The best industry conference is right around the corner, and we’ve got the must-attend events to make Music Biz 2022 the best one yet!
Music Biz is one of the most anticipated industry events of 2022. The week-long gathering in downtown Nashville is ripe with panels, networking opportunities, and plenty of good vibrations. We’ll be there this May, and we hope you’ll consider joining us. Click here to register before it’s too late!
Each year, the Music Biz organizers put out a call for panel submissions. Of the many who submit entries, only a select few are chosen. Each one has value, but there is no way one person can attend every event.
With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of must-see panels and discussions. These events cover current and future industry trends and the big picture issues that impact every corner of our business. We’ve left plenty of room for you to do other things, but these events cannot be missed!
The Power of Personal Equity & Identity in the Music Business
Monday, May 9 • 10:50am – 11:50am
In order to build equity – whether financial or figurative – professionals and artists in the music business need to understand and believe that their biggest asset is in fact who they are as a person and the various things that make them great. The music business is complex in that it’s often said to be more of a lifestyle than it is a job. Every day (and sometimes every second), we are reminded of our role within the industry and how it molds our identity and our future. But what about our personal identities and our own long-term goals? Aren’t we more than just the companies we tag in our social bios and the artists we work with and for? Does our love of music get in the way of celebrating the other important parts of our life? Join us for a non-traditional panel as we dive into what it means to be a human being, both in and out of the industry, and try to separate our panelists from their music business identities. The real question: Is that even possible? The pandemic forced us to reflect, adapt, and evolve – how does this topic play into the conversation?
Monday, May 9 • 12:00pm – 12:50pm
As the attention economy surges on and the music creator community multiplies, music fandom is undergoing a transformation. No longer do fans organize around a small legion of superstars hand-selected by major labels. Fandom is now more fragmented than ever, as fans organize into insular, online micro-communities on platforms like TikTok, Discord and Twitch. But thanks to these platforms, music fans are also more engaged, spreading their fandom through memes and UGC and often even co-creating with their favorite artists. At this panel, MIDiA analyst Tatiana Cirisano will present findings from MIDiA’s state of fandom report, set for release in spring 2022, and discuss with panelists how artists can leverage these findings to build more engaged fanbases.
Monday, May 9 • 2:30pm – 3:20pm
Over the last few years, a seemingly endless list of success routes have been paved for getting great new music out to a global streaming audience. Niche playlists, easy access to distribution, and a world where streaming services are now ubiquitous have made it simple for listeners to experiment with a ton of new music.
Are we finally at the “even playing field” the independent world has dreamed we’d achieve? Whether it be TikTok break-outs totally blowing up, low-fi hip-hop made by unknown beatmakers streaming to a massive yet passive audience of people studying, or a young talent like Bad Bunny blowing past the boundaries of a once ghettoized genre like Reggaeton into the farthest reaches of pop, wherein all of this is an A&R strategy one can actually “plan?”
Further, in this now very boundary-less world, where music from Puerto Rico, Colombia, South Africa, Brazil or South Korea has just as much of a chance as music from London, Miami, or New York in finding a huge audience, how do artist and businesses with no financial backing actually take advantage of all of this opportunity?
Vinyl Projections & Lead Times — OH MY!!
Tuesday, May 10 • 4:00pm – 4:50pm
This panel will bring to light both the missed opportunities from mis-projections in vinyl manufacturing and will also establish some Best Practices around projections, creating I/O’s and getting it RIGHT…from the beginning. Don’t be “that guy” that losses tons of sales and pisses off fans because your numbers were arbitrary; based on a price break or some other random factor. Sometimes bean counting can really help you out. But it’s not just about the projection the timing is critical, too. Lead times! We don’t just mean manufacturing lead times. We’re talking about pre-books and the critical run-up to release date. We’ll look at the risk and payoff.
Maximizing The Niche: Superfans of Sub-Genres
Wednesday, May 11 • 9:30am – 10:30am
You don’t have to be from Nashville to know that not all Country fans are the same – and that principle holds across all major genres. So what makes a 90’s Hip-Hop fan different from a Trap fan? And how do you have to adapt your consumer marketing when pivoting from Regional Mexican sub-genres to Reggaeton? Mainstream fans get the most coverage, but it is important to understand the unique characteristics of sub-genre fans to make sure you are reaching the appropriate audience when planning tours, social media, and brand marketing. Join Luminate for a closer look at the unique fans of some of these sub-genres (and more!). We’ll take a look at these fanbases, the sub-genres superfans, and dive deep into their demos, attitudes, behaviors, and — most importantly — how to activate them.
Come Together: Fixing the Data Sharing Problem
Wednesday, May 11 • 12:45pm – 1:35pm
The music industry has long struggled with data sharing, maintaining proprietary silos of information that often do not communicate with each other. While progress has been made with the introduction of new metadata standards and cleaning services, certain pressing issues remain. Often, recording and publishing data are written using different, incompatible standards, and maintaining proprietary information remains a key advantage for many companies. There is a need to bridge these divides to ensure that labels, publishers, PROs, DSPs, and distributors all have access to the most consistent and up-to-date information at all times to ensure rights-holders are appropriately compensated. In this panel, representatives from across the music value chain will discuss the value behind organized and transparent metadata, and how they plan to work together to achieve this goal.
**BONUS PICK**
Monday, May 9, 10AM
HaulixDaily Editor James Shotwell will be hosting Building On Borrowed Lands.
Remember the day Facebook and Instagram went offline? For several hours, two of the biggest platforms for promotion and information disbursement were nowhere to be found, leaving social media managers, artists, and labels everywhere scrambling. These “borrowed lands” that we’ve come to depend on for engagement were suddenly gone, and nobody knew when—or if—they would return.
Building On Borrowed Lands will examine the ongoing debate over where artists and their teams focus their community-building efforts. A panel of experts in marketing and publicity will discuss the ever-evolving challenge of reaching people in the digital space, including the best places for engagement, the value of owning your content, and the timeless tips for success that still work today.
