By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — The good news for local musicians is that New York City remains the center of the world for emerging talent.
The bad news is that the traditional music industry is in its death throes, making it difficult if not impossible for budding artists to break through with no established model for success.
Enter the New Music Seminar, a, Manhattan-based conference founded nearly three decades ago that has been re-imagined for the current generation of artists facing a new path to the big time.
“We have to think out of the box, and that’s what the seminar’s about,” said Tom Silverman, founder and CEO of Tommy Boy Entertainment, who first organized the event in 1981 as a way to confront the then-seismic changes in the music business.
“There’s no problems; there’s only challenges," he added. "We know for sure the record business is dead.”
With the evolution of digital media allowing anyone with a computer and a do-it-yourself approach to promote their music to a mass audience, Silverman explained the marketplace has become too crowded with “hobbyists” that have no intention of seeking commercial appeal.
But the comprehensive seminar — which runs from July 19-21 at the East Village's Webster Hall, and features workshops, live performances and one-on-one mentoring sessions with industry leaders — is not for those just looking to dabble, he said.
“Artists should still be loving what they do, [but] being commercial is a business decision,” said Silverman, whose label launched the careers of such acts as Queen Latifah and Naughty By Nature, among others.
“You can’t be an artist and say, ‘I don’t make business decisions.’”
According to Silverman, a “business decision” could encompass anything from a style of songwriting to an artist’s fashion choices.
But the main emphasis in the industry’s evolving landscape is on musicians connecting directly with fans through online portals like MySpace and Facebook, or simply playing more live gigs to cultivate followers.
“It’s great — it’s like everything is changing,” he said, sounding a positive note amid the industry’s turmoil. “The beautiful thing is if you’re not a discovered artist, you’re on equal footing. It’s the Wild Wild West.”
Silverman believes that New York City will continue to grow as cradle for talent as more musicians move in and venues crop up.
But being a band based in Gotham has benefits beyond just plugging into the city’s creative energy.
People come from all around to see shows in New York, and the abundance of large cities located within a few-hundred-mile radius creates the opportunity for “concentric touring” across the Northeast and surrounding areas, he said.
“There’s an enormous population that’s within striking distance of New York,” Silverman said, adding that the city’ popularity among musicians also makes it more competitive here. “It’s a big filtering system.”
Nonetheless, aspiring musicians will continue “buying lottery tickets,” or blindly holding out hope that they’ll ascend to super stardom by chance, Silverman noted.
The key to finding that success lies in a fairly simple formula combining the strengths of an artist’s live performance, songwriting, production value, and the image or concept they present, he said.
If just one of these qualities earns mainstream approval, Silverman explained, the sky’s the limit.
“Being good is meaningless,” he said. “It’s about being different.”
The New Music Seminar kicks off on Mon., July 19, with an opening night party at Webster Hall, 125 E. 11th St.
