Facebook isn’t just a classroom distraction.
The group of about 130 people who gathered at the Music Law Conference at the UF Levin College of Law Saturday and Sunday learned about how musicians use the site to promote themselves and their music.
Students, musicians, lawyers, policymakers and entertainment professionals attended the eighth annual conference, which focused on the implications of the music industry’s shift to digital media and the Internet and discussed the legal aspects of music licensing.
Ravi Hutheesing, a former guitarist for Hanson who participated in a panel discussion about musicians’ use of social media, said he uses his Web site and Facebook to market himself.
He said he separates himself from other artists by posting his opinions about health care and other issues on his Web sites.
The keynote speaker of the event was Josh Greenberg, the co-founder and chief technology officer of Grooveshark, a legal music search engine and streaming service on the Internet. Greenberg explained his goal of making Grooveshark the “YouTube of music” and highlighted the history of lawsuits over illegal downloads.
He said 46 percent of people who have previously pirated music do not continue to do so after using Grooveshark.
Ryan Backman, an advertising sophomore, plays the piano for The Cruz, a band in Tampa, and sings for his solo work in Gainesville.
After the conference, he said he realized the definition of making music has changed because musicians in the digital age can be successful without singing on the radio or winning a Grammy Award.
The only way to gain recognition in the past was through the radio, he said.
The event continued Saturday night with a cocktail party at Lux Bar featuring singer Nancy Harmon and ended with a concert showcase at the music venue Common Grounds beginning at 9 p.m.
The bands Boss Lady and The Company, Hoyt and the Hotheads, Dinger Does It and Stevie D and the No Shows performed at the showcase for a crowd of more than 100 people, said Sal Picataggio, a second-year law student and the showcase director.
He said the funds from the concert were used toward the venue and the bands.
