MIA Dallas 2012

So this past weekend I had the pleasure of doing a presentation on audio engineering at a seminar in Dallas, TX called MIA (music industry academy). I learned a lot from from other presenters there who spoke about finances, public relations, brand management, music business, and marketing. Events like these are put together to educate but also to network and build relationships. I admit I haven’t networked in Nashville since moving here like I should have, and this event has motivated me to do so. 7 years ago, while living in Memphis, I would never have missed an event or chance to network in Memphis or surrounding areas. One thing Kevin Shine said that has stuck with me is that you can’t do it by yourself, and I strongly agree. Every successful person has a team behind them. Though you may not see them, trust me they are there. If your like me and believe that “if you want something done right do it yourself” than it can be hard to accept this, as it was for me. The more success you gain the more you will need people to help with certain tasks. I’m not to the point where I have so much work that I need an assistant engineer yet, but when I do get to that point I will definitely be adding one to my team.

People underestimate the importance of networking, especially at events like MIA. As engineers we have to put up with a lot of people’s [expletive] and its gets easier to judge people the more you do it. We know when someone is serious, and we know someone is full of it. People at events like MIA makes it easy for me to take them more seriously because if you weren’t serious you never would of took the time to show up in the first place. To get ahead in this game you have to move forward and higher to separate yourself from the competition. Events like MIA help you do just that with an abundance of knowledge and networking opportunities to help build your team. Even if I know a lot about the subject of a presentation I still attend because there is almost always something you can take away from it.
Back to MIA though, DJ Go Lucky and DJ SupaKen spoke about the DJ game. This really opened my eyes to a lot. There’s so much that goes on in the DJ business that I was not aware of. Producer Erotic D gave a very informative class on music business. I advise everyone brush up on your music business chops, nobody wants to be screwed. In most cases (thankfully not me) it takes getting screwed before you take music business seriously.
In closing I want to thank Shay at Opulent PR and event management for inviting me and giving me the opportunity to speak at MIA, Kevin Shine for the time he took to sit down with us, Erotic D for giving us a tour of his newest studio in the Dallas area, and everyone else who gave presentations and those who attended MIA. And I want to thank Razzo’s on North Central parkway, and Benedict’s on Belt Line rd for amazing meals while we were in Dallas. Can’t wait for the next event!