Chris Sacca of Google, Steven Starr of Revver, and Chuck D to Speak at NARM

Press release
Source: Rogers & Cowan

More than 25 of the music industry’s top leaders and notable experts will speak at the InSights & Sounds.06, the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) 48th Annual Convention & Marketplace, which will be August 2-5 at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee, Fla. NARM has lined up some of the most highly regarded authorities in the music and entertainment industry from areas including the media, record labels, musicians, online businesses and retailers to participate in more than three days of presentations, discussions, and idea-sharing.

The Keynote Speaker at the Opening Session & Annual Meeting of the Convention will be Chris Sacca, who serves as a primary strategist for global infrastructure, communications, and related product development for Google. In his position, Sacca leads many of Google’s strategic relationships and transactions, most recently including Google’s efforts to provide San Francisco with free WiFi.

Another featured speaker will be Stephen Starr, CEO of Revver, a newly launched website that allows video uploaders to earn revenue from advertisements. Starr has 30 years of experience in media and creator empowerment, and the new creator compensation model represented by Revver offers some intriguing areas of exploration for the online music business.

Rounding out the crew of keynote speakers will be Chuck D, leader and co-founder of legendary rap group Public Enemy, who will be the closing Keynote Speaker during the “Technology & New Media Forum.” Most recently, Chuck D has taken on the role as spokesperson and major proponent of music on the Internet. He launched Rapstation.com, a multi-format “supersite” for the vast global Hip Hop community and has launched a radio station on the Internet, Bringthenoise.com. He was named to Upside magazine’s “Elite 100” list of Internet leaders, alongside the likes of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.

Also on tap at InSights & Sounds.06 are a slate of panel discussions and research presentations. At the Opening Session & Annual Meeting, Mark Pearson of HITS magazine is scheduled to moderate a “State of Music Retail” panel discussion by leading entertainment retailers on the state of music retail. The five entertainment retail industry leaders for this panel discussion are Gary Arnold, the Senior Vice President of Entertainment for Best Buy Enterprise; John Marmaduke, who has served as President and CEO of Hastings Entertainment since 1976; Rob Perkins, CEO of Value Music Concepts; Dilyn Radakovitz, the new release buyer and purchasing coordinator for the influential independent store chain Dimple Record’s; and Darrell Tucker, VP of Target’s Merchandising Division.

InSights & Sounds.06 will also present “The Indie Show -- Licensing Opportunities in New Arenas.” The Indie Show is the “un-cola” discussion forum, which breaks from the usual panel format and features one-on-one interviews with the leaders and innovators of digital music services. Don Rose, President of the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), will host this discussion forum. Joining Rose as a guest will be Bob French, President of Mix & Burn, where he leads the design and development of the nation’s first music-on-demand system offering all major music labels to national retailers. Adam Sexton of Groove Mobile, who was named by Advertising Age as one of the Top 100 Marketing Executives in the United States in 2000, will be another guest. Rounding out the guests for the forum will be Amaechi Uzoigwe, who has launched World’s Fair, a forward-thinking artist and label management boutique. With his partners at World’s Fair, Uzoigwe oversees the careers of the Flaming lips, El-P, Devendra Banhart, Beans, British Sea Power and more.

On Friday, August 4, the talk will turn to research. First off, the NPD Group will debut findings from a comprehensive consumer research project that explores marketing and merchandising scenarios designed to increase the sale of both physical and digital product. Russ Crupnick, President of NPD Music, the music information division of the NPD Group, will present the results. Then, Nielsen SoundScan will present an analysis of the U.S. and international music and entertainment market based on scanner data collected by SoundScan. The presenters for the research presentation are Chris Muratore of Nielsen Entertainment and Rob Sisco of Nielsen Music.

NARM will also feature a Technology and New Media Forum, where participants explore the opportunities to be gained by new and changing entertainment discovery and purchase methods offered by the Internet, mobile and wireless, video, games, and satellite radio technology. The moderator will be leading industry thinker Ted Cohen, Managing Partner of TAG Strategic, a newly minted broad-based digital consulting firm where Cohen plies his widespread authority in music, IPTV and product and service development. Led by Cohen, Participants in the forum discussion will include Lee Abrams, Senior Vice President and CEO of XM Satellite Radio; Eric Flannigan, Vice President of Programming for AOL Music, where he oversees Moviefone.com, AOL Music, AOL Radio, and AOL Television; Alana Muller, Director of Entertainment Product Marketing for Sprint Nextel; and Jozef Nuyens, the former, musician, music industry executive and artist manager who now oversees all of PassAlong Network’s licensing and business expansion efforts. Also participating in the discussion will be Bill Stensrud, Chairman and CEO of Muze and Managing Director at Enterprise Partners Venture Capital, where he leads investments in digital media content, technology and services that enable digital media and consumer electronics; Greg Scholl, President and CEO of The Orchard, the world’s largest distributor and marketer of independent music; David Ulmer, Senior Director of Marketing for Digital Media Services for Motorola, where he leads the company’s global marketing efforts for seamless music solutions that span the home, mobile phone, and car; and Tim Westergren, an award-winning composer, musician, and record producer who founded and currently serves as Chief Strategy Officer to Pandora, which helps emerging artists find their audience and avid music fans discover and enjoy new artists.

“We are pleased to offer members and attendees insights into the thinking of some very influential leaders in the music and entertainment industry,” said Jim Donio, President of NARM. “Seeing the interaction and flow of ideas between the retailers, distributors, label execs, musicians, and new players from the online and mobile community really exemplifies what this Convention is all about.”

The four-day event will also offer various performances from an impressive and eclectic line-up of performing artists from a variety of genres including The Section Quartet, PF Sloan, Tego Calderon, Lupe Fiasco, Paolo Nutini, Treme Brass Band, Corinne Bailey Rae, Five Star Iris, Powerman 5000, Brick & Lace, Jurassic 5, Jordan Knight, The Summer Obsession, Amos Lee, The Starting Line, Grand Funk Railroad, Mr. B (Mark Braun), Scissor Sisters, and Kool & The Gang. The event will conclude with an awards ceremony honoring the industry’s achievements for the past year as well as music legend, Kool and The Gang, who will accept the NARM Chairman’s Award for Sustained Creative Achievement and give a special performance at the Awards Dinner Finale, where they will accept the award. Scissor Sisters will also perform at the Awards Dinner Finale, which will be emceed by Kathleen Madigan of Last Comic Standing.

NARM’s annual gathering has a long history of introducing artists to the world and offering them the starting point to successful long-term careers. Past showcasing artists include then-unknowns Whitney Houston, Anita Baker, Mariah Carey, Queen Latifah, N*Sync, Josh Groban, Jason Mraz, Charlotte Church, Lisa Marie Presley, and James Blunt among many others.

Established in 1958, the Marlton, NJ-based National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) is a not-for-profit trade association that serves the music retailing community in the areas of networking, advocacy, information, education and promotion. The Association's membership includes music and other entertainment retailers, wholesalers, distributors, record labels, multimedia suppliers, and suppliers of related products and services, as well as individual professionals and educators in the music business field. Our retail members operate 7,000 storefronts that account for almost 85 percent of the music sold in the $12 billion U.S. music market.