michael oversaw the international activities and film & television department of Don Williams Music Group where he was responsible for song catalogues such as Jimi Hendrix, Chicago and Roy Orbison among numerous others. He also worked previously for Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys and the management and music supervision firms The Derek Power Co and Seth Kaplan Entertainment. Michael served as the National President of the Association Of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) from 2015-2018 and served as its National Vice President from 2013-2014, and proudly serves on the Independent Publishers Advisory Council (IPAC) of the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA). He is also a member of the California Copyright Conference (CCC) and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). Michael wrote the music publishing section of the Hal Leonard/Rowman & Littlefield-published book entitled Five Star Music Makeover: The Independent Artist’s Guide for Singers, Songwriters, Bands, Producers and Self Publishers; co-teaches (with Bobby Borg) the UCLA Extension class Intro To Music Publishing: A Creative And Business Perspective; and is a frequent guest speaker in classrooms and panel discussions worldwide.