To light a path to success for aspiring young entrepreneurs in the music business, through mentorship, networking, and funding opportunities.

SkyLight was founded in 2013 by artist manager Stephanie LaFera (CEO/Founder, Little Empire Music) and executive Kerri Mason (Director Content/Marketing, The New Yorker).

Initially launched in 2014, the Skylight Sessions were created as a continuing series of informal gatherings where music business professionals at all levels can come together “In Real Life,” in order to foster community and mentorship for like-minded beginners and veterans in the industry.

In 2016 at the EDMBiz Conference in Las Vegas, Skylight launched the ambitious program entitled “Little Empire and Skylight: Promoting the Future Through Mentorship.” The program successfully paired those trying to break into the music business with top executives through personalized mentoring.

Each mentee was given time with each expert, allowing participants to be exposed to a wide range of topics pertaining to careers in the music industry.

Mentors who donated their time to the program included: Alexandra Greenberg (Senior VP, MSO PR), DJ/producer Christian Karlsson (Bloodshy/Galantis/Miike Snow), Geronimo (SiriusXM Senior Director of Programming), Randy Sosin (Insomniac Film & Video Production Senior Vice President), Ed Shapiro (Reed Smith, LLP Partner) and Stephanie LaFera (Little Empire Music Founder/Skylight Cofounder).

During the 2014 Winter Music Conference in Miami, FL, Skylight honored dance music icon Judy Weinstein at the Skylight Benefit Brunch at the Red Bull Guest House. Weinstein guided the careers of New York House music legends such as Larry Levan, and in 1983 she launched Def Mix alongside David Morales, which became home to luminaries like Frankie Knuckles, Hector Romero and Satoshi Tomiie.

In 2015 the SkyLight Internship Program linked qualified, hand-selected interns with high-performing companies in the music industry. The program achieved its goal of providing Skylight interns with meaningful work experience and valuable exposure to the inner workings of a successful organization, while also benefitting the host partner.

Our partners include:

The launch of Skylight in 2013 at EDMBiz in Las Vegas coincided with the launch of the Skylight Grant, as three talented young women were introduced to the dance music community during its biggest week of the year. SkyLight provided travel and accommodations to EDMBiz in Las Vegas for the inaugural recipients of the SkyLight Grant, who were selected based on essay submissions detailing their businesses and goals. Once there, they were matched with mentors in their field, feted as the guests of honor at an influencer-packed cocktail hour, and brought to the podium of EDMBiz, the two-day business conference hosted by Insomniac Events.