If you perform and/or write Christian music, and you are wondering how to generate a decent income from it, this workshop is for you! We have assembled some of the top business minds in Nashville who are entrenched in the Christian music scene! They will share the do’s and don’ts, the opportunities and the pitfalls of the Christian music industry. You will learn:
- Marketing your music and your act
- Using social networks to sell your music and get gigs
- The most common business and legal mistakes that Christian artists make
- The role of a manager in Christian music
- Much more!
Your Speakers:
Benita Bellamy
Benita Bellamy
Benita Bellamy is a Marketing and Public Relations executive with over 15 years of experience in arts and entertainment. She is the founder and CEO of The Bellamy Group, LLC. Benita spent 5 years with EMI Christian Music Group/EMI Gospel as Marketing Manager working with Stellar and Grammy Award winning artists Smokie Norful, CeCe Winans and The Blind Boys of Alabama, Donald Lawrence and the Tri-City Singers, Bishop T.D. Jakes and the Potter’s House Choir, Aaron Neville, Darwin Hobbs, and many others.
Benita was a Marketing and Publications Manager for Imagination Stage Performing Arts Center (Bethesda, MD), then repositioned back into music as Label Manager for Sanctuary Records Group (Silver Spring, MD) – Reggae and Catalog division managing projects for legendary reggae artists Steel Pulse, Luciano and the late Gregory Isaacs. She also developed the National Promotions Department for Light Records (Nashville, TN) and was eventually elevated to Vice President of Marketing leading the new radio and retail promotions team with an artist roster that included: Shirley Caesar, Youthful Praise, RiZen, Evelyn Turrentine-Agee, Bishop Paul Morton, Zie’l, Coko and Judith Christie-McAllister.
Benita is a contributing writer for CCM Magazine and is on the Innovation Nashville leadership team.
Bob Morrison
Robert Morrison – President and CEO
Robert Morrison has been involved in the business of music for over 30 years.
In 1996, Bob joined a small emerging “internet only” record label in Wilton, Connecticut named J-Bird Records as Vice President of Sales & Operations. On the cusp of the digital revolution when we still called the internet the “World Wide Web,” the label attracted some very well known artists in Billy Squier, Rockapella, Lee Rocker (The Stray Cats), John Entwistle (The Who), The Rembrandts, and Boy George. Morrison secured distribution and developed all the retail initiatives for the label and managed a roster of over 600 artists.
With a passion for independent artists, in the winter of 2001, Morrison opened a consulting firm named Chart Noise. Its mission was to develop new talent, smaller labels and assist smaller distribution companies with their operational initiatives. He then took on the role of Sr. VP of Sales & Operations at Midas Records (Jessie Daniels, Rush of Fools, Whiskey Falls, The Weather Channel Presents, and Emerson Drive). While with Midas he grew the label’s Christian Division to national prominence with both Jessie Daniels and Rush of Fools. Rush of Fools was the 2nd Best Selling New Artist of 2007 and their single UNDO was ASCAP’s Song of the Year for 2007.
Gregory E. Seneff Sr. Esq.
Between graduation from Kentucky Wesleyan College with double majors in Religion/Philosophy and Communications, and before attending law school at the University of Louisville’s Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, Greg spent almost nine years in the music and media production industries in various capacities including as a booking agent, road manager, disc jockey (the former WXLN-FM and WFIA-AM in Louisville, Kentucky), concert promoter, retail music buyer, and Assistant Director of Media at Asbury Theological Seminary.
Since graduation from law school, Greg has worked as a solo-practitioner, served as the Director of Legal Affairs at Benson Music Group, and as the Director of Business Affairs at EMI Christian Music Group. Both company positions included drafting and negotiating recording contracts, publishing contracts, record distribution agreements, exclusive production agreements, video production agreements, record club distribution agreements, and international subpublishing agreements.
Representative clients of The Seneff Law Office have included the recording artists Jars of Clay, Larry Norman, The Peasall Sisters, Across the Sky, Brother’s Keeper, IIIrd Tyme Out, Dan Peek (formerly of the super group America), Nouveaux, Ruby Amanfu, Sacred Tree, and Shaded Red. Songwriter clients have included Del Gray (of Little Texas), Karen Staley, Tricia Walker, Billy Sprague, Billy Simon, Jim Weber and others. Greg also represents film and video production companies, independent record labels, publishers, music production companies, animators, book authors, periodicals. Greg has served as General Counsel for both the Gospel Music Association and Christian Music Trade Association. Greg serves as a Board member for the non-profit ministry of Touchstone Youth Resource Services, as a member of the advisory committee and featured columnist for Christian Activities magazine, and a regular contributor to the Legal and Business discussion board for Write About Jesus. He is a contributing writer for Power Source magazine and the Internet magazine iBluegrass.com, and executive producer and host of the podcast Artist Insider™.
Greg is the producer of MusicLawBiz™ Vol.1, an educational project for artists and songwriters which contains 13 hours of audio information on 12 CDs and approximately 400 pages of information. The subjects covered include record contracts, publishing contracts, band partnership agreements, forming a corporation or Limited Liability Company, booking and management issues, copyright, trademark, and rights of publicity issues, finances for small businesses, how to pitch demo recordings, and much more. Included are 8 interviews with artists, songwriters, a record producer, a booking agent, an artist manager, a Vice President of A&R, and a personal financial counselor. (Visit www.MusicLawBiz.com.)
Naima Johnson-Bush
Dr. Naima Johnson-Bush
Attempted Suicide at 14, Sexually Assaulted As A Teenager, Told She Wasn’t Good Enough To Sing At 18, Struggled With Eating Disorders In College, Abused by Live-In Boyfriend at 22, Saved by Grace at 24, Broken Hearted and Desolate at 30, Fulltime Minister and Recording Artist at 32, Delivered By The Love Of Christ and Set Free Today!
Bridging the gap between Contemporary Christian Music and Urban Gospel, Naima is a dynamic singer, songwriter, educator and author whose thought provoking ministry explores life’s hopes, promises, joy, doubts and disappointments while giving glory and honor to the never failing love of the Saviour.
Cost: $99 (and lunch and snacks are included)!
Indie Connect General and Pro Members Pay $89.
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Date/Time
Date(s) - Saturday, October 13, 2012
9:00 AM CDT - 4:00 PM CDT
Location
Indie Connect (at Fort Knox Studios)
Category(ies)
