Announcements for the upcoming Upstream Music Fest + Summit keep, well, streaming in! Last week, we revealed the first wave of breakout sessions. Now the full speaker lineup is here, along with new details on keynotes from Macklemore and some additions to previously announced sessions, like Pearl Jam's Mike McCready teaming up with composer Ron Jones. You can see all these sessions, as well as the previously announced 100+ artists, May 11-13 in locations throughout Pioneer Square.
Despite reaching global audiences as Macklemore, Ben Haggerty remains deeply tied to his hometown of Seattle. Macklemore will close out the Upstream Summit with an in depth conversation that explores how he and partner Ryan Lewis were able to bring their unique sound and brand to the world. Their trajectory coincided with a number of dramatic changes in technology which have fundamentally changed the music industry, including major shifts in how music is distributed and consumed.
As an artist grows their business and brand, it becomes necessary to build a team to support their needs. From attorneys and accountants to labels, agents and publicists; at what point in your career do you start adding more faces? David Price and Shea Chappel of local artist management team Votiv and Bree McKenna of beloved Seattle artists Tacocat will talk about how, when and why they began to expand their supporting cast, and when you should start considering it as a priority.
Ron Jones, Composer | Mike McCready, Pearl Jam and HockeyTalkterBecome the Music: Figure Out What's Most Important To You (And Your Audience)Two Northwest artists who have become synonymous with iconic sounds will join us for a breakout session on “becoming the music”. Legendary composer Ron Jones is known for iconic theme songs and scores for the likes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Family Guy and Duck Tales. He has mastered the craft of recording, and has since opened the incredible Sky Muse Studios where he teaches the art of creating music, media and production. Ron will be joined by another legend, Mike McCready the lead guitarist for and one of the founding members of Pearl Jam. After years playing in one of the most acclaimed bands in history, Mike has since founded HockeyTalkter Records, a vinyl record label specializing in limited edition 7 inch singles. Ron and Mike will sit down and tap into their collective decades of experience creating music and discuss what every artist needs to understand about making taking achieving your musical goals. Hear from two prolific artists from different ends of the musical spectrum on how you can tap into the music that's in you in order to create the music your audience wants to hear.
Sit down with industry veteran Jonathan Simkin of BC record labels 604 Records and Light Organ, and next gen-content disrupter Josh Carr-Hilton of Vancouver-based media company The District on the myths and realities of the Canadian music scene. Discover the truth about breaking in or breaking out of Canada and how Canadian artists and labels reach global audiences in innovative ways.
How we consume music has changed dramatically, so much in fact, that it has disrupted traditional advertising and forced innovative companies to look to the future of how music and brands work together. Susan Stone and Pete Pederson, industry disruptors from CECILIA and Sonos, will talk about how artists and brands can collaborate to change how the future sounds.
Ron Jones, Keynote SpeakerFrom The Smurfs to Star Trek: Composer Ron Jones On The Business of MusicWhat do Duck Tales, Family Guy and Star Trek: The Next Generation have in common? Their scores were all created by prolific television and film composer Ron Jones. After decades using his talent to write memorable music for some of our most iconic media (The Smurfs theme song anyone?) Ron now trains young professionals from his studio and has a storied perspective on how even the most successful artists will need to figure out how to hustle across industries.
Understanding sync licensing can help you earn income by licensing your music, but there’s two sides to every deal. In this breakout session you’ll learn about your options for managing your rights and registering your work with Performing Rights Organizations (PRO’s) and walk through real life examples with artists and music supervisors who’ve been through it already.
Crowdfunding has becoming an increasingly popular approach to financing creative projects. This breakout session will give artists insights into successful crowdfunding campaigns: how to prepare, what work you need to plan for, and how to execute efficiently. We'll also look at multiple forms of funding and show you that there are many ways to bake this cake.
Being an artist means you are walking the line between existing within a community, building your identity as an artist, and remaining authentic to who you truly are. With the advent of social media, expectations and precedents have been set for how artists can interact with their communities, both in the industry and in their fan base. It has also become an incredible opportunity for artists to give back. Maggie Vail and Tim Bierman will talk best practices and pitfalls when embarking on creating a supportive community within your own team, with your fans, and with the greater music scene.
