Conferences calling: Your guide to making the most of music conferences

by Kevin Young

It’s always nice to be the belle of the ball, the person on the conference roster whose name is on the lips of everyone there. Unfortunately, very few songwriters get to play that role, even once. But whether you’re just starting out as a songwriter or are well established, you should take advantage of every opportunity to raise your profile at conferences like Canadian Music Week (CMW), North by Northeast (NXNE) and NewMusicWest (NMW).

While there are divergent opinions about just how much hard business gets done at these events, there’s no denying they’re a great venue to solidify relationships with people from all facets of the music industry who can help you get things done. Good relationships take time and effort to build. They’re key to getting your music not just into people’s hands but into their ears, and if you have few contacts and little in the way of reputation, you need to maximize your opportunities for face time with potential champions of your work.

If you’re stalking your prey through the halls of a hotel and you manage a moment or two to introduce yourself and your music, it goes without saying that making some kind of positive impression is best. Being the person absolutely everyone remembers at the conference doesn’t help if all they remember is that you were an absolute asshole.

Getting your music across
A demo that gets the intent of your songs across is fine, but with all the tools available these days, the higher the production value, the more seriously you’ll be taken. “Be absolutely sure you’re putting your best foot forward,” The Salads’ Chuck D. says. “You have to be that band that refuses to go away.”

Chuck’s formula for doing that is pretty simple. “Don’t suck. Open up and let everybody in. Have fun. That’s the whole point of playing in a rock band. Don’t lose sight of that, ever. Don’t badger people. Just be nice and make sure what you are selling kicks ass.”

If you do get some criticism about your music, whether live, at a demo-listening session or otherwise, pay attention. You may not always agree, but don’t argue, say, the merits of an extended guitar solo as an intro. It doesn’t matter how strong the playing is, 90 seconds of “widdly widdly” off the top of the form means very few people will listen long enough to find out how strong your songwriting is.

Showcasing
EMI Music Publishing Canada’s Michael McCarty has a few tips for conference showcases. “If you’re totally unknown, the chances of somebody stumbling into your gig and seeing you and opening up the doors you imagine being opened up are infinitesimally small. Even if dozens of people profess they’re going to be at your gig, maybe a third or a quarter of them will actually show up. That’s number one.

“Number two: the best way to approach a showcase is not to think of it as a showcase. Aim your music and yourself at the public. Let the industry be flies on the wall. They want to be catered to, but they hate being catered to.

“Also, front-load the set with your best songs. People are trying to get to three or four different clubs per set. It’s hard to figure out what part of your set they’re going to catch, but on the assumption they’re starting at yours, hit the audience with a two-by-four in the head when you come on the stage.”

Additionally, if you played last year’s conference, have something new to show people. “If there’s not an order of magnitude of improvement, or change, or evolution,” McCarty says, “chances are all you’re doing is digging yourself into a deep hole.”

If things go horribly awry on stage, how you deal with it is what people will take away with them. If you’re comfortable on stage, busted strings, shrieking monitors and hecklers are a chance for you to connect with the crowd and make a personal impression.

Marketing yourself
Your songs, performance, your online presence — they’re all the front line of your business. You need a website and MySpace site with easily accessible music and vital info about you. More and more that’s how people choose the bands to see. It comes down to doing everything you can to give potential contacts prior knowledge of you. Also, it helps to have some prior knowledge of them.

“I just want to demystify the whole process as it relates to conferences,” says Kim Cooke, general manager of MapleMusic Recordings. “At NXNE, I was walking through the Holiday Inn and an artist stopped me. She knew what I looked like, confirmed who I was and handed me a package. It is that simple.”

Of course, where there’s a right way, there’s also a wrong way. Cooke adds, “I think it is just plain manners, if someone you want to speak to is having a conversation, to wait your turn. The other thing is that nobody wants to deal with someone with an attitude or an undue amount of hype, particularly if it is unsubstantiated.”

Panel and Q&A sessions
Know what your objectives are for each festival, says Michael Perlmutter of Instinct Entertainment, an artist manager and a regular panelist at NXNE, with over nine years’ experience as a music supervisor. “It’s okay not to know everything. Do some research on the people who are speaking before going to their panel, listen carefully, ask questions and promote yourself with clever ideas. Great music will get people listening. Maybe you won’t get deals, but people will listen and that’s a start. Introduce yourself to the panelists after the session. You’re there. You have your CD. Is there a better time?”

“You have a limited time to connect,” says Yvonne Matsell, director and festival music programmer for NXNE. “Do not bore them to death with your life story. Do not come across as a complete nut. I’ve rescued many industry types from these kinds of situations. You have about a minute before they start to tune you out for the next in line. Ask for their business card and ask if you can send them a demo. Give them a flyer of the show you’re playing.”

Finally, remember that one of the most exciting aspects of these events is the festival itself — the opportunity to get to know a town through its venues and sample a huge cross-section of other songwriters’ shows. While making an impression is important, getting the most out of any conference is about listening. Stretch a little. Search out unfamiliar music and opinions and learn.

SOCAN can help SOCAN sponsors a members’ reception and boat cruise at South by Southwest (SXSW) and maintains a presence at a variety of conferences to connect with its membership. Have the gig but no cash to get there? The SOCAN Foundation’s International Showcasing program (www.socanfoundation.ca) provides some funding to artists who have been invited to showcase at specific international conferences, including the North American Folk Alliance, SXSW, Printemps de Bourges, Les Francofolies de La Rochelle, CMJ and Nemo. Additional events may be sanctioned depending on funding available.

As well, SOCAN often arranges discounts for members on their registration fees to attend certain conferences. Visit www.socan.ca for advance news items where this applies. For a list of annual conferences and festivals, go to www.socan.ca/jsp/en/pub/news_events/Annual-Festivals.jsp.

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