New Music Seminar gives artists a crash course on the business of music

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So you have ambitions to be the next Arcade Fire.

If you have the show, the New Music Seminar promises to get you up to speed on the business. The three-day conference starting Monday night is jam-packed with sessions on how musicians can build their brands (‘careers’ are so 1990s).

With sessions on everything from how to create effective Facebook pages to Twitter marketing, the event, held at the Sheraton Universal Hotel, is heavily weighted toward digital strategies. But there are also sessions on old-school topics, including how to get your music on television shows, where there are sweet licensing fees and ways to get the attention of A&R scouts without getting a restraining order filed against you.

Now in its second year after being reincarnated from its multiyear hiatus, the New Music Seminar is the brainchild of Tom Silverman, who ran Tommy Boy Records in the day. His deep connections in the music business have translated into an all-star lineup of speakers.

A few notable ones include Moby, Courtney Holt of MySpace Music, Jason Bentley of KCRW-FM (89.9), Michael Doernberg of ReverbNation and Joe Kennedy, top dog at Pandora, the Internet radio service that last week announced plans to raise $100 million in an initial public offering. In other words, they’re all in positions to give artists a serious hand up. You can check out the program agenda and register on the event’s website.

-- Alex Pham