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Now the post-Cannes dust has settled, what were the biggest soundbites, highlights and concert nights of Midem 2015? They’re all in the Quick Review!
Among the countless business topics discussed this year, streaming and artists’ revenues were of course at the centre of discussion, with Deezer CEO Hans-Holger Albrecht commenting on the launch of Apple Music: “In some ways, Apple will help us a lot to educate the market.”
Whilst Tidal‘s chief investment officer Vania Schlogel emphasised “connection, curation and engagement” as the key assets of Jay-Z’s new streaming platform, SoundCloud‘s co-founder Alexander Ljung revealed that his company would focus on mobile in upcoming years. “Everything else is extra,” he said. Confidence was also key in Doug Morris’ keynote: the Sony Music Entertainment CEO asserted that streaming could nurse the industry back to full health.
What did other music industry veterans have to say about the current state of the business? Epic Records’ CEO LA Reid coined the most-retweeted quote of the market when he insisted that “engagement is more important than numbers”, emphasising quality of interactions over quantity of plays. As for the live sector, legendary promoter Harvey Goldsmith raised concerns over the lack of new stadium-filling rock acts and future festival headliners. Last but not least, ASCAP President Paul Williams urged digital distributors to “recognise the work of songwriters and composers.”
There are many reasons to hope in a brighter future for the industry though, as some of Midem 2015’s sessions showed. US artist and producer Ryan Leslie told the Midem crowd how he managed to create a whole ecosystem without the need of a major label, just by sending text messages to his fans. When seen as an opportunity rather than challenge, the internet can be a wonderful tool, as electronic music legend Juan Atkins pointed out: “The internet is making artists and young kids more creative than ever.”
Discover many more insights from the 2015 edition, plus photos of the Midemlab and Midem Marketing Competition winners — and of the Midem Festival, featuring the Midem Artist Accelerator and our focus on
This Quick Review was written by Rhian Jones. See you in 2016 in Cannes for an even bigger Midem!
article posted by:Christophe Chiappa, MIDEM