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Attending Music Conferences 101

February 13, 2011 By 12 Comments

I’m thrilled to announce the release of a new eBook for musicians called “Attending Music Conferences 101”. It’s the first in a new series of eBooks called “Cool’s Notes” which will contain my thoughts on various topics in the music industry and feature interviews with top industry experts as well as insight from artists themselves.

This first eBook is a comprehensive guide to making the most of a music conference. From pre-conference planning, showcasing and networking, to the post-conference follow-up, it offers a step-by-step look at the music conference experience and how to maximize it from a musician’s point of view.

The book features interviews with:

The eBook also contains:

And possibly the best part about the book: it’s absolutely free.

So if you’re heading to a music conference in the future, this book will help you save time and money, and provide you with a solid foundation to make the most of your experience.

Download the eBook for FREE:

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Download the accompanying sample music conference budget (Excel):

Cheers!

Dave

Filed Under: Artist Resources, Sonicbids Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

My OCFF Top 5

October 20, 2010 By 4 Comments

I recently attended the OCFF Conference (Ontario Council of Folk Festivals) as a delegate from Folquebec. Here are a few Top 5 lists from my experience:

Top 5 Favorite things about OCFF:

  1. The MUSIC: 3 days/nights of great music
  2. The PEOPLE: Seeing old friends and meeting new ones
  3. The OCFF STAFF: Always friendly and helpful
  4. The PANEL DISCUSSIONS: Some great ones this year, special mention to David Newland’s panel on Social Media (check out his amazing site www.rootsmusic.ca )
  5. The RECEPTIONS: Free food and booze :)


Top 5 Least Favorite things about OCFF:

  1. Paying $10/day for wireless (not cool)
  2. Paying $13.50 for a glass of wine at the lobby bar (ouch!)
  3. Seeing artists play their heart out at a showcase with nobody in the room (breaks my heart)
  4. Last-minute schedule changes (there was an absolute must-see artist for me that changed their private showcase time from Midnight to 2:30AM, I didn’t make it in the end, really disappointed)
  5. Waking up Sunday morning (it wasn’t pretty)


Top 5 Showcases I saw at OCFF:

OK, I wasn’t going to make this list, but many people have asked me, so here it is. It is incredibly hard to pick out 5 performances out of so many, and there were a lot of really good showcases, not the least of which all of the artists who performed for Folquebec. But if I were to pick 5 showcases that stood out for me, these would be it:

  1. Dan Mangan: Blew. Me. Away. Since getting back I haven’t stopped listening to his album. I wake up early to play it, and stay up late to keep listening to it. Reminds me why I love music :)
  2. Cécile Doo-Kingué: Montreal-based blues artist, her guitar playing will make your face melt.
  3. Ian Kelly: Francophone artist from Montreal who sings in English. He’s sold 32,000+ albums in Quebec, and there’s a good reason why.
  4. Galant, tu perds ton temps: 5-female francophone a cappella group from Quebec. Enough said.
  5. Tie: Craig Cardiff & Peter Katz: OK, this is a cop-out of my top 5, but I saw them together in a private showcase room. They both played the Montreal Folk Festival this past year, brilliant songwriters, and they didn’t disappoint.

All in all, I had an absolute blast. A big thanks to all of the staff at OCFF and most importantly, the musicians who really make it all happen. Keep doing what you do :)

Cheers,

Dave

Filed Under: Cool's Corner, Dave Tagged With: , , , , ,