Google’s Official Blog reports that Google for Entrepreneurs headed down to Nashville, TN on April 19th to present a whole day of workshops concerning Google+ tips, how to promote content with YouTube, and how to utilize AdWords and Google analytics tools for business.
Eight enterprising Googlers led discussions concerning tactics for getting a business on the global map, and roughly 430 attendees were on hand at the sold-out event, including Populr.me, a tech start-up developing a micropublishing app in HTML5, and ArtistGrowth, which is creating a mobile platform for musicians to organize and monetize their music and merchandise. The Creator’s Freedom Project conducted a forum of local artists pointing out how musicians can scratch out a living with the help of technology. The summit closed with Google reps explaining how “music and tech can work together to make the Internet awesome.”
As a side note, in my personal opinion, the latest tech that has the most possible relevancy for unsigned, touring musicians are devices like Square’s Card Reader system, and PayPal’s Here. One can promote their band online all they’d like, but people stopped paying for music about a decade ago. And typically, customers are only intoxicated enough to actually buy a band’s t-shirt or headband in a club setting, making an online storefront secondary to having a credit card reading device on-hand during a live gig. And, the concept of this is not real money that sometimes goes with credit cards might only enhance spur-of-the-moment sales to listeners in a concert setting. Everything about the system is ideal – even band bar tabs could be better handled, as all of the money taken at the door and via merchandise could be applied to one bill, and paid for with one card, instead of wads of crumbled ones and fives. Every band should look into the card reader systems – the concept of ‘swipe card/hand over t-shirt’ is likely more relevant than a sort of global monetization campaign, in the live music arena.
Bridgette Sexton, Global Entrepreneurship Manager at Google, went on to thank – “all our partners Flo {thinkery}, Entrepreneur Center, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Nashville Technology Council and Tennessee Film, Entertainment & Music Commission, as well as Karl Dean, the Mayor of Nashville and Beth Harwell, Speaker of the House (Tenn.) for making this event truly memorable.”
