Urban Music Summit is San Diego-bound

Arthur Mitchell is an unabashed optimist and a man with an unwavering plan. So, while others might regard the fact that San Diego has never hosted a multi-day national conference devoted to R&B, hip-hop, gospel and smooth-jazz, he sees a golden opportunity.

From May 1 to May 4, that opportunity will manifest itself in the form of “Back to Basics” — The Urban Music & Entertainment Summit 2014.

To be held at the Four Points by Sheraton Pavilion Entertainment Center in Kearny Mesa, the four-day event will feature dozens of performers. They include: vocal trio Tony! Toni! Toné! (which scored five chart-topping R&B hits between 1988 and 1990 alone); smooth-jazz saxophonist Kim Waters; such San Diego-based acts as Sidekixx, Abrina and Men 4 Christ; and veteran jazz and R&B drummer Norman Connors, who will kick off his 40th anniversary tour at the summit.

The summit’s May 2 keynote address will be given by Ethiopia Habtemariam, who — at 34 — became the new president of Motown Records earlier this month. The panelists include: solo artist and songwriter Kashif, perhaps best known for his work with Whitney Houston, George Benson and B.T. Express; Crawford High School graduate Gail Mitchell (no relation to Arthur Mitchell), the Los Angeles-based R&B and hip-hop editor for the top weekly music trade publication Billboard; DJ Khalil, the producer of hit records for Eminem, Jay Z, Aloe Blacc and others; and former Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band leader Charles Wright, whose classic funk hits include “Do Your Thing” and “Express Yourself.”

“Back to Basics” — The Urban Music & Entertainment Summit 2014

When: May 1-May 4 (daily times vary)

Where: The Pavilion Entertainment Center at Four Points by Sheraton, 8110 Aero Drive, Kearny Mesa

Tickets: $100 for summit pass; $50 for daily admission; $20 for Ultimate Gospel Celebration; May 4 jazz brunch, $60 (with brunch), $30 (without brunch)

Phone: (619) 401-4014

Online: eventbrite.com

“San Diego is 120 miles from Los Angeles, but — music industry-wise — it sometimes seems like we’re a million miles away. So we’re bringing the industry here,” said Mitchell, who in 1992 launched Demo, a San Diego hip-hop and R&B record label. One of his former artists, singer Harold Whaley, is a summit panelist.

“We want the summit to reach singers, bands, rappers, DJs, engineers and producers who are trying to get to the next level in this market place, but don’t know how,” Mitchell continued. “Music is part of it, but there are a lot of other factors. Many people don’t realize the person who owns the song makes more money than the person who sings or raps it. So we want to reach out to all the people here who are doing music, but don’t understand the business of music.”

The Urban Music & Entertainment Summit is co-presented by Urban Network Digital, which 32-year San Diego resident Mitchell heads, and Amalgamation Magazine. Both grew out of the now-defunct Urban Network, which was launched as a magazine in 1988 and soon developed a national presence.

Its annual summit conferences, held in various cities, drew top performers, music biz veterans and young aspirants alike. Record companies happily poured resources into the summits, the better to showcase their artists and promote new releases.

“The Urban Network Summit is that place where music industry hopefuls and veterans alike can come to gain insight into the reality of today’s music business,” said Kashif, a six-time Grammy Award nominee. “It’s also where people can acquire practical and immediately useful solutions to the obstacles they may face moving forward.”

Those sentiments were seconded by James Leach, a West Coast operations vice president for SESAC, one of the nation’s three largest performance rights organizations.

“Artistic creation is one thing, but understanding the music business is paramount to one’s success,” said Leach, who will be part of a summit panel on licensing and branding opportunities.

As the music industry’s fortunes plummeted, the summit went dark five years ago. It fell victim to a digital era in which many consumers are unwilling to pay for music they can acquire for free online.

Nearly all of next month’s summit participants are donating their time and Mitchell believes the event’s relaunch bodes well for its future, But he acknowledges that, so far, the number of advance registrants is well below what he hopes to have when the summit opens May 1 with a day devoted to gospel-music performances and panels.

“So far, we have several hundred people coming, but not many from San Diego, and that bothers me,” Mitchell said. “I promised (the participants) San Diego will turn out and that there’s a music scene down here that will fill this event. We have people coming from Texas, New York, Michigan, even Barbados, but less than 100 who have registered are from San Diego.”

Why not more locals?

“They say,” he replied sagely, “that San Diego is a last-minute town.”