Posted by Mike McCready | May 16th, 2015 | No responses
Among the dozens of panels at the Music Biz conference in town this weekend, one stood out more to me than others. The panel, called “It’s Still Music City, U.S.A.: Doing Deals in Nashville,” included a variety of music industry experts from local bankers to D.C.-based music policy wonks.
The premise of the panel was that the song still reigns supreme in Nashville, so changes in the global music industry are being felt differently here. Therefore, business is done differently here than in New York, Los Angeles and London. The objective was to provide some insight for the audience into how business is done in Nashville, and why “it’s still Music City, U.S.A.”
The panel touched on Nashville’s startup community and financing opportunities, but the moderator, Nash FM’s Blair Garner, kicked-off the session by asking each panelist to choose one word to describe Nashville’s music community. Here’s what the panelists said:
Heather McBee, Project Music: “Community.” McBee, who joined the Nashville Entrepreneur Center after years in the music industry, pointed to the support that major labels and music industry execs have given to Project Music, the music-tech accelerator run at the EC. Not only did major players offer mentorship and support to the companies, she pointed out that they’ve also helped fund the accelerator.
Mike McCready is an entrepreneur at the crossroads of music and technology. He pioneered the introduction of Hit Song Science into the music industry and followed up with Music Xray, the company he co-founded and serves as CEO. His companies have been the subject of case studies at Harvard Business School, IESE and he frequently guest speaks at many of the top business schools around the world. He helps the music industry identify high potential songs and talent and helps musicians get deals, get fans, & get better: http://musicxray.com