NXTGen Summit Speakers
AI, Music, & Government Advocacy Panel
Margaret McGuffin (Music Publishers Canada)
Website: https://www.musicpublishing.ca/
Instagram: @canmuspub
Margaret McGuffin is the CEO of Music Publishers Canada. Margaret’s career has focused on research and policy development, and she has worked with a large number of music industry trade and collective management organizations. She currently sits on the Board of Canada’s Theatre Museum, the External Advisory Board of York and Queen's Universities (Canada) Connected Minds Program, the Advisory Committee at MusiCounts, and the Policy Committee of the Ontario Nonprofit Network. She previously was the Chair of the Board at Work In Culture. Margaret is also always happy to talk to you about how music publishers are leading the way in making sure Canadian songs are heard around the world. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Western University and an MBA in Arts, Media and Entertainment Management from the Schulich School of Business at York University.
Eric Mayzel
Website:
Eric Mayzel is a partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution group at Cassels, focusing on intellectual property, entertainment, and franchise matters. He assists clients across a broad range of industries, including music, film and television, and publishing, with the administration, exploitation, and enforcement of intellectual property rights.
Eric has appeared before all levels of court and acted in groundbreaking copyright hearings before the Copyright Board of Canada and the Supreme Court of Canada, including Canadian Broadcasting Corp. v. SODRAC 2003 Inc., 2015 SCC 57 and Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada v. Entertainment Software Association, 2022 SCC 30. He has also been active as a strategic advisor to clients in parliamentary reviews of the Copyright Act and related consultations.
Eric is a Trustee of the Copyright Society and Co-Chair of its International Committee. He has served on the Internet & Technology Committee of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC) and as an executive of the Ontario Bar Association’ Intellectual Property and Technology Section and Entertainment, Media, and Communication Law section.
Eric has been recognized as a leader in the field by Managing IP (rising star, notable practitioner); Best Lawyers in Canada (Intellectual Property Law, Entertainment Law, and Franchise Law); Legal500 (Intellectual Property), and Franchise Times (Legal Eagle).
Graham Milner (Compass Rose)
Website: https://www.compassrosegroup.org/
Graham Milner brings over a decade of experience working to find the common good in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Graham has a unique ability to lead and navigate complex political landscapes for clients and brings an understanding of leadership and political organization at all levels, along with an in-depth knowledge of the parliamentary process.
He helps in the creative sector, agriculture, natural resources, fintech, international development and creative industries and brings extensive first-hand knowledge of the complex interface between priorities and policy outcomes in government departments and the federal political space.
Prior to joining Compass Rose, Graham was the director of parliamentary affairs for the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance.
Graham contributed to the development of the Liberal Party of Canada's national campaign platform in both 2019 and 2021. His political acumen and organizational skills have been pivotal in achieving campaign goals at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels.
Having worked with multiple international development and non-profit organizations, national associations and small businesses, Graham has an expertise in helping organizations grow their advocacy and fundraising profiles, delivering strong measurable results while working with limited resources.
A native of B.C., Graham has a Bachelor of Public Affairs and Policy Management as well as a Master’s of Business Administration, both from Carleton University.
Create Panel
Idir Aissani
Website: https://www.bravomusique.com/en/
Idir Aissani is a respected music executive and Head of Publishing at Bravo Musique, with extensive experience across artist development, publishing, and sync. Throughout his career, he has worked at the intersection of creativity and business, helping artists and creators develop their music while identifying innovative ways to build meaningful opportunities around their work.
Promote Panel
Melissa Cameron-Passley (Kilometre Music Group)
Website:
Instagram:
[bio.]
Natasha Duprey
Website: natashaduprey.com
Natasha Duprey is an award-winning music supervisor based in Vancouver with a long resume that includes the L Word, Kids in the Hall, The Terror, Snowpiercer, the Emmy Award-winning documentaries Boys State and Girls State, and a recent slate of epic horror films including Longlegs (the highest grossing independent film of 2024), box office smash Backrooms (A24’s highest grossing film ever), Heretic (which garnered Hugh Grant BAFTA and Golden Globe nods), and The Monkey (based on a short story by Stephen King who called it “batshit insane”).
Natasha is currently working on the new Netflix series Below (starring Josh Hartnett), Yaga (starring Hudson Williams and Carrie Anne Moss), Disney’s Coven Academy, fresh seasons of My Life With The Walter Boys, Allegiance, Animal Control and Murder In A Small Town as well as the new Oz Perkins films The Young People and the sequel to Longlegs.
Natasha is the founding Vice President and current board member of the Guild of Music Supervisors Canada.
Yvette Metoyer (Sounds in Color Music)
Website:
Instagram:
[bio.]
Spek
Website: https://poparabia.com/
Spek is the Founder and CEO of PopArabia, the leading independent music company in the Middle East and North Africa, and Executive Vice President of International and Emerging Markets at Reservoir Media (NASDAQ: RSVR).
Born in Montreal, Spek began his music career as a recording artist signed worldwide to EMI at the age of 17 as part of the group Dream Warriors, which sold over a million albums and helped establish Canadian hip-hop on a global stage. He later co-wrote "The Pilgrim" on Nitin Sawhney's Mercury Prize nominated album Beyond Skin, included in the international bestselling reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, and he continues to release music as a solo artist, most recently with the 2025 album Voo Doo Kid and continued collaborations with Nitin Sawhney.
First moving to the region in 2006, Spek founded PopArabia in 2011 in partnership with twofour54, the Abu Dhabi media zone. Following the establishment of a joint venture with Reservoir in 2020, he has led the company's expansion into a vertically integrated platform spanning publishing, label services, distribution, sync, and rights management, with offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Cairo and a team of more than 30 across the region. Under his leadership, PopArabia has acquired leading regional catalogs and labels including 100COPIES, Voice of Beirut, RE Media, El Sawareekh, Omar Kamal, and most recently the acquisition of Egypt label and Arabic music distributor, Viral Wave in April 2026, establishing a combined catalog of nearly 100,000 Arabic songs.
In 2020, Spek founded ESMAA, the Abu Dhabi-based rights management organization integrated with CISAC's CIS-Net, which represents PRS, SOCAN, GEMA and numerous other PROs in the region and licensed Dubai Expo 2020, the UAE National Orchestra, Anghami more. In his role at Reservoir, he also oversees PopIndia, the Mumbai-based subsidiary launched in 2025 to replicate the PopArabia model in South Asia.
Spek serves on the board of CARAS, MusiCounts and the Juno Awards. He has been named a Billboard Global Power Player every year since the list began in 2021, has spoken at SXSW, and was profiled by CNN as part of its global Champions of Change series in 2024 and 2025
Protect Panel
Alex Tamashunas
Website: https://www.spotify.com/ca-en/about-us/contact/
Alex Tamashunas is a music publishing executive with eight years of experience rooted in Nashville’s creative community. She began her career at Anthem Entertainment before moving to Creative Nation Publishing, where she honed her instincts for identifying and nurturing emerging talent. She notably signed and managed Ben West during his ascent to production prominence. Now at Spotify, Alexandra leads Nashville’s songwriter and publisher partnerships, working at the intersection of technology and creative advocacy to ensure songwriters are supported and celebrated on the world’s largest audio platform. Throughout her career, she has been driven by a core conviction: great songs have the power to change the world.
Melanie Santa Rosa (Third Side Music)
Head of Copyright Administration, Third Side Music
President, AIMP New York Chapter
Website: https://thirdsidemusic.com/
Melanie Santa Rosa leads global copyright operations at Third Side Music, focused on metadata, data quality, and the operational systems that keep rights information accurate across catalogs. She spent over twenty years in licensing, copyright and royalty administration, and international rights management, starting at BMI, where she worked closely with songwriters and publishers, followed by roles at Spirit Music Group and Word Collections.
She is President of the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) New York Chapter and mentors emerging professionals through the Recording Academy, AIMP, and Symphonic Distribution. Outside of work, she enjoys metadata, hockey, and baseball, not always in that order.
Zara Abbasi
Website:
Instagram:
[bio.]
Keynote Conversation
Update from Apple Music
Daniel Proulx
Website:
Daniel Proulx is on the Apple Music Publishing Creative Services team, supporting songwriters and producers through in-person engagements at Apple’s music studios and beyond. A Northeastern University alum, he joined the team as an intern four years ago and transitioned to a full-time role in February 2026. A musician, songwriter, and producer long before joining Apple, Daniel is based in Los Angeles and brings years of firsthand creative experience to his work.
Lindsay Berryman
Website:
Lindsay Rothschild Berryman is Apple Music Publishing’s Head of Creative Services for the Americas. Her team focuses on supporting and building awareness around songwriters and producers, working closely with the music publishing community on creative opportunities. Before Apple, she founded and ran YouTube’s Songwriter Relations team, following earlier roles at Warner Chappel Music and Disney.