The DIY musician community gathered in Nashville for a life-changing 3-day weekend of music biz education, live performances, and more.
Yes. I just used the term “life changing.” No hyperbole.
After this weekend’s @cdbaby#diymusician conference, I’ve never been more inspired to create and collaborate ❤️ https://t.co/FGFpxtuTD3pic.twitter.com/8QJCmT76Cn
— Lena Zawaideh (@NightPulseMusic) August 27, 2017
Last Friday 1400 independent artists and a great many respected music industry professionals met in Nashville, having traveled from 49 US states and more than a dozen countries.
Attendees showed up eager to dive deep into new strategies, networking opportunities, and creative exercises that will bring their music to a bigger stage in the year to come. They left not only with inspiration, but clearer goals, more detailed blueprints for achieving them, and many new supportive friendships.
Life-changing, though?
Absolutely. I heard that exact phrase used by so many appreciative conference attendees over the past few days. The Omni Nashville Hotel was — if I can sound like a hippie for a second — buzzing with good energy. Of course CD Baby and Rock Paper Scissors try to lay the groundwork for a great experience, but it’s the artists who make this event so special, bringing and sharing their enthusiasm and knowledge. To those who were there, thank you!
Looking back on the DIY Musician Conference 2017
It’s really impossible to “recap” a conference with:
- 30+ sessions
- tons of one-on-one mentoring slots
- a song pitching session hosted by NPR’s Bob Boilen
Bob Boilen leads a “song pitch” session where musicians get feedback on their tracks. - three nights of live music
- an all-day jam room
- a YouTube pop-up studio
- a tour and recording session clinic at Ocean Way Studios
Conference attendees take a tour of Ocean Way and watch a session in action. - a tour of Hatch Show Print
- the chance to talk to reps from our awesome sponsors (including premium sponsors GigSalad, Berklee Online, and Music City SongStar)
- not one, but TWO live onstage makeovers from Tom Jackson
- and so much more
And because it’s impossible to recap in full, I’ll share just some of the countless photos, videos, tweets, and testimonials we’ve found along the way, beginning with this video from the band Harbor Drive Hookup:
@kbreuner thanks for everything at #diymusician Truly life changing. We’re forever @cdbaby fans! Here’s a vid we did https://t.co/WmhhRfY1CZ
— Harbor Drive Hookup (@HarborDrHookup) August 29, 2017
A surprise highlight for many at the conference had to be an incredible set of soulful songs from AHI during Saturday’s showcase:
Thank you for giving my music a chance to be heard!! 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾 Can’t believe I almost didn’t make it to #DIYmusician Conference, so glad I did!
— AHI (@AHImusic) August 29, 2017
On today’s episode of All Songs Considered, Bob Boilen recapped a bit of his experience over the weekend and even played a song by AHI, who he’d discovered at the conference:
Last September, Michael Shanks met Serenity Fisher and Michael Gronstadt at the DIY Musician Conference in Chicago. He joined them for a jam session — and 11 months later they’re great friends, playing shows together and making a living from their music.
Michael said: “Serenity was at the piano in the lobby. I walked up and we started jamming. There was an instant connection – there were no egos involved, we were just enjoying the music.
“We met 11 months ago and here we are playing shows and making a living. We keep each other accountable and it helps us to gets things done. When we met Serenity was talking about doing a video and I was able to keep asking how she was getting on and gently push her and the results of that are amazing.
I’m looking to make more genuine connections like that at this year’s conference – without the conference it’d be a million to one shot to meet people like this.”
Our pal @ArisTake surprised us with a quick song! Who caught his panel today at te #diymusician conference? 👍🏼🎶 #nashvillepic.twitter.com/T3pouuLc5i
— CD Baby (@cdbaby) August 26, 2017
The general love, energy and commitment to supporting one another. ❤ https://t.co/0kmtSVrrDW
— Trumpet Grrrl (@trumpetgrrrl) August 28, 2017
This was my 2nd conference and it did not disappoint. I think what makes this conference so special is that you have industry people there who get it and genuinely care about the success of everyone there. It’s all too easy to get discouraged, but whatever your idea of success is, this event reinforces, encourages, and reignites the passion to keep going, because it IS possible. What happens for each of us after the conference is up to us, but you certainly give us all the tools we need to succeed, and I am very grateful for that, so THANK YOU!Ryan Van Slooten
A post shared by Chris Robley (@chrisrobley) on
The main stage sessions
This year we had PioPlay Livestream helping us live broadcast all the events on the main stage via Facebook and YouTube. In the coming weeks I plan to share these videos individually on this blog with an outline of the content and key takeaways, but if you’re eager to dive in now, here we go…
Were you at the 2017 DIY Musician Conference?
If so, what were the highlights? What did you learn? What will your next year look like? Let me know in the conference below.
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