CMJ's Music Marathon & Film Festival is the end-all-be-all of upcoming musicians and bands—and is rapidly becoming the same for film—a five day, five night fall celebration with over 1,200 artists and 120,000 fans crowding 75 of the city's greatest nightclubs and theaters, centered around NYU's campus. It's New York's largest music festival, and a continued threat to Austin's SXSW Festival's dominance of the emerging music market.

CMJ's yearly festivities feature exclusive nighttime parties, daytime exhibits, lounges, a technology fair, artist and press lounges, meet and greets, panels, seminars, mentoring sessions, community initiatives, networking events, Q&As and special events.