Digital Music Pioneer Ian Rogers Receives Alumni Award From Indiana University

Honored By Alma Mater

Digital music executive IAN ROGERS, a 1994 alumnus of the computer science program at INDIANA UNIVERSITY, has been honored with the LUDDY DISTINGHISHED ALUMNI AWARD by the LUDDY SCHOOL OF INFORMATICS, COMPUTING and ENGINEERING. 

ROGERS, currently Chief Experience Officer at PARIS-based crypto firm LEDGER, was among the creators of MP3 player WINAMP, and later served as GM of YAHOO MUSIC, CEO of TOPSPIN MEDIA, CEO of BEATS MUSIC, and Sr. Dir. of APPLE MUSIC before a stint as Chief Digital Officer at luxury brand firm LVMH.

ROGERS said, “I’ve had a very good life. I’ve had a lot of fun and experienced some of the better things in life, and for me, it all came from what I was able to accomplish at IU. I came from very humble means, but I was able to go to college because of financial aid and student loans, and I got an incredible education. I’ve started 13 or 14 startups, and I’ve been lucky enough to have a couple of good outcomes.

“IU gave me a great education, and it gave me the technology I needed to see the future. INDIANA was very early to wire the campus with internet. I had high-speed internet in my apartment, and I always say that living in the future is cheating because when you live in the future, you can see the future. You don’t have to be that smart to see the future if you’re living in the future. That’s what it was for me. I don’t know if I was particularly smart, but I had access, and by having access, it allowed me to see what it's like to live with broadband and the kind of things you can accomplish. I feel like I got to spend the next 10 years watching the rest of the world catch up.”

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