Independent Urban Label and
Artist Seminar
Turning Music Into Money
Are you starting or running an independent record label in urban music?
Are you an artist putting out your own music?
Do you want to increase sales and work smarter?
Then this convention is for YOU!
Our focus is on urban music, and we will be supplying a full how to understanding to turn music into money and a prosperous career in the music business.
If you are already in the indie music game, we will help you take it up a notch.
If you are new to this industry, you will leave with practical hands-on information to put out a CD and make money.
Come learn from and network with industry insiders, music business professionals, and artists and labels that have achieved success putting out their own music as an independent.
February 13 to 16, 2007
Las Vegas, NV
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
10:00 AM to 6:00 PM (Intensive)
Pre-Event Event
Turning Music Into Money
Are you starting or running an independent record label in urban music?
Are you an artist putting out your own music?
Do you want to increase sales and work smarter?
Then this convention is for YOU!
Our focus is on urban music, and we will be supplying a full how to understanding to turn music into money and a prosperous career in the music business.
If you are already in the indie music game, we will help you take it up a notch.
If you are new to this industry, you will leave with practical hands-on information to put out a CD and make money.
Come learn from and network with industry insiders, music business professionals, and artists and labels that have achieved success putting out their own music as an independent.
February 13 to 16, 2007
Las Vegas, NV
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
10:00 AM to 6:00 PM (Intensive)
Pre-Event Event
CRASH COURSE
Learn how to put out a CD from A to Z:
How To Start A Business; Setting Up The Business; Choosing A Lawyer; Choosing Your Team; Putting Together a Plan; Budgets; Manufacturing; Preparing The Music For Pressing; Art & Design; What Is Publishing; How To Market and Promote; Securing Legitimate Distribution; Retail Sales and Promotion; Touring
$149 (includes lunch)
4:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Registration
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Convention Begins (Badges are $349)
Panels:
10:00 AM to Noon- Publicity And Advertising
A great publicist can help spread the word for a small label or independent artist through local, regional, and national press. As a key element of any campaign, word of mouth and editorial mentions are the most credible forms of promotion. We will discuss getting music reviewed, as well as media coverage of releases, events, live shows, and a variety of other ways to get the message out there for little expense. We will also cover cost effective advertising.
Hiring a publicist
What to expect
How to build an effective campaign
Major vs Indie?
Building a Story
Reviews vs lifestyle pieces
Building a buzz
Print ads vs cable ads
Targeting your market
Blitzing the streets
Noon to 2:00 PM- Timing Is Everything
Seems the key to success in putting out music is timing: the timing of the artist, the timing of the genre, the timing of the release, timing of the promotion, and the timing with the project. The biggest benefit to being an independent label or an independent artist is the ability to react to the marketplace and change directions quickly. Developing a realistic time line is crucial.
Meeting deadlines (one sheets, mastering, pressing, ad dates, etc)
Marketplace environment
Genre niches (radio artists/gangsta rap/poets/battle rappers/reggaeton)
Developing a timeline
Time of year (why indies avoid the 4th Quarter)
Re-mixes to increase life of a single
3:00 PM to 5:00 PM- Getting To The Consumer (choose one of two panels)
Sales is the cornerstone of the music industry. Independent releases account for x% of the sales in the music business. Retail stores are still the #1 way to sell musichow do we keep co-op costs from spiraling out of control? To compete with major labels, information must be clearly communicated with the buyers. How do we do that effectively? How do we boost sales in a declining market?
Retail sales
Building relationships with buyers
Indie vs chain stores
Distributor sales team or in-house sales?
Current retail climate
Future of retail
Downloading MP3s
Spiraling co-op rates
3:00 PM to 5:00 PM- Marketing And Promotion (choose one of two panels)
Image is everything in the urban marketplace. So is staying in front of the consumer as much as possible projecting a consistent image. We will discuss the many ways an independent has to market and promote artists affordably. How big of a region should be targeted and how to choose that area? What is the best bang for the buck in promotions?
Street teams
Mixed tapes/cds
Promo tours
Snippet CDs
Radio promotion (college/mixshow/urban rotation)
Club level
Imaging
Hiring staff vs consultants
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM- Additional Streams Of Income (choose one of two)
To compete effectively, indie labels and artists must have additional streams of income beyond traditional sales. What are some of the creative ways indies can increase revenues?
Publishing
Soundtracks
Ringtones
Video games
Urban DVDs
Internet sites
Develop street teams
Club nights
Mixed Tapes and CDs
Touring with established acts
Merchandising
The artist as a brand
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM- Distribution (choose one of two panels)
A distributor is responsible for getting the CDs to the stores, collecting the money, and warehousing the product. Why is it so difficult to find the perfect one? We will discuss the various distributors in the industry and weigh their strengths and weaknesses from the independent regional distributors to the mini-major incubators that sprung up a few years ago. What should a label and artist look for in a distributor and what does a distributor seek in filling their pipeline?
What to look for in a distributor
What to look for in a label
Sales staff and relationships
Climate at retail
Co-op and POP
Reserves and collections
Returns
Label financing/advances
Types of distributors
A typical distribution deal
The importance of pipeline
Trade Show Hours: 3:00 to 7:00 PM
10 to 12 booths (10x10 in size)
refreshment area
Suite Parties:
7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
3 to 5 suites (distributors, vendors, labels)
8:30 PM to 10:00 PM
3 to 5 suites (distributors, vendors, labels)
Showcases:
10:00 PM to Midnight
5 performances (15 min per act)
Established Artist (1)
Midnight to 2 AM
4 performances (15 min per act)
Established Artist (2)
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Panels:
10:00 AM to Noon- The Future Of Distribution
Where is distribution headed? With ringtones accounting for $600 million in sales in 2005, and iTunes celebrating their one billionth download in February of 2006, its obvious that our traditional methods of getting music to the consumers is rapidly changing.
Digital downloads
Cellphone downloads
Current innovations
Direction of technology
Hardware developments (gadgets)
Noon to 2:00 PM- SoundScan And BDS Workshops
With a growing emphasis on analysis and being able to track sales and radio play, we are offering two workshops to explain the depths of SoundSCan and BDS.
Noon to 1 PM: SoundScan Revealed (Trudy Lartz, VP Sales)
How it works
How to use it effectively
Is it affordable?
How to track it (bar code info)
Is it accurate?
1 PM to 2 PM: BDS Fingerprint (Brian BlahBlah, VP Sales)
How it works
How to use it effectively
Is it affordable?
How to register
How accurate is it?
BDS Vs MediaBase
3:00 PM to 5:00 PM- The Consumer and The Fan (choose one of two panels) Remembering why we do this and who we this for, we will have a panel of 10 to 15 urban consumers from a cross section of the Las Vegas community. This is your chance to ask the buying public what they think of the current state of music, what their downloading patterns are, what they like and dislike, if $16 is too expensive for a CD, and anything else you want to know. Bring your questions
3:00 PM to 5:00 PM- Budgets and Plans (choose one of two panels)
How to compete with the major labels on a shoestring budget. We will discuss how to assemble a plan of attack, how to put a realistic budget together, how to forecast and project sales, and then how to follow the plan. The key to running any business successfully is planning the work and then working the plan.
Assemble a Marketing Plan
Create a Budget
Forecasting and Projecting sales
Importance of a Business Plan
Following a plan
When and how to veer from the plan
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM- Radio (choose one of two panels)
The importance of radio is growing in urban music but the price continues to escalate. Can indie labels compete with the major radio budgets? Is payola showing any signs of stopping? And most importantly, we will discuss how to get radio play for your independent record and how to get the attention of DJs and Program Directors.
Indie vs Majors
Building a street buzz
Quality of singles
Hit record
Payola
The importance of radio in urban music
How radio works
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM- Million Dollar Mistakes (choose one of two panels)
Five brave CEOs share with us mistakes that they made with their businesses and in their careers so that you are not doomed to make the same mistakes.
Trade Show Hours: 3:00 to 7:00 PM
Suite Parties:
7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
8:30 PM to 10:00 PM
Showcases:
10:00 PM to Midnight
Midnight to 2 AM
Friday, February 16, 2007
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Networking Brunch
(for those of us not ready to leave yet)
Keynote Speakers:
Two well-known indie label CEO's. One has the streets on lock and the other has the internet on lock!
*********************************************
Coordinated by Wendy Day from Rap Coalition
917.501.6100
www.IndieLabelBuilder.com
An annual rapcointelpro.com event (Rap Coalition Intelligence Program)
In 1996, I attended an Independent Record Label Conference (NAIRD/AFIM) and learned how to put out CDs independently. I took what I learned to Chicago a week later and helped put out Do Or Dies Po Pimp which went on to go platinum at Rap-A-Lot Records. Since that time, I applied what I learned over and over and over. This is YOUR chance to learn how to put out music and turn it into money! I hope you have as much fun doing it as I have had.
Cant stop; wont stop!
Friday, February 16 through Sunday, February 17-- NBA All-Star Weekend, Las Vegas
This 1st rough draft prepared 4/4/06
Where is distribution headed? With ringtones accounting for $600 million in sales in 2005, and iTunes celebrating their one billionth download in February of 2006, its obvious that our traditional methods of getting music to the consumers is rapidly changing.
Digital downloads
Cellphone downloads
Current innovations
Direction of technology
Hardware developments (gadgets)
Noon to 2:00 PM- SoundScan And BDS Workshops
With a growing emphasis on analysis and being able to track sales and radio play, we are offering two workshops to explain the depths of SoundSCan and BDS.
Noon to 1 PM: SoundScan Revealed (Trudy Lartz, VP Sales)
How it works
How to use it effectively
Is it affordable?
How to track it (bar code info)
Is it accurate?
1 PM to 2 PM: BDS Fingerprint (Brian BlahBlah, VP Sales)
How it works
How to use it effectively
Is it affordable?
How to register
How accurate is it?
BDS Vs MediaBase
3:00 PM to 5:00 PM- The Consumer and The Fan (choose one of two panels) Remembering why we do this and who we this for, we will have a panel of 10 to 15 urban consumers from a cross section of the Las Vegas community. This is your chance to ask the buying public what they think of the current state of music, what their downloading patterns are, what they like and dislike, if $16 is too expensive for a CD, and anything else you want to know. Bring your questions
3:00 PM to 5:00 PM- Budgets and Plans (choose one of two panels)
How to compete with the major labels on a shoestring budget. We will discuss how to assemble a plan of attack, how to put a realistic budget together, how to forecast and project sales, and then how to follow the plan. The key to running any business successfully is planning the work and then working the plan.
Assemble a Marketing Plan
Create a Budget
Forecasting and Projecting sales
Importance of a Business Plan
Following a plan
When and how to veer from the plan
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM- Radio (choose one of two panels)
The importance of radio is growing in urban music but the price continues to escalate. Can indie labels compete with the major radio budgets? Is payola showing any signs of stopping? And most importantly, we will discuss how to get radio play for your independent record and how to get the attention of DJs and Program Directors.
Indie vs Majors
Building a street buzz
Quality of singles
Hit record
Payola
The importance of radio in urban music
How radio works
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM- Million Dollar Mistakes (choose one of two panels)
Five brave CEOs share with us mistakes that they made with their businesses and in their careers so that you are not doomed to make the same mistakes.
Trade Show Hours: 3:00 to 7:00 PM
Suite Parties:
7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
8:30 PM to 10:00 PM
Showcases:
10:00 PM to Midnight
Midnight to 2 AM
Friday, February 16, 2007
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Networking Brunch
(for those of us not ready to leave yet)
Keynote Speakers:
Two well-known indie label CEO's. One has the streets on lock and the other has the internet on lock!
*********************************************
Coordinated by Wendy Day from Rap Coalition
917.501.6100
www.IndieLabelBuilder.com
An annual rapcointelpro.com event (Rap Coalition Intelligence Program)
In 1996, I attended an Independent Record Label Conference (NAIRD/AFIM) and learned how to put out CDs independently. I took what I learned to Chicago a week later and helped put out Do Or Dies Po Pimp which went on to go platinum at Rap-A-Lot Records. Since that time, I applied what I learned over and over and over. This is YOUR chance to learn how to put out music and turn it into money! I hope you have as much fun doing it as I have had.
Cant stop; wont stop!
Friday, February 16 through Sunday, February 17-- NBA All-Star Weekend, Las Vegas
This 1st rough draft prepared 4/4/06
