Mike Lombardo


Michael Lawrence Lombardo is an American musician, sound engineer, and convicted sex offender. He was known for writing piano-driven rock songs and posting them on YouTube under the username "MikeLombardoMusic", until his 2013 conviction on child pornography charges. He was previously signed to DFTBA Records through which he released one LP, Songs for a New Day, and one EP, The Alchemist. Lombardo posted music videos, song tutorials, and personal updates on his YouTube channel which had over 20,000 subscribers before its closure.
As of August 16, 2018, Lombardo was released from FCI Fort Dix, having served a five-year sentence at the facility after pleading guilty to child pornography charges.
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Musical background

Lombardo frequently states that he has been making music since he was two years old. He graduated a year early from Berklee College of Music in 2009, earning a degree in songwriting. He first started uploading original songs on YouTube as a way to post his homework for class assignments.

Child pornography charges

On February 16, 2012, it was announced by The Smoking Gun that Lombardo "is the target of a federal child pornography investigation focusing on his alleged exchange of naked photos with underage female fans." Two days after the release of the article, Hank Green, one of the co-owners of DFTBA Records, put up a statement on his Tumblr blog stating that the company had removed Lombardo's music from their website because they "didn't feel it appropriate to continue our business relationship given the situation." On July 20, 2012, a complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York claiming four counts of child pornography related crimes. He was arrested on July 25, 2012, but released from custody after five days.
On September 18, 2013, The Smoking Gun published another article announcing that Lombardo had pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography. According to the plea bargain, Lombardo solicited pornographic images from six different minors.
On February 28, 2014, Lombardo was sentenced to five years in federal prison. He was released on August 16, 2018.

Later career

Following his release from prison in 2018, Lombardo began working professionally under his first and middle name, Michael Lawrence. He became the technical editor for Live Sound International and ProSoundWeb, and a product manager for Rational Acoustics.
From 2019 to September 2023, he co-hosted the Signal to Noise podcast along with Kyle Chirnside and Christopher Leonard on ProSoundWeb.

Committee work and publications

Lawrence is a member of the Audio Engineering Society Technical Committee on Acoustics and Sound Reinforcement. In May 2020, he contributed to the AES Technical Document AESTD1007.1.20-05, which established guidelines for managing sound exposure and noise pollution at large-scale outdoor events. He also serves on the working group for the AES Health and Hearing in Live Audio certification scheme.
In 2022, Lawrence published the book Between the Lines: Concepts in Sound System Design and Alignment, which focuses on the practical application of sound system optimization.

Awards, achievements, and appearances

Discography