MIA Music Summit To Feature Music and Technology Leaders In Miami

MIA Music Summit 2014 takes places in Miami on March 24th. It's a new conference from the MIA Collective with primary funding from the Knight Foundation. The Summit is part of an effort to make Miami a true hub for global music. Hypebot readers will recognize many of those involved and you can check the end of this post for a special discount code.

Taking place at Miami's New World Center, MIA Music Summit happens right in the middle of the Winter Music Conference, a major event for dance music.

Though music is a strong part of Miami's brand, Miami is rarely thought of as a center for tech startups and is not always recognized as a force in the music industry. Event organizers MIA Collective are working with primary funders the Knight Foundation to change that perception and to help make Miami a key player in global music and technology.

The Knight Foundation was also the major sponsor for December's SIME MIA 2013 conference. The tech conference included arts-related topics and was co-organized by MIA Collective and Europe's SIME.

I've been speaking with conference organizer Demian Bellumio (@bellumio) about the event in part because I'm going to be moderating at least one panel at the Summit. Bellumio is a founder of MIA Collective, COO of music data company Senzari and a serious entrepreneur and investor.

MIA Music Summit Speakers and Sponsors

The speakers and panels for MIA Music Summit 2014 are still coming together but most of the pieces seem to be in place including such speakers as:

Ime Archibong: Manager – Strategic Partnership, Facebook (Keynote Speaker)

Benji Rogers: CEO, PledgeMusic

Pia Giudice: COO, Ideame

David Porter: CEO, 8Tracks

Chris Boos: CEO, Arago

Mark Moebius: CEO, Nagual Sounds

Bill Hajjar: CEO, Senzari

Mahbod Moghadam: Founder, RapGenius

Leslie José Zigel: Founder, Ziglaw (Pitbull's Management)

Martin Varsavsky: CEO, FON

Colleen Theis: COO, The Orchard

Steve Martocci: CEO, Splice

And a number of others. Please check the site for updates and new additions cause there are more to come.

There will also be a MIA Music Hackday the preceding weekend with five finalists presenting at the Summit. Facebook's Ime Archibong will be a HackDay finals judge.

Sponsors include the Knight Foundation, Senzari, Choose Digital and .co.

Event partners include the New World Center, Nobox and The Lab Miami (where the Music Hackday will occur).

Hackday sponsors include 3Scale, MusicGraph and Choose Digital.

Special Discount for Hypebot Readers

Hypebot readers can get $100 off your tickets with the code HYPEBOT. Early bird runs through February 15 and, until then, that means you can get a $199 ticket rather than the full $499.

I'll be checking in on the MIA Music Hackday on Sunday and will be moderating a panel on Alternative Funding for Artists and possibly another as well. If you're in Miami for the Summit or for the Winter Music Conference and want to connect, please contact me via the below email.

I think this is shaping up to be a great event and I look forward to seeing you there!

Conference Site: MIA Music Conference 2014.

Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (Twitter/Facebook) is currently relaunching All World Dance. To suggest topics about music tech, DIY music biz or music marketing for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.