Had a quick pop into CMJ this morning to moderate a panel titled “Specific Business Concepts Applied For The Modern Day Music Artist”. Had great participation from the audience and you can see some of the tweets here. My  fellow panelists, which included Derek Sivers, founder of CDBaby, Rick Goetz, from MusicianCoaching.com, Jonathan Lutzky from Masur Law and PT Walkley, Artist/Musician, did a great job. One of the most lively panels I’ve been on.

Off to Italy for business, will pick up when I return.

Panos

• You Are In Control, Closure. Great conclusion to the conference, with a number of fascinating speeches and roundtable discussions (another fresh concept, with good open debate among participants). I particularly enjoyed the speech from Gudjon Mar Gudjonsson from the Ministry of Ideas (how many times do you see an Einstein quote flashed on the screen at a music conference?), whose speech felt less about practical applications and more like a piece of music: meant to provoke, inspire, dream. I also gave a presentation about the emerging Artistic Middle Class with some examples of how this class of artists is rapidly reshaping the music industry landscape and forever changing way that music is discovered, consumed, and promoted.

• Reykjavik Member Dinner. Finished the the day with our now customary member dinner, hosted at a restaurant called Boston of all names, in downtown Reykjavik. We had a great group of 10 artists and managers from Iceland and Faeroe Islands and as usual, these dinners are great at helping me understand how we can improve Sonicbids – but also what we do well. Yes, each music scene is different, but the thing that always strikes me after meeting indie artists around the world is this: no matter the language, the country, the style of music, the government or politics, all artists share the same passion and the same need to find and connect with an audience – and technology is the great leveler.

• Reykjavik Music Scene. By the way, the music scene at Reykjavik is out of this world. To put it in perspective, the whole country of Island is less than half the size of Boston – but the quality of music, the venues, the sound of the capital city rivals or bests anything I’ve experienced in the States.

It’s a flat world indeed.

Panos

I love this event (even though I am not quite ready for the cold weather). Check out their daily blog for updates, but here’s my take:

• It’s not the same old, same old. We’ve had great, thought provoking speakers from all kinds of industries. I particularly enjoyed Paul Bennett’s speech (from IDEO) at the beginning of the day about creativity, change, collaboration. We need fresh thinking in our business, not cynicism.

• It’s international and intimate. I’ve bumped into all kinds of people from UK, Nordic countries, China, US. That’s right, our business is not about “domestic” and “international” markets; it’s about the global market.

• You feel welcome and surrounded by art. Coffee breaks, lunches, etc. organized by the event bring people together and break the ice. And cocktails take place at art galleries, not stodgy hotels. I love it.

• It fuses creative industries. There are people here from all over: film, music, fashion, art, design, advertising. We all need inspiration and we can inspire each other. Our worlds are coming together.

Plus, I got the greatest compliment this morning when someone called my outfit very “Kanye”. Who knew? I look forward to the member dinner tonight.

Panos

First, something I learned today: the word “saga” is Icelandic and it literally means a novel or story. Go figure.

This place (Iceland) is pretty spectacular. And from a business standpoint, I am already fascinated by the concept of You Are In Control, which is organized by the Iceland Music Export office and meant to bring the worlds of independent music, film and design together in a conference. Makes sense, right? So, why aren’t more of these events out there talking about the convergence of all these industries? And of course the message of empowerment couldn’t be any more spot on.

And I will say that Icelanders know how to do business. First thing they do when we arrive? Organize a trip for us to the Blue Lagoon (alas not the one with Brooke Shields circa 1980) —  this geothermal natural spring that’s part of a lava formation (check out the photos). No bathing suit? No problem. You can “borrow” a Speedo. (Yes, I did.)

More tomorrow when the conference kicks off. Who says work can’t be fun?

Panos

Leaving in a few hours for Iceland to attend the You Are In Control Conference, which the Iceland Export Office is organizing. I have never been to Iceland before so I am looking forward to the trip. I heard the music scene is out of this world.

While there we are also hosting a Member Dinner for our Iceland and Nordic artist members, which we are holding at the peculiarly and appropriately named Boston Restaurant. (I swear, one of these days I’ll write a book about all the amazing indie musicians I’ve met around the globe during these dinners.)

If you’re attending the conference, come up and say hi. Updates from the road.

Panos

Just back from the first Billboard Music & Advertising Conference that took place in New York City last Thursday and Friday. I thought Billboard did a great job organizing the event and it seems that attendance exceeded their wildest expectations. Why? Because most of us in the industry know that in many ways, Madison Avenue represents the future of music discovery by the masses.

My biggest regret about the conference is that all panels seemed to talk too much about major label music (admittedly, my favorite: Cadbury’s Gorilla ad) and not enough attention was given to the shifting consumer trend towards independent music.

I gave a quick 8-minute speech on and why these brands should spend more on promoting themselves by using independent music. Here are my notes:

The internet has given rise to a new type of artist, what we call the Artistic Middle Class. They are different than every other group of artists that preceded them and here’s how:

•    Today’s independent artists are high quality. Costs of production and ability to get gigs have dropped to nearly nothing — giving the ability to artists to experiment and hone in their craft. There is no discernible difference between a major label produced album and a home produced one.

•    Independent artists are entrepreneurial. They take charge and make things happen, They know how to market themselves and connect with audiences using all available media, especially online (social, twitter, etc.).

•    They are pragmatic. Gone are the days when artists did not want to have anything to do with brands. This new breed of artist knows how to work and collaborate with brands to reach an audience. They realize that consumer brands are the new labels, the new arts patrons. And these artists are willing to get exposure in exchange for realistic fees.

• They are inexpensive – and easy to work with. Unlike major label artists with large entourages of managers and agents and publishers and pubicists, indie artists will cost less but give you a whole lot more.

•    Collectively, the artistic middle class reaches a lot of people. The mass market in music is dead; long live the mass of niches. The average artist on Sonicbids has a base of 1,000 fans that they to talk to daily. That’s 200 million people.

•    Independent artists know how to connect – and how to develop relationships. Today’s music world is all about having a conversation with your audience. There is no longer a barrier between artists and fans. Engagement and dialogue and collaboration with fan base is key (Twitter).

•    Indie music is authentic and uncompromising. Because of falling costs of production, distribution, and marketing, independent artists can make a living while staying true to who they are. There’s integrity in the Sound – and audiences crave authenticity.

•    Independent artists appeal to young consumers’ sense of individualism. It used to be that I got my sense of belonging by listening to music that all my peers listened to. Today, I get my sense of individualism by listening to music that expresses  me.  Why? It’s easier today to find and connect with music. They reject status quo. Independent music appeals to this sentiment.

My point: consumers are moving away from mass produced, mass consumed music. Time for Madison Ave. to follow suit.

Panos

I love this city. Great music, nice people, awesome food, views to die for.

Last night we hosted our San Francisco member dinner at Mezes, which if you’re in the Bay Area, you should absolutely check out. I like hosting our member dinners at Greek restaurants for two reasons: I know what to order; I know that Greek food makes the conversations flow.

We had a great turnout, and as usual, I loved getting to know everyone and getting feedback. Nothing beats meeting people in person, getting sincere input, understanding local music scenes better and ultimately, realizing that no matter the city or country, music and Sonicbids is the common language.

Here’s some of the feedback that I got:

•    Rejections suck. I know that. I got some great ideas about ways that we can at least assist in easing the blow, especially when you pay your hard earned money;

•    Feedback rocks. Everyone at the dinner agreed that it’s important that bands get better feedback about how to improve, even when they are turned down. Perhaps easier tools for promoters can accomplish this;

•    More Stats. Again, everyone was in agreement that it would be good to know when you, as a Sonicbids member, ranks relatively to your peers in the community.

•    More Video. Artists have more than one video, especially now with YouTube. Give more video options and also make it bigger (full screen).

•    Make it Local. There’s a need for more local gigs and gig swapping.

•    Great stuff, I had no idea. I am continuously amazed at how little even power users know about features that we have on Sonicbids. This tells me that we are not doing a great job telling people how to get the most out of Sonicbids.

I like to be open about the feedback that I get from members because I want to get more of it. I also believe that by making it all public, I am walking the walk.

Thanks again to everyone that came: Ashley, Philip, Danny, both Melissas, Kate, Chris, Brent, David and Stacy. And thanks as well for your follow up emails and tweets.

Panos