Music Business Association Cancels Music Biz 2020 Conference, Announces Strategic Plans for Rest of 2020
May 20, 2020 — Due to the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis, the Music Business Association (Music Biz) today announced that it has cancelled its Music Biz 2020 Conference, which was set to take place August 16-19, 2020 at the JW Marriott Nashville.
“The COVID-19 crisis has created conditions that we feel will not safely allow us to offer the in-person experience Music Biz Conference attendees are used to, thus we sadly announce the cancellation of our 2020 physical event,” commented Music Biz President Portia Sabin. “However, we plan to follow up the success of our Music Biz LIVE series by virtually offering segments of our Conference through the rest of the year. This is a challenging time for our global industry, but it has created an opportunity for Music Biz to offer our programming in exciting new ways and to bring our community together despite our physical separation.”
In the wake of Music Biz 2020’s cancellation, Music Biz will take the following steps to keep its members and the global industry community engaged and informed while respecting social distancing guidelines:
The Association will build on the successful debut of its Music Biz LIVE Zoom interview series by using the platform to host interviews with Featured Presenters initially scheduled for the Music Biz 2020 program. In addition, Music Biz plans to bring yearly Conference staples like its Metadata Summit, Entertainment & Tech Law Conference, #NEXTGEN_Now, Financial Literacy Summit, The Future Is Now new music tech experience, Indie Artist & Songwriter Forum, Podcasting Summit, and Brand & Strategic Partnership Summit to the virtual stage. It also plans to integrate breakout programming on more niche topics including catalog releases, music fan experiences, building a release team and more into its Common Ground Webinar Series. Details on all these initiatives will be unveiled in the coming weeks.
In addition, with the cancellation of Record Store Day’s Summer Camp program, as well as the Town Hall panel at Music Biz 2020, Music Biz will co-host Record Store Day Couch Camp, an online educational program for independent retailers taking place June 2 – June 5. More details on this event will be available shortly.
Registered Music Biz 2020 attendees can visit the Music Biz website to learn more about Music Biz’s registration credit and refund policies, as well as lodging cancellation information.
The Association previously announced that its next Annual Conference, Music Biz 2021, will return to the JW Marriott Nashville Monday, May 10 — Thursday, May 13.
From the start of the COVID-19 crisis, Music Biz began compiling resources to ensure that professionals at all levels of the business could remain productive and positive. These include a running list of COVID-19 relief resources, and a virtual events calendar with information on new webinars, career development workshops, networking opportunities and more. Music Biz plans to roll out other initiatives in support of its membership, details of which will be rolled out soon.
About The Music Business Association
The Music Business Association (Music Biz) is a not-for-profit membership organization that advances, promotes and invests in the future of the music business by providing a trusted forum where ideas and cooperation flourish. Through events, education and engagement, the Association brings together the full breadth of the industry for unparalleled access to networking, resources and thought leadership.
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