YouTube’s Head of Culture and Trends, Kevin Allocca, Announced as Speaker for CRS 2021: The Virtual Experience Streaming Summit

(Nashville, Tenn. – Jan. 28, 2021) CRS 2021: The Virtual Experience has added YouTube’s Kevin Allocca to the first-ever Streaming Summit agenda, set for Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Allocca, Head of Culture & Trends for YouTube, will sit down for a unique, intimate fireside chat with Billboard’s Executive Editor, West Coast and Nashville, Melinda Newman.

Kevin Allocca spent over a decade tracking popular video phenomena and managing trending content initiatives. He is YouTube's expert on the intersection of web video and global culture and his TED Talk on "Why Videos Go Viral" has been watched over 2 million times. His book, VIDEOCRACY, an entertaining exploration of YouTube's most interesting trends and the impact of video in our culture, was published by Bloomsbury in 2018.

The kick-off of CRS 2021: The Virtual Experience is less than one month away, and details surrounding the expanded, four-day agenda continue to roll out. CRS has released a preview of the agenda for the newly added Streaming Summit, to be held on Tuesday, Feb. 16, and it is as follows.

10:00 a.m. CT Streaming Terms 101 featuring Victoria Mason (Warner Music Group) and Addison Nunes (Warner Music Group)

10:30 a.m. CT DSP 101: Amazon Music featuring Katie Schlosser Vitolins (Amazon Music)

11:00 a.m. CT DSP 101: Pandora Next Big Sound / AMP featuring Jay Troop (Pandora)

11:30 a.m. CT DSP 101: Spotify for Artists featuring Charleton Lamb (Spotify) and Josephine Ruiz-Healy (Spotify) [sponsored by BMLG]

12:00 p.m. CT DSP 101: YouTube for Artists featuring Margaret Hart (YouTube) [sponsored by BMLG]

1:00 p.m. CT TikTok Ya Don’t Stop: Examining the Impact of TikTok on Country Music featuring panelists Corey Sheridan (TikTok), Andrew Jannakos (Sony RCA Nashville Artist), and Charly Salvatore (Dennis Entertainment / indent Records), and moderated by Tony Grotticelli (UMG Nashville) [sponsored by BMLG]

2:00 p.m. CT Talk Data To Me featuring Jeff Green (Stone Door Media Lab) as moderator, Matthew Yazge (Nielsen/MRC), Haley Jones (Nielsen/MRC), and Matt Bailey (Integr8 Research) [sponsored by Westwood One]

3:00 p.m. CT A Fireside Chat with YouTube's Kevin Allocca [sponsored by CMA]

4:00 p.m. CT Amazon Music Presents: Country Heat at CRS

The lineup for Amazon Music Presents: Country Heat at CRS will be announced soon.

CRS 2021 Streaming Summit Committee Chair Annie Ortmeier (UMG Nashville) comments, “The Streaming Agenda team of Ali Matkosky, Jen Danielson, and I are beyond honored to have this incredible lineup in the first year showcasing the dedication of our partners to country music. We feel this day could stand up against any country music digital first conference.”

Single-day registrations for the Streaming Summit are available for $99 per person. Anyone interested in this discounted rate can contact Ashley Bourque at CRB here.

CRS 2021: The Virtual Experience will be held Tuesday, Feb. 16, through Friday, Feb. 19. The New Faces of Country Music® Show closes out the event on Friday, Feb. 19. Registration for CRS 2021: The Virtual Experience is $199 per person and are available for purchase at www.CountryRadioSeminar.com. The expanded, four-day CRS 2021: The Virtual Experience agenda will offer attendees more than 14 educational sessions, four morning networking events, three lunchtime performances, four interactive workshops, all-day networking, Bob Kingsley’s Acoustic Alley, and, for the first time in CRS history, a New Faces of Country Music® ticket with every registration.

Country Radio Broadcasters have also made available an Unemployment, Student, and Young Professional Organization Member rate. To apply for one of these special rates, interested parties must apply at Country Radio Seminar’s registration page (here) no later than Feb. 12. Registrants will need to select the rate they are applying for as the registration type to be considered for the discounted rate. Contact Ashley Bourque at (615) 329-2615 or ashley@crb.org for any questions about the application.