Thinking back over the week, I tried to think how to summarize the experience. Five pages later, oops too late.
I had a great time at WMC, M3 and the parties associated with it. For tunes, these are the buzz tunes - which I heard played several times during the week:
1. Stonebridge / Therese - Put 'em High - Hed Kandi-UK
2. Narcotic Thrust featuring Yvonne - I Like It - Free2Air-UK
3. George Michael - Amazing - Sony
The records I heard people talking about:
1. Shapeshifters - Lola's Theme - Positiva
2. Dangermouse - Grey Album
3. Blue Man Group / Venus Hum - I Feel Love - Lava
In my mind, WMC attendance and participation was up. The main attendees were US dance music industry and newbies there to learn. The energy of the discussions and the crowd was admirable in several panels. The martini bar in the clublife panel was a really nice touch. The security staff was a bit overagressive especially when I saw the videotape that a security guard destroyed of one of the delegates.
The brand new M3 summit seemed to be more European, electronica and lifestyle/technology oriented. In their first year, they succeeded with several major sponsorships and name acts (Tong, Danger Mouse, Kurtis Blow come to mind). I never made it to Remix Hotel but I heard from a technogeek friend that it was nirvana.
Parties were incredible across the board - CroBar had a great door staff this year and lots of noise was made at the National Hotel pool (so much so that Robbie Rivera was ticketed for it). HedKandi at Bed stands out to me as exceptional as well. The Ultra Music Festival was life changing with its diversity of music involved and the people attending. It really opened my eyes to the far reaching effects that dancemusic can have on people.
I can only imagine how wonderful the week would have been if everyone would have worked together and all of the events have been combined in a central location.. M3 was at 1st and Ocean and WMC was at 48th and Collins - somewhere in the low 20s would make more sense (and not the Convention Center.) The traditional WMC panels about getting started in the industry for newbies would blend very well with the more international/issue driven topics that were covered at M3. DanceStar and IDMA coming together would be a really good thing as well. If there was one place that everyone was, it would be a lot more effective conference for all. The power players that everyone wants to meet might not hide at the hard to get into parties... though several were quite accessible - kudos to Robbins, Ultra, Warner Brothers, Star 69, and Promo Only for being very accessible. Ultra Music Festival is a great kickoff for the week, WMC definitely got it right partnering with them this year.
I came away knowing that you can have fun and enjoy the music just about anywhere. Going back to the whole theory of 'because Tong spins the record - is it any more valid?' Does a certain remixer brand name really mean that much in the club or marketplace? Where are the real dance artists? And why does dance music center around Walgreens?
Two weeks later, I am still trying to catch up on sleep.
