NARM DAY 2: SUNDAY'S SESSION GETS UNDERWAY

This morning’s session was hosted by Immergent Entertainment Group, with the company's John Trickett given the opening slot to talk about his new digital retail online retail/social networking site. After demonstrating his “upcoming” new mouse trap, he proceeded to take it live on line at the end of his pitch.

Jim Donio gave his yearly President’s Address and told the still sizeable crowd that the organization “was founded to serve a perpetual need for music business partners to come together to advance the industry.” He also stressed that NARM includes not just him and his staff, but the industry. “The opportunity to voice your concerns is there, and the only cardinal sin is not participating.” To see his remarks in full, clink here.

J&R’s Rachelle Friedman gave the Chairman’s address once again and talked of the new retooled NARM website and its tag line, “The Music Business Association.” She talked about bringing in Bill Wilson to run their Digital Think Tank and NARM’s new partnership with Digital Data Exchange to increase the scope of the NARM database. She lauded the success of Record Store Day and talked of the re-launch of the "Give the Gift of Music" campaign the was so successful in the early ‘80s.

Friedman addec that there are some 50 new companies that are in attendance at this year’s event and announced this year’s board members: Amazon’s Pete Baltaxe, Baker & Taylor’s Len Cosimano, Homer’s Mike Fratt, Nokia’s Adam Mirabella, Verizon’s Ed Ruth and new member John Trickett from Immergent. The Secretary is Best Buy’s Ed Hogan, Treasurer is Anderson’s Steve McClanahan, and Vice Chair is iTunes' Val Cole.

This year’s Keynote Speaker, A&M/Octone President/CEO James Diener, offered a history of his label’s success story, then devoted the rest of his speech to the need for 360 deals. Diener insisted that Artist Development should be king and he most surely perceives his company as an “Artist Development safe haven,” in which the label is more incentivized to “run the marathon” of a lengthy marketing strategy of branding acts and turning them into ticket-selling entities.

A&M/Octone is now signing only 360 deals going forward, becoming, in Diener's words, “no longer just a record company, but a music company.” He strongly believes that the 360 deals get labels back to career building and not just the business of making radio hits. Why should bands give up the rights to assets that used to belong to them? “If you don’t want to be just a part of the long tail, you need the venture capitalists.”

The two performers on the bill include contest winner Miles Nielsen (son of Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen) and Australian female country trio The McClymonts on Executive Music Group through Fontana.