Panos Panay


Panos Panay is a Cyprus-born entrepreneur and educator. He is the founding Managing Director of Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship, and the founder of online platform Sonicbids.

Education

Panay has a Music Business & Management degree from Berklee College of Music, where he studied with, Professor Lauren Passarelli.

Career

Panay began his career as talent agent at Ted Kurland Associates responsible for the international tours of artists including Chick Corea and Pat Metheny.
In 2000, Panay started the company Sonicbids as of way of enabling independent artists to connect with music promoters online, using Electronic Press Kits as a means of booking bands. Panay founded the company in his apartment in Newton, MA. Panay led the company as CEO for 13 years, until after its acquisition by Backstage LLC, in a deal backed by Guggenheim Partners.
Panay is credited for spotting and capitalizing early on three emerging trends in the music business: the shift to online marketing; the emergence of an “artistic middle class”; and the shift to a consumer /brand-funded music business.
In 2013, after the sale of Sonicbids, Panay joined Berklee college to found the Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship. Among the institute's many activities are joint classes with MIT and the design firm IDEO, a summer high school program in collaboration with Brown University, sponsored internships, research projects including Rethink Music's Fair Music Report, online courses and other engagements meant to get students ready for careers.
In June 2016, Panay co-founded the non-profit Open Music Initiative, in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab, and individuals including inventor Dan Harple and IDEO partner Michael Hendrix.

Writing and speaking

Panay has written about startups and entrepreneurship for blogs and publications including Huffington Post, Forbes, Entrepreneir, WSJ Accelerators and Fast Company. He has spoken at a TEDx event.

Awards and honors

Panay was awarded the Fast Company's "Fast 50" honor, Boston Business Journal's "40 under 40" and BosInno "50 on Fire" Award for excellence in education.

Personal life

Panay resides with his wife and identical twin daughters in Watertown, MA.
His first cousin, also named Panos Panay, is an executive at Microsoft.