After a seven-year hiatus, the Hudson Valley Music Summit in New York returns Saturday, November 21 to the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center in Chappaqua for a full day of panels, networking and live music exploring today’s evolving music industry.
Focused on navigating an evolving music industry, the Summit brings together the people across the business who manage the relationship between artists and their fans. The day will feature 30+ speakers spanning labels, distribution, venues, management, media, legal, licensing, technology and artist services.
Among those participating are Recording Academy New York Chapter President and Thirty Tigers VP of A&R Lee Dannay; Shore Fire Media President and Pollstar Touring Publicist of the Year Rebecca Shapiro; Woody Guthrie Publications President and Woody Guthrie granddaughter Anna Canoni; Billboard-recognized music executive, Collective Entertainment Partner and bestselling author Emily White; legendary New York rock radio personality Jimmy Fink; and American Hardcore author and filmmaker Steven Blush.
Produced by Hudson Valley-based veteran conference producer and musician David Hoffman, whose work spans the music and investment-management worlds, the Summit debuted in 2019, drawing approximately 200+ attendees. Held during the year marking the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, the inaugural event featured a special appearance from Dennis Dunaway of the original Alice Cooper band and live performances from Michelle Shocked, The Levins, The Foxfires + more. The momentum continued in 2020 with Hoffman’s Music Video Film Festival, before COVID brought plans for future live events to a halt.
“Seven years is sort of the right time for a band to have a reunion tour, after all, isn’t it?” says Hoffman. “In 2019, there was a real sense of regional camaraderie, with a high-caliber group of practitioners offering guidance to each other and the next generation. That’s the spirit we’re looking to recapture in 2026, bringing that community back together to navigate a music business that looks very different than it did seven years ago.”
Conversations will discuss how the traditional record-label relationship is being reimagined, including new income models and the economics of launching and operating a label heading into 2027, as well as how touring has changed and what developing artists need to know before taking their music on the road. The Summit will also explore the increasingly complicated world of music rights, royalties and technology, including AI-driven metadata auditing, digital fingerprinting and the systems responsible for making sure artists and songwriters get paid.
Other sessions will look at the expanding role of sync and licensing as both a revenue stream and discovery tool; how visual identity, photography, video and merchandise come together to create an authentic artist brand; and how streaming data, direct-to-fan platforms and emerging technology are changing the relationship between artists and their audiences.
The day will also look beyond the next release cycle. A conversation on artist legacy will examine how the teams behind culturally significant artists balance authenticity and reinvention, preserve archives and introduce bodies of work to new generations, while a closing Manager’s Roundtable will tackle the evolving artist-manager relationship and what artists should expect from one of the most important partnerships of their careers.
Hudson Valley favorites Alex Cano and Dan Zlotnick will perform with additional artists to be announced. Upstate New York is full of hidden gems, beloved regional acts who deserve a national audience.
“I think of this rebirth year as a jam session,” adds Hoffman. “We’re going to bring the most creative minds together and see what tune emerges. Everyone is navigating the same rapidly changing music industry from a different vantage point, and there’s real value in getting those people in the same room to trade ideas, share what’s working and help each other figure out what comes next.”
The Hudson Valley itself will also take center stage. The Summit opens with a look at the region’s growing appetite for original music from the venues and media supporting artists to the individual scenes developing throughout the Hudson Valley and Northeast.
Tickets are on sale now on Saturday, November 21 from 8 AM – 5 PM at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center (480 North Bedford Road, Chappaqua, NY 10514).
For tickets and additional information, visit hudsonvalleymusicsummit.com.
SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
- David Adler — Editor, Adler Music / Jazz Times Magazine
- David Avery — President, Powderfinger Promotions
- Steven Blush — Writer/Producer, American Hardcore
- Anna Bond — Chief of Staff, Secretly Distribution
- Mike Boris — Creative Director, Jaded Melody
- Mike Campbell — Director of Booking, Bearsville Theater
- Anna Canoni — Programs & Events Director, Woody Guthrie Publications
- Kevin Casini — Attorney at Law, Casini Legal Advisors
- Lee Dannay — Head of A&R, Thirty Tigers
- Anj Fayemi — CEO & Co-Founder, Rivet
- Joel Feinberg — CEO, DeWolfe Music
- Jimmy Fink — Radio Personality, 107.1 The Peak
- Jennifer Glickman — Director of Operations, Bearsville Theater
- Alexandra Greenberg — Founder, Falcon Publicity
- Barry Heyman — Principal Attorney, Heyman Law
- Peter James — President & Chief Executive Officer, Manic Kat Records
- Stefanie May — Marketing Director, The Capitol Theatre
- Matt Merewitz — President/Founder, Fully Altered Media
- Lou Plaia — Owner, Hot Rats Entertainment
- Russ Rieger — Creator, Executive Producer & Host, Not Dead Yet Media
- Casper Schadt — Data Science and Analytics, Sony Music Entertainment
- Naomi Scott — Guitarist/Vocalist, Basic Bitches
- Rebecca Shapiro — President, Shore Fire Media
- Janine Small — Principal, Janine Small
- Brett Smith — CEO, P-Funk Immersive
- Sam Stauff — Associate Director Music Studios, Mercy College
- Thomas Valentino — Attorney, Valentino Law
- Jeremy Weiss — Co-Creator/Director, Launch Music Conference & Festival
- Emily White — CEO, Impact Data & Events
- Tom Zlabinger — President, Association for Popular Music Education (APME) NY
