On Friday, April 16, the Recording Academy Memphis Chapter will present a professional development conference titled “Grammy GPS: A Roadmap For Today’s Music Biz,” from noon to 7 p.m. at the Playhouse on the Square, 66 South Cooper Street in Memphis, Tenn. The day-long conference will feature a keynote address by Mark Montgomery, who is co-founder of echomusic and current entrepreneur-in-residence at Claritas Capital, as well as music business professionals including artists, producers, engineers, managers, music industry executives and songwriters.
“The Recording Academy Memphis Chapter has long been dedicated to offering quality professional development programs for artists, labels and managers in the region, and Grammy GPS is one of the many initiatives we offer,” says Jon Hornyak, senior executive director of the Memphis Chapter. “There are many talented and creative professionals who are already well on their way to a career in the business but need that extra guidance, and our conference will provide them just that, incredible access to industry insiders and a roadmap to the business.”
Among the confirmed panelists are Grammy-winning engineer Jimmy Douglass, Grammy-nominated songwriter Nate Walka, 615 Music Company president Randy Wachtler, producer/engineer/film composer and Memphis Chapter President Scott Bomar, and more.
Seminar topics include “Are You The Next Big Thing?”; “Rock And Urban Demo Critiques”; “FretWorks: Guitar Tips From The Masters”; “Lights, Camera, Soundtrack: Music & Film”; “Laying It Down: Anatomy of a Beat”; and “From the Stage to Your Web Page: Direct-To-Fan And Internet Marketing.” Sign-up stations for ASCAP, BMI, the Memphis Music Foundation and the Recording Academy will be available throughout the day. Also, attending artists will have the opportunity to perform in between panels.
Attendees can register up until the day of the event, but are encouraged to make reservations by Monday, April 5. Conference admission for the general public is $40, and the event is free for Recording Academy and Grammy U members. The event will be followed by Grammy GPS Fest at the Hi-Tone Café at 1913 Poplar Ave. Admission to the festival is free for conference attendees and $10 for the general public.
On Thursday, April 15, The Recording Academy also will present an opening party for the conference at 7 p.m. at the Warehouse at 36 East G.E. Patterson Ave., with performances by regional independent artists. The opening party is only open to Recording Academy members and pre-registered conference attendees.
For more information about Grammy GPS, contact the Memphis Chapter at 901/525-1340 or [email protected], or visit The Recording Academy’s Memphis Chapter page.
