Music Biz Conference Announces Nashville Dates Thru 2020

[UPDATED] The Music Business Association (Music Biz) conference will stay in Nashville through 2020. The already announced 2018 edition will be May 14-17 at the Omni Nashville Hotel. But the following year, the action moves across the street to the new JW Marriott hotel.The next Music Biz conferences are set from May 5-8, 2019 and May 11-14, 2020, at the new JW Marriott Nashville, which is currently under construction and slated to open in July 2018. The annual event first came to Nashville in 2015, and has shown strong year-over-year attendance growth each year.

The decision to return was enthusiastically endorsed by Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and the Music City Music Council, an association of business leaders charged with developing strategies toward heightening the awareness and development of Nashville’s worldwide reputation as Music City. The Council is Co-Chaired by Barry and music industry veteran Joe Galante.Each year, the Music Biz conference draws top executives from major companies to Nashville, including Amazon, Apple, Google/YouTube, Pandora, Spotify, and many more. Many of these companies have since opened offices in Nashville or expanded their presence in the city.“The Music Biz conference has grown steadily over the three years we have hosted it in Nashville, topping 2,000 attendees last year for the first time since 2001,” said James Donio, President of Music Biz. “The music business sensibility of Nashville and its Music City Music Council aligns so well with our efforts on behalf of music services, stores, labels, artists, songwriters, managers, publishers, entrepreneurs, startups, educators, students, and everyone else in or looking to break into the industry."“When people think of music, they think of Nashville, which means there’s no better place for the Music Biz conference than right here in Music City,” said Barry. “We are committed to supporting the thriving music industry in Nashville while nurturing its growth by attracting top talent to our city. The Music Biz conference has proven its ability to bring in major executives, not only from the U.S. but also from around the world, to see what we offer and establish or expand their presence here."“The Music Biz conference has been a benefit for our city, and we’re excited to have them back for the next three years,” said Galante. “Music is a global industry, but there’s no city in the world quite like Nashville with its mix of high-level creative and business talent. Having Music Biz here helps us spread that message by bringing in elite new visitors to experience it first-hand. We can’t wait to continue to show Music Biz’s attendees what Music City is all about.”The 2018 event will feature the presentation of the Presidential Award for Outstanding Executive Achievement to Cary Sherman, CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and a Breakthrough Artist Award to Republic Records singer/songwriter Julia Michaels, with much more to be announced.A Call For PanelsThose who would like to propose ideas for presentations, panels, case studies, or interviews can do so via the event’s official Call for Presentations, which is open now through November 10. Share your ideas here.Registration for Music Biz 2018 is open now at http://musicbiz2018.eventbrite.com, with special early bird rates available through March 2, 2018. For more information, visit www.musicbiz2018.com.