Serona Elton serves as Head of Educational Partnerships for The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC). In this role, Elton directs The MLC’s efforts to engage future members of the music industry currently studying music business and related subjects at colleges and universities across the country and around the world.

With extensive experience as a music industry professional and educator, Elton is also a professor, Director of the Music Industry Program, and Associate Dean of Administration at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. In 2023, she was named Music Business Educator of the Year by the Music Business Association. She is also a Yamaha Master Educator.

Elton has worked for or with many top music companies including Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group, as an expert in licensing and royalties. She is co-author of the book Music Business Handbook and Career Guide (13th edition), and has contributed to news stories for NPR’s Marketplace, CNN.com, The New York Times Billboard and other outlets.

Elton has served as a president of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association (MEIEA), as a trustee of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A., as the chair of the Florida Bar Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Section, and on the Recording Academy, Florida Chapter, Board of Governors. She is also an alumnus of the Nashville-based Leadership Music program, and a licensed attorney in New York and Florida.