I have to say, I’ve been to many events, showcases, concerts, and conventions. This first-time event, by far, surpasses any experience I’ve had at any other event. For those who don’t know, CD Baby hosted its first DIY Musician Conference, where artists, musicians, and industry professionals congregate and learn the ins and outs of making it in the music industry. The three-day conference was held at the Congress Plaza Hotel in downtown Chicago, IL, and ran multiple simultaneous panels and workshops. The panelists spanned from Tony Van Veen (CEO of AVL Digital Group), to Chris Robley (blog editor of CD Baby), to Lauren Denzy (marketing manager of SoundExchange), to many many others.
CD Baby’s conference started off with an open-to-the-public panel named “DIY Booking and Concert Promotions”, where panelists discussed concerns, methods, and questions regarding the touring and performing artist. Then the conference kicked-off with a well-attended open mic later on that evening at the Bottom Lounge. The next day exploded with tons of panels I’ve attended, including “From Indie to Major in Twelve Months and Back Again”, where Tony Van Veen interviewed artist Brian Mazzaferri about his journey as an indie and major artist. The next panel I attended was “Show Me The Money: How to Maximize Every Revenue Stream for Your Music”, where panelists such as Lauren Danzy, Kevin Breuner, and others discussed how companies such as SoundExchange, RumbleFish, and CD Baby can help artists collect royalties from music licensing. The third panel I visited was “Email Marketing for Bands”, which was directed by Joy Merten (Online Engagement for StageBloc). During this workshop, Merten breaks down the different companies who handle email marketing, such as MailChimp and Constant Contact, as well as the different features each of them have, how to build an email campaign, how to follow and manage analytics, and other important topics. I’ve also briefly sat in on “Publishing Unlocked: Your Money is Waiting for You” with Rob Filomena (Director of Publishing, CD Baby), who broke down how publishing works. It touched and expanded a lot on what was discussed in the “Show Me The Money” panel earlier that day.
Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the showcase that night, and I had an early flight on Sunday morning, which means I missed a whole day of more panels and vital information. I still wonder why I made that kind of travel arrangement and I’m very upset that I missed Sunday’s conference, but best believe, next year I’m staying for the entire thing for sure! I also had a chance to meet many wonderful people, from attending artists, to heavy-hitter industry professionals from CD Baby, GigSalad, and others! Luckily for you guys, I’ve compiled a lot of the information I’ve collected from the workshops into about seven or so upcoming articles, which will touch on the following topics:
Booking A Successful First Show
How to Build a Fan Base While Doing Shows
How Radio Airplay Really Works
How Record Labels Work
Lasting Impressions That Get You More Shows
Maximizing Revenue Streams
Music Royalties Unpacked
Since some of these articles are follow-ups of others on the list, we will do our best to put them in an order that makes sense. We will include a majority of these articles in the November issue of M Pire Magazine, while some others may be placed in M Pire’s Tumblr blog. To stay updated either way, please sign up to our free newsletter by Clicking Here, in which you will receive links to all of these articles! In the meantime, check out the photos below from the conference!
- See more at: http://mpiremagazine.tumblr.com/post/132226008145/m-pire-covers-cd-babys-diy-musician-conference#sthash.CfWtcMT0.dpuf