The world’s most artist-responsive music distributor of independent recordings has decided to put on their first conference. CD Baby–which handles a wide range of services for over 350,000 artists–will hold the DIY Musician Conference on October 23 through 25, 2015 at the historic Congress Plaza Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. The conference–whose early bird fee is a low $49–will offer presentations to help independent musicians on a wide range of music business topics such as online monetization, touring, online video, publishing, building a team, list-building, and more.
“With the DIY Musician blog and podcast, CD Baby has long been a trusted source of actionable information for independent artists,” says Kevin Breuner, CD Baby’s V.P. of Marketing. “Creating a conference where artists gather together as a community to learn and be inspired by one another was an idea that’s time has come.” The DIY Musician Conference–which will draw between 500 and 1000 attendees–is not limited to CD Baby artists and is expected to grow into an annual occurrence focusing on practical steps independent musicians can take the following day to grow their music careers. The gathering will consist of keynotes, breakout sessions, meet-and-greets, and one-on-one consultations where artists work closely with CD Baby mentors.
For more information and to order your ticket to the DIY Musician Conference:
www.diymusiciancon.com
“The conference is the antidote to industry gabfests where panels have become more about being seen than being helpful,” explains Breuner. “Every one of our panels will offer actionable, tactical advice to emerging artists to help them further their musical careers, from how to add names to an email list, to how to maximize download and streaming volume. Geared towards the hundreds of thousands of DIY musicians trying to break through, the DIY Musician Conference offers only hard-hitting information and networking for emerging artists.”
While many national conferences gather in cities like N.Y.C., L.A. , Nashville, and Austin, Chicago’s music industry has seen recent growth and is undergoing a renaissance among festivals, blogs, labels, agencies, venues, and artists. The well-located Congress Plaza Hotel is steps away from Grant Park, Millennium Park, the Chicago Cultural Center, and the Art Institute.
“For years, artists have asked us when we’d start an artist conference of our own,” concludes Breuner. “We’re happy to say that it’s finally happening!”
10/23/2015, Congress Plaza Hotel, Chicago, IL