Navigating the ever-changing industry landscape was the theme of The Memphis Chapter’s GRAMMY® GPS: A Roadmap For Today's Music Biz. The mid-April event brought together top professionals from urban music and rock for up-close-and-personal workshops and panels. Opening with a keynote address by echomusic co-founder and Claritas Capital’s entrepreneur-in-residence Mark Montgomery, the day’s panels ranged from building an artist’s ideal support team to licensing music for film to directly connecting with fans through today’s ever-expanding social media outlets. The event drew representatives from Island Def Jam, Capitol Records, Atlantic Records, ReverbNation, Whizbang, 615 Music Company, Downtown Music Publishing, ASCAP, BMI, and nearly 50 other companies.
Attendees got their music heard by panelists at rock and urban demo critique sessions. For many, the day’s highlight was the Beat Clinic, a crash course in hip-hop production, as moderator Kurt Clayton contrasted old-school beats with the new approaches of Wizz Dumb (Timbaland) and Hot Rod (Yo Gotti). Clayton emphasized the importance of knowing the sources of samples, as well as protecting one’s own intellectual property.
Fittingly, in a city as famous for its clubs as for its recording scene, GRAMMY GPS began and ended with live music. It kicked off the night before at the legendary Earnestine and Hazel’s with performances by The Summers, Yung Kee, Star and Micey and Ryan Peel. GRAMMY-winning producer Paul Ebersold presented The Summers, a band he’s now producing after discovering them at 2008’s Indie Impact, another Memphis Chapter development event.
New Orleans-based songwriter Andrew Duhon played the closing reception, while the Hi Tone’s GRAMMY GPS after-party featured Louisiana hip-hop artist Dee-1, The Dirty Streets, Memphis punk band Pezz, up-and-coming rapper Skewby, singer/songwriter Jeremy Stanfill, and emerging metal band Tanks.
