Michael Huppe
| Michael J. Huppe | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Education | BA and JD |
| Alma mater | University of Virginia and Harvard Law School |
| Occupation | Lawyer and business executive |
| Years active | 1995 to present |
| Employer | SoundExchange |
| Title | President and CEO |
Michael Huppe is the president and CEO of SoundExchange. He has also previously served as a vice-president with the Recording Industry Association of America and as an associate with law firm Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld.
Huppe learned to play the trombone at a young age and enjoyed Classic rock music. He was also instructed in piano and keyboard. Of this time Huppe has said, "I always had an interest in music and the creative side but I wasn’t good enough to make music a career, so I never thought I would end up in the industry. Even so, I never let it drop. During law school, I helped put on musicals and other productions." He graduated with a BA from the University of Virginia and with a JD from Harvard Law School in 1995.
Huppe began his legal career as a litigation associate with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld after clerking for Leonie M. Brinkema, a United States District Court judge, in the Eastern District of Virginia. He has said that his career trajectory was largely set by the intellectual property cases he encounter as a federal court clerk.
After working at Akin Gump until 1999, Huppe served as an anti-piracy consultant with the Recording Industry Association of America, eventually becoming senior vice president, business and legal affairs and deputy general counsel for RIAA. He also worked on behalf of major music labels. At RIAA he oversaw major litigations, including royalty rates litigations for its holding SoundExchange, the United States' online music royalties collections agency.The Washington Post wrote that, "Huppe has had a front-row seat at some of the industry’s most turbulent moments. He joined the Recording Industry Association of America as a lawyer and policy adviser just one month after it filed a lawsuit against file sharing service Napster. That legal action shaped his industry view."
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