Serona Elton

Author Serona Elton has extensive experience as a music business professional and educator. She is a professor and Chair of Music Industry at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. She is also a Yamaha Master Educator and serves as Head of Educational Partnerships for The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC). She began her career in the music business while earning a BSBA in Finance from the University of Florida, an MM in Music Industry from the University of Miami, and a JD from Brooklyn Law School.Previously, Elton worked for Warner Music Group, where she held the position of Vice President, Product Management, and EMI Recorded Music, North America, where she was Vice President, Mechanical Licensing and Repertoire Data Services. She has also provided consulting services to Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Zumba Fitness, and other music-related companies.A respected expert, Elton has written extensively about the music business and directed several industry conferences. Additionally, she has contributed to news stories about the music business for numerous news outlets including the TODAY Show, the BBC, Billboard, CNN.com, NPR’s Marketplace and more. In 2023, she was awarded the first-ever Music Business Educator of the Year Bizzy Award by the Music Business Association.Elton is a speaker in the U.S. Department of State Speaker Program. She is also a member of the Promoting Peace, Education, and Cultural Exchange (PEACE) Through Music Award Committee, which is part of the U.S. Department of State Global Music Diplomacy Initiative. Elton also serves as a council member on the College Music Society's Council on Music Business-Industry and serves as a. Previously, she has served as president of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association (MEIEA), a trustee of the Copyright Society, chair of the Florida Bar Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Section, a governor on the Recording Academy, Florida Chapter, Board of Governors, and as a Director-at-Large on the American Musicological Society Board of Directors. She is also an alumna of the Nashville-based Leadership Music program, and a licensed attorney in New York and Florida.