Co-Creator of the Vegas Music Summit, RODEL DELFIN Gives The Low-Down on This Year’s VEGAS MUSIC SUMMIT (FEB 4-5 2016)

The Vegas Music Summit 2016: Annual Event In Downtown Las Vegas Announced For Feb 4^th And 5^th With Artist Showcases And Industry Panels Featuring Top Industry Experts.

Yes, the annual Vegas Music Summit is back on Feb 4- 5, 2016 with its special sauce of industry panels and talent showcases in the burgeoning Fremont Entertainment District (DTLV). This music & media conference + festival is one of the hottest destinations to showcase prominent emerging artists and give a forum for industry experts to share insight on a diverse range of important topics.

Often compared to being an intimate version of “South By Southwest,” VMS gives guests shoulder-to-shoulder access with industry executives, popular artists and two days of invaluable networking. VMS has been the home of breakthrough performances by groups like Imagine Dragons, Hot Water Music, AWOLNATION, Otherwise, and exciting appearances by top level artists. Many of the participating artists who performed at VMS garnered early industry attention, and in some cases secured record or production deals. Guests have left with insight that provided a springboard for next level industry opportunities.

The VMS industry panels will be held Thursday (2/4) and Friday (2/5) at the Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino, which is the new host hotel for 2016. Each panel has been carefully curated to include discussions on the most important topics in today’s music industry. Key subjects of discussion will include social media, touring, licensing, legal, music production and more. Guest panelists come from some of the industries top companies, including Warner Music Group, Red Bull, Warner/Chappell, ASCAP, Disney and Live Nation.

Music showcases will be held both nights and artists will be announced throughout the month via the official VMS website and Social Media.

VMS 2016 Website – http://www.vegasmusicsummit.com

Purchase Conference Badges – http://www.vegasmusicsummit.com/register.html

About Vegas Music Summit:

Created in 2008, by veteran industry professionals with deep relationships in the A&R and creative recording community, VMS floods Downtown Las Vegas for a 2-day/2night event, showcasing artists, industry professionals and entertainment education.

“This annual music business networking conference (think South by Southwest, but much smaller) offered strong programming both day and night, fulfilling its mission of giving independent artists the chance to perform for industry professionals as well as to interact with those same insiders during workshops and mixers. Given that rare opportunity to connect with A&R reps, producers, promoters and bookers—at the end of the “A&R at the Majors” panel, reps from Virgin Records and Hollywood Records actually offered to listen to demo.” – Vegas Seven Magazine

All Access recently down with co-creator of VMS, Rodel Delfin to discuss this year’s event and here is that interview:

Thanks for your time today! So, what a typical day look like for you lately?

We’re a couple weeks away from VMS so my days lately involve communicating with all our invited speakers, prepping for the conference and dealing with our sponsors. We just made an arrangement with the SLS Hotel and LiveNation to include AWOLNATION’s show on Friday, Feb 5 as part of Vegas Music Summit, so VMS badge holders can attend the show as part of their paid badge registration. AWOL will be performing at The Foundry, a new venue at the SLS-Las Vegas.

What gave you the idea to create the Vegas Music Summit (VMS)?

We wanted to recreate the vibe and intimacy of the early days of South-by-Southwest. An event where industry folks can see hand-picked emerging artists, while provide a forum to educate and discuss topics and ideas that’s current to what’s happening in the entertainment industry.

Can you elaborate on what the VMS is all about and what an attendee can expect from it all? How does it stand out from other events of a similar nature?

Simply, it’s two days of industry panels with topics ranging from music licensing, A&R, social media to touring. And two nights of showcases all happening at the music venues on Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas. We’re very proud of our curated special sauce of industry speakers, who are execs from companies such as Warner Bros, Sony Music, Red Bull, LiveNation or have worked with artists such as Beyonce, Katy Perry, Imagine Dragons, Damian Marley, Wiz Khalifa and Gwen Stefani, to name a few.

Also, with the recent revitalization of Downtown Las Vegas and the emergence of new clubs, restaurants and bars on Fremont Street, it makes for an ideal location to host  a music conference. And throw-in the casinos and nightlife of Las Vegas, it’s a unique environment, and sets it apart from other music conferences in the country.

How will this year’s summit be different than in years past? How many have there been in total?

We’re at a new host hotel this year, the Downtown Grand, and February is a new time slot. We’ve typically held VMS during the fall. This will be our 6th year.

How has your experience as a partner at RM 64 helped you develop VMS? What about being an A&R consultant for Red Bull Records?

Having worked in the music industry for many years, I’ve been fortunate to have developed a great rolodex of industry contacts in the business. Those relationships have helped tremendously with inviting speakers or programming special events into the conference.

I’ve been consulting for Red Bull Records since the label started 7 years ago, and it’s been a pleasure working with a hard-working team and seeing what the label has been able to accomplish with breaking AWOLNATION. Red Bull is the only product brand that has entered the music space that has successfully broken a new artist at commercial radio and in the mainstream market. My involvement with the company has greatly expanded my relationships beyond the music industry.

What panelists/speakers are you particularly excited about this year?

Steve Stewart will be on the Manager’s Panel this year. Steve guided the career of Stone Temple Pilots throughout the band’s success in the 90s, and in light of Scot Weiland’s unfortunate passing recently, it will be great to hear from Steve about the band’s early years and their rise to success. Also, it’s the last season of American Idol, and we’re excited to have Stefano Langone as a panel speaker and showcase performer this year. Stefano was a finalist on Season 10 of Idol during the height of the series, and for Idol fans or aspiring singers, it’ll be great to hear what his experience was going through that process and what he’s doing now.

In the past years, VMS has had breakthrough performances by groups like Imagine Dragons, Awolnation and others. What bands are you looking forward to having perform at the event this year?

Irontom has been on the industry buzz list of late. They already have label offers on the table. It’ll be great to see them in a club setting before they take-off and play larger venues.  And Goldboot and Brumby are two of the standout bands in the Las Vegas scene at the moment.

Where can people still purchase tickets to VMS?

Purchase Conference Badges – http://www.vegasmusicsummit.com/register.html
VMS 2016 Website – http://www.vegasmusicsummit.com