The International Soul Music Summit ‘08 - The Rhythm And Soul Perspective.

8. October 2008 by admin.

The Rhythm And Soul Blog is Back!!!! We’ve changed things up a bit as those who visited our blog previously can see. It is definitely for the better and we hope you agree.

We kick off this new blog space with a report on our participation in the 3rd Annual International Soul Music Summit in Atlanta, GA on September 12 & 13. The International Soul Music Summit is an event created by Terry Bello (pictured here during our live broadcast from the event)

 to provide mainstream, emerging and independent soul artists, retailers, consumers and executives with information, networking opportunities, and technology on how to build noteworthy careers while continuing to make passionate, timeless music.

This was my first year attending and it was an incredible success. The artists, DJ’s, label execs, promoters, etc. who came from around the country and around the world were mind boggling. The connections that you make or even reconnections are what made the trip worthwhile.

Here’s an example: On the first day of the Summit I had the honor to sit on a panel (the very first panel in fact) with a number of great people to discuss the topic of Music, Media and Marketing. Some of the persons on that panel were Jawar of The JaWar Group, Thornell Jones of Hidden Beach Records,  Norman Mayers of Nu-Soul.com - and one of the producers of the “Strictly Social” Music Series, Lucy Beer from Elemental Consulting and 0another producer of the Strictly Social Music Series, Miles Anthony of Righteous Music Media (Manager of independent artist Darien),  and a number of others including Manny Alexander from the Uniworld Group.

 When we were all gathered outside we met one another and talked for a bit. When I introduced myself to Manny Alexander he said “Hey I remember you.” I must admit I didn’t remember him immediately and he then reminded me how our paths crossed. A few years back he was the manager of the talented independent artist Gaielle and he and I were speaking as I was trying to produce a show in NYC and we were trying to have Gaielle perform during the show. I was pleasantly surprised to be reconnected with him and even more pleased that he remembered me.  I was further taken aback during the panel when Manny shared a point about the importance of professionalism and presentation and reference ME as an example. He talked about the fact that we had only spoken a couple of times a couple of years ago but that I had made an impression on him and he remembered me based on my presentation. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE BEGINNING OF THE SUMMIT FOR ME!

 The Summit only got better from there if that is even possible. I moderated two additional panels served as a panelist for another and of course we broadcasted live on both days. The broadcasts were a great deal of fun as I was joined by Mama Soul and DJ BlackIcon1 from the Musical Pathways Show on RhythmAndSoulRadio.com. We had the opportunity to interview a number of artists who were there for the Summit that we feature regularly on the station and some artists we were meeting for the first time. It was an incredible experience and we are so glad that so many folks took the time to chat with us. Some of those folks include (in no particular order) Big Brooklyn Red, Steve Wallace, TNT (Trish ‘N Tom), Mike Ashley, Heston, Jarrad Anthony, Darien, Tony Rich, Thornell Jones, Chris Rob, Cherisse, Phillipia, Water Seed, Kahlee Star, Jason Orr, Julie Dexter, Dionne Farris, Wildmann, Hasan Brown, Asaada and a number of others.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so click the link below and take a look at this slideshow to give you an idea of what took place at the Soul Summit in Atlanta this year.

 http://s201.photobucket.com/albums/aa177/injoyenterprises/?action=view¤t=24f7dd95.pbw

I haven’t even gotten to the evening performances yet. There were approximately 40 artists who performed at over the 2 nights.

Suffice to say that the Summit was a great success. We’ll talk more about it over time and more importantly we’ll be back there next year and we plan on taking you with us. You ready???

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