In early August I attended the Musikfest Music Industry and Education Conference in Bethlehem, PA. This was the first time a professional conference component was added to the Musikfest event, which has been running for over 40 years.
Musikfest has become a staple of the arts in Eastern PA, but this was actually my first time taking part in any of it. The last time I was in Bethlehem was probably as a budding singer-songwriter attending the open mic at Godfrey Daniels, or seeing acts like John Gorka perform there.
Leading up to the two-day conference, I was impressed by the level of organization that the planners exhibited. All communication was top-notch. You wouldn’t know that this was their first time doing this. When they posted their call for presenters, I had just come off of the Trenton Computer Festival and had an AI Music presentation that I knew would fit Musikfest, so I signed up as both an attendee and presenter.
The Venue
The Artsquest Center at SteelStacks is a wonderful celebration of the area’s industrial heritage with an eye towards a creative future. Housing at least four stages and comfortable meeting spaces, the location was one of the highlights of the conference.
The Presentations
The keynote by Alain Barker was titled “An Abundance of Opportunity: Navigating New Directions in Music Performance and Production” was a great way to start things off and included a discussion of Ben Cameron’s video comparing recent technological innovations to the printing press.
During the Q&A, I made a comment about “starving artists” and how I never wanted to be one (and never have been one). This may have been misinterpreted, so for anyone who was there and is reading this…
By “starving artists” I mean specifically artists who romanticize the creative life and look back on history for examples (excuses) to emulate suffering artists and think that is necessary to be a “true artist” without “selling out”.
Such artists are *in contrast* to those that are in underserved or underrepresented communities.
I was referring to the former group, not the latter. However, the world doesn’t owe either group anything – especially in today’s oversaturated artistic landscape.
Artists who have the means, and willingly ignore or run away from self promotion are just not going to get anywhere. The industry and the culture will not wait for those who chose to be aloof or uninformed about what they need to do to promote themselves and improve their craft.
Next I attended “Authentic Marketing in an AI World, Human Connectivity” with Mike McCreary (Hang Dog Outdoor Adventures), Curtis Johnson (Creative Like Us) where we had a lively discussion about how to use AI as part of marketing strategy.
Barry Atticks and Dain Estes presented “Preparing for a Career in the Music Industry: Why Music, Business, and Technology courses in college are not enough for success.” This was where a theme began to develop for the entire conference. It’s very clear that the academic and practical professional sides of the music industry are (still) very much out of sync. This is something I have experienced personally, and observed for decades. But this was the first time I saw people actually acknowledging it and looking for solutions.
The disconnect between music education and practice continued to be addressed in “Building a Bridge: Strategies for Unifying Music Education and the Music Industry” with Shane Colquhoun from Alabama State Univ. Department Dept Of Music. Within two minutes of listening to Dr. Colquhoun, I could tell he was my kind of people. His approach to broadening access for students of different cultural and economic backgrounds and with different types of talents is something we need to see more of within the broader educational system.
My talk: “AI in the Music Industry” was well attended and we continued a great discussion about how AI is impacting all of us, from all sides of the industry. Devin Arne from West Chester University, PA continued the discussion with his presentation “Finding the Signal Through the Noise: Integrating AI into Music Curriculum”.
One of the best presentations I saw was by Gerard Longo from the Underground Music Collective, a Nashville-based educational and multimedia platform serving the music industry and independent creatives, everywhere. Gerard’s presentation was titled, “Perfect Your Pitch: Building Authentic Connections as an Independent Artist.”
Gerard is very much on the same page with me in terms of how artists can not just rely on being good musicians. Being successful involves so much more. I could think of at least three acts I’ve been helping who need to hear Girard’s message. I’m looking forward to future interactions with Gerard as he expands UMC.
With every conference I attend, I like to go to at least one presentation that is a little out of the ordinary. In this case, I chose Zack Clark’s “Wellness and Mindfulness for the Working Musician: On the road and in the classroom.” Being Buddhist, mindfulness is a regular buzz word I’ve come across a lot over the years, so I am always hesitant to see it presented at a conference. But this was a good overall primer and a welcome break from all of the other more business-oriented interaction of the event.
The last presentation I attended was “Breaking Into the Music Business on a National Level Presentation” with industry veteran Jim Della Croce. Jim’s presentation and stories were very down to earth and showed that – as modern as the industry is – it’s still very much what Jim calls a “street business”. Take that how you will.
Several really good one-liners from the presentation included:
“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” (Milton Birle)
“Cant hit the target if you cant see the target.”
“Go where the action is.”
“Must be present to win.”
“Do not fall in love with your bed.” (George Burns)
Jim mentioned a few other conferences to consider, which I’ll list here as a value-add to my readers:
- International Entertainment Buyers Association (IEBA) – https://www.ieba.org/ “Live Music Summit & Awards,” previously known as the “International Music Festival Conference (IMFCON) and International Entertainment Buyers Association (IEBA).” This event caters to venue promoters, publicists, managers, and other professionals in the live music and entertainment industry. It typically features panels, workshops, networking opportunities, and awards to recognize achievements in live music.
- Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP). Major annual conference held in New York City that serves venue promoters, publicists, managers, and touring musicians. It includes showcases, professional development sessions, and networking opportunities for performing arts professionals across various genres.
- International Festival Forum (IFF) – Conference specifically for festival bookers and booking agents in the live music industry, offering panels, showcases, and networking opportunities tailored for those involved in the festival circuit.
Making Connections
The music business is still very much about the people you know. Most of the presentations underscored that. I met some really great people and have remained in touch with all of them. I even ran into an old mentor of mine, and it is amazing to see just how small this world is.
The disconnect between academia and the industry at large, especially where technology is concerned, was a common theme. Michael DePaul from Union College of NJ came up to me randomly and we struck up a conversation on this topic, and it was amazing to see just how much we agreed on the urgency of addressing these disconnects. There’s still a lot of focus on ProTools as the only game in town, and I will do whatever I can to crush that misconception. It’s nice to see others are on board with this as well.
As I see it, from talking with collegues, there are really three disconnects when it comes to US music education.
- US music education is biased on Western methods, leaving little room for exploration of other approaches.
- There’s either too much emphasis on technology, or not enough.
- There’s little to no training on entrepreneurship, or how to actually make a living, leaving students to fend for themselves.
The music industry suffers from several stereotypes that make all of this worse – whether it’s the “sex, drugs, & rock n’ roll” stereotype, or how we put artists on a pedestal and treat this field as something glamorous. Very much of the job is *not* glamorous, and not everyone will be the center of attention. There’s a lot more layers to the music business that people tend not to think about when they go into it.
The Town
Bethlehem is a beautiful, very walkable, little town. I stayed at an AirBnB on the north side of the town and was easily able to navigate to hang out Thu night and take in the town. There were lots of food options, though I would recommend the Highlights included Sizzling Bites Halal and El Jafe’s Taqueria, though U & Tea Chinese Restaurant was a disappointment.
The Verdict
I have to hand it to the organizers, particularly Marissa Guarriello for their professionalism and hard work. Having been to a lot of conferences, both good and bad, this was one of the best I’ve attended.
The only real hiccup that I saw was with their meal plan. Attendees got a $50 cash card for use at vendors at Musikfest, and at the bar within the Artsquest building. Awesome idea in theory.
However, the food service within Artsquest didn’t accept the cards, and the bar was not ready to take them on the first attempt on Thu night. The food trucks at Musikfest were not open for lunch, and even at dinner, some were not prepared to accept the card or were not trained. This was more of a problem for lunch on the first day when temps were well over 90 and the only food options required some walking. Still, it was a missed opportunity. I left about $5 on my card unused when all was said and done.
Otherwise, I really hope they can continue this conference. They are starting from a great place.
As for music, I got to see a bit from the two outdoor stages nearby Artsquest, but had to leave Fri afternoon. Judging from the approximately 12 stages I noticed in the event booklet, there was a substantial lineup of local and regional talent. Martin Guitars is one of the event sponsors, and there’s a large Martin presence (yet I still felt in good company being a Taylor guy :-). Overall the festival vibe was very good, well organized and family friendly. I was sorry to miss the rest of the event! Next year I will plan for an extended stay to take in more of what Bethlehem and the festival have to offer, such as the Banana Factory and the museums.
