State of the Music Business at the Millennium Music Conference

Posted on 25. Feb, 2010 by refe in NEWS

At the Millenium Music Conference 14

This past weekend I attended the 14th annual Millennium Music Conference in Harrisburg, PA. Fourteen years is a long time for anything to last in this business. I would imagine that panel topics have changed quite a bit since the conference first appeared on the scene in 1996.

This year members of over 300 bands were in attendance on Friday and Saturday, each hoping to return home with some new strategies for their music careers. I spent most of my time at the Live Music Machine booth, where I had a great view of the throngs of musicians as they moved from panel to panel. There were more than a few dazed looks.

On Saturday I sat on a panel with David Sherbow, Co-founder of Live Music Machine and veteran record promoter. We spoke to an energetic room packed full of musicians, artist managers and other members of the business. Lou Plaia of ReverbNation was in attendance and added a few of his own insights to the discussion.

Also notable were the two Brits who ended up in our room. They just so happened to be former bandmates of Creative Deconstruction regular contributor Rich Huxley and nearly burst when I used his band Hope and Social as an example. Of course, I made sure to catch them afterward to get a few embarrassing stories about Rich out of them.

A different kind of 360 deal

Kingsfoil performs at the MMC14 showcase

Our panel was ever-so-tastefully titled “Grabbing Your Music Business By The Balls – Do a 360 Deal with Yourself and Get Paid.” (Anyone who has met both Dave Sherbow and myself should have no trouble guessing which one of us came up with that one.)

Much of what we talked about came straight out of the pages of this blog, as well as a new e-book of Dave’s which we gave out to everyone in attendence. We tried to provide practical, realistic advice for emerging artists to take back home and apply to their careers.

Everything we covered centered around the idea that artists now have the freedom to take control of their business. The term ‘360′ has been thrown around a lot in reference to deals that some labels and promoters are offering that entitle them to a piece of each different revenue source available to their artists. We wanted to promote a different kind of 360 model, one that put the artist at the helm.

Artists no longer need the major record labels to run a sustainable business. The freedom exists now to build their own team and make their own decisions about what to sell, what to give away, where to play and who to partner with.

Online engagement begins offline

Lou Plaia of ReverbNation, Aaron Burton of FizzKicks, Chip Schutzman of Miles High Productions and others.

We also tried to balance the web-heavy message that seemed to be dominating the conference by focusing on the importance of real-world fan engagement. The most valuable fan relationships begin offline. Live performances, real face to face conversations, taking pictures with fans – these activities create a connection that you just can’t get with someone you’ve never actually met.

That doesn’t mean that online tools such as social media, blogging and email campaigns aren’t important. In fact, it’s more important than ever to maintain these fan connections and tend to them consistently to keep people engaged. There is really no better way to do that than to keep the flame alive online.

Nevertheless, we deliberately stayed away from discussions of social media because we knew the conference-goers were getting that information elsewhere. Instead, we made a point to revisit a much more traditional tool – the mailing list. And in the spirit of practicing what we preached, we also took down the email addresses of each person in attendance to add to our own mailing lists. By now everyone on that list should have received an email containing the free e-book I mentioned earlier as well as a couple other goodies as a thank you for signing up. Don’t underestimate the value of an email address!

All in all it was a great conference and I’m grateful to have met a bunch of talented emerging musicians and members of their teams. For more info on the event and some exclusive videos and downloads make sure that you sign up for the new Creative Deconstruction newsletter, The Deconstructionist.

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Tags: events, millennium music conference, mmc14, MUSIC INDUSTRY

One Response to “State of the Music Business at the Millennium Music Conference”

Brian Franke

26. Feb, 2010

If this conference happened seven months ago I would have been one of the musicians with a bewildered look on his face. It was when I went to the Future of Music Coalition’s Policy Conference in October ‘09 that I really started to get what a musician means in today’s terms. Connection. Engagement. Letting fans in. Two way conversations. I wasn’t doing much of that if any consistently enough. So it’s good to hear that some of the things going on at the Millennium Conference are actions I started taking.

The 360 is very key. Musicians need to realize labels are losing ground and it’s not an all or nothing industry anymore. They also need to be okay that you don’t have to be a super-millionaire to say “I made it”. Google “1000 True Fans” and you’ll know what people mean.

I’m a solo artist and have been at it full time for about six months. I believe focusing your efforts starts with educating yourself, period. Read blogs (like this one), follow experts on Twitter, get out and network in your town with other musicians (and also graphic designers, film people, booking agents, venue managers, etc), follow artists making it to see what they’re doing (especially regional ones), go to workshops and conferences, and don’t be afraid to try something different. If people respect your art and what you are trying to do with it, they will help you–and there is your team (I have had family and friends help with my website, press kit, and photoshoot with minimal cost).

But to the main point of this post–offline interaction is so crucial still. I believe face-to-face interaction is the best form of communication for fans and potential fans. These days I now go to thank and talk with as many people as possible during set breaks to promote myself. And my email list has increased more than before over a short period of time. And when people don’t see me, I put video blogs up on my website to give everyone a more intimate update than typing it out in a newsletter. Of course it helps to be a social person, so if you’re in a band and you’re not that person, have your social butterfly bandmate go out and do the face-to-face stuff (lots of musicians are introverts unfortunately).

Anyhow, congrats on being invited to talk on an awesome panel! I hope one day to be a living proof that these strategies do work. It takes time and a lot of work, but if music is your passion you won’t mind one bit.

Brian Franke
Singer/Songwriter
http://www.brianfranke.com
@bfrankemusic (Twitter)