WMC 2008: Deep thoughts with Mr. Tunes

WMC 2008: Deep thoughts with Mr. Tunes

2 April, 2008 | 10.26AM

• Written by: Mr Tunes
• Filed under: Music News: wmc 2008, wmc 2008 panels

As I sit back and think about my week in Miami, I can’t help but try to analyze everything I observed and took in.

I went down to the conference unsure of what to expect, weary of whether or not people actually are still interested in the business of it all — or just the party.

Well, it’s safe to say that everyone’s there to party, but I don’t think that means people can’t do business there.

Since dance music is centered around club events and the like, maybe it’s only fitting that you really have to go out to the club events to meet the DJs and producers you set out to meet.

There are a lot of things that I can’t really judge for myself, since it was my first time going down there, but I can tell you a few things.

The first is that the official Winter Music Conference sessions at the Miami Beach Spa and Resort Hotel need a lot of work, or they will remain the deformed baby of its own mother. Let me explain.

The panelists often don’t represent the state of the actual industry, and this could have something to do with the fact that the people at the forefront don’t really care to be holed up in a conference room — speaking — when they could be DJing at a pool party with absolutely stunning South Beach women dancing in front of the stage.

A bunch of the panelists didn’t even show up. For example, where was Gareth Emery during the podcasting session? Or Robbie Rivera at the panel on Event Planning?

My guess is that the average high-profile panelist was overbooked with shows and couldn’t make it to the panels as a result of partying, but a guy like Juan Atkins wasn’t at any of them, which led me to believe he had a more legit excuse since he was booked for multiple panels.

And that is the heart of the problem: the events surrounding the Winter Music Conference have become so good that the conference itself is suffering from the effects of its own success.

So maybe it has little to do with how they plan the official conference events; it could be the case that WMC will remain a big party while the conference itself struggles to exist.

I can now understand why a new conference in Ibiza has been presented, and could maybe offer a bit more opportunity for industry folks, since it takes place in Europe where a lot of activity is going on.

Overall, I’d say that the lecture panels are great if you don’t know much about the industry and how certain business issues work, and as such they will continue to appeal to the average person interested in enhancing their knowledge and skills.

But no one can deny how funny it is when a high-profile person speaks and the second the panel is over, the stage gets bum-rushed with people throwing CDs at them (Jonas from Beatport got absolutely swarmed at one panel, by the way!).

A lot of people end up canceling at the last minute or don’t agree to do them at all probably because it’s such a pain in the ass to socialize with the younger cats if you’re not interested in artist development.

And most of them aren’t — unless they own their own label or like the remixing game a lot.

I really would love to see more people head down to the conferences because I do feel that discussions are important in this day and age when it’s difficult to figure out what’s going on with the industry.

However, it seems like the problem with the industry is that everyone’s splintered off into so many directions that there is no more cohesiveness.

To add to the problem, most people would rather network on Myspace nowadays than make the sacrifice to go to a conference.

I will hand it to the WMC organizers who seem to be doing the best they can to make a good conference happen, and I feel that many of the problems with keeping it successful are out of their hands.

Important to note, though, is that they did a good job of linking up the official WMC pass with all the events going on in the city.

Frequently, you could get into a club for free or at a discount (not to mention admission to the Ultra Music Festival), and sometimes it would speed up the process of getting into the event, which adds a great deal of value.

So what did Mr. Tunes take from this experiment?

Firstly, from a music standpoint, I think the week in Miami was great.

When presented with all the options of which music to check out, that process really helps you to define the type of music you seriously love.

Sure, you can check out a big event at Mansion or whatever, but the best are those goldmine shows where you see your favorite DJ play to a small intimate room.

Even though it seems that the parties have ruined the conference, the fact that so many normal music listeners are willing to make the pilgrimage to South Florida to hear good music should be encouraging to everyone in the industry.

Electronic music in all its forms — be it breaks, house or drum & bass — is very much alive, and you are keenly reminded of this fact when you’re down there.

If I were to go down to WMC again next year, I would just go for the end of the week and spend most of my time at the Beatport Pool Party and Remix Hotel, as well as some the other pool parties and nighttime events.

Seriously, that might sound like a peppered ad for the event (which is free), but there was a great vibe and the lineup was sick; combined with the Apple sessions, there was some good stuff to be learned.

I may change my mind if the WMC organizers can convince me that their discussion panels are going to be better than ever next year, of course.

The city is filled up with like-minded people to the point that you can even network on the public transit.

While some of the events earlier in the week were great because the city wasn’t overloaded, South Beach is much too expensive to spend lots of time in.

The pumped-up steroid dudes were so annoying not only because they made me feel inferior, but primarily because they were simply annoying.

But if you get to party with Terry Church, he will tell all the girls that if you’re with Beatport, it should make up for not having abs of steel.

On that note, I want to congratulate all the Beatport staff for throwing a wicked party this year.

Four days with a great lineup and a fun atmosphere all going off without a hitch means a job well-done in my opinion.

Oh and my WMC track? I need someone to ID it for me! It’s a jackin’ house track with a quick voice sample that says “beats… kick it”.

I heard a ton of the DJs playing it and it’s a killer tune.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my posts about the conference, and for all those people who didn’t make it, I hope you were able to take something from my observations this year.

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