The International Music Software Trade Association (IMSTA) has announced it is expanding its annual IMSTA FESTA music technology events with the addition of IMSTA FESTA Miami, which will be hosted February 25th, by the SAE Institute Miami in North Miami Beach, Florida.
Free to all registered attendees, IMSTA FESTA will feature high-profile panelists, top technology exhibitors, master classes, professional song reviews, and the organization’s popular international song competition.
“This new IMSTA FESTA event gives us the opportunity to show end users in Miami’s dynamic music community a host of technologies from companies of all sizes,” said Ray Williams, managing director at IMSTA. “We educate musicians — composers, producers, and others in the industry — about the ways in which they can use this technology to make great music, and about the impact and importance of buying the technology they use.”
The IMSTA Professional Panel Series at IMSTA FESTA Miami will feature professional industry leaders who bring a fresh perspective on music production and the industry. Speaker including Jimmy Douglass, Tony Succar, and others will address topics ranging from the specific software needed by the modern audio engineer to the business of engineering.
Top music production technology companies, such as Avid, Celemony, IK Multimedia, FabFilter, Image- line, Native Instruments, PreSonus, and Focusrite, will come together under one roof to interact with music makers face-to-face. Product specialists from exhibiting companies will show attendees tips and tricks for getting the most out of their music technologies. Every hour on the hour during the event, raffle prizes from top technology companies will be given away.
Hosted by IK Multimedia, the IMSTA Master Class Series at IMSTA FESTA Miami will include a variety of featured manufacturers and well-known names such as DJ NittiGrtti, KickRaux, and Jimmy Douglass. Through classes and workshops, all free with registration, attendees will have the chance to get their hands on the market’s latest music production tools and to gain unique industry insights.
The SAE Institute, Skit Skat, Broadjam, and NAMM are partnering with Sound on Sound, Electronic Musician, and Tape-Op magazines to co-sponsor a networking event, open to all attendees, that puts attendees in the same room as the “heavy hitters” in Miami’s music community.
IMSTA FESTA Miami will also be the venue for live song reviews, in which experienced industry professionals offer insightful, educated, one-on-one appraisals of songs brought to the show by attendees. The event will culminate with the crowning of a regional finalist in the IMSTA FESTA International Song Competition, with the winner selected from songs previously submitted for the event, as well as one outstanding wild-card entry chosen from songs reviewed that day. Moving on in the competition, the regional finalist from IMSTA FESTA Miami will have the chance to win a free trip to Santorini, Greece, to be part of a song camp at Black Rock Studios.
Part of IMSTA’s work as a nonprofit is to educate and foster a conversation among music software and hardware users and manufacturers on the value of purchasing the music software products they use rather than using illegal versions. IMSTA FESTA events promote IMSTA’s central message and slogan: Buy the Software You Use. The organization began this work more than a decade ago and has since launched IMSTA FESTA events in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, and now Miami. These events are unique in that they give end users — from students to seasoned professionals — a no-cost opportunity to see the latest in music technology and to engage with professionals who are shaping the industry today.
IMSTA FESTA Miami will take place at the SAE Institute Miami campus at 16051 W. Dixie Highway, suite 200, in North Miami Beach. Admission is free, but all attendees must register in advance.
More information: IMSTA
