Composing for Wellness: Music as a Cognitive Utility

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      "details": "Ekanem is a researcher, educator, and advocate dedicated to using evidence-based music interventions to make mothers and infants healthier and happier. Her work explores how music supports maternal-infant mental health during the first months of life, emphasizing how different cultures use song and rhythm in early childhood development.\rShe was most recently a Research Associate at The Music Lab, Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, and has led or contributed to numerous initiatives advancing the field—\r\r\rDirected the first Parenting 2.0 conference in her region\r\rOrganized the South Central regional conference for the Early Childhood Music and Movement Association\r\rCreated a music and literacy intervention for refugee and immigrant mothers and children in Connecticut\r\rProduced an infant concert for collaborative youth programs at The New Orleans Jazz Market\r\rHer doctoral research (ABD) at Universidade Nova de Lisboa focused on the psychology and pedagogy of music, and she brings deep expertise in quantitative and qualitative research, curriculum design, and early childhood development. Through Liftly, she’s now building programs that integrate music, neuroscience, and cultural empathy to promote maternal wellness and infant bonding.",
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      "details": "Weston McGowen is the Global Head of Catalog Services at SourceAudio, where he oversees global publishing administration, metadata operations, and rights management for one of the largest independent music catalog infrastructures in the world. His work focuses on building scalable systems that enable music companies to manage complex catalogs, deliver assets across the industry supply chain, and maximize revenue from publishing, sync licensing, and emerging digital platforms.\n\nIn addition to his role at SourceAudio, Weston is a music entrepreneur and publisher who has worked across artist development, catalog strategy, and global rights administration. He is the founder of Equal Songs, a publisher and creative company focused on developing songwriters and producers while building modern catalog businesses that combine publishing, sync licensing, and creator-led music ventures.\n\nWeston is deeply involved in the evolution of music metadata and digital rights infrastructure, helping independent music companies navigate the increasingly complex global ecosystem of performing rights organizations, mechanical societies, and licensing platforms.\n\nBased in New Orleans, he is also active in initiatives aimed at strengthening the city’s music economy and connecting independent creators with global opportunities across technology, licensing, and cultural exchange.",
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      "details": "Max Ferguson is a Director of Creative at Score a Score, where he leads high-impact music initiatives for global brands and heads the company’s flagship mood music catalog, the Aura Collection. With a background in music business and a focus on emotionally-driven audio, he collaborates with artists, clients, and platforms to create music that’s both purposeful and effective. His work includes overseeing music production for Super Bowl campaigns, developing long-term artist growth strategies, leading audio projects for brands like Apple, Google, Disney, and LinkedIn, and curating content for wellness leaders like Calm and major DSPs including Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Music.",
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  "description": "As streaming reshapes how music is experienced, functional audio—designed to boost focus, mood, and behavior—is redefining where and how music matters. From classrooms to clinics to retail, neuroscience-backed compositions are driving emotional outcomes and creating measurable improvements in learning, productivity, and sentiment. This panel explores how composers, researchers, and platforms are creating purpose-built music that now outperforms major label artists—financially and functionally—on DSPs and B2B services.",
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