“Financing Fanfare: Music Catalog Investments and Sales”

Moderator:
Janelle Hawkes | Publishing Royalty Manager, beatBread

Panelists:

Samantha DeSpirito | Royalty Analyst, Tri-Star Sports & Entertainment
Spencer LeBoff | SVP – Head of Publishing/Acquisitions, Avex Music Group
Megan Pekar | Attorney at Law, Loeb & Loeb LLP

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Biographies

Janelle Hawkes | Publishing Royalty Manager, beatBread

Janelle Hawkes has worked in the entertainment industry for almost twenty years. She began working at CMT and BMI in Nashville, specializing in licensing and programming, building a wide knowledge of rights administration. Returning to New York, Janelle took on business, licensing, and production roles in television & film for ABC, Warner Brothers, Showtime, and independent film companies. In 2013, Janelle joined the Harry Fox Agency, leading the Licensing and Data Management teams, and later took on the position of Director of Copyright Administration & Licensing with BMG, specializing in navigating the ever-changing landscape of music rights. Parlaying that experience while widening her scope of knowledge, Janelle was the first Contract & Royalty Analysis for Loeb & Loeb, LLP, while maintaining administrative relationships with a number of songwriters throughout Nashville.

In 2024, Janelle took up the role of Publishing Royalty Manager for beatBread, helping to value, fund, and propel the careers of independent artists and writers forward alongside an innovative team across the country. Janelle recognizes the value of a song, and uses her knowledge of licensing, registrations, copyright, and contracts on her true mission of supporting songwriters, artists, and anyone with a creative spark in their careers!

Samantha DeSpirito | Royalty Analyst, Tri-Star Sports & Entertainment

Samantha DeSpirito is a Royalty Analyst at Tri Star Sports and Entertainment, a business management firm with offices in Nashville and Los Angeles.

Samantha studied Music Business and Entertainment Industries at the University of Miami graduating in 2011. After working in the nonprofit sector in Miami, she moved to Nashville in 2020 where her nonprofit and business management experience led her to working in Royalty Processing as a Senior Coordinator at BMG.

In her current role as a Royalty Analyst at Tri Star Sports & Entertainment she gets to work with all elements of royalty administration including registrations, processing royalties, income tracking and catalog valuation and sales.

Spencer LeBoff | SVP – Head of Publishing/Acquisitions, Avex Music Group

Spencer LeBoff is a senior music executive and investor specializing in music publishing, catalog acquisitions, and rights monetization. He currently serves as SVP / Head of Publishing/Acquisitions at Avex Music Group, where he oversees global publishing strategy, A&R, and catalog investments, and previously held leadership roles at beatBread, BMG Rights Management, and Warner Music Group.

Across his career, Spencer has deployed capital into dozens of music catalogs, structured complex rights transactions, and built data-driven valuation models focused on long-term cash flow durability. He is also an active entrepreneur, developing infrastructure and technology solutions to improve royalty transparency, administration, and monetization for creators and rights holders worldwide.

Megan Pekar | Attorney at Law, Loeb & Loeb LLP

Megan Pekar is an entertainment lawyer whose practice focuses on the representation of songwriters in music catalog sales, music publishing and administration matters, and negotiating songwriter representation and other entertainment-related agreements.

Megan Pekar moved to Nashville in 2012 to attend Belmont University, where she graduated with a double Bachelors of Business Administration in Music Business and Accounting. While attending Belmont, Megan began her music industry career as an intern at Big Loud Bucks and Round Hill Music. She went on to work in Copyright Administration at Round Hill, where she handled mechanical licensing, copyright registration, counterclaims and proper registration for Round Hill’s Nashville catalog at the respective performing rights organizations in the US and Canada.

In 2017, Megan attended Belmont University College of Law and graduated Cum Laude in 2020. While at Belmont Law, Megan clerked at Dickinson Wright, where she was exposed to the catalog sale process and various aspects of entertainment law. After graduating law school, Megan joined Loeb & Loeb’s entertainment department where she currently practices as a transactional entertainment attorney. Megan’s current practice includes drafting and negotiating various entertainment related agreements, as well as complex due diligence and catalog valuations, for her clients.

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