We go to a lot of music conferences, and over the past few years, we've witnessed substantial audience declines. But this goes beyond simple head-counting: exactly how many of the people that remain are paying full fare? It's not completely uncommon to see more than ten people on stage, and speakers get in for free.
Of course, the number of execs with expense accounts in hand is drastically lower these days. But the question for many of these conference organizers is whether that situation gets better, or if this simply becomes a smaller, tighter industry with less cash getting thrown around. This is a serious problem forthe entrenched players in the space, whether Billboard, Midem, Popkomm, Digital Music Forum, or to an extent, Digital Hollywood.
Others are looking at this differently, though swimming in equally tough waters. Tommy Silverman is catering to DIY artists, a crowd notorious for not spending a lot of money. Tommy has the balls to discuss the incredibly low success rates of smaller artists, and wants to lead the revolution towards a new industry. But in the conference industry, how many low-cost tickets and music-loving sponsors does it take to light the torches?
Brian Zisk of SF MusicTech Summit (also a generous supporter of ours) is largely playing to the Bay Area tech crowd, another niche that bears similarity to the DIYs. VCs are largely panned out of music, though that just means the startups got scrappier and less vetted. This is ingrained in NoCal culture: sure, you'll get a floppy business card from the CEO of a crowdsourced ringtone startup, but you'll also get some pretty energized discussions. And Zisk gets a lot of the heavy-hitters like Google, Smule, and Tapulous (now Disney) to show up.
So does Zisk make it? He's as smart and enthusiastic as anyone, though this is going to be a very challenging space over the next few years. And, there will be some unceremonious exits. It's too saturated, and too many are entering against questionable economics.
But looking at it from the individual perspective, does it make sense to actually go to these things? And if so, how many? We go because we pick up a lot of good nuggets, and on top of that, conferences offer some thread of what the industry is thinking. Is DIY a blue-sky solution for artists and indies? At CMJ, the vibe was resoundingly yes, though we found ourselves completely critical of that assumption. That is, after soaking ourselves in it for a few days.
But perhaps it depends on what you'll ultimately get out of it. Hey, if you're picking up clients and making money, everything works out. If not, and you feel like it's just regurgitated talking points, skip it. Most are doing themselves a favor by being selective, and actually getting some real work done. But we'll see you at the ones you do attend...
Paul Resnikoff, publisher. Written while listening to Propellerheads, and not at a conference. See you at New Noise Santa Barbara next.
Of course, the number of execs with expense accounts in hand is drastically lower these days. But the question for many of these conference organizers is whether that situation gets better, or if this simply becomes a smaller, tighter industry with less cash getting thrown around. This is a serious problem forthe entrenched players in the space, whether Billboard, Midem, Popkomm, Digital Music Forum, or to an extent, Digital Hollywood.
Others are looking at this differently, though swimming in equally tough waters. Tommy Silverman is catering to DIY artists, a crowd notorious for not spending a lot of money. Tommy has the balls to discuss the incredibly low success rates of smaller artists, and wants to lead the revolution towards a new industry. But in the conference industry, how many low-cost tickets and music-loving sponsors does it take to light the torches?
Brian Zisk of SF MusicTech Summit (also a generous supporter of ours) is largely playing to the Bay Area tech crowd, another niche that bears similarity to the DIYs. VCs are largely panned out of music, though that just means the startups got scrappier and less vetted. This is ingrained in NoCal culture: sure, you'll get a floppy business card from the CEO of a crowdsourced ringtone startup, but you'll also get some pretty energized discussions. And Zisk gets a lot of the heavy-hitters like Google, Smule, and Tapulous (now Disney) to show up.
So does Zisk make it? He's as smart and enthusiastic as anyone, though this is going to be a very challenging space over the next few years. And, there will be some unceremonious exits. It's too saturated, and too many are entering against questionable economics.
But looking at it from the individual perspective, does it make sense to actually go to these things? And if so, how many? We go because we pick up a lot of good nuggets, and on top of that, conferences offer some thread of what the industry is thinking. Is DIY a blue-sky solution for artists and indies? At CMJ, the vibe was resoundingly yes, though we found ourselves completely critical of that assumption. That is, after soaking ourselves in it for a few days.
But perhaps it depends on what you'll ultimately get out of it. Hey, if you're picking up clients and making money, everything works out. If not, and you feel like it's just regurgitated talking points, skip it. Most are doing themselves a favor by being selective, and actually getting some real work done. But we'll see you at the ones you do attend...
Paul Resnikoff, publisher. Written while listening to Propellerheads, and not at a conference. See you at New Noise Santa Barbara next.
