Do you know what the Winter Music Conference for the electronic music industry is about yet? It is staged in the beautiful and sunny Miami Beach Resort and Spa in Florida just 12 miles from the Miami airport. It has been running for 23 years now and expects 45,000 people during the week conference from March 25-29, 2008.

Not only is the Winter Music Conference a convention for pros in the industry but it has been known to give a major boost to fresh artists, DJ’s and other dance music professionals allowing them to reach great heights. It is where major deals begin and if you think the electronic music industry is small, you are gravely mistaken!

Fact: the Winter Music Conference mailing list is 140,000 people strong!

Fact: there are 400 separate events to chose from during the week all culminating into the Ultra Music Festival (in it’s 10th year) and expects to have close to 40,000 party people and the most sought after artists performing including Tiesto, Justice, David Guetta, Fedde Le Grand, Paul Van Dyk, and over 200 more. More info on the Ultra Music Festival.

Fact: Over 700 journalists from the International Press covering events in Miami during the conference!

Fact: Over 85 venues presenting events in Miami during WMC

Fact: Over 35 seminars and workshops covering all aspects of music development and the surrounding sub-culture (an invaluable resource)

So just looking at these few facts, you can begin to see that this is the most important conference you could ever attend if you want to be a successful artist/producer/record company in the electronic industry. And not only that but the current music industry is in a complete redevelopment and metamorphosis as CDR’s, MP3’s and download streams are forever changing the way people interact with this music…if you haven’t heard Vinyl is DEAD! Sad but true and yes, it’s time to move on…

Some other great points about the Winter Music Conference:

• Pro’s present new ideas, discuss issues in the industry and reveal new business development methods.
• Informative seminars on marketing strategies, copyrighting, artist development, writing contracts, distribution, promotion and internet retailing
• Countless opportunities of networking with industry execs, press and advertising representatives.
• Non stop schedule of events and parties throughout the night with a boost to your inspiration from the most successful cats in the industry

Now do you see the value of this conference? I sure hope so, otherwise you probably want to revisit your goals in the industry. In fact, I think this conference is even great for enthusiasts of electronic music as it allows them to value the music even further and really understand the talent that it takes to make it in a scene which has always been known to be more about the music than it is about commercialization. But enough of my opinion, one of our contributing editors Pamela Diaz has devised an excellent resource for you to read and print out and take with you - Winter Music Conference Guide. If you’re thinking about going to Miami you will definitely want to read this, it will prepare you and allow you to get the full experience.

And I’d definitely love to hear your comments about this article. Have you been to the Winter Music Conference in Miami before? What was your experience like? Are you thinking about going this year?