Serona Elton serves as Head of Educational Partnerships for The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC). In this role, Elton directs The MLC’s efforts to engage future members of the music industry currently studying music business and related subjects at colleges and universities across the country and around the world.

With extensive experience as a music industry professional and educator, she is also a full professor and Director of the Music Industry Program at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. She is also a Yamaha Master Educator. Previously, Elton worked for Warner Music Group where she held the position of Vice President, Product Management, and EMI Recorded Music North America where she was Vice President, Mechanical Licensing and Repertoire Data Services. She has also provided consulting services to Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Zumba Fitness, and other music-related companies.

A respected expert, Elton has written numerous articles and book chapters about the music industry and is a co-author of the book Music Business Handbook and Career Guide (13th edition). She is recognized by many for her extensive insight into licensing, royalties and music industry processes and structures, and has contributed to news stories for NPR’s Marketplace, CNN.com, Billboard and other outlets. She was awarded the first-ever Music Business Educator of the Year Bizzy Award by the Music Business Association in 2023.

Elton serves on the Promoting Peace, Education, and Cultural Exchange (PEACE) Through Music Award Committee, which is part of the U.S. Department of State’s Global Music Diplomacy Initiative. She is also a council member on the College Music Society's Council on Music Business-Industry and serves as a Director-at-Large on the American Musicological Society Board of Directors. Previously, she has served as president of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association (MEIEA), a trustee of the Copyright Society, chair of the Florida Bar Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Section, and a governor on the Recording Academy, Florida Chapter, Board of Governors. She is also an alumnus of the Nashville-based Leadership Music program, and a licensed attorney in New York and Florida. Elton holds a B.S.B.A. in Finance from the University of Florida, an M.M. in Music Industry from the University of Miami, and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School. Elton resides in South Florida.