About The Speaker
Michael Pelczynski
Principal Advisor & Founder, Forms + Shapes
Michael Pelczynski is a strategist, economist and music rights expert that has been a pioneering force in evolving the music streaming business. As principal advisor at Forms + Shapes, Michael continues shaping the new music business with clients across AI, creator tools, fan models and administrative tech. Previously as Vice President of Strategy at SoundCloud, Michael had architected, licensed and launched an award-winning new streaming model, led global business strategy and established the company’s future fan-powered business.
Continually working on improving the economics of music, Michael had delivered multiyear first-to-market licensing deals with major record labels while inventing patent-pending artist-to-fan engagement tools that enhance the commercial value proposition.
Focused on the future state of the industry, Michael has led cross-functional teams to address industry-wide issues like fraud, identify and evaluate new strategic business opportunities, including ancillary revenue initiatives, strategic partnerships and operational improvements. Upon joining SoundCloud, Michael was the head of economics and rights administration overseeing the company’s 170MM global revenue based royalties.
Prior to joining SoundCloud, Michael directed rights administration at Warner Music Group, overseeing royalties and reporting across six label divisions totaling 440MM in annual revenue.