July 20, 2010

By By Chris M. Walsh, N.Y.

Wonky iPhone photo by Chris M. Walsh

After a rocking set by "the first iPad DJ" Rana Sobhany, New Music Seminar co-founder Tommy Silverman was introduced Monday night and set the tone for this year's event with a 20-minute presentation packed with sales graphs and buying trends. His message was a familiar one: More people are buying music than ever but the old business is dead. The new business is about making personal connections with fans and don't you dare call music "content."

Silverman told a packed Webster Hall in New York that artists needed to be better, smarter and more unique than ever if they wanted to make it. He drove the point home during a brief interlude in the presentation during which he called unsigned artists to come to the stage with their demos. The first 10 people who gave him a CD were given a "prize" - a ticket to Wednesday's New York lottery. All fodder for Silverman's point that artists have a better chance at winning the lottery than of having a hit record these days through the classic channels of the music business.

Silverman's speech then led into a night of performances by Margaret Cho, Rob Cantrell, Naughty by Nature and more. A round-up of performance pics from Twitter:
- stacieaamon Classic Naughty By Nature at the New Music Seminar
- bbgalas: Margret Cho hosting New Music Seminar.
- texasdnc: Margaret Cho is funny. Good live show at #NMS.
- borisrio: Kat DeLuna performed
- pitchconsulting: Naughty by Nature @newmusicseminar #nmscats are tearing it up!

The seminar runs through Wed. and a full schedule can be seen here.

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