Friday September 26 and Saturday September 27 @ the Northwest Film Forum (1515 12th Ave)
Free with an "All Access dB Pass" or $7 presale / $10 at the door
Doors open at 12pm / All ages
This year's dB Conference will be bringing together a broad assortment of workshops ranging from digital audio sequencing / plug-ins to online video streaming. Each workshop will be hosted by product specialist and offer hands on experience with leading edge audio/video technology in a comfortable seated-theater environment (i.e. bring your laptops and questions). This year we’re proud to have Ableton Live, Native Instruments, Sonic Charge, Audiofile Engineering and bands.tv hosting workshops at the 2008 conference.
In addition, both days will begin with a panel discussion focusing on music journalism (Friday) and music licensing (Saturday). All dB Conference events will be held in a workshop theater (limited capacity) and networking area (lobby) complete with product and merchandise booths.
We will explore music writing - criticism, reviewing and description of performances and recording processes and ask whether or not they still have any relevance today and if they have a use and audience in the future. Our panel includes musicians, writers, and representatives of record companies engaged in an attempt to find answers to these perplexing questions.
When Frank Zappa said; ‘...writing about music is like dancing about architecture...” , he was referring to the difficulty, if not futility of interpreting one art form using the methods of another. Be that as it may, for as long as people have made music, others have been compelled to talk and write about it; in an attempt to describe, understand and share the experience of music. Up to now, writing about music has been important – critical to spread public awareness of and reinforce music cultures. Does music writing in the “internet era” have the same influence that it once did in the “print era”? Is there an identifiable audience for music writing? Is the role and form of music writing changing? And if so, how and why? Is the emergence of the blogosphere a benefit or just a lot of white noise? Are there benchmarks to measure the effectiveness of using the printed word to describe auditory experiences? Join us as we explore the role and relevance of music journalism, criticism, blogging, performance reviews and more!
Panelists include Dale Lloyd (and/OAR and the Phonographers Union), TJ Norris (Signal to Noise and MIT/Leonardo Magazine), Dave Segal (XLR8R and The Stranger), Todd Burns (NA Editor for Resident Advisor), Robert Crouch (co-director and curator of Bleeding Edge Festival and Volume Projects) and Lusine (Ghostly Recording artist). Moderated by Chris DeLaurenti (The Stranger, Wire Magazine).
“Monetizing Music : The Art and Science of Licensing”
From television ads to movie soundtracks, video games and even cell phone ring tones, licensed music is pervasive throughout our media-oriented culture. As the music business adapts itself to technological advances and shifting revenue sources, more and more artists and labels are turning to licensing to help sustain themselves and their music. What are the implications of selling music rights to a company for product promotion? Is there a risk to the integrity of the artist or the music? What does the typical licensing arrangement look like? Join us as we explore the many facets of this aspect of the music industry. Panelist include Ben London (Executive Director of the Recording Academy Pacific Northwest Chapter), Andrew Rohrman (aka Sientific American), Sam Valenti IV (Founder of Ghostly International label), William Beard (Music Supervisor, Microsoft Media Acquisitions), Akira Rabelais (composer/software author) and Jon Lemmon (Viva Recordings and Oseao Media Group). Moderated by Emily Griffin (Zune)
Decibel Festival and OSEAO Media Group have partnered to create this special event at the Northwest Film Forum during the festival's conference portion. Our event will serve as a meeting ground for music industry professionals, as well as a chance to interact with Seattle's leading digital distributor, Oseao Media Group and its creative digital distribution team in an intimate environment - the right people in the right space in numbers that make it easy to connect and learn. Forum topics focus on digital distribution, web 2.0 marketing, trends and future forecasts. Also available for consultation will be Heather Morado and Mark Jordan from Invicta Law Group, a Seattle law group specializing in counsel for creative companies. Brunch will be provided along with mellow downtempo beats.
12:30 - 01:30…Panel: "Wasted Words? : The Future of Music Journalism"
01:45 - 02:45…Workshop: Sonic Change workshop hosted by Kris Moon
02:45 - 04:15…Workshop: Electronic Music Production & Performance w/ Ableton Live hosted by Dave Hill
04:30 - 06:00…Workshop: Native Instruments workshop hosted by Drumcell
12:30 - 01:30…Panel: “Monetizing Music : The Art and Science of Licensing”
01:45 - 03:15…Workshop: Sound Design with Rax 3 and Wave Editor 1.4 hosted by AudioFile Engineering
02:00 - 04:00…(NWFF Lobby)OSEAO Networking Brunch (NWFF Lobby)
03:30 - 05:00…Workshop: Leveraging the Internet to Expand your Audience hosted by Matt Pound and Bob Kumar