The Amsterdam Dance Event is the best organized music conference I have ever attended. When you register, your information goes in a database where you can click, email and set up meetings with all the other registrants. Tables are setup with computers and headphones so you can play your tracks and shop deals. European, US and international labels are on hand to license, make deals and find the music they want to release.
I knew it was going to be a great day when I was eating breakfast at my hotel, looked up and saw Hani walk in. Hani is the incredible producer/remixer behind the great NumSound/Soterios releases that sell massively on Beatport. We chatted for a while and he tipped me on some of his upcoming productions. Hopefully there will be an interview in the near future because I am quite a huge of fan of his work.
After a brisk walk through the city center of Amsterdam, I started the day with some great meetings with Dance 4 Life (an incredible charity that I will be covering more in depth really soon), Kinky Malinki (a UK branded clubbing promoter/record label), UngerRose (new artist duo breaking out of Miami), Underground Liberation (techno label,) AfterDark (great compilation label,) and others. After a few hours of meetings, it was time to check out the panels.
The artist panel was quite an eclectic mix of artists with President Bongo (Gus Gus), Mason, Judge Jules, Barbara Tucker, Tom Novy, Tommie Sunshine and moderated by Arthur Baker. The discussion was quite animated and is best summed up with these quotes:
"A song is just another file on the internet"
- Mason
"A record is just an advertisement for a live performance."
- Arthur Baker
"An artist has to completely self sufficient"
- Tommie Sunshine
"I've never made any money"
- President Bongo when asked if he was making more money on a major than on an independent label
"There are so many 6.5 out of 10 records out there."
- Judge Jules
"If you're making music to make money, you're delusional."
- Arthur Baker
"Club attendance is the true litmus test of the industry"
- Judge Jules
"So many tracks are here today and gone tomorrow."
- Barbara Tucker
"You can't fake the love of music."
- Judge Jules
"If you don't have girl appeal, the record won't cross over"
- Tom Novy
"The underground is the foundation."
- Barbara Tucker
"The clean sound is a very Dutch thing."
- Mason
"I've never had a big record but I play all over the world. It's because I do it my way and don't take anyone's advice."
- Judge Jules
"I am a creative force that God created."
- Barbara Tucker
"Word of mouth is very powerful, look at what happened to Jesus."
- President Bongo
"Listening to music is a full time job."
- Judge Jules
As you can tell, it was quite a spirited panel. Two other panels I attended had some great discussion - "What??" about the ear damage that loud music causes and "The clubbers circuit" about the changing needs of a clubbing population that is growing older.
