January Music Meeting Turns Five | Manitoba Music Builds Connections at Annual Music Industry Gathering in Tandem with Big Fun Festival, Co-presents Mental Health in Music Discussion

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January Music Meeting 2017

Industry Gathering. Heart of the Country. Middle of the Winter.
 

Manitoba Music is heating things up in the middle of winter for this year’s edition of January Music Meeting (JMM). Now in its fifth year, the annual event brings industry and artists together in Winnipeg January 25-28 for a music industry conference with a DIY ethos.

The event welcomes top music industry pros for panel discussions, group sessions, one-on-one meetings, and networking mixers. Reps from the label, live music, management, publishing, and publicity sides of the industry will converge in Winnipeg to discuss the state of Canada’s independent music industry, and provide concrete advice on how to get ahead in the constantly evolving music business.

“In 2014, we started looking for new ways to connect our hardworking and talented creative entrepreneurs to the national industry and help build stronger relationships. It’s incredibly rewarding to celebrate five years of JMM and five years of helping our community not only stay in tune with best practices in the business, but connect and learn from one another,” says Manitoba Music's executive director Sean McManus. “This is a complex industry requiring its workers to be multifaceted business people and these face-to-face connections are at the core of building any business.”

JMM offers Manitoba's music community a rare opportunity to network with a cross section of tastemakers and experts from across Canada and beyond while connecting with local artists and industry peers. Including this year, JMM has welcomed 85 industry pros to plug into the Manitoba music scene since it launched. Invited panelists include reps from Beeswax Booking, Big Fun Festival, CIMA, Indie Montreal, Last Gang Records, Mighty Cypress Talent, Sleepless Records, Sneak Attack Media, SOCAN, The Good Will Social Club, Warner Chappell Music, Webster Media Consulting, and more. Meet the January Music Meeting panelists

The event runs in tandem with innovative indie festival Big Fun, which continues to reach new audiences and promote music discovery. The sixth annual festival will co-host the Manitoba Music Showcase at The Good Will Social Club on January 26 featuring dynamic electronic pop artist/producer Selci, hip hop act E.GG, singer/songwriter Cassidy Mann, and folk/rock outfit Kakagi.

Manitoba Music and Big Fun will also co-host a free open discussion on mental health in music facilitated by Uzoma Asagwara on January 25. The discussion builds on recent community-focused events in Manitoba Music’s professional development programming, including a panel on safer spaces in the music community the two organizations co-presented during last year’s JMM and a roundtable on health and wellness for touring musicians on the road earlier this spring.

Registration for JMM is now open. All JMM events will take place at Manitoba Music (1-376 Donald St). Space is limited and advance registration is strongly encouraged. For complete schedule and details, and to register, visit manitobamusic.com/jmm.

JMM is made possible by the generous support of the Province of Manitoba through Industry Services of Manitoba Education and Training, FACTOR through the financial support of the Government of Canada and Canada's private radio broadcasters, The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, and The SOCAN Foundation. This year’s January Music Meeting sponsors include CIMA and SOCAN.

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