digitalmusic.org, the virtual home of music business association NARM’s digital initiatives, will present several sessions from its “Music Start Up Academy” curriculum to the 2012 SXSW Music Conference, in conjunction with the SXSW Accelerator program. SXSW Music and Platinum badge holders will be able to participate in the Music Start Up Academy, which will be held on Wednesday, March 14.

“The future of the music business is dependent upon technology innovation, but there are very few opportunities that provide the fundamentals of the industry for these entrepreneurs,” said Bill Wilson, VP, Digital Strategy & Business Development, NARM/digitalmusic.org. “SXSW’s Conferences bring together thousands of people from both worlds, and we hope the Music Start Up Academy event will build a bridge between these groups so more great new music-focused start-ups get to market quickly and achieve success.”

Event Agenda

Moderator: Bill Wilson, NARM

Q&A Leader: Ted Cohen, TAG Strategic

Label and Publishing Basics for Entrepreneurs
A deeper dive into the economics of the music industry, including performance rights, including understanding the various rights for master recordings and songwriting. We will also go over the various legal issues surrounding music product development.

• Maurice Russell, Sr. VP, Licensing, Collections & Business Affairs, Harry Fox Agency (HFA)
• Jon Vanhala, Sr. VP, Digital Strategy & New Business, Island Def Jam

Music Industry Content Acquisition and Business Development
Want Lady Gaga for your music service? A cool product isn’t enough. What are the “dos and don’ts” in licensing vast libraries of major content. Learn the third rails and how to manage navigating around the barriers to entry.

• Nikke Slight, Founder, Act 3
• Yi Ping Ho, Sr. Dir., Digital Strategy & Business Development, Warner Music Group (WMG)

Getting Under The Hood: Music Operations For CTOs and Developers
Once a deal is done on the legal side, technical teams need to work out content delivery and royalty reporting mechanisms. This course will discuss industry XML standards for content delivery, and royalty reporting, metadata, best practices, and troubleshooting.

• Josh Builder, CTO, The Orchard
• Vicki Nauman, VP, North America, 7digital