Kanye West

New York, NY – It’s a pleasure to announce the theme for our upcoming global Influencer Conference series. Developing a theme takes time, and countless fits and starts until you land on a concept that “feels right”. In order to accomplish that, the theme must be relevant to all our audience, our partners and align with our values. I think we have managed to do that and much more.

Our theme is “Gatekeepers/crashers: Thriving or Dying?” You can read our descriptive brief here:

The advent of technology and digital media was supposed to herald the end of the age of gatekeepers. The 21st century promised the democratization of communication and access.
Now, almost 15 years into a new century, it begs the question whether that has that truly been the case? Has the power and privilege of gatekeepers subsided or, has the expansion of technology actually had the opposite effect, increasing their reach and power?

For all of the talk of the democratization of the creative process, gatekeepers are more firmly entrenched than ever. How do creators of arts based culture navigate and succeed, as the gates get higher? How do well-meaning gatekeepers connect to and enhance existing cultural ecosystems? We pull the covers back and reveal the true machinations behind culture, commerce and influence by bringing gatekeepers and gatecrashers face to face…a modern day showdown between new age Visigoths and their roman emperor counterparts. 

Friction between gatekeepers/crashers lies at the center of our creative, social, and economic lives. In fact, one could argue as sector and industry designations blur it is more of a challenge to determine who serves which function. In fact, one could argue that at different times and under different circumstances organizations and individuals can wear both hats.

The recent Supreme Court decision of McCutcheon v. FEC and the F.C.C’s flagging interest in protecting net neutrality highlight how precarious the common interest are relative to corporate design. Cultural spaces are not immune as music, film, and other creative endeavors have more participants than ever giving the appearance of democratization even as they wrestle with fewer effective channels to gain traction and attention for their work. Even an artist as prolific as Kanye West feels constrained in his creativity. In an interview with radio/TV Host Sway, Mr. West details the frustration he encounters dealing with gatekeepers. The back and forth between the two men, which is sometimes contentious highlights the yin and yang between creativity, commerce and access. This brought home how important this is. If a globally relevant artist like Kanye is dealing with these issues, what about the rest of us?  In another telling quote Kanye West says this

“It’s mixing creativity with the fight like an athlete. Like it’s okay for the athletes to fight and push it, but they want the creative people to shut-up and be quiet. But these are the people with the real ideas that can actually change, can reorganize, can design cities, can restructure a curriculum, you know, can make life easier. And that’s the part of the game I want to be in: the making life more awesome.” October 28, Los Angeles’ 97.1 AMP Radio

“Creatives” are fighting to be heard, but who are they fighting against (or for), and why? Over the next few months through salons, essays, and finally our global conference we’ll confront the shifting landscape between gatekeepers/crashers across industry and creative disciplines in order to map our collective future.

Welcome to the journey.