Star-studded panel for Island Music Conference’s YouTube Day
Published:Tuesday | February 7, 2023 | 12:37 AMStephanie Lyew/Gleaner Writer
The Island Music Conference (IMC) will officially begin tomorrow. Its inaugural staging kick-starts with ‘YouTube Day’ scheduled for February 8 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and comprises a series of panel discussions and performances.
According to Sharon Burke, co-founder of the five-day music conference and president of Solid Agency, it is one of the most important and valuable events for both up-and-coming and established creatives.
Moderated by YouTube executives and a diversified list of content creators, the four panel discussions will focus on content production, utilising the YouTube platform, understanding the global influence of Caribbean music and, most importantly, teaching participants how to monetise content, she said.
“Everything is going good. We have a comprehensive list of panellists and, so far, the registration for the conference has been active and our expectations are that we will have a good turnout, especially from the younger generation of talent that has emerged. Many of the young people have shown that they want to be involved in all we are offering,” Burke told The Gleaner.
She added, “The conference’s YouTube Future Insider Summit, which is on the first day, is a free event, and registration is open on the day but it is on a first-come, first-serve basis. There is much to learn from the series of panel discussions because of the speakers we have.”
IMC is bringing some of the most influential industry professionals for an exclusive on the future of content creation. Some of the panellists include Lyor Cohen, record label owner and YouTube’s global head of music; Tuma Basa, YouTube’s director of Black Music and Culture; rising dancehall sensation Valiant; recording artiste Teejay; entrepreneur and singer Jamila Falak; Dutty Berry; The Mitchells – Tami Chynn and Wayne Marshall; and comedian and actor Ity Ellis.
Grammy Award-winning artiste Shaggy, chairman of IMC, will give the keynote speech ‘Music – From Concept to Consumption and Beyond’.
The music conference runs until Sunday, February 12, under the theme ‘Cari Culture’.
“ It promises to be a wholesome event which is geared at Caribbean growth and education which can only help to build bridges needed for success,” Burke said.
Valiant dubbed IMC as “a learn-full initiative” and expressed the view that he was eager to interact with all the panellists and participants.
Likewise Jamila Falak, who told The Gleaner that persons “only had to gain and nothing to lose” from registering to be part of the conference.