Check the Schedule Of Events for dates & times of seminars.

Moderator and speakers lists and bios to be provided in the coming weeks.
   

Speed Dating: One-On-One Meeting Opportunities

Anxious to connect with a particular company but aren't sure how to arrange an appointment?  Not enough time for multiple hour-long meetings this year?  No worries, The NARM One-On-One Meetings will help you to develop your business in a fast, efficient manner while at the NARM Convention.

If you've heard of "Speed Dating" -- where people schedule brief encounters to meet new people, exchange ideas and develop relationships that could lead to more -- then you're already familiar with how this special opportunity works.

NARM's version of "Speed Dating" offers attendees brief, pre-scheduled meetings with industry executives from the music community.  Whether you are looking for distribution for your label, looking for a way to add new artists to your label, seeking new labels for your distribution company, hoping to get a better grasp of independent retail store profiles, or just simply seeking a way to network quickly and efficiently with others this year, this is the place to be!

Last year's session was such a success, we are making this year's even better by expanding it to three different sessions on three different days to better accommodate your schedule during the NARM Convention.  Hosted by Clay Pasternack, Clay Pasternack, Inc; Courtney Proffitt, Rocket Science, LLC; and Alexis Kelley, LiveWire Entertainment Sales and Marketing, the event promises to provide you with a most efficient way to get in all those meetings -- and a unique chance to develop new relationships and business!

Don't hesitate!  Seats fill up quickly.  To sign up, contact Evelyn Dichter at 800.365.6276 or dichter@narm.com.

State of Music Retail Panel Discussion:
“Reconnecting With Consumers”
Opening Session & Annual Meeting, Thursday, August 3, 9-11 AM

Moderator Mark Pearson, HITS Magazine, will lead a group of high-level executives from a cross-section of music retailing companies in a discussion on how they are adapting to a digital world, what’s on their company wish lists, and — perhaps more importantly — what’s on their consumers’ wish lists. What their respective companies are doing to reconnect with the consumer and reinvigorate the music and entertainment marketplace will be a key topic. If you want to know the outlook for music and entertainment retailing, this is the session to attend.

Moderator: Mark Pearson, HITS Magazine
Mark Pearson started in the music business as a singer-songwriter. His music career began in the 60s, when he worked with the legendary Bill Graham, and lasted through the 70s and early 80s, when he released records for both Epic and Capitol. It was during these years that he also started working with Music Vision, an independent promotion company and marketing firm. This is the company that would later become HITS Magazine, where Pearson, originally in the telemarketing department, would eventually take over the Rerap retail column in 1992.
 

The Indie Show ...
Licensing Opportunities In New Arenas
Thursday, August 3, 3-5 PM
 
The independent label sector is growing its marketshare online. With the advent of broad, horizontal platforms for selling music, consumer choice is no longer subject to availability.
 
The Indie Show is the ‘un-cola’ discussion forum. Breaking from the usual panel format, it will feature one-on-one interviews with the leaders and innovators of the digital music services. A lively and provocative discussion is promised by show host Don Rose, President of the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM).

Host: Don Rose, American Association For Independent Music (A2IM)
Rose led the 2005 launch of the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), a non-profit trade association representing independent record labels, and is now the organization's Acting President. Celebrating his 33rd year in the music industry, Rose is Co-founder and former Chairman/CEO of Ryko Corporation. Rykodisc was the world's first "CD-only" record label, and was among the first Indies active in the format. Under Rose's direction, Rykodisc grew from an independent to a "full-format" music label by 1987. Since his departure from Ryko, Rose was Head of Business Development for Palm Entertainment Properties, where he later served as Head of International, working in the company's offices in London. Rose has also acted as a consultant and adviser to numerous new technology platform developers to enable digital distribution of music.

NARM/NPD Research Results
Friday, August 4, 11 AM-12:30 PM

NPD will provide an overview of NARM’s highly regarded and much-talked-about comprehensive consumer research on what influences and motivates the music consumer to purchase music. In addition to recapping the first two segments examining various shopper segments and the music purchase and usage habits of the digital consumers, the key part of this presentation will be the debut of findings from the third and final phase of the project, in which specific scenarios designed to increase the sale of both physical and digital product have been tested with consumers. NPD will present the results, and highlight some important insights for the industry to consider and even act upon.

Presenter: Russ Crupnick, The NPD Group
Crupnick is President of NPD Music, the music information division of The NPD Group. He has 21 years of experience in the development, management and application of consumer tracking panels. Prior to joining The NPD Group, Crupnick worked at ACNielsen, where he held various positions, including VP/Group Director of the Homescan Consumer Panel Unit and VP/Director within Nielsen's Category Management team. Crupnick has extensive background in targeting systems using GIS and geodemography, as well as experience in brand positioning research.  

Nielsen SoundScan Research Presentation
Back by popular demand, Nielsen SoundScan’s Chris Muretore (top, right) and Rob Sisco will present Convention attendees with an overview of the entertainment industry through sales trend comparisons of both physical and digital entertainment product.

Presenters
Chris Muratore, Nielsen Entertainment
Chris Muratore joined SoundScan in 1994 and currently serves as Director of Retail Relations & Research Services for Nielsen Entertainment. He is responsible for securing and maintaining agreements with all retailers, including Internet, digital and mobile data providers, and for collecting weekly data for the Nielsen “Scan” businesses in the United States, Canada and internationally — products that include Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen VideoScan, Nielsen BookScan, Nielsen SoundScan International and, most recently, Nielsen RingScan, which tracks the sales of all ringtone purchases made by consumers through their cell phones. Prior to joining SoundScan, Muratore was Advertising Coordinator for Trans World Entertainment.

Rob Sisco, Nielsen Music
Rob Sisco is President of Nielsen Music and Chief Operating Officer of Nielsen Entertainment East Coast Operations. Prior to joining Nielsen Entertainment, Sisco was VP of Marketing Services for Fairwest Direct, a company specializing in database-driven direct-marketing programs. Sisco began his radio career in San Diego in 1975. He later became assistant program director at 99X in New York City, part of the legendary RKO chain. In 1979 at the age of 21, he became the youngest major market program director in America when he was appointed to WPEZ-FM (now WWSW-FM) in Pittsburgh. He served as program director for K-101 radio in San Francisco and Program and Operations Director at KMGI/KIXI in Seattle.

Technology & New Media Forum: Breakfast, Speakers & Discussions
Saturday, August 5, 8:30 AM-NOON

Join us for an in-depth exploration of the opportunities offered by new and changing entertainment discovery and purchase methods offered by the Internet, mobile and wireless, video, games, and satellite radio technology. Featured speakers, panels, presentations and interviews will discuss ways to entice consumers to more music and entertainment consumption. Speakers to be announced.
 

Featured Speaker

Steven Starr, Revver
As founder and CEO of Revver, a web site that allows video uploaders to earn revenue from advertisements, Steven Starr has 30 years of experience in media and creator empowerment. Recent product launches include Indy.tv, a free recommendation engine for independent musicians; and Dijjer.org, an open source zero-bandwidth http technology for independent creators. Previously, he managed KPFK-FM, the largest community radio signal in the U.S. and co-founded the Los Angeles Independent Media Center. He’s held executive-level positions with a variety of Internet and entertainment-related companies over the years – including co-founder and chair of Intel-backed Uprizer, Inc.; founding CEO of user-generated AntEye.com; co-creator/producer of MTV’s “The State;” writer/director of the award-winning Indy feature “Joey Breaker;” and head of the New York Motion Picture Department for the William Morris Agency, representing Ang Lee, Tim Robbins, Larry David, and the Bob Marley Estate among others. Starr began his career as a concert promoter for Bob Marley and the Wailers.

Panel Discussion: Partnering With New Players

Moderator: Ted Cohen, TAG Strategic
Integrating his widespread digital authority in music, mobile, IPTV and product and service development, Ted Cohen is the Managing Partner of TAG Strategic, the newly minted broad-based digital consulting firm. As a 30-year entertainment industry vet, Cohen was instrumental in crafting the licensing agreements upon which the Rhapsody subscription service and the iTunes Music Store were built. In his previous role as Sr. VP of Digital Development & Distribution for EMI Music, Cohen led next-generation digital business development worldwide for this “big four” record company. During that time, EMI led the industry by embracing and exploiting new technologies and business models such as digital downloads and online music subscriptions, custom compilations, wireless services, high-definition audio, and Internet radio. In addition, Cohen served as both a strategist and key decision-maker for EMI’s global new media and anti-piracy efforts. He worked to establish company-wide digital policies, which have provided EMI’s artists and labels a substantial advantage in the digital music arena. Prior to EMI, Cohen served as Executive VP of Digital Music Network Inc., where he co-founded and served as Chairman of the groundbreaking Webnoize conferences. He also led two highly successful new media consulting operations, DMN Consulting and Consulting Adults, and held senior management positions at both Warner Bros. Records and Philips Media.

Closing Keynote

Chuck D
As leader and co-founder of legendary rap group Public Enemy, Chuck D redefined Rap music and Hip Hop culture with the release of PE’s explosive debut album, “Yo Bum Rush The Show,” in 1987.  The group’s subsequent seven albums were released over the next 13 years and at the close of 1999, The New York Times named Public Enemy’s music to its list of the “25 Most Significant Albums of the Last Century.”

The success of Public Enemy opened the doors for Chuck to deliver his message through a number of different media. He has hosted his own segment on the Fox News Channel; published a best-selling autobiography, “Fight The Power;” is a highly-sought-after speaker on the college lecture circuit; is a prominent member of MusicCares and Rock The Vote; and started the record label SlamJamz. 

Most recently, the media anointed Chuck as the spokesperson and major proponent of music on the Internet. He launched Rapstation.com, a multi-format “supersite” for the vast global Hip Hop community that boasts a TV and radio station with original programming and regular features dedicated to empowering Rap artists with the knowledge to turn their craft into a viable living.

Chuck has also launched a radio station on the Internet, BringTheNoise.com. His involvement in the Internet has landed him on the cover of The Net, Wired, Bomb and Yahoo Internet Life magazines, and he was the guest editor of the 1999 year-end issue of Red Herring, one of the tech industry’s leading business magazines. Chuck was named to Upside magazine’s “Elite 100” list of Internet leaders, alongside the likes of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.