CONTACT
Susan L’Ecuyer (856)
596-2221
March 5, 2001
Diverse musical performances and
informative speakers will be the hallmark of the business sessions at the National
Association of Recording Merchandisers’ 43rd Annual NARM Convention
& Trade Show.
Opening
Business Session — Monday, March 12
The music of Third Day will awaken sleepy conventioneers with a spirited
Christian Rock performance. This group of five young men from Atlanta has
released five best-selling recordings. Its current release on Essential
Records, Offerings—A Worship Album, was nominated this year for a
Grammy Award for Best Rock Gospel Album and received four Dove Award
nominations.
Once eyes have been opened, Jennifer Knapp of Gotee Records will take the stage. Another Christian
artist, Knapp’s Blues-Rock sounds garnered her a spot on the Lilith Fair tour
and earned her two Dove Awards last year, including New Artist Of The Year. Her
new album, Lay It Down, also earned a
Grammy nomination this year for Best Rock Gospel Album.
The unique ladies of the group, Bond, will give the last of the performance at the Opening Business
Session. Young, hip and sexy aren’t words often associated with Classical music
… until now. These Decca Records artists breath new life into the notion of a
Classical string quartet. Their album, Born,
which will be released in March, is a fresh and dramatic original.
MTV’s Judy McGrath, who comes to the NARM Convention in this, the
network’s 20th anniversary year, will give the keynote speech. As
the president of the MTV Group and Chairman of Interactive Music, she has
transformed the network into an industry and cultural powerhouse. At MTV,
McGrath assembled a unique group of programmers, producers and writers who have
developed cutting-edge program and events.
Wednesday,
March 14 / Closing Business Session
Nydia Rojas will heat up the final business session. Rojas is a 19
year-old who has been performing to sold-out arenas and crowds of more that
18,000 for the past three years. Her performance showcases the contemporary
treatment she applies to Mariachi without compromising the music’s heritage.
Next
up is Dreamworks Records Nashville’s rising star, Jessica Andrews. Her first album garnered the 17-year-old the honor of
being named top New Female Vocalist at the 2000 Academy of Country Music
Awards. Her Pop-Country style has been a success at radio and her album, Who I Am, released this month, is
expected to liven up the Country landscape.
The final artist will be Myra, an artist on Walt Disney Records. Myra is only 14 years old but she
is already an accomplished performer. She has appeared on two movie
soundtracks, Walt Disney’s “102 Dalmations” and “Recess: School’s Out,” which
is to be released this month. She also has her own self-titled album coming out
in the summer of 2001. With her exciting rhythms, soulful expression and
powerful voice, her performance is sure to enchant.
Last on the slate for the Closing
Business Session will be a panel discussion titled “The Convergence Of Art,
Commerce And Politics In The Entertainment Industry.” Led by political
satirist, author and comedian Al Franken, the discussion will center on
how the entertainment industry is being transformed by new technology, new
ideas and new business models. The panelists include The Creative Coalition’s
Executive Director Robin Bronk; entertainment lawyer Jay Cooper, who is with the firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips;
artist David Coverdale; Noah Stone,
the Founder and Executive Director of Artists Against Piracy; The Future Of
Music Coalition’s Executive Director Jenny
Toomey; all of whom
will discuss myriad creative, commercial, social, legal, and political issues
confronting us all.
NARM
serves the music and other prerecorded entertainment software industry as the
pre-eminent forum for insight and dialogue for its more than 1,100 member
retailers, wholesalers, distributors, entertainment software suppliers, and
suppliers of related products and services.