AD SYNC SUMMIT NY 2026 Agenda
THE AD SYNC SUMMIT BEGINS IN:
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Thursday, October 1
Day 1: How the Advertising ecosystem works
8:30 AM – 9:30 AM – In person and online
Registration & Networking Breakfast
Early networking with brands, agencies, and music professionals.
9:30 AM – 9:45 AM- In person and online
Opening Remarks
Framing the reality: why ads and brands are the most misunderstood—and most opportunity-rich—area of sync.
Mark Frieser, Chair, AdSync Summit
9:45 AM – 10:15 AM- In person and online
Opening Keynote: Who Actually Decides What Music Gets Used in Advertising?
A top-level breakdown of the real decision-making structure inside agencies and brands, and why it’s rarely who you think.
Speakers to be announced
10:30 AM – 11:15 AM – In Person and Online
Panel 1: Inside the Agency: How Creative Music Decisions Get Made
Creative directors, music supervisors, producers, editors, and strategists explain how campaigns are built—and where music fits (or doesn’t).
Speakers to be announced
11:15 AM – 11:30 AM – break
11:30 AM – 12:15 PM- In person and online
Panel 2: From Campaign to Culture: When Ads become music dicovery platforms
Artist and Brand tie-ins and integrations, Mercedes Benz and The Weeknd is one of many examples, are one of the main ways that new music and artists are discovered by the mass market, growing audience and bringing their audience and credibility to products and brands. Join our discussion on how music+artist+product/brand messaging integration lifts sales and audience for everyone involved.
Speakers to be announced
12:15 PM – 1:30PM – In person and online
Lunch and Networking
1:30 PM – 2:15 PM – In Person and Online
Panel 3: Brand Perspective — What Brands Actually Want From Music
Brand managers and marketing executives discuss goals, KPIs, and how music impacts campaign performance.
Speakers to be announced
2:15 PM – 3:00 PM – In Person and Online
Panel 4: Why Your Pitches Fail: How Briefs are created and how to respond successfully.
A breakdown of how briefs are written, how to interpret what they really mean, and how you can intrepret breifs to pitch your music successfully.
Speakers to be announced
3:00 PM – 3:15 PM – In Person and Online
Break
3:15 PM – 4:00 PM – In-person and online
Panel 5: The Battle of the music supervisors and Sync Reps… and AI
Join us while we put the decision makers on the spot… we play them a spot for the first time, ask them to decide on a song for the ad, ask an AI for its choice, play the results and then ask you to vote on who’s best at syncing music to picture.
Speakers to be announced
4:00 PM – 4:45 PM- In-person and online
Panel 6: Who Do You Pitch — And How Do You Reach Them?
Practical strategies for navigating the fragmented decision-making structure inside agencies and brands.
Speakers to be announced
4:45 PM – 5:30 PM – In-person and online
Day 1 closing Keynote: Sonic Branding – why creating an cohesive, all-encompassing music strategy is essential to every brand.
Music is the most direct conduit to the emotional response of the customer. So why is it that so many brands have yet to truly inegrate music ideation into their brand marketing srtategy? We’ll close out day one with a candid conversation on why every brand and product needs a sonic branding strategy, and how musicians, rights holders and technologists can service brands and agencies through working with and integrating sonic ideation.
Speakers to be announced
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM – In-person and online
Networking Reception
Drinks, introductions, and deal-making.
Friday, October 2
Day 2: Execution, Strategy and the future of music in Ads and with Brands
9:00 AM – 9:30 AM – In-person and online
Coffee and Networking
Early networking with brands, agencies, and music professionals.
9:30 AM – 10:15 AM- In-Person and online
Keynote: Why Music Is Finally Moving Up the Creative Priority List
How and why brands are beginning to integrate music earlier—and what this means for opportunity.
Speakers to be announced
10:15 AM – 11:00 AM – in-person and online
Panel 7: Sonic Branding — Beyond the One-Off Placement
How brands are building long-term identity through music—and how to participate in that process.
Speakers to be announced
11:00 AM – 11:15 AM – in person and online
Break
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM – in person and online
Panel 8: Custom Music vs Licensed Music — What Wins and Why?
When do brands choose original composition vs licensing—and how are those decisions evolving?
Speakers to be announced
12:00 PM – 12:45 PM – in person and online
Panel 9: Music in Social, Digital, and Experiential Campaigns
How music is used across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and live experiences—and how this differs from traditional ads.
Speakers to be announced
12:45 PM – 2:00 PM – in person and online
Lunch Break
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM – in-person and online
Panel 10: The Economics of Ad Music — Fees, Buyouts, and Value
Understanding deal structures, budgets, and how to price your work in advertising.
Speakers to be announced
2:45 PM – 3:30 PM – in-person and online
Panel 11: AI, Data, and the Future of Music in Advertising
How AI and data-driven insights are beginning to influence music selection and campaign development.
Speakers to be announced
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM – In person and online
Networking Break
4:00 PM – 4:45 PM – in-person and online
Panel 12: Building Long-Term Relationships With Brands and Agencies
How to move from one-off placements to ongoing partnerships.
Speakers to be announced
4:45 PM – 5:30 PM in-person and online
Closing Keynote: The Next Era of Advertising and Branding: Music as Strategy from the beginning of ideation, not an afterthought in post-prodcution
A forward-looking vision of how music will be integrated into brand thinking over the next decade.
