New Music Seminar 2012 Concludes With Inspiring Music Industry Dialogue; 2013 Dates Announced
New Music Seminar (NMS) 2012 concluded yesterday with a capacity crowd at New York City’s famed Webster Hall. As part of “New York Music Week” and “New Music Seminar Days” the two-and-a-half day conference featured a red carpet Opening Night Party, focused discussions at NMS Movements, 18-minute Intensives, Meet the Authors event, and the Official NMS Schmoozing bar at the Village PourHouse. For the fist time, NMS NY Music Festival hosted nightly performances throughout NYC from June 17-20.
Over 150 Players, industry leaders, artists, visionaries and upstarts engaged in intensive and powerful dialogue about the future of the music industry, the new solutions, technologies and investments necessary to revitalize the music business.
New Music Seminar announced its 2013 conference will take place on June 9-11 at Webster Hall.
“The confluence of so many leaders in both the music and music-related technology space created an energy of optimism and positivity that I haven’t experienced since the mid 80’s,” explained NMS Founder and Executive Director, Tom Silverman. “The music business has been reinvented and is on its way to the next golden age.”
On Monday morning, NMS kicked into high gear with a keynote delivered by Bob Pittman, CEO Clear Channel Media + Entertainment. Pittman spoke about the evolution of music and radio, explaining, “The monetization of online music is not quite there, but it’s coming.”
Sean Parker, Executive General Partner, Founders Fund, made a surprise appearance on Tuesday afternoon for a special Q&A session with NMS Founder and Executive Director, Tom Silverman in the Grand Ballroom at Webster Hall. Addressing the shift in music ownership vs streaming, Parker spoke to a packed audience, “The idea of ownership never goes away, it only gets redefined.”
NMS 2012 concluded with artists Wyclef Jean, Andrew W.K., Chuck D, Tommy Ramone, JD Samson (of MEN/Le Tigre), Hoodie Allen and Garland Jeffreys took to the stage, with Jason Flom, President of Lava Records as Conductor, for the Artist Movement, presented by Pandora. Each spoke about how they’ve changed throughout their careers to keep pace with the ever-evolving world of music. The artists all referenced direct interaction with the fans via social media and new types of label relationships.
Wyclef Jean announced his new company, All Handz on Deck at New Music Seminar 2012. All Handz on Deck’s emphasis is on partnering with and empowering artists through an infrastructure where music and creativity can thrive. The company provides a structure for artists to connect directly with fans, a true emphasis on music, Artist Development and provides an opportunity so that the artist can share in their own success.
SoundExchange made news as well, announcing that it had reached a major milestone of $1 billion in digital royalty payments to recording artists and record labels since its inception. This accomplishment is just one reflection of the tremendous growth of digital radio, including new services and increased listenership. It also reflects SoundExchange’s mission to help the music and creative community thrive. These topics and more were discussed amongst the attendees at NMS’s SoundExchange Digital Broadcast Summit.
Monday night featured The Artist on the Verge (AOV) Finalist Show at Santos Party House, where the Top 3 available finalists – Maren Morris, Black Cobain and NINJASONIK – performed for the chance to win over $150,000 in prizes. The three finalists, chosen from the Artist on the Verge Top 100 Chart, which was curated by NMS Music Committee and powered by ReverbNation. AOV promotes musicians who have positioned themselves to have the best chance of breaking through and receiving national recognition. Votes were tallied at NMS via text messaging sponsored by Mozes.
The grand prize winner, 22 year-old Texas native, Maren Morris, received the NMS “Reflection Award,” over $150,000 in instruments and marketing and promotions tools
