Michael Huppe

Michael Huppe is the President and CEO at SoundExchange, the U.S. Congress-designated organization for collecting and distributing digital performance royalties for sound recordings. He leads the company's strategy, expanding business lines, developing new data and technology solutions, and advocating for creators to ensure a fairer music industry globally.

Under his leadership, SoundExchange’s annual digital performance royalties for creators grew from $292 million to over $1 billion, now accounting for about 12% of all U.S. recorded music revenue. The organization achieved royalty rate increases of up to 250% and negotiated $168 million in settlements with music platforms. He also spearheaded the 2017 acquisition of the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency, expanding SoundExchange into the publisher services market.

A fierce advocate for policies that support creators, Huppe played a pivotal role in the passage of the 2018 Music Modernization Act and is a lead advocate on behalf of the American Music Fairness Act, legislation to end the injustice of music creators being denied payment when their work is played on traditional AM/FM platforms.

He is an adjunct professor, published author and lecturer. Huppe has provided Congressional testimony on the importance of music licensing, and has been published in Variety, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, Music Business Worldwide, Billboard, and The Hill among other outlets.

Huppe has served on the Community Advisory Board of The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and sits on the National Board of Trustees for the T.J. Martell Foundation for Cancer Research. He graduated from the University of Virginia and Harvard Law School.