(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Popkomm, one of Europe’s largest music industry trade shows and conventions, is now accepting nominations for its Second Annual Innovations in Music & Entertainment Awards (IMEA), to be held in Berlin on September 14, the first day of the annual Popkomm show. Popkomm, which runs through September 16, is now in its 17th year. The awards recognize both individual and corporate leaders in bringing technology solutions to music artists and consumers. Last year’s winners were PlaylouderMSP, Kodime and Jukecharts. Popkomm-IMEA will accept nominations until July 12 via www.popkommawards.com.
“The music and entertainment industry is going through a transformation made possible only by the very technology that a couple of years ago burnt investors’ fingers – the Internet,” said Gerd Leonhard, originator, chairman and executive producer of Popkomm-IMEA. “We are now, again, seeing many strong start-ups and mature technology entrepreneurs gearing up in the music, media and entertainment sectors all over the world, and there are attractive investment opportunities to be considered. Until last year, these ventures really had very few dedicated launch pads to call their own – Popkomm-IMEA now offers that opportunity, and you’ll see tomorrow’s success stories here in September.”
This year, IMEA expands into an all-day event and will present five finalists in each of three categories: Mobile Music & Entertainment; Digital Music & Entertainment Innovations and B2B Solutions; and Live Music and Marketing Innovations. These categories also correspond with the main themes of this year’s Popkomm Congress. Before the event, the IMEA2005 blog will feature some of the hottest new companies in this space on a daily basis (typepad.com).
Billboard Information Group and Billboard Magazine have joined forces with Popkomm as a global media partner, with particular emphasis on the IMEA project.
Popkomm-IMEA is joint project of Popkomm GmbH and Gerd Leonhard, CEO of ThinkAndLink (TAL), a digital music & media advisory agency, based in Basel, Switzerland and San Francisco, CA. TAL-partner Kelli Richards serves as co-producer and U.S. representative, and TAL-partner Wim Reijnen serves as Asia representative in Bangkok, Thailand. –Jane Cohen and Bob Grossweiner
