The highly successful CD
Baby’s DIY Musician Conference is returning to Chicago for its second year on
September 30 through October 2. The conference,
which is sponsored by Berklee Online and GigSalad, will be held at the historic
Congress Plaza Hotel. Over 30 sessions, along
with panel discussions, workshops and keynotes will offer actionable, artist
driven advice created specifically to give independent artists the skills and ideas
they can take home and implement instantly.
This year’s keynote speakers include: Bob Boilen, Founder and Host of
National Public Radio’s All Songs Considered; popular music supervisor
Alexandra Patsavas; and Jack Conte from Pomplamoose and Patreon. One of the highlights of the conference will be
a ”Live Band Makeover” with Nashville-based
live performance producer Tom Jackson.
This is the second year CD
Baby has put on the conference aimed at helping independent artists. “We chose
Chicago for our location because the city is located in the center of the country,“
explains CD Baby VP Marketing Kevin Breuner. “Chicago also appeared to be underserved
by music industry conferences despite the fact the city supports a strong independent music
scene. We expected most of the artists who attended the conference to be from the
greater Chicago area. We were pleasantly
surprised to discover artists from across the country and throughout the world
traveling to Chicago to attend.”
CD Baby is one of the
largest distributors of independent music on the planet, home to more than
400,000 artists. The CD Baby catalog makes up an estimated 17 per cent of
iTunes track offerings. With a one-stop professional dashboard allowing indie
musicians to manage their royalties and licensing, CD Baby has become the go-to
partner for many icons in the new music industry, including Ingrid Michaelson, Bon Iver, Macklemore, and others.
The focus of the CD
Baby’s DIY Musician Conference is different than most music industry conferences. The conference focuses on practical steps
musicians can take to grow their music careers, covering topics such as music publishing,
touring, website building, generating revenue, releasing albums, publicity, and
merchandise. “We asked a lot of artists what they need and what they want more
of, and then we designed the program with this in mind,” said Bruener. “We’ve included
more workshops and one-on-one mentoring. Our conference isn’t about a big name
speaker talking in general terms, or about information that is more geared towards
managers or label executives. This is about content that people can use right away
to move their careers forward. It’s about strong takeaways.”
 |
| CD Baby VP Marketing Kevin Breuner |
Some of the topics
covered during the conference will range from the art & craft of songwriting;
managing the creative process; putting on a stronger live show; booking a house
concert tour; and diving in to sync, publishing, and streaming revenues. Artists
will also have the opportunity to hangout, network, and even play together in a
new feature this year –The Jam Room. Bruener explains, “This started last year with
just a few artists but quickly blew up to something bigger. Artists asked for a
dedicated room to jam and we’re doing it.”
Last year’s CD Baby’s
DIY Musician Conference was completely sold out weeks before the start of the conference. This year’s ticket sales are already strong and
the organizers anticipate another sold out conference. To purchase tickets or to
learn more, please visit www.DIYMusiciancon.com.
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