Conference Circuit: The Americana Music Association’s Big Performance

How do you combat the trends of a tumultuous industry in the middle of a huge upheaval, with declining sales and increased competition? If you’re the Americana Music Association, you continue to go all out with your annual festival and conference  (opens in a new tab), taking place this year in Nashville.

Though it technically began yesterday, this year’s events continue until September 21, leaving plenty of time for honors, awards, concerts, industry advice, and workshops.

We’d try and tell you all of the musicians performing during the show, but trust us, it’s a very, very long list. Just browsing through the list of performers in the event’s schedule  (opens in a new tab) is enough to make an Americana aficionado go wild.

Music pros of all stripes are attending and leading sessions. That includes everyone from recording label executives to music journalists to tech experts giving musicians some advice on navigating the changing musical landscape. A Google representative is even hosting a workshop offering live constructive critiques  (opens in a new tab) of musician websites.

Many conferences are strict about access, buy AMA’s rules are particularly stringent. So make sure you don’t lose your access badge to the conference. As the event’s Q&A page reads:

“You don’t want that to happen. The replacement fee is $500. No exceptions.”

The Week Ahead

September 21-22: With marijuana laws changing in states across the country and many legalization initiatives on the ballot later this year, it’s the perfect time for the Hemp Industries Association’s 21st annual conference  (opens in a new tab) in Washington, DC. As our own Ernie Smith noted earlier this summer, the industrial hemp industry has had a bit of a breakthrough of late.

September 25-27: Digital journalists from far and wide will be congregating in Chicago next week for the Online News Association’s annual conference  (opens in a new tab). Luckily for those of us not in attendance who still want some insights, there will be a full suite of social media coverage, with Twitter  (opens in a new tab), Facebook  (opens in a new tab), YouTube  (opens in a new tab), and Tumblr  (opens in a new tab).

Down the Line

November 15-19: For another example of an association taking social media seriously, look toward the American Public Health Association. It plans to have a social media lab  (opens in a new tab) during the first day of its 142nd Annual Meeting and Exposition  (opens in a new tab) in New Orleans. The session is specifically geared toward answering whatever social media questions attendees may have. Keep an eye out for the #apha14  (opens in a new tab) hashtag on Twitter and maybe you’ll discover some insights that apply to your association as well.

(Americana Music Association)