Meet the Team

John Williamson is Co-Founder and C.O.O. of Music Dealers. Through quiet leadership and intelligent design, Williamson has helped guide the company from early concept to continued daily growth and innovation.

Williamson’s passion for connecting music and audiences runs deep, beginning with his DJ career in high school. While attending Columbia College student in 1999, Williamson founded record label/studio/artist collective Frontline Entertainment, where he released dozens of projects, toured the country many times over and spent five years living the hand–to-mouth grind of the working artist. In 2004, Williamson closed up shop at Frontline and focused solely on artist management where he built up major industry contacts and a better overall "know-how" of the business. During this time he successfully raised funds from investors and labels for new projects, rather than dipping into his own pockets a la previous experiences.

In early 2007, while managing Chicago hip-hop legend, Juice, Williamson met Eric Sheinkop. The two joined forces under the name Bandit and combined Williamson’s artist management expertise with Sheinkop’s branding skills and connections within the advertising world. Bandit managed artists such as; Ben One, Hey Champ, GLC (of Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music) and consulted on branding and marketing for clients such as Big Ten Network, McDonald’s, Phillip Morris, Going.com and more.

Recognizing a huge opportunity in sync licensing, Williamson and Sheinkop began collaborating on the Music Dealers’ business model. They recruited Sheinkop’s brother Jonathan to round out their team and launched Music Dealers in 2008.

Musicians who meet Williamson recognize a peer, whose passion is to make music and help like-minded artists generate revenue so they can continue pursuing their passion.

Danny overseas all technology initiatives within Music Dealers, including Product Development, Business Systems Integration and Strategic Planning. Bringing in over 15 years of industry experience, he has held positions from Software Engineer to VP of Technology for various large and small companies. Danny has founded two start ups in the mobile marketing space with the most recent having a successful exit. His passion for innovative thinking to develop products and services that are both world class and impactful is at the core of his team leadership style and business philosophy.

He is also a dedicated father and husband, and has been a musician for over 25 years.

Steve Krzysiak's first encounter with music was when he attended one of the Grateful Dead's last shows at the age of 11. He is still recovering. Due to an insatiable appetite for knowledge and an ability to adapt quickly, Steve has worn many hats in the technology industry. While on break from his true passion—dance—Steve has been a network engineer, sys admin, field technician (aka printer sherpa), and programmer. Steve is excited to take Music Dealers' leading technology platform to new levels. When not at work, Steve is a man of several hobbies—including brewing beer, cooking, and just about anything DIY. Steve is a proud member of Chicago's only hackerspace, Pumping Station One. He is also the owner of a border collie, the dog park renowned, Mr. Herbie Hancock.

Josh is a jack of all trades hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Josh has been a musician since an early age. After receiving a degree in Jazz Performance from Roosevelt University, Josh did a brief stint as a professional jazz musician and promoter, organizing fashion and music events around Chicago. Shortly thereafter, he joined Music Dealers at it's early stages, working with the review and rights management departments until being promoted up the ranks to Director of Operations (USA) in 2011.

In August 2011, when Music Dealers forged a partnership with Coca-Cola, Josh moved to Atlanta to work out of Coca-Cola's HQ full time as Music Specialist in Coke's Worldwide Sports and Entertainment Marketing team. Josh is a self-proclaimed professional small talker, aspiring chef and all around music aficionado.

As Senior Creative Director, Music Supervisor and Cobra Commander of the Music Dealers Creative Department, Dan is a seasoned expert in most music and licensing related things. Dan works with clients to understand exactly what they're looking for - sometimes better than they understand it themselves - and gives them exactly what they need every time. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the job, having spent over a decade running EV Productions, a highly respected Chicago indie label, distributor and studio with nearly 50 releases to date. Dan is a true Chicagoan, a diehard White Sox fan and a huge pickle enthusiast.

Jessie brings 10 years of music supervision experience to the Music Dealers team. With a degree in Sound Design from Columbia College in Chicago, she began her career as an Assistant Engineer at a prominent audio post production studio. It was there that she created a Music Supervision division and worked with thousands of clients in advertising and film. She joined the Music Dealers family in October of 2011 to become a part of an inspiring and fast growing music company unlike any other. She loves having a personal connection with artists and bringing their music to new audiences on a global level. When she's not working, Jessie loves cooking, travel, baseball, and chilling with her dog!

Tim Lincoln is Senior Creative Director / Music Supervisor for Music Dealers' New York office, overseeing creative for the East Coast team. Whether it's tapping into his freakish knowledge of the music catalog to make playlists or working directly with bands and producers on original custom compositions, Tim has the background and experience to tackle any creative brief. As the first official Music Dealers employee, he knows all the ins and outs of the company and its history.

Growing up in a musical family, Tim has been a musician all of his life. Attending performing arts schools from the age of 5 in Cincinnati, he finished his education at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts. He is not only a bass virtuoso but also a very accomplished music producer.

On a personal note Tim enjoys a variety of odd / hilarious things which include (but aren't limited to) Roman History, exotic gym shoes, long walks to the bodega, awk-weird jokes and of course, his own beard.

Libby is the entertainment industry maven on the Music Dealers team. Having started her career as a production assistant on the classic TV show, "Cheers", she has had experience with a variety of scripted and reality programming. Libby ultimately transitioned to the studio side of the business, where she worked at MGM, Universal Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment in financial and strategic planning roles. A Los Angeles native whose early musical taste was shaped by listening to the legendary KROQ, she now enjoys discovering new music from all of the sharp ears at Music Dealers. Libby has a B.A. from Vassar College and an M.B.A from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Tim brings a diverse skill-set and forward-thinking approach to Music Dealers. He has held positions in licensing, royalty admin, and project management for companies such as MCS, TMC, Opus 1, and Sony/ATV’s Extreme Music. With experience in music engineering and an equal love for the business side of things, he bridges the gap by understanding how creative minds tick while being conscious of how music is monetized. Frustrated with the fear of the ‘new music industry’, he champions a mindset that embraces and harnesses new media and redefines success. Tim received his formal education at McNally Smith, only wears low, white Air Force 1s, and only eats hot food, as cold foods are not tasty to the man.

After 5 years working in TV production as a writer, host and producer, Paul moved from London to NY in January 2005 to take up a position in marketing for Extreme Music. Later that year, Extreme was acquired by Famous Music (Viacom) and in 2006/7 was sold by Famous to Sony ATV. At that time, Paul became Director of US Sales and Marketing for Extreme, a position he held for 3 years working out of Extreme's headquarters in Los Angeles.

In January 2010, Paul made the move back to London to start a brand and music partnerships agency, Eskimo Live. In its first 2 years, Eskimo Live worked with international brands like Ugg Australia, Remington and St.Tropez as well as some of the biggest brands in the UK.

In 2011, Music Dealers and Eskimo Live created a unique partnership agreement and Paul assumed the position of VP Business Development, UK and Europe.

Hollie graduated from Kings College London in 2009 and having always had a passion for music, worked for a production music library as Marketing Executive before joining Music Dealers London in 2011. A painter and singer in her spare time, she enjoys all creative outputs and loves to travel, previously spending time in New York City working for new media entrepreneur Ashley Heather.

Mili is Executive Coordinator and Event Planner for Music Dealers working out of the Los Angeles office. A native Chicagoan who graduated from Miami University of Ohio, Mili comes from 5 years of advertising experience in Chicago at both Draft FCB and Leo Burnett. There, she focused on sponsorship events and print/online advertising working very closely with client and creative teams on concept and execution. At Music Dealers, Mili works directly under CEO and President Eric Sheinkop, supporting Eric's workload and managing projects. She also heads up the events department, organizing and executing Music Dealers functions and artist showcases. Mili has always had a huge passion for music which started at a young age when she would sit in her stroller and hum along to Michael Jackson, Madonna and Culture Club. This passion for music and the music business has only grown with her close relationships with many artists over the years. Mili enjoys attending live shows, traveling, and all forms of art.

Originally from Portland, Whitney is a music-licensing veteran, with a concentration in catalog supervision and artist services. She moved to Chicago and joined Music Dealers to further her professional passion: providing artists with real exposure and career advancement opportunities, while celebrating the passion with which musicians create their artform. Whitney spends her spare time discovering new music, as well as going to shows and music festivals across the US. Other than that, Whitney can be found discovering/getting lost in Chicago, reading and longing for the micro-brews found in Oregon.

A nerd to the core, Will loves video games, superhero flicks and Japanese culture. After starting piano at a young age, Will tried to realize his dreams of rock stardom by switching to electric bass and guitar. Despite being showcased in his parents’ basement, he turned his eyes to the more business side of music and saw great opportunity in publishing, graduating in May 2011 with a Music Business degree from Columbia College Chicago. Will joined Music Dealers in 2010 as Director of Rights Management to level the business playing field for indie artists and make sure artists collect all of the royalties they're entitled to. Will firmly believes that independent artists can have success without that huge, glittery major label contract and that licensing can be a huge contributor to that success.

Jenn has been with Music Dealers since not too long after its birth and has played a key role in shaping the CORE Department, which stands for Catalog Organization & Music Reviewing. This role has exposed her to more genres and styles of music than she could’ve ever imagined, and her ear has certainly evolved because of it! When Jenn is not listening to, analyzing, or categorizing music, she is creating it and integrating it into the local Chicago community arts scene, organizing and curating arts events and exhibits.

Katie graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2009 with a degree in Composition and joined Music Dealers shortly thereafter. Whether at home or at Music Dealers reviewing tracks, she loves listening to and discovering new music. Her favorite band, however, will always be The Beatles. Aside from music, she loves baking, video games and deep dish pizza.