Michael Lewan Named Executive Director Of Music Fights Fraud Alliance

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Michael Lewan

The Music Fights Fraud Alliance has appointed Michael Lewan as its first Executive Director.

A seasoned leader with a wealth of experience in industry advocacy, Lewan will lead the Alliance’s strategic initiatives and operations from Washington, D.C. With a strong background in government relations and advocacy, Lewan most recently held the position of Managing Director of State and Federal Advocacy at the Recording Academy.

“We are thrilled to have Michael Lewan join Music Fights Fraud as our first Executive Director,” says Andreea Gleeson, CEO of TuneCore. “When TuneCore and Believe co-founded the Music Fights Fraud Alliance together with Downtown, our goal was to unite the music industry, foster collaboration, and take smarter, more impactful action to tackle fraud in all its forms. Michael’s extensive experience in government relations, policy advocacy, and building stakeholder partnerships makes him the ideal leader to guide MFFA’s mission forward. His leadership and vision will be crucial as we continue working toward a more equitable and transparent music industry.”

“As streaming fraud increasingly threatens the livelihoods of artists and right holders and undermines the integrity of the music economy, the Alliance’s work has never been more critical,” shares Lewan. “I am excited to lead this dedicated group of industry leaders in our mission to create a fairer, more secure, and more transparent music ecosystem. Together, we will continue to build on the progress we’ve made, strengthen our collaboration, and drive impactful solutions that protect artists and ensure they are fairly compensated for their work.”

Founded in June 2023, the Music Fights Fraud Alliance marks the first time the music industry has come together as a unified force to combat fraud. The Alliance includes companies such as CD Baby, FUGA, and its parent company Downtown, along with TuneCore and its parent company Believe, Amazon Music, Spotify, EMPIRE, Symphonic, United Masters and other distributors. This groundbreaking collaboration spans multiple platforms to address fraud. The founding members have established working groups and task forces to develop best practices for fraud identification, mitigation and enforcement. Issues once viewed in isolation are now being tackled collectively by the founding members, with plans for further expansion under Lewan to build a united front among industry leaders in the fight against fraud.

Since its inception, a major achievement of the Alliance’s collective efforts has been the creation of a comprehensive, shared database of identified fraud indicators across various platforms and members. In collaboration with the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance, the database allows members to securely exchange and access crucial data on fraudulent activities in an anonymized format. This data-sharing initiative empowers the Alliance to consolidate resources and expertise, offering a coordinated approach to identifying, monitoring and combating fraud in real time.

By leveraging the expertise of its members alongside the resources of the NCFTA, the Alliance is strengthening its capacity to detect and prevent fraud on an industry-wide scale, ensuring all members have the necessary tools and insights to take effective action against fraud. Acknowledging that not all members can contribute to data sharing in the same way, Lewan will collaborate with the founding members to create member tiers that will cater to the diverse needs of members, allowing them to support MFFA in different ways.

The MFFA has also added new members, including YouTube, SoundCloud, Meta, OneRPM, STEM, Revelator and Too Lost. These new members join the Alliance’s current partners in a collective effort to detect, prevent, mitigate, and enforce anti-fraud measures, all working toward a music industry free from fraudulent streaming practices.

“Fairness and transparency are central to our mission at SoundCloud,” says Ama Walton, EVP & General Counsel for Soundcloud. “By joining the Music Fights Fraud Alliance, we’re reinforcing our commitment to supporting artists and contributing to a safer, more sustainable music industry. Combating streaming fraud requires a unified effort, and we’re proud to stand together to uphold authenticity and ensure artists receive the compensation they deserve.”

Lorie Hollabaugh
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