His roster of clients is impressive and includes the likes of James Taylor, Santana, Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits, and the list goes on. Kevin Leflar, co-founder, president and CEO of officialCOMMUNITY – has seen it all. Spending 30+ years straddling both the music and technology worlds, Leflar has become one of the best-known authorities on the impact of digital technology on the music industry.
Launching his career as a band manager in his early 20s, sending demo tapes to music labels and ultimately representing a Juno award-winning artist, Leflar spurred a bidding war landing him one of the biggest deals in Canadian history.
By his mid-twenties, he had his own label, was offered bands and musicians to manage and could have written his own ticket in the industry.
Leflar’s interests and career took a turn into the tech sector pre-Y2K, working on what he describes as “Web 1.0,” where software developers were considered somewhat rock stars – in their own right. After igniting his passion for all things Internet technology, contributing to the growth of a company from five to 350+ employees in only four short years, he ventured off on his own – bringing his two interests together with the birth of officialCOMMUNITY. officialCOMMUNITY is an online event-driven brand management agency that uses technology to empower established recording artists to acquire, serve and connect with their fans as lifelong, direct customers and community members.
Considered a rock star by his programmers and a self-described nerd to his rock star clients, Leflar landed on the world stage by working with legends Elton John, Bob Dylan, George Michael, Roger Waters and Sam Smith.
Recognizing that artists’ fame can be a double-edged sword, he felt compelled to become involved with organizations dedicated to improving Canadian musicians’ profile and rights. He subsequently represented a collection of recording artists before the Canadian Copyright Board and worked with international consulates as a Canadian ambassador of music.
“Leflar’s background is certainly unique,” commented UREEQA CEO Harsch Khandelwal. “It’s not every day that an individual spends his days thinking up events like golfing with Alice Cooper, and then spends his evenings thinking about intellectual property rights and how technological advancements could impact the industry and his clients’ livelihood.”
It is here that his passion, values and interests align with UREEQAs vision – that by leveraging technology, and blockchain, UREEQA can protect a Creator’s Work, Rights and Revenue. “UREEQA understands that this is an international problem and we’re assembling a team that we think can make a difference, that can change Creators’ lives,” Khandelwal added.
“The music industry has its flaws,” noted Leflar. “Creators need a way to protect what’s theirs and it’s clear to me that UREEQA is on the right path. That’s why I’m excited to join their team as a member of the UREEQA Advisory Board.”
Khandelwal echoed Leflar’s excitement about joining the Advisory Board, adding that “It’s clear to me that Kevin is there for the music industry, he’s dedicated his life to the interplay between music and technology, and most importantly, he cares about the recording artists. Kevin is a perfect fit as the latest member of the UREEQA Advisory Board.”
About Kevin Leflar
Kevin Leflar is the co-founder, president and CEO of officialCOMMUNITY. officialCOMMUNITY empowers established recording artists including James Taylor, Santana, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Sarah McLachlan, Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits to acquire, serve and connect their fans as lifelong, direct customers and community members.
officialCOMMUNITY conducts direct sales in each artist’s name through their official website using only their brand. Our artist’s teams manage the official social media presence and operate as stewards of the artist’s brand online.
About UREEQA
The UREEQA platform strives to protect creators’ work, their rights and their revenue by harnessing the power of blockchain technology.
Established in Canada in 2020, UREEQA will modernize the inefficient and bureaucratic systems currently in place for copyright, patent, industrial design and trademark protection. By building a robust and compelling Package of Proof for source creative work, UREEQA only mints Validated NFTs to represent creative rights. This helps keep buyers safe by giving them confidence that the work they are purchasing was minted by the smart contract approved by the creator of the work and is therefore authentic.
UREEQA provides value and opportunities for its Creators, Validators and Tokenholders via URQA, the token at the heart of the UREEQA ecosystem.
For more information on UREEQA and upcoming announcements please visit our website UREEQA, join our Telegram channel, and follow us on Twitter.