Conference Videos
Day 1: Full Session
Day 2: Full Session
2022 Pepsi Music Lab Keynote
Maximizing Creative Potential
Building Your Brand & Audience
Building Your Team
Monetizing Your Work
The Major Label v Independent Experience
Day 1
Pepsi Music Lab Summit Keynote
Mark Pitts has had a highly successful career in the music industry that spans decades. As the former manager of Notorious B.I.G., Executive Producer of iconic albums like the diamond-certified Confessions (2004) from Usher, Founder & CEO of Bystorm Entertainment and current President of RCA Records, Mark has made an incredible impact in the music industry. In this rare interview led by Rob Stone, Co-Founder of The Fader, you'll get a behind the scenes look at Mark's extraordinary career and learn some gems along the way.
Maximizing Your Potential
For every artist who blows up and goes multi-platinum, there are countless others who show promise, get a deal, and still fall short. This session will focus on A&R and what it takes for new artists to make it in the industry. You’ll hear from Caroline "Baroline" Diaz, VP A&R at Interscope, and Ian Holder, SVP of Creative at Sony Music Publishing, who know better than anyone what it takes for young musicians to realize their potential and turn their talents into sustained success.
Building Your Brand & Audience
It's never been easier to make yourself available to the world as an artist. You can upload a song, talk about it and share it on social media — all without spending a cent. But who do you want to listen to your music? Who makes up your audience, what do they want, and — perhaps most importantly — how do you reach them? Chris Atlas, EVP of Marketing at Def Jam and Courtney Lowery, EVP of Media Strategy and Lifestyle at Motown Records, will share insight into what artists should think about when building their brand and audience.
Day 2
Building Your Team
There's no such thing as a solo project. Behind every successful artist is a team of people working to make sure that things run smoothly — and that team is just as important for young musicians taking their first steps in the industry, as it is for those with dozens of platinum records. But who do you really need on your side if you want to build a sustainable career as an artist? You'll hear from Solomon Sounds, SVP of A&R at Capitol Records, & Angela Rogers, Principal at Rogers Law Group, to learn about the essential people you need on your team.
Monetizing Your Work
The process by which artists made money from their work remained pretty much stable — and relatively easy to understand — for an entire century. But over the past two decades, with the advent of streaming and the decline of physical formats, just about every aspect of the process has changed. Chayce Cheatham, Music Label Partnerships at TikTok & Drea Jackson, Artist Development at SoundCloud will share insight into how artists can monetize their work.
Demystifying Major Label vs. Independent
Should you be aiming to sign with a major label, taking advantage of all their resources and connections? Or are you better suited to an independent, working outside the machine? To answer these questions, we have two people with unparalleled experience in the major and independent label worlds. Charlene Thomas, VP Marketing at Def Jam and Junia Abaidoo, Co-Founder of the independent label Love Renaissance, will give you insight into both paths.
CONFERENCE
VIDEOS: FEB 28
VIDEOS: FEB 28
