PatchWerks' Music University IV gets a B+

In my February 15, 2008 blog, I said that networking, i.e. building relationships, is key to success in the music business. So I decided to share with you my experience at a recent event I attended. Patchwerk's Music University IV was held on February 17, 2008 at Patchwerk's Studio located in Atlanta, GA. Initially, I was reluctant to sign up because I'm always budgeting my time and money and this event was an all-day affair and the cost was $75. That was a lot to me at first considering I've been to other music conferences such as the Atlantis Music Conference, where, with a discount, I paid only $50 for a 3 1/2 day conference. But still I considered going because at Patchwerk's Music University, they promised an intimate environment of networking and I thought that was cool and different. But when I got Patchwerk's email newsletter letting me know that Bryan-Michael Cox had agreed to be a panelist, I immediately signed up to attend. I'm a big fan of Bryan-Michael Cox's music. And he, along with the other panelists, and the event itself did not disappoint me. It was truly worth the money and time and after attending, I probably would have paid more because of the information.

For this blog, I'll just give you the skeletal details of the event, and my rating of the event overall and then discuss each panel separately since there was too much great information given for one blog. So here is goes:


The event started with continental breakfast/networking. The attendees were then escorted into the studio where the seminar was being held. Each attendee was given a pen, a large notepad, and a syllabus in true "university/classroom" style. (Nice marketing). They had an abundance of staff on board to direct the attendees and the panelists. The room where we were was packed. But as promise, it was an intimate environment. There was essentially four panels that had two to four panelists: 1) artist management panel; 2) a producer's panel; 3) a DJ panel; and 4) a "boss" panel, which essentially was a music exec panel. I will discuss some of these panels in a different blog post. But here's what I liked and didn't like about this seminar.

My overall assessment: B+

1. Good: We were given very short breaks in between the panels. This helped keep everything on schedule. It helped the time go fast. Not so good: We were not given the opportunity to really talk to the panelists afterwards, which was disappointing since I thought that would be included in the definition of an "intimate" environment. That's the main reason why I'm rating them with a B+ instead of an A.
2. Great: One great thing Patchwerk did was pass around designated bags so that each attendee could put their promo materials in them and those bags were then given to the panelists.
3. Excellent: Each attendee was given the direct contact information for every panelist!!!!!
4. Good: they chose four really good topics. Not so good: I think they should have had one more panel on marketing and promotions.
5. Good: they had set questions that they asked the panelists. Great: they permitted attendees to ask questions and when they saw that each panel generated a lot of questions, they allowed more time for attendees to ask questions.
6. Great: the quality of the panelists was great! They had Jason Geter (CEO of Grand Hustle Entertainment), Kawan "KP" Prather (CEO of Ghet-O-Vision Entertainment, former VP of A & R at Sony BMG urband music), Orlando McGhee, DJ Don Cannon, DJ Nabs, Producer Lt-Moe, Bryan-Michael Cox, Producer Little Drummer Boy, Coach K, Snake, and Melinda Dancil. Wished: there was one more female in the group so that that female could also discuss the music business from a female perspective but that's just me (:-).
7. Great: they provided both breakfast and lunch. Lunch was served after the panels which was good because it kept us in the flow. Not so good: we couldn't eat or drink anywhere except one designated "cafeteria" area so if you got thirsty in the middle of a panel, you'd have to leave the room and miss out. But I'm sure the no eating or drinking rule is to protect their studio from damage which is understandable.
8. Great: The size of the seminar in terms of the number of attendees was great. Again, it was packed but still everyone there was able to give each other their business cards and really see everyone there and talk.
9. Great: the information given was timely and useable.
10. Great: there were people there to assist you if you had questions. Also the studio manager introduced himself personally to the entire group. He also provided information about the studio itself.
11. Great: Patchwerk Studio is beautifully decorated and has two studios. I love to see all the gold and platinum albums on the walls. Everything was of course neat and clean and conducive to having a great recording experience. The manager even allowed us to go into private areas to assist with bathroom crowd control. The people, from the receptionist to the interns to the manager, were all accessible, personable, friendly and helpful. It made for a good experience. Not so good: they were only permitting people to enter into the studio at first in groups. I don't know what the reason was for that (perhaps crowd control but I'm glad that that rule was abandoned when I got there).
12. Good: again the price was cool, considering the quality of the panelists, the food, the networking opportunity, the number of panels, the length of the event, and most importantly, the actual information given. I'm so big on attending a music conference where you feel like you learned more than you knew going. I'm sure that the price kept the size of the attendees "intimate" so perhaps they accomplished their goal by having a higher price.
13. Good: the length of the panels, the length of the event, and the length of the breaks were all good. It started at 9:30 a.m. and ended roughly at 3:00 or 3:30.
14. Good: location was good and the studio is centrally located and easy to get to.
15. Good: they also gave out surveys so that they could get feedback. I also liked the added touch of giving every attendee a syllabus, a note pad and pen in true "classroom, i.e. university style."

Again, so as you can see, I had a great time. I'm glad I went and invested my time and money by going. And yes, I'd go again if they had the same event assuming the quality stayed the same. So congrats Patchwerk on a great job!


If you don't know about Patchwerk (and that is how you spell it), you can google it for more info. I'm also on Patchwerk's network so you can search for me on that site as well if you are looking for a songwriter. Thanks for reading!

Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
myspace.com/hitsamillionllc
hitsamillion.ning.com