Patrick Sullivan, President & CEO - RightsFlow
Mr. Sullivan is a founding member and serves as President and CEO of RightsFlow. RightsFlow offers Outsourced Mechanical Licensing & Royalty Solutions for labels, distributors, and online music services. We specialize in obtaining bulk mechanical, DPD, and ringtone licenses including streaming, tethered, and limited downloads rights. Our proprietary “FLOW” system allows us to license, account, and pay royalties directly to the Harry Fox Agency (HFA) and the thousands of publishers not represented by HFA. Today, RightsFlow services over 1,000 labels for mechanical and DPD licensing. Some of the many clients we service include marquee companies such as EMI Music, Muzak, Active International, Artspages, CD Baby, Mint Records, IODA, Pandigital, TV Land, TouchTunes, One Italia, YouLicense, Constellation Wines (Blackstone), X5 Music Group, Zebralution, 180 Music, La Cupula Music, C.A.M. Original Soundtracks, BFM Digital, and Disc Makers, among others. For more information on RightsFlow’s services and management team, visit http://www.rightsflow.com.
Separately, Mr. Sullivan holds a seat at the Board of Directors at World Hunger Year (WHY). Patrick is also a member of the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) Publishing Committee. He helps the organization with issues dealing with publishing. A2IM represents a broad coalition of music labels to promote sector opportunity and enhance the market share of its combined membership.
He is one of the music industry’s foremost authorities on digital music and rights negotiations – a wide expertise including such areas as: mobile, media, advertising and brand special products. He is a leader in strategic thinking and has been at the forefront of music industry evolution throughout his 17 year career. Mr. Sullivan was a key player in negotiating the licensing agreements that permitted the launch the majority of the online music and mobile services that make up the market today. Mr. Sullivan has worked as an expert witness for clients in major high profile copyright cases adjudicated in the courts.
He provides senior level strategy and guidance and expertise to developing as well as Fortune 500 clients. He has extensive experience managing domestic and international profitable sales operations and businesses. Patrick has built high performing teams in the areas of Licensing & Royalties, Business Intelligence, Digital Content Management, the Program Management Office, Quality Assurance Testing, and Application Development.
He has worked with a variety of world-class company’s that have relied on Patrick to help shape their vision and then manage teams to execute projects that turn business strategy into reality. Experience and working relationship with senior-level executives and board members from major film, music, advertising & brand companies including: Warner-Zebralution, IODA, EMI Records, Muzak, Corbis, Hallmark, Mark Burnett, Mint Records, Disc Makers, CD Baby, Active International, Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos, Madison Square Garden, Target, Jaguar, 20th Century Fox, NBC Universal Films & TV, Lionsgate, Eights Mile Style (Eminem), Fox Interactive (MySpace), YouTube, Real Networks, Apple iTunes, Cingular, Verizon, SonyBMG, Vivendi-Universal, Warner Music Group, P&G, Euro, Saatchi & Saatchi, PMH, AMV-BBDO, BBH, DDB, JWT/Team Detroit and the majority of music right societies and independent music labels and publishers.
Over the past several years, he served as a dual Vice-President of Licensing and Music Services for both The Orchard (NASDQ: ORCD) & eMusic. At eMusic, Mr. Sullivan was responsible for designing and directing one of the largest independent DPD licensing operations in the world. His guidance in this field was crucial to the development of eMusic’s retail strategy, vastly increasing the amount of product available for sale. Additionally, through bulk licensing practices, he was able to simultaneously reduce overhead costs and potential liability. While at The Orchard, Mr. Sullivan was responsible for the creation and management of Orchard Music Services, a division which included publishing administration, mobile negotiations, mechanical licensing and administration, ringtone licensing and administration, synchronization exploitations, and the creation of new licensing models. His efforts transformed the company into a unique entity in the digital space.
Prior to The Orchard, he was a Strategic Licensing Consultant for Selverne, Mandelbaum, & Mintz, a New York based Entertainment Law Firm. His projects included full licensing services for RoweAmi: negotiating and securing all publishing licenses as well as designing and implementing a licensing department from a start up into a fully functional operational role. In addition, he has worked as a consultant for the law firm Paul Weiss, RealNetworks, and many media and entertainment companies.
From 1999-2004 he served as the Director of Research and Development at the National Music Publisher's Association/Harry Fox Agency (HFA), where he managed industry negotiations, internal corporate policy matters, new media, and public relations for the member organization. While there, he worked on crucial industry issues such as the Supreme Court case of MGM v. Grokster, industry litigation against MP3.com, Napster, and the recent settlement of Bertelsmann with NMPA.
Mr. Sullivan is a former Teaching Fellow from New York University (1997-2000) and is currently an Adjunct Faculty Member at Hunter College’s Film & Media Department, a position he has held since 2003. He frequently lectures at corporations, universities, and conferences around the world about intellectual property and copyright. He holds a Bachelor of Science from SUNY New Paltz and graduated with honors from New York University with a Masters Degree in Business.
Specialties:
Negotiations, Legislative Affairs, Solutions Architecture, Licensing and Royalty Development, Business and Technology Integration Catalyst, Digital Content Management, Program Management, Technology Strategy, Business Development, Technology Vendor Negotiation, Business Intelligence, Business Strategy, Quality Assurance, Technology Mergers and Acquisitions
Speaking engagement highlights in 2008:
•  Popkomm
•  Digital Music Forum West & East
•  Digital Hollywood
•  Canadian Music Week
•  SanFran Music Tech
•  DCIA P2P - several
•  Canadian Music Week
•  NYU Music & Media Summit
•  SanFran Music Tech
•  New Music West