The summit is a networking event and professional workshop for students studying music, business, marketing and journalism to make connections in Bloomington’s music scene.
It will include three panels at 3:30, 4:30 and 6:30 p.m., a dinner at 5:30 p.m. and a keynote address from NUVO Newsweekly Senior Editor Katherine Coplen at 7:30 p.m.
The panels will include appearances from professionals from across the music industry, Live from Bloomington Director Astrid Mejia said, such as lawyers, producers and videographers in addition to Artists & Repertoire and management representatives.
Bloomington-based record labels including Secretly Canadian and Winspear will be represented.
Representatives from local venues including the Bluebird Nightclub and the Buskirk-Chumley Theater will also be present.
Mejia said the event, which is targeted at students, came out of questions she often gets from other students interested in the music industry.
“A lot of the emails I get are ‘Who should I be listening to?’ and ‘How do I get into the industry?’” she said. “I thought it would be good to have a networking event.”
Live from Bloomington is part of Union Board, and Mejia said the Board on the whole helped expand the event to include a wider range of industry professionals in the program.
She said they picked panelists to reach potentially interested but under-reached demographics of students.
They wanted to appeal to graduate students, for example, by bringing in entertainment lawyer Josh Love.
Mejia also said there was an effort to include local and regional participants and representatives from smaller operations.
“We feel like the people who (usually) come here to speak are at big labels, but we wanted to show there’s other stuff you can do, too,” she said.
The summit will also dedicate specific times, including the dinner, for networking opportunities.
Mejia said she’s learned from experience not only how valuable a networking skill is but also how intricate it can be.
“I always thought I was really good at networking, but you have to be specific to every person,” she said. “People have to be very comfortable.”
Dan Coleman, who runs the Bloomington-based Spirit of ’68 Promotions and will speak on a panel, said networking can be a first step toward the best way to understand the music industry: hands-on involvement.
Coleman also said he hopes he can help people understand working in the music industry isn’t easy or strictly fun.
Although it requires a strong stomach, he said there’s also a learning curve.
“I guess the biggest thing is to not be afraid to say no,” he said. “When you first get started, there’s an inkling to take everything you can ... You can have some filter in this.”
Mejia said she hopes the event changes the way interested students look at both their careers and their local music industry offerings.
“I hope that they learn there’s more to the music industry than there seems and that it could inspire them to further their careers, and also to see all the great things in Bloomington,” she said.
Check-in for the Bloomington Music Summit goes from 3 to 5 p.m.
