The Music Business Association is excited to bring its popular Entertainment & Technology Law Conference series back to Nashville during the Music Biz 2017 convention. Known for debating hot topics, this is a must-attend event for anyone who wants the opportunity to interact with industry advocates and influencers, and earn much-needed CLE credits at the same time.
Six (6) continuing legal education credits have been applied for through the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education. Lawyers based outside of Tennessee can apply for credits according to their state’s regulations and guidelines.
For more information about the Entertainment & Technology Law Conference series, please click here.
For more information about the Entertainment & Technology Law Conference series, please click here.
YouTube recently announced that it has issued more than $1 billion in advertising payments to record labels and artists for the use of music over the past twelve months. At the same time, however, numerous industry observers continue to question whether YouTube is doing enough to compensate the rightsholders for the use of their content and to protect copyright holders from piracy. Just a few months ago, more than 200 recording artists and key industry figures, including Irving Azoff, Taylor Swift and U2, signed an open letter to Congress to decry the rampant exploitation of their work for profit by entities such as YouTube and to call for a re-examination of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the 1998 law that governs infringement liability for internet service providers.
This panel will also examine the history of the DMCA, the operation of its safe-harbor, takedown and liability regime and the critiques of its operation from the point of view of content creators, owners, users and internet service providers. In the process, the panel seeks to provide direction on navigating the DMCA’s murky waters, an understanding of various problems with the current law and an overview of the debate surrounding its reform. The panel will be of particular interest to artists and entities whose works are distributed and infringed upon online and will also provide guidance on digital rights management issues and best practices for developers and operators of online entities making use of “user-generated content.”
Priority seating will be given to those who completed the pre-event sign-up by May 9. Remaining seating will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
This worshop is not open to press.
Spotify is charting a new course in its engagement with the Creator community - prioritizing relationships across the community to generate more opportunities for artists & creators to build their careers while adding growth to the overall music industry. To do this, we’re focusing on 4 key pillars: artist marketing; servicing Artists, Management, and Labels equally; developing a collaborative relationship with songwriters; and educating Creators on the value of Spotify.
Showing our commitment to this strategy, we’ve reorganized ourselves around these specific initiatives. Rob Harvey leads our Global Artist & Label Services Team responsible for strategic promotion of music and owning our relationships with Artists, Management, and Labels. Dave Rocco leads our Artist Marketing efforts and is responsible for how we elevate the Creators voice through our promotional channels. Mark Williamson, now Global Head of Artist & Industry Partnerships, leads our industry education programs along with partner opportunity development. Tiffany Kumar, Head of Songwriter Relations, is redefining our Songwriter strategy to open up more opportunities for this key constituency. We’ll also have Xavier “X” Jernigan from Spotify’s Shows & Editorial team on hand to discuss the utility and opportunity of our owned and operated playlists. Finally, Tracy Chan from Spotify’s Creator team will talk about Spotify for Artists, a one-stop shop designed to guide artists through Spotify and provide access to audience insights, song data and tools to manage artist profiles.
In this workshop, we’ll discuss Spotify’s “open for business” policy, how we’re leveraging the power of the Spotify platform to maximize value creation for Creators, and how we see our focus developing over the next year. This workshop will take a presentational format with lots of time for Q&A.
Presenters:
Get to know your peers at this informal networking event. William Paterson University’s David Philp and Nicole Hennessey of the Music Business Association will offer pointers on how to approach those you may not know and overcome your networking fears. They will emphasize the importance of the small things like smiling, listening, asking questions, saying a person’s name, and even where to place a name tag — all of which can make a huge difference in making a lasting impression. After a brief presentation, you’ll be set free to meet your peers from colleges and universities across the country.
Tickets are only $20 with all proceeds benefiting the Music Biz Scholarship Foundation. Admission is FREE for full-time music business students with proper ID. Click here to purchase tickets.
Back by popular demand, the Industry Jam will make its return to the Music Biz convention on Monday, May 15 at 8:30 PM! Doors open promptly at 8 PM. Join your friends and colleagues for an evening of live music, special tributes, awards presentations, signed instrument raffles, giveaways, and more!
SiriusXM ‘80s host Richard Blade will serve as the emcee for the evening, which will include:
The music industry is a highly competitive field for recent grads to enter. How can you stand out in an already saturated market? What skills are prominent music companies in need of? What are the most effective ways of networking? We'll explore these questions and more with leading professionals across the business.
Take an in-depth look at today’s music consumer — how and where fans consume music; trends in purchasing both physical, digital and mobile formats; preferences for ownership or access; and so much more.
While much attention has been paid to Spotify and Apple Music's growth, there are a handful of other streaming services making a mark in distinct niches. These services have the potential to significantly improve label AND artist revenue mix, drive overall category growth and provide a healthy dose of music first focused competition. From this panel discussion you'll learn more about how niche services improve the revenue mix and how they can turn non-paying users into subscribers and drive category growth. You'll hear more about how services are operating across the globe, ranging from The Overflow in the USA (Christian & Gospel) to Niche Streem (Liedje in S. Africa) and emerging EDM services in Europe. From this session, you'll walk away with actionable knowledge on how to create your own channel strategy for your label or artists, and greater knowledge of tools available to grow your business.
Get up out of your seat and let’s play! Students will learn how to approach both phone and in-person interviews. Much emphasis will be put on how much knowledge of the industry a student seeking an internship or job should have; whether or not one should seek an internship or job just to get their band signed; and what the proper etiquette is in following up after the interview.
Historically, there have been two music industries — the 1% enjoyed the rockstar life, while the other 99% struggled to survive. But it’s a new day. The Internet has democratized music discovery and consumption, and with it has come an explosion of alternative financing and funding opportunities outside of the traditional label/publisher system. These options include royalty investment options, to crowdsourcing, to microfinancing. This panel will explore how alternatives to label/publisher advances are leveling the playing field for artists/songwriters looking for new ways to fund their career, as well as how labels and distributors can leverage their catalog in new ways to compete in today’s digital economy.
Sponsored by Middle Tennessee State University.
A "speed dating" InfoFest! Students, take this opportunity to sit and talk with members of the music industry and ask the questions you've been wanting to know. Up to a dozen music executives from various parts of the music industry will be present. Pull up a chair and spend time in a table setting learning from professionals who are doing what you're interested in pursuing after college. Then, hang around longer for some snacks, and chat more during the casual networking group time.
After the overwhelming response to our debut outing last year, Music Biz is thrilled to work alongside Nielsen Music to bring Music’s Leading Ladies Speak Out to the program in 2017. The event was developed to empower the next generation of female executives in the music business and discuss ideas to overcome and eliminate inequality. The session will feature some of the music industry’s most influential female executives as well as GRAMMY Award-winning Pop superstar Kelly Clarkson, who will inspire attendees with stories from her experiences as a songwriter, recording artist, live performer, wife, and mother.
Grab some light refreshments from the back of the room and prepare yourself for this empowering discussion.
Nielsen Welcome: The Marketability of Female Artists
Erin Crawford, Sr. VP & General Manager of Nielsen Music, will kick off the Leading Ladies program by sharing exclusive insights on the marketability of female artists in this ever-evolving music world. The discussion will feature female-focused data as well as fan affinity analytics that can be leveraged to drive engagement and build meaningful brand partnerships for today’s women in music.
Creative Partnerships: An Interview with Julie Greenwald and Kelly Clarkson
Atlantic’s Julie Greenwald’s keen and often maternal instincts have helped her to uniquely nurture the careers of major artists such as Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Christina Perri, Janelle Monáe, Twenty One Pilots, Sturgill Simpson, Coldplay, Paramore, Rob Thomas, James Blunt, Jason Mraz, Death Cab for Cutie, Fun, Trey Songz, Flo Rida, and Wiz Khalifa. Today, her conversation with NPR Music’s Ann Power’s will illuminate how she achieved her success in a male-dominated business, as well as her views and approach on the many issues around work/life balance.
Greenwald will be joined on stage by GRAMMY Award-winning Pop superstar Kelly Clarkson. Clarkson will talk about her relationship with Greenwald and her decision to join Greenwald at Atlantic Records Group. The two will also share stories of their experiences in the music industry and explain how they were able to achieve success on their own terms.
Changing the Conversation: The Power of Women & Mentoring In Today’s Music Business
Our program will round as a group of successful female executives explore what led them into the music business, the challenges they have experienced early in their careers, the partnerships they have formed with other successful women in the business, and the mentoring roles they have taken within their companies, as well as within the industry, to educate and empower future female executives.
Visit the Hi-Res Audio Pavilion in the hotel lobby and experience firsthand the next wave in subscription music. You’ll also receive demonstrations of the latest devices and learn more about the Stream the Studio initiative from music company representatives.
Global expansion of Country music is part of the year-round mission of Country Music Association (CMA). Today’s CMA staff will be on-hand to reveal international Country statistics and discuss their efforts to spread the genre throughout the world — from Mexico to Canada to Australia.
CMA and UMG Nashville’s Annie Ortmeier will team up to take you on an exploration of Forever Country — a first of its kind multi-generational, multi-artist, multi-label Country music single and video to commemorate the 50th CMA Awards broadcast. The song encompassed three timeless classics, ‘On The Road Again,’ ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ and ‘I Will Always Love You’ in a combined arrangement by award winning producer, Shane McAnally. The completed project featured 30 artists across all eras of country music and included a surreal video directed by award winning director, Joseph Khan. The release of the single and subsequent video coupled with the efforts of the entire industry escalated the song and the video to new heights internationally with distribution to new territories that helped propel the track onto several iTunes, Spotify and Amazon charts globally.
This session and case study takes a deeper look at Forever Country and the impact on overall International audiences and adoption of country music globally prior to, during, and since release with research from the CMA and Universal Music Group Nashville.
This session is part of the Music Business Educators Meetup — a time for professors, faculty members, and other higher-education enthusiasts to review the past semester, present new trends that can benefit the classroom, and discuss the future of music business education.
Are students today prepared for the internships and entry level jobs that music business has for them? What are employers finding are the strengths and weaknesses of today’s college upperclassmen and recent graduates? What skills and knowledge can educators add to their curriculums to make students even more prepared for their real-world experiences? Hear from employers from all walks of the industry and their experiences with hiring today’s music business students.
Music business educators have the option to purchase a Meetup Only pass, a Wednesday, May 17 day pass (which includes the Music Business Educators Meetup), as well as a full registration to the entire convention, which includes all Music Biz 2017 events and activities Monday, May 15 through Thursday, May 18. Click here for details.
E-Commerce sales growth continues to outperform traditional brick and mortar stores, as consumers grow increasingly comfortable with online purchasing. This rising shift presents greater opportunities for artists to market merchandise and special offers directly to their fans. The consumer-artist dynamic should be complimentary; driving revenue, developing the brand, AND bringing fans closer to the music.
From vinyl to t-shirts to VIP ticket sales, join us as we discuss tips and tricks of the trade including optimizing artist stores and websites, increasing email and social subscribers, developing customer service, determining the right products/offers/channels for your audience, enhancing your marketing and advertising, and creating product launch choreography.
The world is witnessing the rise of Thomas Rhett — the multi-Platinum singer/songwriter leading the pack as one of Country music’s elite artists with seven #1 songs and multiple awards under his belt including ACM, Billboard, CMA, and ACC Awards for his six-week chart-topping smash hit “Die A Happy Man," which was also nominated for a 2017 GRAMMY. This success has translated into sold-out shows throughout the U.S., and ultimately "across the pond" where Thomas Rhett is building a fanbase and breaking barriers of entry into the international marketplace.
Join us for a special worldwide case study set to explore the growth of Thomas Rhett’s groundbreaking career — which began as a Nashville songwriter and has led headlining shows in Belgium, Canada, England, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Scotland. On the verge of a third album and a 2017 world tour, this timely discussion will give a current perspective on the challenges & opportunities of going global, as well as an inside look at the components necessary to do so, and much more.
Streaming music curators and playlisters have become instrumental in launching the careers of artists and musicians. Some of these success stories have occurred without or in spite of the lack of support at terrestrial radio, a traditional gatekeeper. Some notable examples include Hozier, Major Lazer, Sam Hunt, Maren Morris and the list goes on.
This panel will discuss how to build a sound and comprehensive music streaming strategy for your artist, band or brand.
A&R executives are being forced to change their game. Today, the search for talent is not only more reactive to market conditions, but also more reliant on data. Services like BuzzAngle, Next Big Sound and Crimson Hexagon are quickly becoming essential tools for music discovery as are social media metrics from the likes of YouTube, Spotify, and Pandora, and others. During this panel, we’ll talk about the roles of traditional A&R versus A&R research, showcasing how important each one is to the music business decisions being made on a day-to-day basis. We’ll touch on record label signing decisions; how playlists on Spotify are made; and how this data effects the live music space.
To preserve a quiet presentation environment, attendees will not be able to enter the room after 4:45 PM.
Music Biz is happy to welcome Project Music and the accelerator’s Startup Showcase finale to Music Biz 2017. Project Music is the Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s leading action to support innovation within the music industry, a core business vertical in Nashville’s economy. To meet the unique needs of music-minded entrepreneurs building music-centric business, the Entrepreneur Center is providing a year-round music entrepreneurship focus that brings music, tech and business leaders together to nurture startups desiring to grow music industry revenue.
In the past decade there have been drastic changes in the way consumers listen and discover music. Although streaming continues to grow in dominance, social media is quickly becoming the latest outlet for music discovery and consumption. Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat are designed to provide exposure for artists as well as a direct channel to connect with their fans around the world. Music adds indelible value to all digital services, delivering a more interactive and engaging space for users and followers. While this benefits both the consumer and the social platforms, this presents a challenge in establishing a fair and profitable music marketplace.
Can social media be more than just a means for artists to connect with their fans? What if features that incorporate music like Facebook Live and Snapchat's Discover page, also provided a revenue stream for music creators? With new platforms constantly emerging it is vital that songwriters and artists are properly acknowledged and compensated for the invaluable piece they provide to the puzzle. Do digital executives appreciate the value that music brings to their platforms? Do they understand the need to obtain a digital music license and how it helps the songwriters? Shouldn't songwriters and artists receive compensation, allowing them to generate a steady revenue stream? Music licenses can bridge this value gap and propel the music industry further into the digital age. This panel will raise these questions and more about fair compensation and the marketplace dynamics.
A panel of experts including representatives from all aspects of the music and tech industries will tackle these issues and provide insight from both the economic and creative perspectives.
Vevo is endeavoring in new, unprecedented research in understanding digital’s true reach. How does mobile play a part in its development? In our session, we’ll cover our findings across the three following topics, and showcase takeaways on how it can be leveraged across the industry.
For over 10 years, records stores, their customers, and artists across the world have come together and celebrate the unique culture of a record store and the special role these independently owned stores play in their communities. The success of this one-day celebration, has sparked the creation of a Black Friday event, as well as countless collaborations with both independent and and major labels to create contests, special releases and promotions throughout the year. While the 2017 event is still fresh in our minds, let’s review the year’s achievements and begin discussing 2018.
Today’s music industry landscape and new technology have allowed artists and musicians to find success completely independently, from recording to distribution to promotion. Until recently, however, independent songwriters (including artists, bands, and producers who write their own songs), labels, managers, lawyers, and others could not collect the music publishing royalties their compositions earned without a publishing deal. We’ll walk through the benefits of being your own publisher and the resources independent songwriters and their agents can utilize to make it happen.
We’ll briefly discuss the basics of music publishing and the different types of royalties and sources of revenue songwriters should exploit. Then we’ll dive deeper into what a songwriter needs to do to make sure they’re set up to collect everything they are owed, and how exactly a service like Songtrust, CD Baby Pro and others can help. Then we’ll discuss ways that independent songwriters can get the coveted “creative services” they want, without giving up creative control to a publishing company.
Visit the Hi-Res Audio Pavilion in the hotel lobby and experience firsthand the next wave in subscription music. You’ll also receive demonstrations of the latest devices and learn more about the Stream the Studio initiative from music company representatives.
Amazon Alexa, Facebook, Google Home, Pandora, Spotify, Tumblr, YouTube… the list of today’s music discovery tools goes on and on. Although the landscape is changing, is consumer behavior keeping up? With all of these new tools, why does AM/FM and Family & Friends remain at the top of all recent consumer discovery studies? This panel, will look at historical data on how consumers have discovered music over the past decade, talk about the tools on the list today and discuss what they expect to see in the future.
Startups, by their nature, are often business experiments, mixing funding issues with product development and learning to pivot along the way as the market changes and the product offering matures. In the music world, navigating entrenched relationships, licensing issues, and technology can complicate things for founders, and making strategic decisions about how to fund an organization with what type of capital is imperative yet vexing.
How can a music startup find angel investors or venture capital firms? Should a company sell equity or issue debt? Are incubators worth the time? What should a pitch include? How should the deal be structured? We'll dive into all of these critical questions, and more, in this discussion.
Most musicians are terrible at telling their story and describing their sound. Why? We’re inside the music AND the mind that made it, so it’s easy to lose perspective. But a band that has a solid grasp on their branding has a huge advantage over acts that don’t. In this seminar, Chris Robley and Kevin Breuner lead you through a handful of exercises that will help you identify what makes you unique, and how to communicate it clearly to the world.
At the conclusion of the day's program, grab a drink in the Bridge Bar. Toast four days of great meetings, insightful programming and energizing music. Share a few more laughs with friends before taking the knowledge you gained and the connections you made back to your companies to build upon in the weeks and months ahead.
WHO KNEW is presented by MusicRowSearch.
This is FREE to all Music Biz convention attendees with prior RSVP. Email tom@musicrowsearch.com to reserve your ticket. Reserved tickets will be held until 6:30 PM on the night of the event. After 6:30 PM your ticket may be given to others waiting for entrance to the event. A Music Biz badge is required even if you have reserved your ticket. Doors open at 6 PM.
WHO KNEW is a music-industry networking event mixing executives, powerbrokers, undiscovered mavericks and rising stars. Every two months at WHO KNEW, seasoned professionals share their stories, predictions and advice from all corners of the entertainment industry. This special edition will include the following industry professionals:
