Tampa Calling

Thursday, March 19: Day 2 began well. I was refreshed and ready to go to some sessions. SXSW is not only a music showcase, but it is also a conference and has a trade show floor. The sessions were geared towards music business professionals, offering panel discussions on topics from songwriting, using the Web to promote music, bands and brands and how to survive in the current economic climate. Every panelist was an accomplished professional with an impressive resume.

The first session I went to featured Todd and Jeff Brabec, twin brothers that have some helpful advice about how to make money through music publishing and songwriting. Jeff works in publishing for Chrysalis and Todd is a VP at ASCAP, so these guys know what they are talking about.

(Bad photo… I know…)

According to the Brabec Brothers, musicians can make a living (relatively) by honing their songwriting and submitting their music to TV shows, films and video games. I got a crash course in music contracts and publishing during this session and I learned a lot of things that I need to try out. Musicians should NEVER keep their music stowed away, if they want to make any money from it. They recommend that you get a copy of Variety or Hollywood Reporter and scout out which movies and shows are in production and that you send them your music. But a one time mailing won’t do: you must be persistent and do your homework to ensure you are submitting a relevant piece of music. So don’t send a metal song to “The Gilmore Girls” or a mellow love song to the music producer for “Saw 6″. They have a book out that covers everything they went over in the session called “Music, Money and Success“. I got it on the spot. :)

Then, Joran and I met up and enjoyed the 2.5 hour keynote address from music’s biggest gangsta, Quincy Jones. I won’t spend much time on this, as Joran should be posting the video clips soon, but man… This guy is a national treasure. In his keynote, he advocated music education (Jazz is being forgotten) and that the Federal Government needs to appoint a Secretary of the Arts to preserve our artistic heritage.

He ended by showcasing his 2 latest projects: Bianca Ryan (winner of America’s Got Talent with a SICK voice) and Alfredo Rodriguez (former Cuban national, now defected and a bad ass piano player).

Later that night, we were back on the street checking out the bands. The stand outs of the evening were Mother’s Anthem (from Austin) and 3 Kisses (from Austin).

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