2020 conference schedule

Andy Weissman is a music head. He is also managing partner of a New York City venture capital firm that has invested in some of the highest impact music tech startups of the modern era: Sofar Sounds, Splice, Kickstarter, and SoundCloud; not to mention Twitter, Tumblr, and YouNow. Because he and USV have been going at it for so long and are not primarily a music tech VC firm, we get both a broad and a music-informed perspective on the state of music tech investment as we kick of Music Tectonics.

Fresh from three months of research, Mark Mulligan debuts his latest big idea in music: creator tools are the next major growth driver of the music business. Find out why this shift is pushing companies to create relationships with artists when they make music, not when they distribute it. Why are most record labels missing this and how will it change the very nature of record labels? What about the companies who are already creating marketplaces and tools for artists long before a label or distributor has even heard the artist's name? This is the new top of funnel and it will change A&R forever more. As usual with Mulligan, prepare to have your world turned upside down as he brings back music industry knowledge from the future.

The next gold rush in the music industry will not be streaming, but monetizing fandom. That is what Mark Mulligan predicted at the opening keynote of our inaugural 2019 conference. We bridge the two conferences with this panel exploring where things have come with monetizing fandom in the music industry. From VIP experiences to digital merch, let's find out if Mark was right.

Instagram's Perry Bashkoff watched the music industry transition from downloads to ringtones, from YouTube to SoundCloud during his decade at Warner Music. Now as Head of Music at Instagram, Bashkoff spends his time helping artists and their teams tell their stories in video, pictures, and words. Find out how artists are using Instagram during the pandemic in new ways as Rolling Stone's Amy Wang interviews Bashkoff live. Hear about the evolution of IGTV and what is emerging with the newly released short-form Reels video format.

It is every entrepreneur's ambition to grow the value of their startup. When this value reaches $270 million, it means that things have been done right. David Mandelbrot, CEO of Reverb, will share successful strategic decisions made for the company that are applicable for any other entrepreneur. The presentation will be followed by a Live Q&A focused on international expansion. Insights from insiders are revealed during this masterclass, part of Midem's "Music Tech Startup Thrive Series," in association with2112's Center for Creative Entrepreneurship.

The Opening and Closing Parties take place in the avatar-based, virtual world called Degy World. This virtual conference center looks and feels similar to Roblox, but was built for networking, events, and concerts. As soon as you log in, you hear birds chirping in the background, and as you get closer to the ocean, you can hear waves. Attendees customize their avatar�s clothes, gender, and hair and skin color to resemble themselves and use arrow keys to walk around. Participants will make their way to our reception room where they'll find couches and chairs for small meetings. The experience includes an easy way to identify others by name and spatial audio to converse with anyone in your immediate proximity--just like at a real conference reception!

There are few people on the planet paid simply to think about music innovation. Scott Cohen is one of them. As a founder of The Orchard, Scott touched every facet of music tech leading up to the sale of his company. Now as Chief Innovation Officer of Warner Music Group, he's helping the company navigate what is next for recorded music. Scott was an early, outspoken proponent of AR, VR, Blockchain, and AI. What is he thinking about now? Find out in this fireside chat with Music Tectonics founder and podcast host Dmitri Vietze.<br>

A social video app, a label, and a couple data analytics geeks walk into a bar... Thanks to globalized social media, social video, and other UGC platforms, music is hopping over national borders faster than ever. The gates are down and as everyone becomes a creator, we are now in an era of the democratization of music discovery. How does this movement on social video drive trends off platform? What can artists and labels do to drive use of their music in social video? This panel explores the complexity of organic UGC, how to harness insights for marketing and A&R across global borders, and opportunities that have emerged for artists in the TikTok era.

Once again 2020 has shown that from social media to UGC video, every platform wants music in the mix. Explore the response of labels, publishers, rights holders, and administrators to the massive growth of technology platforms that are using music for deep engagement and increased value experience. Hear about the value of the platforms themselves and the value of the behind-the-scene transactions, encouraging rights holders/administrators to hold ground for a deal that properly values music rights, artists, and writers.

Back by popular demand, we round up three investors who know music tech and the music industry. Find out what's hot and what's not, from an investor perspective. Learn three investors' prefered pitching tips and find out whether there is any investment movement in music tech since the pandemic started.

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Super Hi-Fi will present powerful AI tools that will enable an array of new streaming music and audio use cases. The goal will be to learn about how technology can open up creative possibilities and lead to significant revenue growth, listener engagement and loyalty through differentiation.