PARIS, France (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — The annual MIDEM conference, set to take place from January 18-21, 2009 in Cannes, France is the largest industry confab in the world. In 2008, the event was attended by more than 9,000 industry professionals representing more than 4,500 entertainment-related firms from across the globe.
The conference will kick off with a keynote address by Radiohead's co-manager Brian Message that will focus on new and developing business models, drawing from Message's experience with the Internet-based release of Radiohead's latest effort, "In Rainbows" that invited fans to pay only what they felt fair for the album.
The conference features a major trade show, numerous musical performances by established and up-and-coming acts, and an extensive array of seminars and workshops covering virtually all aspects of the business.
Among the subjects being addressed at this year's event:
Discover how live music can build business through brands and find out what is in store for ticketing and venue management.
The International Manager Summit: Managers discuss how to make the most of emerging opportunities for their artists and businesses.
The International Indie Summit: Indies, discuss issues, share solutions and meet people who can help you grow your business.
This year, MIDEM has also planning to hold the first International Publishing Summit, in association with the International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP).
"We have created this new event to respond to changes in the music market where publishers are playing an increasingly important role. The rapid growth of digital has transformed the profession of publishing and new revenue sources are emerging. This summit will bring together players from the publishing sector from around the world. In a series of conferences, they will discuss new economic models, licences and innovation and will exchange views on their different ways of working and solutions for the future," said Dominique Leguern, Director of MIDEM.
The publishing summit will feature a debate between the CEOs of two of the most important independent publishers: Andre de Raaff, CEO of Imagem Music, a company created at the start of this year which, having bought part of the Universal catalogue, represents The Kaiser Chiefs, Daft Punk, Vampire Weekend and Justin Timberlake, among others; and Ralph Peer II, Chairman and CEO of Peermusic, pioneers in the sector for 80 years, whose catalogue includes standards such as Besame Mucho, Brasil, Mas Que Nada, Mambo #5 and Mellow Yellow. They will share their views on the theme: "How can a publisher succeed today? What is the best business model?"
EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, ASCAP, IFPI, KODA, MCPS-PRS Alliance and SACEM are among the companies and industry bodies that will participate in the three other conferences of the day:
Publishers, labels and societies – Working together: An exploration of concrete initiatives to improve cooperation between the three parties – simplification of licences, more efficient procedures, etc.
Lyrics – Maximising licensing & business opportunities: will focus on new sources of revenue generated by song lyrics, notably through new digital outlets.
Publishers & collecting societies – New needs, new services: which will explore ways for rights collectors to better meet the needs of publishers through new services, clearer statements, etc.
Also, Don't miss this year's Midemnet, a lead-in to the MIDEM event that brings together some of the industry figures at the forefront of the convergence between entertainment and technology. This year's MidemNet will be keynoted by Tero Ojanpera, Nokia's executive vice president of Entertainment and Communities business. Ojanpera will discuss the launch of Nokia's unlimited "Comes with Music" service.
Tero Ojanpera, executive VP and head of the Nokia Entertainment and Communities business, will talk about the launch of the all-you-can-eat digital service Comes With Music in a keynote speech at MidemNet, the international forum that focuses on the music business in the digital age. MidemNet takes place on Jan. 17-18 in Cannes as part of MIDEM.
For more information, check MIDEM online at
