Young Irish leaders collaborate with music industry experts in the Lower East Side’s trendiest Irish bar, The Late Late Bar & Grocer at the IIBN summer networking event.

“I just can’t get you out of my mind…”

Naomi McMahon VP of Business Development at Sony Music agency Arcade brilliantly summed up the value of powerful brand partnerships when she compared how brands must strike an emotional connection with customers need to be “like a song that you can’t get out of your customer’s mind.”

Minty Fresh Guinness was served as over 100 Irish and Irish American IIBN members arrived to James Morrissey’s The Late Late Bar & Grocer for the IIBN FLB summer event, The Business of Music on July 30th.

The event was presented by the IIBN Future Leaders Board, with special thanks to FLB members Aisling Keogh and Chris Cahill for their outstanding organizational skills bringing this event to fruition.

Our esteemed panel of Irish experts had a wonderful conversation led by moderator, Michelle McCarthy Director of Marketing at Manhattan Concert Productions discussing the current trends in the global music industry, the power of brands and what opportunities are there for Irish and Irish American artists trying to break into the music industry right now.

Paul Byrom, Irish tenor, kept it real on the night sharing the challenges facing artists in the music world, reminding us that he first started out on the music scene in Ireland performing at funerals before getting his big break with Celtic Thunder in the U.S.

Following the panel discussion, Michelle McCarthy opened up the discussion for a lively Q&A with our audience, many of whom are working in the music, events, television, and marketing industries here in NYC with contributions from IIBN members discussing the Garth Brooks fiasco; a shout out from someone in the audience for Coláiste Lurgan students Youtube hit of Grá Mo Chroí which is Kodaline's 'Love Like This' as Gaeilge and Deirdre Connolly of Bravo TV, added to the discussion by commenting on the difficulty of bridging the new music community with the needs of TV producers.

“Stay true to what you do, and don’t sell out”, a key marketing message from the Director of Brand Aid Music Marketing Gary Cohen rang true to many of our IIBN members as the message can be applied to music and so much more.

The Black River Manifesto band took over the basement of The Late Late bar after our panel discussion as Jameson sponsored cocktails were served to the crowd of young working professionals.

The FLB Annual event was yet a again another resounding success and we look forward to more upcoming events.

"It's events like this, groups like the IIBN, and initiatives like the IIBN Future Leaders Board that makes New York an amazing place for a young Irish professionals to kick start their career" said IIBN Future Laeder Board member Chris Cahill.

Listen to the podcast of the discussion here: IIBN - Future Of Music by ShellEMcCarthy

About IIBN New York, Future Leaders Board 2013:

The Future Leaders Board is comprised of young Irish professionals who are currently living and working in New York City. The IIBN Future Leaders Board is a group of young professionals chosen to represent the IIBN and create relevant connections among young people in New York. The IIBN believes in the transformative power of business networks to connect talent and growth opportunities, the Future Leaders Board represent their dedication and investment in young professionals. For further information click here.

About IIBN:

IIBN is a global, not for profit organisation which brings together the cream of Irish business men and women at an international level. The objective of IIBN is to facilitate greater communication and connectivity between successful Irish business people all over the world with a view to identifying and exploiting opportunities. Headquartered in London, IIBN also has chapters in New York and Dublin. One of IIBN’s key aims is to establish IIBN Chapters in all of the major cities which have strong Irish networks. For further information click here.

For sponsorship details about OpportUNITY please contact [email protected].

Click here to see photos.