It’s not all about hardcore research and wonky panel discussions: we also know how to party. FMC arrived en masse in Austin, Texas on the week of March 13 for the city’s annual music free-for-all, South By Southwest. We checked out a lot of cool shows and ate some awesome Tex-Mex. And we managed to take care of some business, too. Here’s a summary:
FMC’s Michael Bracy moderated the panel “Selling Music as a Service,” which featured experts like Matthew Adell of Napster, Vicki Nauman of Sonos, David Pakman of eMusic and FMC Advisory Board Member Tim Quirk of Rhapsody.
FMC co-founder and board member Brian Zisk moderated the lively “Resolving Webcasting Fees” panel, which saw John Simson of digital royalty distribution organization SoundExchange discuss the pros and cons of percentage vs. fixed webcasting royalty rates with smaller online broadcasters.
Our resident health insurance expert (and musician) Alex Maiolo was on hand to raise awareness about the importance of health insurance for musicians through our Health Insurance Navigation Tool, or HINT. Alex conducted dozens of free, one-on-one consultations with artists about their options.
Deputy Director Jean Cook pulled double duty as an FMC representative and a performing artist. Jean played several gigs in Austin, including sets with the Waco Brothers, Jon Langford and a special guest appearance with Langford alongside the Sadies.
FMC advisory board members Sandy Pearlman, Peter Jenner and Jim Griffin appeared on the well-attended “Mobility, Ubiquity and Monetizing Music” panel, which discussed, among other things, how rights holders can get paid in the brave new digital world. Our newest Board member, Bryan Calhoun, did his best to keep things reined in as moderator.
There was a mini Artist Activism Camp reunion with participants Jim James and Patrick Hallahan of My Morning Jacket kicking back with FMC staff.
We also connected with musicians regarding the importance of net neutrality, through our Rock the Net Campaign. Thanks to all the artists who let us use their merch tables to help spread the word about this important issue.
For a full recap of the action check out our blog post about the festival.
Sign up for Rock the Net.
HINT