Holly Stephey talks to Dan Kimpel one of the American media's foremost authorities on popular music

Acknowledged as one of the American media's foremost authorities on popular music and songwriters, Dan Kimpel contributes to a dizzying variety of print and electronic mediums: books, interactive CD's, magazines, web sites, feature films, videos and new media. His recent interview subjects include Natalie Cole, Ringo Starr, Akon, Bobby Brown, Ne-Yo, Melissa Etheridge, Kelly Clarkson, Mary J. Blige, Green Day, Usher, Alicia Keys, Metallica, Jason Mraz and Black Eyed Peas. Over six years, passengers on United Airlines heard Kimpel's incisive interviews with hit songwriters and recording artists worldwide on The United Entertainment Network. In addition, he has written, produced and/or voiced segments for TED, Regal Cinemas, and the presidential and vice presidential planes, Air Force One and Two. In 2008, under the auspices of DMI Music and Media Solutions, Dan began conducting interviews for Delta Airlines in-flight audio service, Delta On Air, co-hosting a show with Natalie Cole to debut her two time Grammy-Award winning album Still Unforgettable. In print, Dan contributes cover features to the west coast trade publication Music Connection magazine, plus a regular column, “Song Biz,” that includes a profile of a writer or composer in each issue. To date, Dan has conducted over 300 interviews for the magazine covering such diverse talents as Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morissette, Randy Newman, Glen Ballard, John Mayer, Jill Scott and Rufus Wainwright. Other publications that feature his writing include BMI World, ASCAP Playback, Grammy, SESAC Magazine, Film Music and American Songwriter. Dan’s book on maximizing personal relationships, Networking Strategies For The New Music Business (ArtistPro/Thomson) is the follow up to his best-selling title, Networking in the Music Business. Over five years, he conducted a weeklong master class on networking at Sir Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) in the UK.