About

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What We Do

Defend Songwriters!

SONA is the hub where the best creative-rights legal minds and fiercely passionate people from all corners of the songwriting world meet to educate, strategize, and mobilize.

We are making a difference.

A stage setup that has a presentation on the screen that says "02. No Health Insurance"

What We Do

SONA is continually working to be an inclusive and diverse community that brings together passionate music creatives and industry professionals to reimagine the music industry in the 21st century.

We do this through using a collective voice to defend and represent the songwriter community at the highest levels of government and the music industry, in all issues where songwriters are impacted, including:

★ Our right to fair pay in the age of digital media

★ The ability to advocate for ourselves

★ Our right to safety and equity in our workplaces

In other words, SONA is the closest thing to a union songwriters can have.

The founders of SONA

Our Story

The SONA Story

In January of 2015, songwriting partners Kay Hanley and Michelle Lewis founded SONA (Songwriters Of North America) in response to the unfair licensing rates being paid to music creators by digital streaming companies like Spotify and Pandora.

With their close community of working Los Angeles-based songwriters and composers and high-powered entertainment attorney and activist, Dina LaPolt, they quickly built up their ranks to become a prominent and respected voice on the leading edge of issues that face songwriters in the new digital music economy.

They played a pivotal role in the crafting, lobbying, and passage of landmark copyright legislation, the Music Modernization Act.

Read more about our story here.

Meet Our Team

Our staff and board represent the heart and soul of SONA. We are all passionate advocates for songwriters’ rights and are experts in our field. We guide the vision of SONA and ensure that we are always true of our mission.

  • Michelle Lewis

    CEO

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  • Erin McAnally - Executive Director

    Erin McAnally

    Executive Director

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  • Jared Brenner - Board Secretary

    Jared Brenner

    Board Secretary

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  • Mark Pariser

    Mark Pariser

    Board Treasurer

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  • Linda Bloss-Baum

    Linda Bloss-Baum

    Government Affairs Lead

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  • Andrae Alexander

    Andrae Alexander

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  • Autumn Rowe

    Autumn Rowe

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  • Dina LaPolt

    Dina LaPolt

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  • Camus Celli

    Camus Celli

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  • Lauren Christy

    Lauren Christy

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  • Shane Stevens

    Shane Stevens

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  • Angie Pagano

    Angie Pagano

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  • Courtney Harrell

    Courtney Harrell

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  • Roahn Hylton

    Roahn Hylton

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  • Picture of Samantha

    Samantha Bullock

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  • Picture of Ross

    Ross Golan

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  • Michelle Lewis

    CEO

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  • Erin McAnally - Executive Director

    Erin McAnally

    Executive Director

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  • Kellie Brown - COO of SONA

    Kellie Brown

    COO

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  • Faith Flippen

    Communications and Graphics Manager

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  • Michelle Lewis

    CEO

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  • Kay Hanley

    Kay Hanley

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  • Dina LaPolt

    Dina LaPolt

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  • Adam Dorn

    Adam Dorn

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  • Michelle Featherstone

    Michelle Featherstone

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  • Pamela Sheyne

    Pamela Sheyne

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  • Shelly Peiken

    Shelly Peiken

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  • Brendan Okrent

    Brendan Okrent

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  • Adam Gorgoni

    Adam Gorgoni

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  • Jack Kugell

    Jack Kugell

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SONA

Advisory Council

  • Abby North

    Adam Gorgoni

    Adam Parness

    Anjulie Persaud

    Ari Herstand

    Aurielle Brooks

    Barbara Quinn

    Beka Tischker

    Chris Stills

    Caron Veazy

    Claudia Brant

    David Silberstein

    Desmond Child

    Donna Caseine

    Emily Warren

    Erika Nuri Taylor

    Gail Greenwood

    Greg Wells

    J Hart

    Jai Yoko

  • Jeff Duquette

    Jaime Zeluck-Hindlin

    Jamie Dee Hart

    Jessie Massabni

    Jesse Thomas

    Joe DiMona

    Joel C High

    John Bitrick

    Justin Tranter

    Kara DioGuardi

    Kay Hanley

    Kevin Casini

    Kevin Griffin

    Lane Smith

    Laura Veltz

    Lee Dannay

    Louie Diller

    Lucy Levinsohn

    Marcus Miller

  • Marcus (MarcLo) Lomax

    Mark Beaven

    Mariami 

    Matt Tishler

    Maytav Koter

    Michael Eames

    MILCK

    Muni Long

    Pam Sheyne

    Paul Keen

    Sam Hollander

    Sarah Hudson

    Sharon Tapper

    Shay M. Lawson

    Shelly Peiken

    Sidd Khosla

    Stef Fryzel

    Tanya Donelly

    Toby Lightman 

    Zach Gurka

Join Our Team

Interested in becoming a SONA team member?