(March 30, 2018) — San Antonio is the third fastest growing economy in the U.S, according to Headlight Data and the city’s music economy reflects this growth.
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is bridging students with professionals in the city’s growing music industry at the third annual Music Biz Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, April 7 in the Durango Building at the UTSA Downtown Campus. This music symposium, the largest in the country, is free and open to the public.
Stan Renard, UTSA assistant professor of music marketing, created Music Biz Day in 2016 to provide a forum where music industry professionals, musicians and students could meet, learn from each other and network. Renard moved the event from the Main Campus to the Downtown Campus this year.
“Moving to our Downtown Campus was the next logical step to grow the impact of Music Biz Day,” says Renard. “The concentration of music venues and related businesses are located in the heart of the city, not far from the Downtown Campus.”
The event will feature seven panels with more than 40 panelists on topics such as artists and the creative process, licensing, the digital space, music entrepreneurship and music festivals.
Participants can visit more than 25 vendors, engage in a round table discussion about the San Antonio music scene and a Grammy panel on music production.
Keynote speakers include Daniel Gelo, dean of the UTSA College of Liberal and Fine Arts, State Representative Diana Arévalo and Brandon Anthony, director of the Texas Music Office.
This year’s Music Biz Day is particularly significant because San Antonio recently received the designation of “Friendly Music Community” by the Texas Music Office. San Antonio is one of just four communities in Texas with the distinction.
“This designation was the next step after the non-profit and artist incubator San Antonio Sound Garden was commissioned to deliver a music impact study for the city,” said Renard. “The UTSA music marketing program was instrumental in creating the study.”
Since then, Renard mapped the musical landscape of San Antonio into an app. Results of this one-of-a-kind study will be discussed at Music Biz Day.
Music Biz Day is made possible from a grant from the Music Entertainment and Industry Educators Association and the generous support of the UTSA College of Liberal and Fine Arts, UTSA Libraries, Grammy U, the Aztec Theatre, BESMusic, Scoremore,The Paisano, the Department of Arts and Culture for the City of San Antonio and the Texas Music Office.
