Return of the New Music Seminar

In the early ’90s, the New York-based New Music Seminar was the biggest annual gathering of the music industry in America; at first, the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, TX, was a pale shadow, though it has since usurped that role.

Now, the New Music Seminar is being revived as what looks like a single-day intensive self-help course for musicians in the new digital age. And it comes to the Park West in Chicago on Oct. 6. Early-bird registration is $99, with the price rising to $125 on Sept. 4 and $150 on the day of the event.

More information can be found here, but a quick recap from the Web site holds that this new New Music Seminar is about “seeing the music business and your opportunities a new way; learning to create the music and content you need to succeed; standing out from your competition; legal and business basics that you must know; keeping up with the latest technology to put you in front; managing and monetizing your relationship with your fans, and networking with others to build your own music business foundation.” It adds that the seminar is NOT about “a debate about DRM; how to get signed; getting your songs on the radio; the politics of the music business or fitting In.”