The Shadow League was in attendance at this week’s New Music Seminar. Kicking off Sunday in Manhattan at the historic New Yorker Hotel, thousands of would-be pop stars, managers, label heads and producers streamed in and out of seminars headed by some of the most accomplished individuals the record industry has ever seen.
Legendary producers like Nile Rogers (Chic, Daft Punk) and writer/producer Kenny Gamble (Co-Founder/Chairman, Philly International), Scott Greenstein (SiriusXM President and Chief Content Officer), Peter Szabo (VP Head of Music at Shazam), Craig Kallman (CEO/Chairman, Atlantic Records), Peter Asher (Grammy Award winning producer), Al Bell (Al Bell Presents/Stax Records), as well as representatives from companies like Billboard, Sony Music Group, Atlantic Records, Republic Records, and The Grammy’s all descended upon the NMS to give and gain valuable information on the changing world of music today.
"What’s important to me is being a participant," said Bell, a veteran hitmaker who told The Shadow League that he participated because of the importance of disseminating information in the new digital age of music distribution. "Tommy (Silverman) has made it clear that it is important for us to talk about, at this seminar and future seminars, the next stage in the recorded music industry and the steps that need to be taken to lead it into the 21st century with an emphasis on access as well as distribution."
Founded in 1980, by Tommy Boy Records founder Tom Silverman, the New Music Seminar originally ran through 1995. But a re-launch in 2009 came as a knowledge vacuum grew from the rapid growth of digital content and aggregation with questions regarding how to find success and monetary gain in today’s unique music game. This year, the festivities run through Tuesday, June 10, with seminars during the day and evenings packed with performances by up and coming rappers, singers, and musicians from the worlds of hip hop, pop, rock, and dance. Popular seminars include “Independent Labels Coming to Power,” “The Producer’s Movement” and “The Art and Business of Songwriting” where attendees enriched their business model and bottom line.
