Executive summary:
The conference, which opens today and continues through Sunday,
Musicians from all over the country will attend panels and symposiums designed to help them learn how the new music industry works.
More than 148 speakers, mentors and exhibitors
Band members can talk to industry professionals about succeeding in a fast-changing business.
“Bands that think they are going to come here and meet a record label executive and sign a recording contract are deluding themselves,” conference founder John Harris said. “Times have changed. There’s an entirely new paradigm.”
Music’s new vernacular
The language of music these days isn’t focused on quaint concepts such as albums, recording contracts, FM radio play and arena tours.
Today’s tunemakers are all about EPs, iTunes, search engines, branding, satellite radio, intellectual property rights and YouTube.
The keynote speaker for Millennium will be Halestorm, a breakout rock band from York County featuring singer and songwriter Lzzy Hale. They’ll speak at 5:15 p.m. Friday in the Radisson.
Musical middle class
True superstars are few and far between these days.
“More artists will be able to make a decent living, but there will be far fewer superstars,” Plaia said. “It’s more middle-class now, because anybody can make music and promote it cheaply now.”
Selders said the best way to do that is full immersion in electronic media. Bands don’t just have websites anymore. They appear on mass-appeal sites such as Facebook and MySpace, along with more specialized platforms such as ReverbNation, SoundExchange and Twiturm, which is a music-exchange site through Twitter. They get their songs on music downloading sites and Internet radio stations.
The idea is to build, nurture and hold your fan base.
“An artist’s No. 1 resource is fans,” Selders said. “Fan interaction is a huge aspect. You want to have places where they can go and learn everything they need to know about the band. Where the band is from, where to buy their music, upcoming shows.”
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