Jeffrey Cheen

Jeffrey Cheen has spent more than 40 years in the music business. He started his career as national promotion director for Bill Cosby’s Tetragrammaton Records, with a list of clients that included Deep Purple, Joan Rivers and Tiny Tim. He then helmed Mercury Records’ Hollywood office before managing Capitol Records’ Rock A&R Department. Subsequently, he headed Far Out Music and Publishing’s management division where he guided the careers of War, Ronnie Laws, Funkadelic and Rick James.

Jeffrey partnered with Jerry Buss, owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and the L.A. Forum, to present concerts and TV productions. He also produced all the entertainment at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City for three years. Jeffrey then moved his focus to the emerging Asian market, producing the Pacific Rim Festival in Los Angeles and serving as a consultant to the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of Culture and the Australian government’s Ausmusic. Jeffrey recently served as vice president of business development for B.B. King’s Blues Clubs, overseeing worldwide corporate licensing and heading the company’s record label. Cheen serves on the board of the LA Music Awards and the Hollywood Fame Awards.  Currently, Jeffrey has partnered with BlogWorld and has been appointed as the Executive Producer of the Social Media Music Awards, being held in Las Vegas October 2009.

Michael D. Evans

Michael D. Evans has more than 30 years experience in communications. From the technical side (typography and editing) to the creative side (writing and public relations), he has done it all. Michael has always kept a foot in the music business, from his early 1980s management and booking venture, Broken English Productions, to his current promotional agency, High Timberline Media. His publishing efforts include a founding role in two of Charlotte’s early alternative publications, The First Amendment and Mandrake. Over the years, he has also been a film critic with his reviews published in Tokyo Today and Postscript. He is currently a columnist for Uptown Magazine and CityPolitical magazine, and reviews film as part of the Venus & Mars duo. In addition, he has edited a number of books and journals.