David Hughes

David has nearly three decades of experience in digital business strategy, focusing for almost 25 years on
online music distribution. He began my career at Sony Corporation in Tokyo in 1993 and first became
involved in the digital distribution of music in 1996. In 1998 he moved to Sony Music in New York
where, as Vice President of Technology Strategies and Digital Policy, he created and ran the industry’s
first online distribution department. David’s responsibilities included the creation of all aspects of the
technical and business infrastructures required to enable mass online distribution.

In 2006, David joined the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in Washington, DC where
for almost 15 years he represented the major recording companies’ technology interests as Chief
Technology Officer. His responsibilities included coordinating the development and promotion of
numerical identifiers, technical standards, emerging technologies and new formats, as well as outreach to
the broader technology community.

Since April 2021 David has been an independent strategic consultant advising clients on business and
technology issues ranging from identifiers and metadata to applications of emerging technologies
including content recognition and artificial intelligence. Current and past clients include the RIAA,
SoundExchange, Jaxsta and Song Sleuth, as well as companies working on new technologies, products,
and services both inside and outside the entertainment industry.

David has contributed to the development of a number of formats and standards including MPEG, DVD-
Audio, SACD, Blu-ray, Ultraviolet, the International Standard Recording Code (ISRC), the International
Standard Name Identifier (ISNI) and the music industry’s suite of Digital Data Exchange standards
(DDEX). He has also been very active in the promotion of Hi-Resolution and Immersive music formats.
David has a B.A. Honours in East Asian Studies from the University of Alberta in Canada and hold a
Master of Management Science degree from the University of Tsukuba in Japan. He is a member of the
Audio Engineering Society and the Recording Academy, sit on the Library of Congress’ National
Recording Preservation Board, and is inventor of over a dozen U.S. and international patents.