Tune in tonight THURSDAY, MARCH 22 @ 7:00pm (EST) for the keynote live coverage “powered by watchitoo” of the EMP’s 2012 POP Conference featuring:

OPENING KEYNOTE: THE ARTIST IN THE CITY

• ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO (Grammy Winning global pop music icon) @angeliquekidjo
• ESPERANZA SPALDING (Grammy Winner for Best New Artist 2010 @EspeSpalding
• SANTIGOLD (Roc Nation and Jay-Z, Kanye and Major Lazer collaborator) @Santigold
• HEEMS of DAS RACIST (critically-praised Hip Hop group.) @DasRacist
• moderated by ANN POWERS (NPR Pop Critic) @annkpowers

…Viewers can engage live tweets, post to facebook, and submit live questions for the Q & A segment that may be selected artists themselves to answer on the panel.

…Don’t miss this great live coverage, be part of the conversation provided by watchitoo, in partnership with Raine Magazine!

…Live playback coverage will be available next week.

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For EMP Pop Conference 2012 “Sounds of the City” LIVE STREAMING, click HERE!

Featuring Keynote with Grammy Winner Esperanza Spalding, Jay-Z Collaborator Santigold, and MC Heems of Das Racist, Plus Closing Keynote by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of The Roots.

EMP Museum is proud to present the 2012 Pop Conference, “Sounds of the City,” at New York University on March 22–25, 2012. EMP’s 11th annual Pop Conference is presented by NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, and jointly held with the annual conference of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM) U.S. Branch.

Now in its 11th year, the EMP Pop Conference is traditionally presented at EMP Museum in Seattle. This year, for the first time, the conference will be staged in New York. With six or seven simultaneous panels, from 9:00am to 6:00pm, Friday through Sunday, the 2012 Pop Conference promises to be one of the largest and most diverse gatherings of popular music intellectuals ever assembled.

More than 300 journalists, academics, and artists are scheduled to present topics ranging from panels on Berlin, Detroit, New Orleans, and Los Angeles, to Korean, Egyptian, and Latin American pop, and sessions on New York City music from ragtime to hip-hop to Warhol’s New York. Presenters will pay particular attention to what urban environments have meant for race, gender, and sexuality. Jazz, rock, indie, country, metal, electronic dance music, roots, disco, and Broadway music are but some of the sounds that will be the subject of panel discussions.

The conference kicks off Thursday, March 22 with an exciting keynote discussion featuring three of the most distinct young voices in popular music: Esperanza Spalding, last year’s Grammy winner for best new artist, and whose new album Radio Music Society is scheduled for release the week of the conference;  Trailblazer, and singer-songwriter-producer Santigold, now managed by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation; and MC Heems of critically praised hip-hop trio Das Racist. The panel will be moderated by NPR music critic Ann Powers.  The conference will close on March 25 with a keynote by acclaimed musician and producer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of The Roots in conversation with Grammy-winning music executive Harry Weinger.  Many other celebrated musicians will be prominently featured at the conference, including Wu-Tang Clan rapper GZA, pioneer Kool DJ Red Alert, folk legend Peter Stampfel, jazz genius Vijay Lyer, punk pioneer Alice Bag, a Spanish language production of composer Robert Ashley’s Perfect Lives, experimentalists DJ/rupture and Ben Neill, and young guitar slingers from the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls.

The Pop Conference is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, however pre-registration is highly recommended as space is limited.

For a complete schedule of sessions, or to register now, participants should go to:

www.empmuseum.org/popconference

ABOUT EMP’S POP CONFERENCE

Launched in Seattle in 2002, EMP’s Pop Conference, provides a platform for academics, critics, performers, and dedicated fans to join in a rare discussion. The 2012 EMP Pop Conference is presented by NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music and the International Association for the Study of Popular Music. Additional support is provided by the University of Alabama College of Arts and Sciences, on behalf of the American Studies Department. Pop Conference originated with support from the American Music Partnership of Seattle (EMP Museum, the University of Washington, and KEXP 90.3 FM), through a grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. This year’s program committee members are: Daphne Brooks (Princeton), Anthony Kwame Harrison (Virginia Tech), Hua Hsu (Vassar), Patricia Costa Kim (EMP), Jason King (NYU Clive Davis Institute), Karl Hagstrom Miller (University of Texas), Evie Nagy (Rolling Stone), Tavia Nyong’o (NYU), Caroline Polk O’Meara (University of Texas), Ann Powers (NPR Music), Greg Tate (Village Voice, Burnt Sugar, and Coon Bidness) and  Eric Weisbard (Conference Organizer, University of Alabama).

ABOUT EMP MUSEUM

EMP is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the exploration of creativity and innovation in music, science fiction, and popular culture. EMP combines interpretative, interactive exhibitions with state-of-the-art technologies, and educational programming to offer visitors of all ages a first-hand, multi-dimensional experience of the creative and artistic process. EMP is housed in a 140,000 square foot Frank O. Gehry designed building. This spectacular, prominently visible structure has the presence of a monumental sculpture set against the backdrop of the Seattle Center.  For more information, visit EMPmuseum.org.

ABOUT THE CLIVE DAVIS INSTITUTE OF RECORDED MUSIC

The Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music is the first of its kind to provide professional business and artistic training toward a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. The undergraduate program is designed to provide professional training for students who aspire to succeed as creative entrepreneurs in the music industry.  Since it opened its doors in 2003, the program has been a leader in training aspiring music entrepreneurs.  It has been on the cutting edge of music education, offering innovative courses like “The History of Def Jam,” “Emerging Music Trends,” and “Branding.”  The program bears the name of its chief patron and advisor, Clive Davis.

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF POPULAR MUSIC (IASPM) U.S. BRANCH

IASPM-US represents the United States branch of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music. IASPM-US has been an important part of the popular music landscape since the early 1980s and serves as a forum for a range of scholarly and other approaches to popular music. IASPM-US publishes the quarterly Journal of Popular Music Studies.  Its democratic, inclusive outlook extends not only across different academic disciplines but also to critics, journalists, industry workers, and cultural administrators.

VIEW THE FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

www.empmuseum.org/popconference

ALSO:

www.clivedavisinst.tisch.nyu.edu

http://iaspm-us.net

www.esperanzaspalding.com

www.santigold.com

www.dasracist.com

The Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music would like to express its deepest sympathies and condolences to the family and friends of Ms. Whitney Houston. She was a brilliant talent whose legendary voice will be missed.

The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at Tisch School of the Arts and music and technology networking organization Sound CTRL, in conjunction with event sponsors Billboard and Pepsi, are happy to co-present a special evening with music industry legend Clive Davis, commemorating Arista Records’ 35th Anniversary.

Through Arista Records, Clive Davis launched or helped catapult the careers of world renowned artists, including Whitney Houston, Barry Manilow, Patti Smith, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Babyface, and Sean “Puffy” Combs.

Jason King, Artistic Director of NYU’s The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music, says: “I wanted to reach out to Mr. Davis to come in and talk directly to students about his success in this anniversary year. While music executives come and go, Clive Davis has made a profound, lasting impact on the industry. He’s a continual inspiration to our students.”

After more than four decades in the music industry Davis, who now serves as Chief Creative Officer at Sony Music Entertainment and helmed the recent Whitney Houston comeback album I Look to You, has remained at the top of his game. He is one of only a few music executives who are able to successfully keep up with the changing pace of this industry and consistently create hit artists and hit songs for a turbulent marketplace.

Bill Werde, editor and chief of Billboard magazine, will be interviewing Davis exclusively about his passion for music and why he has chosen to speak at this event.

“In order to create a successful and innovative future in music we need to fully understand the past. We are delighted to be able to present Clive Davis, one of the most successful music men in the history of the recorded music business. This promises to be one of music’s most remembered conversations for the SoundCtrl community” Jesse Kirshbaum, SoundCtrl co-founder.

This private event is only open to NYU students, faculty and staff and Sound CTRL invited guests.

We’ve always been proud as an NYU department to bear the name of our principal patron and Sony Music Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Clive Davis.

This week we’re exponentially proud as Whitney Houston’s brand new I Look to You album – which Mr. Davis co-executive produced – hit the top spot on the U.S. Billboard 200 Albums chart, selling 305,000 copies.

Whitney’s albums, taken as a whole, have spent forty-six weeks at #1 on the same chart: an all-time record for any female artist.

Congrats also goes out to I Look to You‘s co-executive-producer Larry Jackson, Senior VP A&R at RCA Music Group – Larry’s been a terrific guest lecturer in our department; most recently he came by to drop some wisdom on Professor Jonathan Fine’s students in our A&R class.