Music Biz Kicks Off 2024 Conference

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Volunteers during check-in for Music Biz 2024. Photo: Jason Mallory

The Music Business Association kicked off its annual Music Biz conference yesterday (May 13) at the JW Marriott Nashville.

Conference attendees were immersed into a full day of programing with the Music Biz Roadshow, a collection of panels with artists and industry executives, as well as different track programs.

In the “Arrested Development? Demystifying the Pathway to Artist Success” panel, attendees heard from artist Hitkidd, Kadeem Phillips of Power Entertainment and Drew De Leon of The Digilogue through a conversation led by Delante Murphy of Beatroot. The group broke down the myth of an “overnight success” and talked about the modern artist development process.

“Arrested Development? Demystifying the Pathway to Artist Success panel.” Photo: Jason Mallory

Elizabeth Brooks of Better Angels Ventures led a discussion with Jeremy Gruber of Friends at Work, Jeff Rosenfeld of MAX, Maddy Sunquist of Madkat Management and artist Stephen Day on how artists can embrace the power of AI to look into fan engagement data and create sustainable success in the “How AI & Tech Are Shaping the Business of Music” panel.

“How AI & Tech Are Shaping the Business of Music” panel. Photo: Jason Mallory

Attendees also got to hear about the importance of an advisor’s advice when creating relationships between startups and rightsholders, and the roadblocks to avoid when bringing your startup to market in the “Building a Healthy Relationship Between Startups & Rightholders” panel. Aileen Crowley of Lark42 led the conversation with Cliff Fluent of Lewis Silken, Elizabeth Moody of Granderson Des Rochers, LLP and Michael Pelczynski of Forms + Shapes.

“Building a Healthy Relationship Between Startups & Rightholders” panel. Photo: Jason Mallory

In the “Sustainability – Longevity or Environmentally Friendly? BOTH? ” panel, attendees heard from Patrick Amory from Matador Records, Brandon Seavers from Memphis Record Pressing and Dustin Blocker from the Vinyl Records Manufacturing Association through a conversation led by Sarah Robertson of A to Z Media. The group discussed how long the industry can sustain the comeback of the vinyl format while offsetting the carbon footprint of vinyl production.

“Sustainability – Longevity or Environmentally Friendly? BOTH?” panel. Photo: Jason Mallory

Tracks for day one included “#NEXTGEN_NOW,” “Let’s Talk Physical” and “Startup Lab: A Bootcamp for New Music Ventures.”

Day two of Music Biz 2024 continued today (May 14) with keynote event “The Enduring Value of Songs — Leveraging Technology to Drive Growth for Songwriters and Publishers” featuring Lauren Hubert of Kobalt. Other industry executives from Peermusic, The MLC, Downtown, Paramount, Venice Music and more are also participating in the day’s panels. Tracks for day two include “Sync Symposiu,” “Music and Money: Managing Today’s Financial Climate for Tomorrow’s Artist,” “Howdy Neighbor: Understanding Neighboring Rights Opportunities” and the “Indie Label Summit.” Music Business Association President Portia Sabin will also bring her annual President’s Address.

Madison Hahnen
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