“Panos’ Brew” is Sonicbids founder/CEO Panos Panay’s weekly (or more) post about whatever happens to be on his mind. Look for musings and observations on entrepreneurship, the state of the music business, his experiences with members, interesting things he’s seen in his travels, or just about anything else.
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- Out of a Fellini movie…
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- Wow, Seville!
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- The tradeshow @ WOMEX
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- Preaching to the converted
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- Electric VJ is Sonicbids
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- Akim from Algeria
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- Seen a better showcase venue?
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- The dinner group
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- DJ Ishtar’s showcase
I am way late with this post. All I can say is this: if you have the chance to go to Seville, grab it and run to your nearest airport. It’s one of the most amazing places on earth and the architecture and cultural scene is stunning.
WOMEX is also hands down one of the best-run music conferences there are. I met more people there from the live music sector than just about any other event I’ve ever attended and it’s packed with a who’s who of festival programmers.
The organization is top notch and the showcases extremely well produced and promoted (33 Sonicbids artists got booked to perform). Don’t confuse WOMEX with being just another earthy, touchy-feely world music event. Real business takes place at the marketplace and the truth is that the event is as musically diverse as it gets.
I also had the chance to host and attend a member dinner in Seville and I was blown away but the musical diversity that we had at the table (we had members ranging from an Iranian DJ to an Andalusian Flamenco guitarist).
Hosting and attending member dinners in cities ranging from Seattle and Toronto to Berlin, London and Seville has been an amazing experience these past few months. I am continuously amazed at the commonality of challenges that any musician faces regardless of geography or genre and by how amazingly diverse our industry is – and I am always humbled by how many different people Sonicbids touches and helps.
We are getting ready to launch our brand new gig listings in early December, one of the first projects that is a direct outcome of all the feedback and input that I got at all these dinners. Stay tuned – you’ll love all the goodies that we have in store.
Panos
P.S. The most interesting comment I got from all the member dinners in Europe is that language (i.e. site translation) is the top issue. The main need is for more local gig listings. Let me know if you agree.
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