New York, NY (Top40 Charts) * Festivities kicked off with opening remarks from ASCAP President (and Songwriters Hall of Fame member) Paul Williams and the Billboard-sponsored "We Create Music" panel, an event that has become a staple of EXPO's opening day over the years. Multi-platinum recording artist Jason Mraz, ASCAP Latin Songwriter of the Year Claudia Brant, noted film composer
Junkie XL (Mad Max: Fury Road, Deadpool, Batman v. Superman) and ASCAP Christian
Music Songwriter of the Year /chart-topping songwriter
David Garcia came together to discuss first breaks, overcoming self-doubt, the art of songwriting and so much more.
* Indie icon
St. Vincent and 19-year-old Mark Ronson-signee King Princess joined forces for a conversation between two of today's most riveting musicians. The pair exchanged vivid stories from their songwriting pasts: their earliest musical memories, finding their identities as artists and penning their first breakthroughs.
*
Jermaine Dupri walked EXPO attendees through his storied career, including 20 #1 hits on the Billboard charts and his iconic work with
Usher (the Diamond-certified Confessions),
Mariah Carey ("We Belong Together," Billboard's highest-charting single of the 2000s),
Jay-Z and Beyonce.
* A team of Nashville power players from
William Morris, Warner/Chappell, Red Light Management and Spotify tackled "Making It In
Music City" in a conversation with #1 songwriter Adam Sanders, whose decade-long rise was also used as a case study by the group. Among other insights, Sanders and team discussed how playing a 2:30PM show on a Tuesday and befriending a pre-fame merch salesman named
Cole Swindell changed his life forever.