LOS ANGELES (ASCAP) - ASCAP sponsors the Uplifting Minds II entertainment conferences with the appearance of Ian Burke, Senior
Director of Creative Affairs Membership Group for Rhythm and Soul in Atlanta and Jay Sloan, Associate
Director of Creative Affairs for the Rhythm and Soul Team in Los Angeles. Both will be on the panel of judges at the conference's national talent competition showcase. Ian Burke will serve at the Atlanta conference and Jay
Sloan at the Los Angeles conference.
The Los Angeles conference is held Saturday/Sunday, February 19-20 and June 25-26 at the Four-Point Sheraton at LAX and the Westfield Fox Hill Mall. The Atlanta conference is held October 15-16 at the Holiday Inn Express - Conference Center and the Gallery at South DeKalb Mall. Saturday is the entertainment business seminars and Sunday, the national talent competition showcase.
Ian Burke has over twenty years in the music business and has worked as a Promotions Director; A&R for Elektra, and an artist manager. As artist manager Ian has worked for and help launch the careers of Arrested Development, Kriss Kross, Xscape, Organize Noize and TLC. In fact, before her unfortunate death, Burke was business partner with Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez at her Wish Records label. Burke is also Vice President of the Atlanta Chapter of the Grammys. He also sits on the Grammys' Board of Governors.
Jay
Sloan has worked in marketing, promotions, and artist management. He has talents from the music publishing world, once working for Warner/Chappell Music. At ASCAP he is responsible for signing new songwriters/producers and also facilitates relationships between ASCAP members and various A&R and music publishing executives.
ASCAP is a membership association of nearly 200, 000 U.S. composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers of every genre. Their urban roster contains many of the top songwriters and producers in the business, such as Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, P. Diddy, Missy Elliott, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Jermaine Dupri, Timbaland, Earth, Wind, & Fire, Rick James,
Quincy Jones, just to name a few.
Winners of the competition showcase will receive promotional/marketing services and international CD distribution from Los Angeles based Boosweet Records (www.boosweetc.om); (option of) a management deal from Jaedd
Music Group (www.jmusicgroup.com); a copy of "The Business of
Music for the Christian and Gospel Industry" book by Grammy Award winning producer and author Alvin Williams; a free DVD demo from Chereese Records in Los Angeles (www.chereeserecords.com); free studio recording time, free track, CD packaging and CD duplication from Ivory Pen Entertainment in Maryland (www.uwritethehit.com); vocal coaching time from Super Star Entertainment in New Jersey (www.superstarentertainmentinc.com); artist development sessions from Missing Link Consulting in Altadena, California, and life coaching sessions from Dr. Jamie Ballard, Ph.D., at
Howard University/Washington, DC or
Morgan State University/Baltimore (www.basskeys.com).
