About the author

Gerd_leonhard_media_futurist

A native of Bonn / Germany and now residing in Switzerland, Gerd has spent over twenty-five years in the technology and entertainment industries, both in the U.S. as well as in Europe, and recently, in Asia. In 2005, Gerd co-authored the critically acclaimed book "The Future of Music" which has become a must-read for music industry professionals around the globe, and which is now available in German, Italian, and Japanese.

Gerd's many clients include France Telecom / Orange, German Telecom, the EBU and ABU, SonyBMG, the BBC, RTL, Granada International, Nokia-Siemens, ITV, Unisys, Gracenote, AIM / Impala, MediaCorp Singapore, SUISA and the European Commission. He is much in demand as a speaker at many leading events and conferences around the globe, and is considered a leading blogger and visionary. 
 
Gerd is an expert on the drastic changes that are impacting content, media and communication companies as a consequence of the rapid deployment of new, disruptive technologies, and of convergence. His hard-hitting  yet inspiring presentations address issues such as the advent of the user-creator (aka the Usator, a term coined by Gerd) and the 'people formerly known as consumers', the attention economy in media, the wisdom of the masses and the rise of user-generated content, content syndication and pull-vs-push media, new business models for digital content, the culture of participation in media, copyright versus usage right, and the consequences of mass media becoming personal media. Gerd is equally fluent in technology, legal issues, social and cultural contexts, business models and general trends that affect media and communications.
 
Gerd is also a digital media and Internet entrepreneur; he currently is Co-Founder and CEO of Sonific LLC, a San Francisco based company that provides music applications and widgets for blogs, social networks and online communities. In addition, Gerd works with select cutting-edge start-ups and new ventures in the entertainment and technology industries worldwide, as well as with investors and Venture Capitalists.

Gerd holds a Jazz Performance (Guitar) Diploma by Berklee College of Music (87), and is the recipient of Berklee's Quincy Jones Jazz Masters Award (1985).  He is also a fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts (RSA, London).