Alum

Michael Lau

Assistant Professor

Affiliated Departments

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Michael Lau is the current national chair and president of the New York chapter of the Association of Independent Music Publishers. A music publishing and industry veteran, Lau leans on his diverse experiences as a music supervisor, composer, publisher, and music technologist. He also currently serves on several advisory boards within the music technology space and on the operations advisory committee of the Mechanical Licensing Collective. In addition, he is about to launch a new music asset-management company with other leaders in the industry.

Lau was one of the original founders and COO of Round Hill Music, where he focused on keeping the company at the forefront of technology, data, and creating/maintaining efficient and effective processes. Prior to Round Hill Music, he served in various capacities at Warner Chappell Music. As Director of Strategic Marketing, he revitalized and built the New York advertising and video game business. Later on, the company leveraged his technical and marketing skills by creating a role where he served as Senior Director, Creative Information Technology and Marketing Development. The company licensed a creative pitching and quoting system that he developed to manage the music operations of two Winter Olympic broadcasts for CBS.

Lau has also served as creative consultant to a few estates, including Ray Charles Entertainment and Four Jays Music/Harry Warren Entertainment. Prior to music publishing, he was a music supervisor, music producer, and editor for the entire run of Courage the Cowardly Dog and several interactive, web-based series for Warner Bros. Animation, among many other productions. Lau is a graduate of Berklee College of Music.

In Their Own Words

My goal is for students to experience and deal with current administration and royalty processes that they will encounter when they enter the job market. My approach is to present real-world processes and systems and help them develop critical thinking that they will utilize in their entire careers.

I have been fortunate to have mentors throughout my career. I truly believe that without mentorship one cannot grow and be guided toward what they need to evolve in a complex industry. By teaching, it allows me to give back and mentor in the same manner as I was lucky to have in my life. My vast career provides me with the ability to draw upon real-world experiences to guide and provide students with what they need to be successful in their own careers.