Recap: Music Producer Convention II -2018

Strong from our success during the first edition, we started working early on returning bigger and better for MPC II.

Now we had a “proof of concept” as they say in the jargon. There was demand from the public, and the feedback from attendees, as well as producers, was amazing! Even though we had to juggle with limited budgets, everybody understood our mission to help bridge the gap between the US, French and European markets. To this day, MPC is a non-profit organization, and our goal is to give back to the culture and preserve its legacy by creating a platform for producers to thrive and take their careers to the next level!

After starting from nothing, we now had footage from the event to prove it was real and a reputation to honor! This forced us to keep aiming higher! So we started by creating content to promote the upcoming 2nd edition. We published photos, quotes and got video teasers ready. In the meantime, we were reaching out to producers, brands, and media. The hustle was on! The events industry plans months if not a whole year before the date but dealing with artists and producers is no easy task! It’s hard for them to plan in advance and know what their schedule will look like at the time. During the first edition, for example, Dj Khalil was working with Dr. Dre and Anderson .Paak in Hawaii during our last phases of booking, and we had to hold our breath and wait till the last minute hoping he would be done in time to be able to commit to coming to France. Once again, when you don’t have unlimited budgets to cut big checks, it takes patience and dedication to secure the kind of lineups we put together! Each year is no exception. Still, we’ve learned to deal with it and go with the flow!

And so, once again, we opened up our AA Passes, tickets, and beat battle submissions at the last minute, but the community was well aware of the shape of things to come! And finally, we announced our full lineup (Click here to find out more about our 2018 speakers):

This time, the event would span across three full days, with more opportunities for networking, more conferences and debates, official listening sessions, and of course, our now infamous beat battle!

On October 12th, we finally opened the doors to the Music Producer Convention II! That year, we were proud to present an eclectic line-up of veteran producers, and new hitmakers, as well as technical workshops spanning from sound design to sync, mixing, marketing, business, and publishing as you can see from our schedule!

On the first night, we hosted the Music Producer challenge judged by most of the producers present during the convention. Here is the full list of the 2018 Jury

(Click here for more details and credits on each producer):

Theron "NEFF-U" Feemster (Los Angeles) Mike & Keys (Los Angeles)

STREETRUNNER (Miami) Tarik Azzouz (Aulnay-Sous-Bois)

Sound Oracle (Atlanta)

INK (Atlanta) Neenyo (Toronto) Kino Beats (Norfolk) Pops (Toronto) Sylvain Gazaignes (Paris) Canardo (Paris) Oliver / DrumDreamers (Paris) Nick D. Green (Paris) Otto Moukouri (Paris)

The battle was hosted by Lion Scot, with a conference by Sylvain Gazaignes (BMG), DJ sets from DJ Baba Flex, Dj MacTeal, and DJ Idem as well as a Live Beatmaking Show by Pedro le Kraken.

Thanks to our sponsors and partners, we had over $10K worth of equipment and services as prizes for the winners of the battle! We had submissions from 14 countries that year! People flew in from all over the world, from the US to Japan to attend!

And what an event! The level was only getting better and it felt good to showcase so much talent and shine the light on these beatmakers and producers who usually operate behind the scenes! All the challengers had already gone through a first round of selections, and they were all worthy of being on stage, but there could only be 4 winners…

The first edition's winner, Black Bell Beats, accepted to put his title back on the line, but the competition was fierce! (Click here to get more info on the 2018 winners)

The 1st Place in The Music Producer Challenge 2018 was THIBAULT (DETROIT / USA). He shined with his various perfectly executed soulful sample-based productions and his clean mixes during the whole competition. The jury underlined the quality of the productions in terms of arrangements, sound choices, and mixing skills. Thibault was then a 23-year-old producer/engineer based in the metro-Detroit area. He’s been involved in music since he started making beats during his sophomore year of high school. After graduating from Central Michigan University in 2017, he became part of the Detroit music scene working as a recording/mixing engineer. He’s produced and engineered for several independent artists such as Love & Hip-Hop’s LaBritney, Grammy-nominated singer Ashley Rose, 1800 Second’s Sam Austins, and Monalyse.

Coming close in 2nd Place of The Music Producer Challenge 2018 was HAR2NOK (CHANTELOUP-LES-VIGNES / FRANCE).

This young producer received amazing feedback from the jury during the whole competition and won round after round consistently till the finals with his hard-hitting productions. Har2Nok is from the Paris metropolitan area, more precisely from Chanteloup-Les-Vignes, in the Yvelines (78). He has been producing since 2016, and the then-21-year-old already had a few placements under his belt with artists like Swenz, John s, Myk, and Luidji. Even though he is working on creating his own sound he names artists like Ryan Leslie, KINGBNJMN, and Rascal as some of his influences. Har2Nok seemed determined to count among the new wave of producers and hasn’t stopped since!

Coming in 3rd Place in The Music Producer Challenge 2018 was BLACKBELL BEATS (AMIENS / FRANCE). As our 2017 winner, he accepted the Challenge and came back strong in the competition to present his recent work and prove his determination to make his mark in the industry. He once again received super positive feedback from this year's Jury and stands on our top 3 podium for the 2nd time. Black Bell is a Musician, Producer, and Sound designer born in Amiens, France. Raised by a French mother and a Congolese father, blending has always been a big part of his life and it's apparent in his music as he doesn't hesitate to blend RnB, Future Bass, and Congolese Rythms in his productions. Lately, the focus has mainly been pointed toward releasing music, collaborations, and sound design with his "Sour Face Drums" Series and the "Polygones Samples".

Finally, our Booster Prize 2018 was awarded to NINETY NINE (PARIS / FRANCE). This young beatmaker played well-produced Trap/Electronic beats during the whole competition to a well-deserved 4th place.

99 (Ninety-Nine) was then a 19-year-old French producer coming from the south side of the country, originally from the city of Nice he has now moved to Paris to facilitate the development of his work. This is only the beginning as he started to create music in 2017. 99 (Ninety-Nine) is one of these freshmen you definitely need to watch in the future.

Since then, Thibault has been continuing his creative career and endeavors, branching out as an artist into different projects. Har2nok created a collective for young producers with plans to expand his reach, and come back stronger in the next edition! And thanks to a connection with Neenyo during the beat battle, he went on to get placements and produce Billboard hits for artists such as Young Thug. Blackbell has developed his creative endeavors and Ninety-Nine is discreetly continuing his career with various placements and projects. And of course, shout out to all the other contestants in the building! Many are also active in the industry! Once again, not finishing on the podium doesn’t mean producers don’t have their place in the game!

The battle went on until late at night, and we all went to sleep exhausted but hyped from all this great energy! Still, we all woke up to follow up with 2 full days of activities!

From the French wave to the East Coast, West Coast, Southern vibes, and Canadian sounds, there was something for everybody! Workshops were happening simultaneously in various rooms, often going over the time limit for the lucky attendees!

There are so many stories, tips, jewels, wisdom, and experiences in each session that it would take forever to mention them all! Again, the greatest feeling is seeing huge smiles and light in the eyes of attendees coming out of the studios! Priceless!

Listening sessions were busy and productive! Networking was going on in every corner of the building. And the debates and conferences created a healthy discussion around the topics that are most important to the industry.

Tracklib presented their sample clearance solution to our attendees, and Beatstars was there to explain their alternatives to waiting on advances or publishing from placements. And label executives and publishers helped uncover the technical aspects of the business.

MPC II, in 2018, was an incredible event and truly a confirmation that we were here to stay!

Most don’t get to attend certain sessions, but one of the highlights is also seeing all these creatives get together to connect and create! That year, we got to witness private impromptu studio sessions with the likes of NEFFU, Neenyo, and Sound Oracle for example! This was like watching “Masters at Work”! This is not something we can plan and a privilege to be present in itself. But who knows, maybe someday we can create an opportunity for exclusive memberships for our community giving you access to this kind of experience…

Until then, you have to be here and show up to witness it for yourself! There is nothing like gathering in person with like-minded individuals and watching the magic happen!

We hope you’ll be with us this year and see it for yourself!

Stay tuned for upcoming news and announcements coming soon!