When the lights go down in the city (SF).....

Yesterday I went to the SF Music Tech Summit in San Francisco. There were about 700 people there and
I'd say it was 60% technologist and 40% musicians. There were tree different tracks every hour. I decided to go to the following tracks "Reaching Fans", "Social Networking", "Doing Deals", "Marketing your Brand" and "Future of the Music Industry". There were other interesting sessions but these seemed to speak to me the most. I'd say the ones that blew my mind were "Reaching Fans", "Marketing/Branding" and "Future of the Music Industry". I anticipated that I'd love the Social Networking session, but it just did not fit what I was looking for. I'd prefer someone from Facebook or Twitter there to discuss how to use their platform to promote and/or market music or even artists who successfully use these tools. The session was ok but just did not have the BAM I was looking for. The "doing deals" session was ok too but a panel of lawyers can only be so exciting. The Reaching Fans and Marketing ones were very inspiring and educational. In fact the Reaching Fans and Marketing/Branding go hand in hand. The more marketable you are, the more fans you have a potently of reaching. Also the panel pointed out that every band, every member is a brand. From the music to the image it's all a brand. Everyone was in agreement if you're going after a sponsorship or if a company is going to use your brand, Music is the most important. Music must connect on lots of levels but primarily emotionally. This is why music fans are so passionate about their bands. - derek irving