It’s been nearly a decade since the digital music genie burst out of its bottle, changing the game for virtually everyone in the music ecosystem. So what comes next? Future of Music Policy Summit 2009 will examine this question through practical, musician-focused workshops, keynotes from leading artists, managers and policymakers and inspired panel discussions with the sharpest minds in the music/technology space. New this year, the event will feature unique presentations from a range of visionaries about where we’ve been and where we go from here. All this plus cocktail parties, a movie screening and a rock show!

Policy Summit 2009 is taking place at Georgetown University in Washington, DC on October 4-6. It will also be webcast live by web.illish.us.

Speakers: There are a range of speakers and panelists lined up, including US Senator Al Franken, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and Daniel Ek — founder of buzzed-about music service Spotify.

On the artist side, Wayne Kramer of MC5 will be there, as well as Mike Mills of R.E.M., Erin McKeown, Vijay Iyer and Nicole Atkins. That’s in addition to Brian Message of Radiohead’s management team, Merge Records co-owner Mac McCaughan and many, many more.

In order to ensure musicians are not left out of the music/technology debate that affects their livelihood, the Summit is offering artist scholarships for all our events. This way, many of the audience participants will be those who have the biggest stake in the policy debate: musicians themselves. Thanks to some generous contributions from foundations, technology companies, sponsors and musician advocacy groups, a limited number of musicians will be able to attend FMC’s 2009 Policy Summit on a subsidized scholarship.

Note that the scholarship waives the majority of registration fees, allowing full registration for awardees for only $10. FMC cannot cover travel or lodging expenses. Click here to apply: http://futureofmusic.org/civicrm/profile/create?reset=1&gid=8

For additional information: http://freepress.net/node/62053