Local artists connect with industry leaders during Music Business Mondays

Sophie Yates
Wed, 03 Nov 2021 00:13:31 +0000
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To help grow the music scene in Columbus, Music Columbus hosts Music Business Mondays, which connect local artists with industry leaders. Credit: Courtesy of Dan Mitchell

To help grow the music scene in Columbus, Music Columbus hosts Music Business Mondays to connect local artists with industry leaders.

Music Business Mondays, a monthly music industry education forum, started two years ago with the goal of educating young entrepreneurs about the business side of the music industry, Bruce Garfield, executive director of Music Columbus, a nonprofit dedicated to growing the Columbus music scene, said. The most recent panel, “Get Booked. Get Signed.,” was held Oct. 25 at Strongwater Food & Spirits.

“I initiated them so artists and students who are interested in a career in music would be educated to what the business is really about, and be able to sit in the same room and mingle with and ask questions of industry leaders, so they would basically hear it from the horse’s mouth,” Garfield said.

Music Business Mondays revolve around a general topic and consist of a panel of speakers from the industry who discuss their career and how they got into music, Garfield said. After introductions, he said there is a Q&A for attendees to ask questions and network with the speakers.

Over the last two years, Garfield said Music Business Mondays have had over 6,000 attendees and 55 speakers, both live and virtual. Although there are plenty of musicians in the city, Garfield said the industry hasn’t developed much of a music hub in Columbus yet.

“A lot of it’s connecting people,” Garfield said. “That’s my goal — to make Columbus a music city. In some ways, it’s a music city, but the industry doesn’t know.”

For artists growing up in Columbus, Garfield said it’s important that there is a local music scene so they aren’t forced to go elsewhere for success.

“Whether you’re in a music city or music hub, it doesn’t dissuade people who want to be artists from being artists,” Garfield said. “One of the main goals of the music commission is to create a music business infrastructure in Columbus for artists who don’t have to leave to be signed, or to have services that are not readily available here.”

Britton Dove, a talent buyer at the A&R Music Bar, was one of the panelists at the Oct. 25 Music Business Monday about getting booked and signed. He said his intention was to meet local, smaller artists and to educate them on what talent buyers are looking for.

“My whole intention was to give these local bands some out-of-the-box ideas on how to get noticed in the scene,” Dove said. “And also tell them the best practices of what it’s like to get booked, with what talent buyers are looking for and what we’re looking for from artists.”

Dove said his main duties as a talent buyer are to work hand-in-hand with the agents and bands and get them booked for shows at PromoWest venues. Because the majority of his job consists of staying at the same venues to run shows, he said he doesn’t get many chances to meet smaller artists, so Music Business Mondays were an especially great opportunity.

“It’s very difficult for me because I’m landlocked at the venues most of the time running shows that I don’t get out enough to see a lot of these local bands perform,” Dove said. “So for me personally, Music Mondays was a chance to meet some new people and give some of my guidance along the way.”?

For people looking to make connections on the Columbus music scene and discover new bands, Dove said Music Business Mondays are a great opportunity.

“I think if nothing else, Music Mondays are a fantastic place if you’re in the local music scene to network and meet new people within the industry,” Dove said.

The next Music Business Monday, set for Dec. 13 at the Big Room Bar, will be a combination of a Christmas party and a panel on the legalities of music, Garfield said. Interested attendees can register for the event on the Music Columbus website.