Successful Digital Media Entrepreneur Jason Calacanis to Keynote
RAIN Summit West in Las Vegas April 6th
For more information, contact:
Kurt Hanson, kurt@kurthanson.com, cell 312-543-1999
Jennifer Lane, lane.jennifer@gmail.com, phone 860-572-1994
Jason Calacanis, one of the world’s most celebrated and successful digital entrepreneurs, will be the keynote speaker at this year’s RAIN Summit West, Sunday, April 6th in Las Vegas, during the week of the NAB Show. An accomplished digital media executive, Calacanis will deliver his annual, much-awaited State of Media address at the 13th annual gathering of online audio professionals.
A co-located education program of the NAB Show, RAIN Summit West is the premiere educational and networking event for online audio. Now in its 13th year, the summit focuses on the evolving online audio space, and is geared to both broadcasters on the Web (like Clear Channel Radio and CBS Radio), and Internet-only streaming services (Pandora and Spotify). Previous keynote speakers at RAIN Summits include Pandora Founder Tim Westergren, RAB CEO Erica Farber, CBS Radio CEO Dan Mason, Rhapsody President Jon Irwin, ESPN senior vice president Traug Keller, VP/GM Yahoo Launchcast David Goldberg, NPR SVP/Digital Media Kinsey Wilson, and Pandora CEO Joe Kennedy.
Jason Calacanis is one of the most discussed figures in digital media. He is the founder and CEO of Inside.com, as well as an active angel investor and host of the popular “This Week in Startups” video podcast. As a media entrepreneur, Calacanis splashed onto the scene in 1996 with Silicon Alley Reporter, which chronicled New York’s new-media landscape. In 2004 Calacanis founded Weblogs, Inc., the world’s largest network of professional blogs that included category-leading brands Engadget, Joystiq, and Autoblog. Weblogs, Inc. was acquired by AOL in November, 2005. LAUNCH Media, one of Calacanis’ current ventures, is best known for the annual LAUNCH Festival in San Francisco, an exposure platform for startups that has “graduated” Dropbox, Yammer, Fitbit, and others.
“Jason Calacanis is one of the smartest and most accomplished digital entrepreneurs in the country,” said RAIN Enterprises president and CEO Jennifer Lane. “For 13 years RAIN Summits have been advancing the online audio industry by offering the best programs and hosting savvy speakers. We’re delighted that Jason can join us this year.”
“Our industry is continually broadening its scope,” said RAIN News Founder and Publisher Kurt Hanson. “Jason Calacanis is one of the greatest entrepreneurs in media, and will bring new perspective and added dimensions to RAIN Summit.”
RAIN Summits will announce more speakers and panel topics in the coming weeks. RAIN Summit West concludes with the always-anticipated tradition of the poolside RAIN Summits Cocktail Party. RAIN Summit West will be located on-site at the NAB Show this year at the LVH – Las Vegas Hotel and Casino immediately adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The Summit is an official co-located education partner event to the NAB Show. Registration includes access to the NAB Show exhibit hall and a catered box lunch.
For registration information, visit http://rainnews.com/summit_west_14/. For information on the event or for sponsorship information contact RAIN Summits President/CEO Jennifer Lane, jennifer@rainnews.com
RAIN Summits hosts several events each year, including an upcoming sold out event on February 5th in NYC. Other RAIN Summits are set for later this year, including Indianapolis (at the RAB/NAB Radio Show) on September 9th, and RAIN Summit Europe in the fall.
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ABOUT RAIN Enterprises: RAIN Enterprises is the leading source of news, information and inspiration for the online audio industry. The company consists of RAIN News, the leading trade publication for the industry, and RAIN Summits. RAIN News is the preeminent source of information and commentary about the future of radio and streaming audio, founded in 1999 by Publisher Kurt Hanson. RAIN News VP/Managing Editor is Brad Hill.