Executive Team
Daniel Klaus, CEO
At 18 years old, Klaus founded Passion Music Group, an independent Canadian label and music publisher, establishing himself as a successful entrepreneur and business leader in the music industry from an early start. Designing Passion Music Group’s model to allow creative freedom for its artists, Klaus served as president and CEO until their catalog was acquired by BMG Music in 1998. Most recently before co-founding Music Nation, Klaus co-founded and served as CEO/President of Fabric Group, an innovative media strategy firm advising on digital content strategy, artist development, rights issues, and music publishing. With the company, Klaus developed content services and negotiated agreements for technology and content companies. Fabric Group’s other clients included Bertelsmann, MusicMatch, Sony Pictures Mobile, Cheyne Capital Management, Goldman Sachs, Verizon and Yahoo!. Klaus also launched BrandFarm, an incubator that accelerated business for companies such as Room 12 and 911Gifts.com (Red Envelope).
Lucas Mann, CMO
Mann has proven himself to be a driven entrepreneur at a young age, having already spent time as a tour manager, artist manager, label marketer, consultant, and company president prior to co-founding Music Nation. He formed Mann Media Partners, a Los Angeles-based consultancy firm, where he developed new entertainment product distribution strategies and offered brand and design consulting for clients including Warner Bros. Records, EMI, and Entertainment Distribution Corporation, among others. Mann was also president of Clique Inc./Sparkart LLC, the award-winning new media company focused on the relationship between product, design, and user experience, finding and developing additional revenue streams for entertainment brands through websites, fanclubs, merchandise, and new technologies. Mann’s clients included artists and labels such as The Killers, Eminem, Madonna, 50 Cent, UMG, and WMG. Beginning his career in the new media group at Capitol Records, Mann moved on to be a tour consultant (Alanis Morrissette, Tori Amos), a consultant to California Senator Barbara Boxer (regarding digital rights management and artists’ rights), artist manager (Dishwalla), and label marketer (Island/Def Jam, Warner Bros. Records).
Kevin P. Ryan, Chairman
Kevin Ryan, one of Silicon Alley's most well-known Internet entrepreneurs, has started five New York-based businesses – Music Nation, ShopWiki, Silicon Alley Insider, Panther Express, and Gilt Groupe – in the past two years. He presently serves as CEO of Alley Corp, a network of affiliated companies that oversees and operates each of the five companies, and also serves as CEO of Panther Express, a content delivery network.
Prior to Alley Corp, Kevin was first president then later became CEO of DoubleClick. There, he was instrumental in building the company from a 20 person startup to a global leader with over 1500 employees. Silicon Alley Reporter voted DoubleClick "New York Company of the Year" and Kevin was named one of the "50 Most Influential Business People" by Crain's New York Business .
Aside from his professional responsibilities, Kevin serves on the boards of the Human Rights Watch and the NYC Investment Fund and is a member of the Insead International Council, the Yale International Council and the Council on Foreign Relations. He previously served on the boards of the Direct Marketing Association, The Ad Council and Hotjobs, and the advisory board of Doctors Without Borders.
Kevin received a B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from Insead.
Peter Read, Managing Director (UK and Europe)
Peter Read, also a Music Nation co-founder, is a major player in the entertainment industry in the U.S., UK, and Europe, having served as president of VNU/Nielsen Entertainment Group, which is comprised of NRG (National Research Group), BDS (Broadcast Data Systems), EMS (Entertainment Marketing Solutions), and SoundScan. Read lead VNU’s acquisition of NRG and also served on the NRG Board with responsibility for growth strategy, corporate development, and new products. In addition to Music Nation, Read also currently owns and runs Entertainment Insights Limited, a data-driven advisory business helping clients to understand and anticipate entertainment trends and ‘passion points’ as well as to identify, plan, and evaluate entertainment partnerships. There Read’s clients include MTV Europe, SonyBMG, EMI, and V2 Records, among others. Prior to VNU, Read was a member of the founding team of Spectrum Strategy Consultants, a start-up consultancy focused on strategic issues in media, entertainment, information services, telecommunications, and the Internet. Read’s prior experience includes positions at Booz Allen & Hamilton’s International Media Practice, Innovative Communications Europe LTD, and HSBC. Read also sits on the Board of Directors for Mobix Interactive (London) and Entertainment Insights (London); the Board of Advisors for Live Planet (Los Angeles), among others; and has served as an advisor to Skype, Fandango, Yahoo! Music, Knitting Factory, Orange, and Nokia.
Kevin Malone, General Manager/COO
Kevin Malone has spent nearly 20 years in the technology and digital media arena. After starting in sales with IBM, Kevin went on to work at Control Data and Silicon Graphics and managed business development activities in over 20 countries around the world. In the late nineties Kevin was part of the executive team at early digital music pioneer Liquid Audio, managing sales/distribution and eventually opening and managing the company’s European subsidiary. Over the years Kevin has established contacts and negotiated deals with many of the world’s leading entertainment and technology companies, including Viacom, AOL, Time/Warner, Telefonica, AT&T, Bertelsmann, CNET, Universal Music, etc. Kevin brings a wide range of business and industry experience, coupled with a strong passion for music to his position as General Manager of Music Nation.