The New Music Seminar (NMS) is a Music Conference and Festival held annually each June in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The New Music Seminar originally ran from 1980 to 1995 and was relaunched in 2009. NMS features over 150

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

s and other executives, presidents, and other leaders in the emerging music business along with over 100 artist performances. In 2012, NMS hosted the first New York Music Festival in collaboration with the

New York City Mayor The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

's Office of Media & Entertainment declaration of the city’s first

New York Music Week New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. The festival took place in 17 venues throughout

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. New Music Seminar 2015 took place June 21-23 in New York City.

History

1980–95

In June 1980,

Tom Silverman Tom Silverman is an American entertainment executive. He is most notable for founding the pioneering hip-hop and electro-funk music label, Tommy Boy Records, now known as Tommy Boy Entertainment. Early life and education Silverman grew up in Whi ...

, Mark Josephson,

Joel Webber Joel or Yoel is a name meaning "Yahweh Is God" and may refer to: * Joel (given name), origin of the name including a list of people with the first name. * Joel (surname), a surname * Joel (footballer, born 1904), Joel de Oliveira Monteiro, Brazili ...

, Danny Heaps, and Scott Anderson brought 220 people together at a New York City rehearsal studio to discuss challenges in the music business. The event grew in subsequent years to act as a catalyst for change in it. The New Music Seminar added music showcases and a

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

, initially called "New York Nights" and later, "New Music Nights." These were held in various New York City clubs. At its peak, the first series of seminars attracted more than 8,000 participants from 35 countries. In 6th August of 1984, the Seminar received the beginner singer and future popstar,

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Haoui Montaug Haoui Montaug (1952 – June 7, 1991) was a doorman of the New York City nightclubs Hurrah, Mudd Club, Danceteria, Studio 54, and the Palladium. Montaug also ran the roving cabaret revue No Entiendes which showcased among others a young Madonn ...

was panel director of the NMS at the time of his 1991 death. Following his death, the NMS inaugurated the Haoui Montag New Music Awards in his honour.

2009

In 2009, the New Music Seminar was relaunched by

and former New Music Seminar staffer

Dave Lory Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

New York CIty

The New Music Seminar returned as a one-day event to its hometown in the 2009 summer on July 21. It was an event that created the template for music conferences by combining business and shows. Held at the

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

Steinhardt's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, the program consisted of a keynote, four educational sessions on how to combine new and old methods with technology for career success, and an artists' showcase.

Chicago

Following reviews from the New York City conference on July 21, the New Music Seminar went to Chicago for the first time on October 6 at the historic Park West. On October 6 in Chicago, the reincarnated New Music Seminar kicked off with keynote address by Michael Spiegelman, head of

Yahoo! Music Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds of ...

, and was followed by four panel discussions: * Welcome to the Music Business; everything you know is wrong. Redefining Success. 1000 True Fans and the Fan Relationship Pyramid. * Expose Yourself: Marketing for the next music business; MySpace, Facebook and Twitter are not enough. * The Creative Process and radical Differentiation; Supercharge your music to rise above the noise floor and achieve success * The Live Show and Tour; How to Cut through the Glut and reach the Magic 300

2010

Los Angeles

New Music Seminar came to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

’s

Henry Fonda Theater The Fonda Theatre (formerly Music Box Theatre, Guild Theatre, Fox Theatre, and Pix Theatre) is a concert venue located on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival Style, the theater has hosted li ...

on Feb 2 as a one-day music, networking and educational extravaganza for industry professionals seeking to learn and understand how to help artists “rise above the noise floor” in a shifting musical landscape. Featured players included: CMO

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

Kevin Lyman Kevin Lyman is the founder and operator of thKevin Lyman Group formerly known as 4Fini, Inc., a live event production company and brand strategy firm. His most notable live production is the live music festival series Vans Warped Tour, which attrac ...

, president/founder of

Warp Tour ''Steven Universe'' is an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. The series revolves around Steven Universe (character), Steven Universe (voiced by Zach Callison), who protects his hometown of Beach Cit ...

Alexandra Patsavas Alexandra Patsavas (born 1968) is Grammy and Emmy nominated American music supervisor, producer, & executive who has worked on over 100 films and television series, most notably '' The Twilight Saga'', ''The O.C.'', ''Grey's Anatomy'', ''Gossip G ...

of Chop Shop Music,

Justin Tranter Justin Drew Tranter (born June 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, singer, and activist. Frequently co-writing with Julia Michaels, Tranter has written songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Selena ...

lead singer The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Semi Precious Weapons Semi Precious Weapons was an American rock band from New York City, New York, United States, consisting of Justin Tranter on vocals, Stevy Pyne on guitar, Cole Whittle on bass and Dan Crean on drums. Pyne replaced former guitarist, Aaron Lee Tasja ...

, Derek Sivers, founder of

CD Baby CD Baby, Inc. is an online distributor of independent music. The company was described as an "anti-label" by its parent company's Chief Operating Officer Tracy Maddux. The CD Baby music store was shut down in March 2020 with a statement that "C ...

and

Jason Bentley Jason Bentley (born July 27, 1970) is an American radio disc jockey of electronic music in Los Angeles, California. On December 1, 2008, Bentley replaced Nic Harcourt as the host of ''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' and as Music Director for KCRW. Previ ...

, program director of

KCRW KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programm ...

. The full-day conference included four “movements” a.k.a. panels, live performances, the New Music Seminar “Artist on The Verge” contest winner performance and a great deal of networking both before, during and after the event. The conference featured Keynote address followed by four Movements: * 1st Movement: Welcome to the Music Business; Everything you know is wrong. The New Definition of Success. 1000 True Fans and the Fan Relationship Pyramid. * 2nd Movement: Get Arrested; Marketing Yourself in the New Music Business – MySpace, Facebook and Twitter are not enough. * 3rd Movement: The Creative Process and radical Differentiation; Supercharge your music to rise above the noise floor and achieve success. A virtual A&R meeting. * 4th Movement: The Live Show and Tour; How to Cut through the Glut and reach the Magic 300 Ticket Mark

New York City

New Music Seminar announced that it would no longer remain a one-day conference and expand into a multi-day event from July 19 to 21 in New York City. The two-day, three-night conference included a symphony of five "movements" (focused discussions) over the course of two days, 8 TED-style presentations from key industry leaders, 22 mentoring sessions, nightly musical performances and ongoing networking opportunities. This seminar address both the artists’ dilemma of breaking out from the ever-growing glut of music releases and the development of a new business model for a sustainable music business. NMS featured speakers included: Eric Garland (Big Champagne), Joe Kennedy (

Pandora In Greek mythology, Pandora (Greek: , derived from , ''pān'', i.e. "all" and , ''dōron'', i.e. "gift", thus "the all-endowed", "all-gifted" or "all-giving") was the first human woman created by Hephaestus on the instructions of Zeus. As Hes ...

), Mike Doernberg ( Reverbnation), Courtney Holt ( Myspace Music), David Goodman (

CBS Interactive Paramount Streaming (formerly CBS Digital Media Group, CBS Interactive, ViacomCBS Streaming), a division of Paramount Global, oversees the company’s streaming technology and offers direct-to-consumer services, free, premium and pay. These incl ...

Little Steven Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin ...

(

Underground Garage ''Underground Garage'' is the name shared by two related but different radio outlets, a syndicated show and a satellite radio station, both created and supervised by American musician Steven Van Zandt (best known as a guitarist in Bruce Springs ...

and the

E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...

Ariel Hyatt Ariel Hyatt (born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts) is an American digital marketer, writer, and teacher who develops independent musicians. The author of ''Music Success in 9 Weeks'' (2009), ''Cyber PR For Musicians'' (2013), the crowdfunded ''Cro ...

(Ariel PR), Corey Denis (Not Shocking), Linda Lorence (

SESAC SESAC is a for-profit performance-rights organization in the United States. Founded in 1930 as the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, it is the second-oldest performance-rights organization in the United States.

), Jay Frank (CMT), Gwen Lipsky (Sound Thinking), Tom Jackson (onstagesuccess.com),

Martin Atkins Martin Clive Atkins (born 3 August 1959) is an English drummer and session musician, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image Ltd, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface, and Killing Joke. He also works as ...

(Tour: Smart), John Simson (Soundexchange), Corrie Christopher (APA), Chris Vinson ( Bandzoogle), and Tony Van Veen (Discmakers). The Artist Movement “conducted” by

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American comedian, actress, LGBT social activist, and musician. She is known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially regarding race and se ...

featured star artists discussing how they got their break and tips on how to apply what worked for them.

2011–15

After a sold-out event in New York City on July 19–21, 2010, New Music Seminar returned to Los Angeles one day after the Grammys, with its 3-day event from February 14 through 16th, 2011, at the Sheraton Universal Hotel. The kickoff red carpet event, The After Grammy Jammy (the NMS Opening Night Party), was held at The Music Box in Hollywood on Monday night, February 14 with the “Artist on the Verge Finals”, which selects one artist who will walk away with over $50K in promotion and marketing, Tuesday, February 15 at The Roxy. The two-day, three-night conference included a symphony of five "movements" (focused discussions) over the course of two days, 12–18 minute Intensives (presentations) from key industry leaders, 22 mentoring sessions, daily and nightly musical performances, Summit Meetings and workshops on Rock, Hip Hop, Producers and Songwriting along with ongoing networking opportunities throughout. On June 17–19, 2012, the New Music Seminar explored the exciting future of the music business with the

SoundExchange SoundExchange is an American non-profit collective rights management organization founded in 2003. It is the sole organization designated by the U.S. Congress to collect and distribute digital performance royalties for sound recordings. It pays f ...

Digital Broadcasting Summit and the BMI Creative Conclave; which took place at Webster Hall in New York City. The creative community and their label partners met the digital broadcasters, music bloggers, music technologists and all of the new music exposure and monetization players. Clear Channel CEO, Bob Pittman and

Sean Parker Sean Parker (born December 3, 1979) is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, most notable for co-founding the file-sharing computer service Napster, and serving as the first president of the social networking website Facebook. He also ...

were the keynote speakers and shared their vision for the future. Many sectors of the evolving new music business convened to discuss their perspectives for the exciting new future for the music business. In 2013, the New Music Seminar, along with the

Digital Broadcasting Summit, moved to the iconic

New Yorker Hotel The New Yorker, A Wyndham Hotel is a mixed-use hotel building at 481 Eighth Avenue in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, United States. Opened in 1930, the New Yorker Hotel was designed by Sugarman and Berger in the ...

and held its opening night party at

Webster Hall Webster Hall is a nightclub and concert venue located at 125 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues, near Astor Place, in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. It is one of New York City's most historically significant ...

. 2013 marked a growth in international relationships spearheaded by the newly appointed General Manager, Peter Schwinge. Music showcases from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

– an International Movement conducted by

MIDEM Midem is the acronym for Marché International du Disque et de l'Édition Musicale, which is organised annually in and around the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France. The trade show, organized by Reed MIDEM, a subsidiary of Re ...

, and an uptick in international sponsors and delegates enhanced the discussion throughout the global music community.
A new addition, to the benefit of artists, was the Music Xray A&R Listening and Critique room where artists had the opportunity to have their music listened to, and critiqued by reps from

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

, Label Recruit, LOCAL VIBES,

Glassnote Records Glassnote Records (also known as Glassnote Entertainment Group LLC) is a record label that was launched by American music executive Daniel Glass in 2007. The label primarily has a lineup of indie rock and alternative rock artists, most notably M ...

Razor & Tie Razor & Tie was an American entertainment company that consisted of a record label and a music publishing company. It was established in 1990 by Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld. Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles an ...

Robbins Entertainment Robbins Entertainment is an American dance music record label. It is owned by Cory Robbins and has released music by Cascada, such as their hit single " Everytime We Touch". It is also the company responsible for the ''Dance Party Like It's....'' ...

Island Def Jam The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by the Universal Music Group. It consists of labels devised and consisted under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordi ...

, and

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. There was a 2014 and 2015 event.

Similar events

Since the New Music Seminar's inception, many important music conferences worldwide have been formed, including

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

Winter Music Conference The Winter Music Conference (WMC) is a week-long electronic music conference, held every March in Miami Beach, Florida, United States since 1985. It is also known as the premiere platform for electronic dance music. The conference brings togethe ...

, In the City,

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

and

Canadian Music Week Canadian Music Week (or CMW) is an industry conference and music festival held over ten days in Toronto and Ontario, Canada. History Canadian Music Week began in 1981 and has grown to become one of Canada's largest and most influential media a ...

References

{{Reflist Music conferences Music festivals in New York City