AS Pop Music Industry Conference to help folks break into the industry

The Associated Students Productions will host the Pop Music Industry Conference (Pop MIC) on March 5 and 6. The conference will begin at 10 a.m. on both days.

Pop MIC is geared toward anyone looking to learn about or break into the music industry, including journalists, producers, photographers, artists or people interested in opening venues.

Parts of the conference, the sessions, are free. The concert, brunch and two keynote addresses by Ben London, Seattle Music Commission Chair, and Chris Porter, Programming Director at the One Reel/Bumbershoot Festival, will cost Western students $8 and non-students $10. This event is open to the entire Bellingham community.

Attendees will have the option of choosing one of four session “tracks.” Track 1: Artist will include “The World of a Producer,” “Press Kits & Demos,” “Music Collectives & Sustainable Musicianship,” “Tips to Getting Signed,” and “Planning, Budgeting, & Booking a Tour.”

Track 2: Talent Representation will include “Working for an Agency or Label,” “Beginning Band Management,” and “Tales from the Road - Tour Management.”

Track 3: Venue and Promoter will include “All Ages Venues: Makin' it Work,” “Club & Theatre Talent Buyers,” “Building Community through All Ages Music,” and “World of the Promoter.”

Track 4: Music and Entertainment Media will include “Print Journalism,” “Ins & Outs of Commercial & Non-Commercial Radio,” “Photojournalism in Music: from side gig to career,” and “Music & New Media / Social Media.”

Featured panelists are producer Ryan Lewis, Carly Starr from Subpop’s International Marketing department, Christen Greene from Fuzed Music Management, Co-founder of Clickpop and producer for Bayside Records Paul Turpin, Josh Powell from the Vera Project and many other music industry professionals from the Northwest.

The Saturday night concert, at 7 p.m. in the Old Main Theater will feature The Globes, with Polecat.

To attend, register for the conference at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/popmic-signup-2011.

For a full schedule of events, more information about the event, or for disAbility accommodations, contact Mariah Bones by phone at 360.650.6803 by e-mail at asp.marketing.asst.dir@wwu.edu.