SF MusicTech Summit Next Week; Interview With Coordinator Brian Zisk

Next Tuesday (10/9) in San Francisco, the
SF MusicTech Summit kicks off from the Kabuki Hotel in S.F.’s historic
Japantown district. The ever-popular event continues its tradition of bringing
together some of the top minds and
companies within the music and technology sectors, along with a number of developers,
entrepreneurs, investors, service providers, journalists, musicians and
organizations. Hypebot’s Hisham Dahud reached out to event organizer Brian Zisk
for insights as to what makes San Francisco an appropriate fit for
the event, what’s new for this
year’s summit, and much more.

Hisham
Dahud: For
those not familiar with SF MusicTech, whom would you say the event is primarily
geared towards?

Brian Zisk: The SF MusicTech Summit
is geared towards those interested in meeting and interacting with many of the
leading lights from the music/technology community. It’s for those looking to
learn about what's working at the bleeding edge and seeking business
opportunities with folks who will be leading the way into the evolving
music/technology ecosystem. It’s also a great place to help to grow and
participate in a Northern California music and related technology market.

Some folks ask if the Summit is
appropriate for indie musicians. As a B2B event, the answer is that the Summit
is quite appropriate for indie musicians (or any other folks) who are actively
doing business with music/technology companies. For those with just a demo,
hoping to get signed, without an active online dealmaking presence, no, not
really.

Hisham: What inspired you to organize
this event?

Brian: I love getting people
together. My core mission is to assemble the smartest visionaries in music and
technology to connect, do business, have a great time, and generally come out
much better off than before they attended the Summit. Our aim is to move the
entire music technology ecosystem forward in a positive way. Attendees can
expect to connect and do business, to share what we they are doing and to spot
future trends, to see old friends, and meet new ones, and to build community.

Hisham:
What
significance does the San Francisco Bay Area represent in being the origin for
this event?

Brian: There are more exciting
music/technology companies in the San Francisco Bay Area than anywhere else in
the world. Yet many of us saw each other rarely, once a year at Midem, or in
Austin for SXSW. The SF MusicTech Summit was created to bring all of these
folks together in our local community, to reach a critical mass where lots can
happen for everybody, to enable access to these music/technology luminaries for
anyone who chooses to participate.

We also aim to mix in core Bay Area
music/technology folks who may not be able to make it to out of town events due
to time, family, or budget limitations. Start-ups can bring their whole
team for a fraction of the price of bringing a few folks to Midem, and be back
in their Bay Area bed that night. We're also thrilled to provide a
platform where those who visit can connect with the vast majority of Bay Area
MusicTech luminaries, and are amazed to see registrations from as far away as
Asia.

The San Francisco Bay Area is the
epicenter of Internet innovation. In fact, Mayor Ed Lee (who did the
introduction at our last Summit) has placed Innovation Month SF around our
upcoming event, to highlight events like ours that encourage folks to relocate
to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Hisham: How has the Summit grown
over the years?

Brian: When we first started the
Summit, no one knew what to expect. Over time, a thriving community of music
tech enthusiasts has revealed itself. It's more about amplifying a great group
of smart, innovative and interesting individuals … and that group has more
than doubled since our first summit in 2008.

Hisham: What does this year's Summit
have in store that separates it from previous ones?

Brian: Each Summit tops the last. At
our next Summit this October 9^th, we'll expand to surrounding
venues in Japantown to accommodate our rapidly growing audience. Additions
include the New People Cinema and Yoshi's Jazz Club's main room for our
Gracenote sponsored after party featuring a performance by Pomplamoose.
 Also, this time we are promoting SF MusicTech Week to focalize the many events
of interest during the week of the Summit.  

We've also added SF MusicTech Hackday the day before on
October 8^th for our hardcore programmers. Finally, we
added the SF MusicTech Start-Up Challenge Showcase for
hot new companies competing for an opportunity to appear on our stage.

Hisham: How do you envision
technology helping to advance the music industry? What about the livelihoods of
musicians?

Brian: The music industry has changed. No longer
is it about shipping plastic discs all over the place, and paying to get them
displayed in stores. Now musicians can record professional tracks at home, put
them online, and get paid directly by their fans. No longer do musicians have
to sign away their rights in order to participate in the industry. Musicians
can keep their rights, connect with fans, and build successful careers around
the work they've created. As the industry grows, and technology and innovation
evolves, more and more success stories are going to come out, and it’s going to
be a healthier ecosystem.

The SF MusicTech Summit takes place October 9th from the Kabuki Hotel in San Francisco. 

Hypebot readers get 20% off their
admission by clicking here.