Can’t believe it’s only a month and half til this year’s CMJ. I’ve been a bunch of times, my first being 1995 when I was music director at KUNV, the radio station on the campus of UNLV in Las Vegas, NV.

For those of you that haven’t been, here’s the deal in a nutshell. During the days you go to amazing panels full of the best and brightest minds in the biz. Oh did I mention I am moderating a Marketing and Promotion panel? Best and brightest indeed! ;)

Then, at night, you traverse the glory that is NYC to go see a plethora of amazing bands. Occasionally one band is on at 10:15pm in lower Manhattan and the next band you want to see is on at 11:30pm in the Bronx, but logistics aside it’s a ridiculous time filled with amazing bands, both established and developing.

Oh, did I mention it’s NEW YORK CITY?!?! If you can’t have a good time here during a music conference you may want to check out another planet. Good times, good times indeed.

So, go here to register, come see my panel, then find me at a bar and buy me a drink!

Spent Thursday – Sunday in San Francisco at the Bandwidth Conference. It’s a music + technology conference held in a beautiful downtown building (built in 1909 if I recall).

It was a great experience, it’s always fun to get the industry leaders together in a room and talk. It’s a very professional conference and everyone is only one degree (of Kevin Bacon) away from each other. There were panels on a number of music/tech topics but a few primarily caught my attention.

A lot of talk about mobile – both as a content delivery platform and as a fan interaction device. Things are continually evolving in this space, I talked to the guys at Mozes for a bit and they’ve got some interesting applications of mobile devices.

Also a ton of talk about social networks. So many types, some that seem to be performing well and others that remain to prove themselves. Linden Labs (Second Life) and imeem were two of the social networks represented.

There was also much discussion on digital delivery – many of the same issues (DRM, price structures, etc) are still the focus, but there are evolutions occurring in all areas. Talked to the IODA and IRIS crews for a bit, it’s a real exciting space right now.

The usual cocktail mixers all over the place, good friends and good drinks in the afternoon. The real reason we do these things, right?

Ahh, smells like Seattle in the late 90s, I was running a mobile/pda software development department at a web startup. I made employee #6 and we grew to 65. Then everything crashed. Wheeee! I am fortunate I worked steadily and easily until I chose to get back into the music biz. It’s an exciting type of industry but it doesn’t come without its risks. But what good business doesn’t, I suppose.

Also saw Super Diamond at Bimbo’s. That, my friends, was rocking. See for yourself.

I’ll be in San Francisco Thurs – Sun at the Bandwidth Conference. If any of you are attending, here’s my panel info:

1:50pm – Lodge Room

Space Age Marketing

The new-fangled ways of reaching out and bringing together.
Moderator: Christina Eichelberger, SONYBMG Music Entertainment
Yobie Benjamin, GoodStorm
Jason Feinberg, On Target Media Group
Lizzie Garlinghouse, Listen Up PR
Dorrian Porter, Mozes

Stop by and say hello!

My music biz attorney friends will like this one.

If you are an artist (managing one, etc) that is finally getting some industry traction, it could be time for a lawyer. I originally planned on law school and becoming an entertainment attorney, but after undergrad (and realizing I work much better than I study) I just got right down to it and started on the ol’ career path. Oh yeah – my point is that I am not a lawyer.

But I work with a few and know many more. And what I’ve learned if nothing else is that you want an attorney that specifically practices music law.

There are a ton of laywers out there that say they practice music law, but in addition to wholly unrelated fields. Such as personal injury, product liability, etc. Unless this is a massive firm with entire wings devoted to different areas, you are probably getting an attorney that just doesn’t have enough music clients to be a full time music lawyer.

And the problem with this is real simple – I don’t go to the dentist for brain surgery and I wouldn’t hire an aviation attorney to negotiate a complex record label contract filled with all sorts of industry-specific issues such as cross-collateralization and digital rights.

So I’m sitting at Steve Vai’s studio watching what should be the final version of his upcoming DVD “Visual Sound Theories.” If you’re new to the blog, I’ve been editing Steve’s upcoming DVD for a while now and it’s a monster. It’s Steve playing with the legendary (and 65-piece!) Metropole Orkest in Holland. The DVD is a number of Steve’s songs arranged for orchestra as well as two pieces written for orchestra (performed without Steve). Also has some great behind the scenes footage, an interview, a bonus performance of Bledsoe Bluvd, and more. We did audio commentary a few weeks ago and it was a blast.

I am so excited to see this DVD finished and in stores (September 18th we believe).

More details to come, and check www.vai.com for more info on the Steve and the DVD.