digitalmusic.org | Digital Music

NARM and digitalmusic.org are gathering the top movers and shakers in the commerce and content sectors of the music industry for Music Biz 2012, which will be held May 7-10 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.

It is the 54th installment of the organizations’ annual convention, which has become a mainstay for everyone from large music companies and digital, physical and mobile retailers to independent labels, app developers, distributors, managers, artists, educators, students, and media. Past attendees have reported an average of 15 or more private meetings during the event, and more than 95% find new trading partners.

Events currently confirmed include:

• a live “This Week in Music” keynote interview of Ingrooves Fontana CEO Robb McDaniels. Conducted by Ian Rogers of Topspin Media and host of “This Week in Music,” this is McDaniels first speaking engagement since the merger;
• an Opening Session Breakfast featuring the presentation of the Independent Spirit Award to Epitaph Records Founder Brett Gurewitz and Presidential Award for Sustained Executive Achievement to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA);
• Town Hall Meetings discussing the impact of music metrics on sales and preparing for Record Store Day 2013;
• a special presentation on “Music and TV: Enabling Discovery for the Connected Consumer;”
• a roundtable discussion, conducted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on the current trends and prospects for evolution of IMR;
• the Hypebot Sessions, a series of panels, organized by Hypebot, that will take a look at why most startups fail and the new DIY model for marketing a release;
• App Alley, a popup demo and exhibit showcase designed to let app developers and service providers showcase their latest innovations, and to let music industry executives discover the exciting new developments that will shape the digital music landscape in the year ahead;
• various special interest group meetups including a indie label meetup organized by A2IM and an Urban meetup;
• break-out sessions including “Apps, Developers, and the Technology of Music,” “Creative Collaboration – Outsourcing in the Digital Age,” “Commerce vs. Royalties: Fitting a Square Peg in a Round Hole,” “Digital Gifting: A Consumer Perspective,” “DDEX: Making It Work For You,” “Creating Integrated App Experiences for Music Consumers,” and “Social Music, Marketing, and Monetization;”
• the digitalmusic.org General Session that will provide an update the current issue-based conversations digitalmusic.org members are having, as well as feature two panels on the topics of product bundling in the digital age and monetizing streaming;
• digitalmusic.org workgroup meetings; and
• the Awards Dinner Party, where global superstar Katy Perry will be honored with the prestigious Artist of the Year Award and the iconic DJ Cassidy will help close out Music Biz 2012 in grand style. Additional award recipients and guests will be announced in the coming weeks.

For the full schedule of events, click here.

Registration rates and links, click here.