ABOUT
Panos A. Panay serves as President for the Recording Academy®. In his role, Panay drives business growth across the entire organization to further expand the service offerings for Academy members and the industry. With a focus on identifying new partnerships, global expansion and leveraging new technologies, he drives strategic advancement for the Academy’s objectives and fosters a culture of innovation.
Prior to joining the Recording Academy, Panay served as the senior vice president for Global Strategy and Innovation at Berklee College of Music and is a fellow at MIT Connection Science. At Berklee, he led the development and execution of the college's overarching strategic plan; founded the Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship; oversaw its campuses in New York City, Valencia (Spain) and Abu Dhabi, as well as the Music + Health and India Exchange Institutes; and steered new partnerships, program development and the incorporation of new technologies. He also led Berklee's expansion to China and the K-12 sector. Prior to Berklee, Panay was founder and CEO of Sonicbids, the leading platform for emerging artists to connect with music promoters, resulting in over 1 million gigs booked in over 80 countries around the world. He led the company for 13 years until after its successful acquisition in 2013. He started his career as a talent agent and vice president at The Kurland Agency, booking the international tours for GRAMMY®-winning artists such as Pat Metheny, Chick Corea and Branford Marsalis.
Panay has been recognized in Fast Company's Fast 50, Inc Magazine's Inc 500, Mass Hi-Tech All Stars, and Boston Globe's Game Changers. For his work with Sonicbids, Panay was also profiled in the book Outsmart by best-selling author Jim Champy and spoke at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland as part of his work with Open Music. He has been a guest on programs such as CNBC's "Squawk Box" and a guest writer about entrepreneurship for Forbes, Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Fast Company, and Inc Magazine, among others. He is a public speaker at many universities and events around the world. His first book Two Beats Ahead: What Musical Minds Teach Us About Innovation, co-authored with R. Michael Hendrix of IDEO, was released in April 2021 and was named as a business book of the month by the Financial Times.
Panay holds a music business & management degree from Berklee College of Music and studied for an EMBA at Brown University/IE Business School.
PANELS
The Next Era of Music - One on One: Recording Academy President Panos A. Panay & RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier
At a moment of extraordinary opportunity—and profound change—for music, two of the industry’s most influential leaders come together for a wide-ranging conversation about what comes next. RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier and Recording Academy President Panos A. Panay will explore the forces reshaping the global music ecosystem, from AI and emerging technologies to creator rights, copyright, advocacy, public policy and the evolving economics of the business.
Together, they’ll consider how the industry can best navigate music’s next chapter—balancing innovation and responsibility, ensuring creators participate meaningfully in the value they generate, and building a vibrant, sustainable music economy for generations to come.
Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 5:15 PM