Midem 2017 news by MIDEM

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TUE.6 - FRI.9 JUNE 2017 • CANNES FRANCE

WHERE BUSINESS HAPPENS

Labels; Women In Music; Streaming; Sync; Global market for music; and Jessica Sobhraj more... 2017_MIDEM_NewsAd_215x200mm.pdf 1 16/05/17

WHERE TALENT SHINES

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Daddy Yankee

Live music in Cannes; Artist Accelerator finalists; Midemlab pitching competition; and more...

WHERE IDEAS GROW

Martine Reicherts

Midem Awards; Africa Focus; Copyright Summit; the EC in Cannes; and more...

Creative Europe is the European Union’s programme supporting culture and creativity Support for music comes within the actions of the Culture sub-programme and includes: • cooperation between cultural and creative organisations from different countries • networks helping the cultural and creative sector to operate competitively and transnationally • platforms to promote emerging artists and stimulate European programming

Music moves

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Creative Europe also supports the European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA), the European Music Awards for emerging artists. These awards celebrate new and border-breaking artists and aim at recognising their success in countries other than their own. In addition, with support from Creative Europe, several initiatives have been launched in 2017 to strengthen further the promotion of Europe's musical diversity. To learn more about the EU's activities relating to the music sector, visit the Music Moves Europe pavilion on the 4th floor or consult the European Commission's website (ec.europa.eu/creative-europe/music).

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Track and Capture the Value of Online Music Sacem and IBM Join Forces to Deliver New Global Online Music Copyright Management Platform

Showcase @ Midem Thursday 8th june 16:30 MainRoom

SOCIETY OF AUTHORS, COMPOSERS AND PUBLISHERS OF MUSIC

CONTENTS WHERE BUSINESS HAPPENS WHERE TALENT SHINES Labels adapt and evolve

Labels are at the core of the music industry and all three majors, as well as indies and associations, are in Cannes

Midem by night

Nightly live music from an unforgettable line-up of new and established talents

Women In Music

Midem Artist Accelerator

Streaming drives industry growth

Midemlab

Meet the world in Cannes

International Awards

Sony: creating a market

Sync opportunities on the rise

Musical milestones

Seeking out inspiration

News from the UK and Ireland

Midem is making gender equality a priority as it once again hosts a series of Meet The Women In Music events

Finalists in the Midem Artist Accelerator competition are mentored by top music names and perform live in Cannes

There is new optimism in the music industry thanks to two straight years of growth fuelled by streaming

Startups take part in the 10th Midemlab, which over the years has seen the birth of big-name music companies

A series of sessions in the Worldwide Village is aimed at helping delegates to get the best from the global market

Midem honours key figures who have shown ‘talent, leadership and passion’ in the music industry

Sony is sponsoring the Midem Artist Accelerator initiative. Noritaka Sawamura explains why

As music industry business models change, revenues from synchronisation are becoming increasingly important

Midem veterans celebrate key anniversaries in Cannes

French business cluster Cap Digital is at Midem looking for innovative ideas and startups

WHERE IDEAS GROW

A new vinyl pressing plant; Adele is a winner for Metropolis; and a royal honour goes to Horus Music

Africa gets digital boost

Industry calls for better sound

The EC in Cannes; IAEL Legal Summit

Midem presents a focus on the African music market as it seizes new opportunities presented by digital

The development of High-Res audio on consumer digital music services is high on Midem’s agenda

This year’s Copyright Summit provides the forum for authoritative debates on this complex aspect of the business

The EC returns to Midem with Music Moves Europe initiative; Legal Summit focuses on technology

THE OFFICIAL MIDEM NEWS • June 2017

Director of Publications Paul Zilk Director of Communications Mike Williams EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor in Chief Julian Newby Deputy Editor Debbie Lincoln Head Of Graphic Studio Hervé Traisnel Graphic Studio Manager Frédéric Beauseigneur Graphic Designer Carole Peres Contributing Editors Stuart Dredge, Juliana Koranteng, Gary Smith Editorial Management Boutique Editions Ltd. PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT Publishing Director Martin Screpel Publishing Manager Amrane Lamiri Publishing Co-ordinators Yovana Filipovic, Emilie Lambert Printer Riccobono Imprimeurs, Le Muy (France) Reed MIDEM, a joint stock company (SAS), with a capital of €310.000, 662 003 557 R.C.S. NANTERRE, having offices located at 27-33 Quai Alphonse Le Gallo - 92100 BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT (FRANCE), VAT number FR91 662 003 557. Contents © 2017, Reed MIDEM Market Publications. Publication registered 2nd quarter 2017. ISSN 1147-6877

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WELCOME TO MIDEM

‘It’s my duty to serve and support the industry’ Midem is “where business happens, it’s where talent shines, and it’s where ideas grow”. That’s the message from newlyappointed director Alexandre Deniot. He spoke to the Midem News ahead of this year’s event

N WHAT ways does Midem enable delegates to do business? There are 85 countries coming to Cannes and for business this is very important; everybody can meet who they need to meet at Midem and that saves them time and money. Also, every day there is a different focus on how to make money with musical content. Where is the new growth in the industry is coming from? In 2016 global recorded music revenue increased by 5.9%, the highest rate for the last 20 years. For the first time, digital accounts for 50% of global revenue, lead by streaming. Music consumption is now exploding with a growth of 60.4%. By changing the listening experience, making it personalised, improving discoverability of catalogues and creating a stronger link with music fans, streaming services improve the monetisation of music, opening new business opportunities for artists, labels, publishers and even for the live music ecosystem. It’s an exciting time for the industry where the old fashioned way of doing business between rights owners is now challenged. Tell us about some of the talent that is coming to Midem.

Well we have musical talent and business talent — and we are nurturing that talent. We have two big competitions. Midemlab, which is a competition for music startups, is now in its 10th year and we have some great stories from past winners — we had SoundCloud 10 years ago; we also had Kickstarter and Echo Nest — which has now been bought by Spotify. So a lot of big companies started here at Midem. Also we have the Midem Artist Accelerator for new artists — that’s in its third year. We had 600 entries this year from 66 countries — last year it was 500 so that’s a big increase. Finally, 11 of those artists will play on the Majestic beach across the week. It’s part of our duty to help young artists to get established.

Midem’s Alexandre Deniot: “nurturing the talent” to Mike Shinoda, lead singer of Linkin Park, and many others. It will be very interesting and inspiring.

How do “ideas grow” at Midem? In part, through the wide range of key topics covered in our panels and keynotes. We bring to our audience music industry insiders with strong points of view, and fascinating stories to share. The quality and the level of our speakers this year is just amazing, from Steve Bartels CEO of Def Jam, to Andy Ng, vice-president of Tencent, from Sarah Stennett, CEO of First Access Entertainment,

Growth is back, but what challenges does the industry still face? As streaming now drives recorded music revenue, the value gap remains the most important challenge for the industry. The situation will have to change and solutions will need to be found in order to create sustainable growth for the future.

Co-ordination among labels and streaming platforms will be critical in shaping and maximising this positive trend. What is your message to Midem delegates? I intend to make this Midem the most useful as possible. And that is my duty — to serve and support the industry. I want to make sure that we are extra careful about the needs and the expectations of all the attendees, in order to bring the best of Midem to them.

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Music is GREAT presents

British Music at Midem Majestic Hotel Beach | From 8pm | Tuesday 6th June

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BUSINESS

Chance the Rapper: no label

Liars teamed up with Urban Outfitters

In a changing industry labels adapt and evolve Labels are at the very core of the music industry and all three major labels are attending Midem in force this year, alongside key independents and label trade associations, including AIM, WIN, BPI, A2IM, VUT, IMPALA, and many more. Gary Smith reports

RANGE of Midem sessions held in Cannes this week have relevance to the way in which the role of labels is changing. Subjects under discussion include monetisation via streaming and sync, A&R, marketing, and the importance of

international development. Alongside that, there is a session developed with BMVI, FIMI, SNEP, and European members of Parliament, on the value gap. As Geoff Taylor, chief executive BPI & BRIT Awards says: “The fundamental role of the label — helping art-

ists to realise their creative vision and connect with a wider audience — has remained constant, but the way in which labels do this continues to evolve. Artist development is changing, because breaking artists takes longer in the streaming environment and the

focus is increasingly on building the artist brand and audience rather than on promoting a specific album release. Labels now manage enormous complexity, dealing with many hundreds of digital channels right across the world, and have become expert

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BUSINESS

Mute Records’ Daniel Miller

in understanding and leveraging a huge volume of data to inform marketing strategies and present new opportunities to artists, particularly in the areas of brand partnerships, sync, merchandise and live, and inevitably, the relationship between label and artist has become more flexible, with labels offering different kinds of partnerships.” British labels have been particularly effective in helping artists to cut through and stand out in an increasingly competitive global market. “In 2015, for example, one in every six albums sold worldwide was by a UK artist and labels are now enjoying the benefits of their transformed business models, with UK trade income increasing by 5.1% in 2016. However, sustainable growth can only be realised if the UK government makes creative businesses a priority postBrexit. That means making sure British artists can tour freely in EU markets and that our businesses can access the best talent. It also means making clear

Geoff Taylor, chief executive BPI & BRIT Awards

Playground Music’s Patrik Larsson

emotion and about building an authentic dialogue online with the right demographic. We see that traditional media and many of the commercial partners we used to depend on to help us break new talent now lean back more and let us do the initial hard work, but once success has come we get their support.” Mute Records CEO and founder Daniel Miller sees little change in the fundamentals of label life, but elsewhere it’s a different story: “Day to day, labels were and still are a mixture of elation and frustration, with many shades of grey in between. There’s no better feeling than releasing a record that you love that clicks with the public, equally there’s no bigger frustration when another record that you love just as much is widely ignored,” he says. “But what really has changed is how income is generated and collected. We are much more dependent on licensing our music for sync, which is the opposite of how things used to be. I remember when no

through our laws that huge online platforms must pay fair royalties for the music they exploit to build their businesses,” Taylor added. Patrik Larsson, A&R man-

“There’s no better feeling than releasing a record that you love that clicks with the public” Daniel Miller ager at Playground Music — and member of the Artistic Comittee of this year’s Midem Artist Accelerator — agrees with Taylor: “Labels still serve a useful purpose, and especially indie labels are expected to find raw talent early and take a bet on their music, dedicating time, money and resources in trying to get this artist or group to a bigger audience,” he says, “The challenge, of course, is to meet expectations and to balance a long-term way of thinking with the fact that things happen so quickly these days. Now more than ever it’s about telling a story, about selling a true

band on Mute would allow their music to be used in an advert, but these days we generate a lot of our income from sponsorships and US TV shows that use our music. Plus, we work with various platforms and brands on the basis that if they support us in making a video, which means we can make a better video, they get an exclusive window. A recent example was Mess On a Mission by Liars for which we teamed up with Urban Outfitters.” Diego Farias, co-founder & CEO of mobile-only label Amuse, is taking a different approach: “Our mobile service is a one-stop-shop for artists who usually travel a lot, one that works for them whether they are uploading a new track, checking their stats or collecting revenue,” he says. “The whole music sales funnel in 2017 is digital. That means a new way of discovering music, a new way of consuming music and a new way of evaluating sales and success. The artists of today understand the new model and demand transparency. Our way of

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BUSINESS

Def Jam Recordings’ Steve Bartels

adapting to their requirements is only to do license deals and to provide fast and ultra-transparent sales data and reporting. The biggest challenge for labels in the future will be to stay relevant and to offer a service to artists that they really need and want. Staying

“The entire industry is on an upward trend and the emergence of streaming has opened the door to greater discovery and consumption of music than ever before” Steve Bartels

agile and attentive will be the new mottos to live by.” Agility is also very much part of Def Jam Recordings CEO Steve Bartels’ mantra: “The entire industry is on an upward trend and the emergence of streaming has opened the door to greater discovery and consumption of music than ever before. We are seeing our projects have a longer

VUT and Freibank’s Mark Chung

A2IM’s Richard James Burgess

ter information relating to past performance than to the future,” he says. “Most labels have been reducing exposure to their biggest risk — A&R investments — by signing artists in later stages of their development. This has two effects: a large proportion of the risks and efforts associated with artist development is shifted to publishers and the artists themselves, and labels can often expect only license or distribution arrangements. As to the horizon, the silver lining has been expanding, at least for companies with deep catalogues, and hopefully we will eventually get YouTube to pay a fair share of revenues to creators.” Richard James Burgess CEO of A2IM also sees data as a game changer: “Our industry has had charts for about 70 years and today this has become an epidemic of data. Accurately interpreting and utilising quantitative information from today’s plethora of sources has never been more demanding on our resources or important for the dis-

life, and that affords us opportunities to be creative and forward-thinking in our strategies,” says Bartels,ß a Midem Keynote speaker this year. “For me it’s been a rewarding and enriching time. Def Jam has now been a stand-alone label within UMG for three years, and we are really beginning to see the fruits of that transition. Throughout the process, I’ve worked closely with, and nurtured relationships with an unparalleled roster of artists and an amazing team of executives. I’ve had access to so much new information, data, analytics, great A&R and team-building, it’s been exciting and rewarding. I’m a positive guy, and I can’t wait for what’s next.” Like Farias, Mark Chung, member of the board of German trade association VUT, and CEO of Freibank, sees a data-driven future: “A&R decisions have been increasingly driven by data rather than vision. Data, especially when only crudely understood or incomplete, however, provides far bet-

covery and development of an artist,” he says. “In a streaming world, labels and artists only generate revenues from recordings for as long as the audience keeps playing the tracks. Promotion is no longer a “first weekend big box office” affair, it’s a continuous process. Understanding who and where your audience is can be critical. Additionally, in a universe dominated by playlists, albums don’t mean as much as they did — the track rules. In five years we have seen artists (Chance the Rapper being the most prominent recent example) achieving commercial success, ostensibly without a label, largely via streaming. Nevertheless, it takes a village to develop an artist whether you call that village a label or not. A2IM has more labels today than at any previous time and we are approached by new indies constantly. These labels can develop out of DIY efforts by artists, songwriters, and producers but, make no mistake, entrepreneurs are still starting labels.”

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BUSINESS

Meet the Women in Music

Lara Baker

Marketing & events director Association of Independent Music (UK) “It’s only in recent years that calls for greater diversity have begun to gather momentum. AIM recognised the gender inequality over 10 years ago. Then-CEO Alison Wenham got tired of being the only woman on various industry boards. Since then, we’ve organised the annual Women In Music conference, the Women In Music Awards and recently launched free public-speaking training workshops for women in music. “I would like to see companies developing diversity policies and adapting their attitudes and environments to be more flexible and inclusive. That would help great female talent to stay on and progress to the senior levels of the industry. There are plenty of men supporting moves towards equality in the music business, and I encourage those men to call out sexism, sexual harassment and disrespect when they see it.”

MIDEM is making gender equality in the international music business a priority as it hosts an ambitious programme of events which includes the inaugural Women In Music Brunch and panel. Juliana Koranteng reports

RGANISED with Jessica Sobhraj, president of the US-based organisation Women in Music and CEO of content-protection platform Cosynd, Midem’s Meet The Women In Music sessions offer opportunities to meet with the industry’s influential female decision-makers. The programme includes the first Women In Music Brunch and panel — sponsored by Help Musicians UK, Fox Rothschild LLP, ASCAP, Cosynd and Sparkplug — taking place on the rooftop of the Palais, and a number of networking sessions which have been a regular feature of Midem’s Women In Music initiative for the past four years. The programme features top executives from major organisations including Nielsen Music, The French Export Office and UK independent-labels body AIM. “We applaud Midem’s efforts to include more women in their programming as panelists, speakers, and more. This is why we’re so proud to return,” Sobhraj says.

Cherry Chunfei Guo Attorney/senior partner Tiantai Law (China)

“I see a lot of women around me working in the music business and also found the same trend in my legal field. There are more young female lawyers than male lawyers in the intellectual property (IP) department in my law firm. Even in China’s IP courts, female judges occupy a considerable number of positions. “Midem is an international platform for the music industry. By connecting women attendees, it has a unique channel for bringing together women in the music business from different countries. By reporting their stories, it lets the world know about their achievements.”

Here we speak to a number of key music industry executives about how their contribution to the sector is increasingly being recognised.

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30/05/2017 14:59

BUSINESS Sandra Gama

Nikoo Sadr

Chief legal officer IMusica Corp (Brazil)

Manager, interactive marketing The Orchard (UK) “I’m lucky to work in an organisation where women and diversity in general is not only important to talk about and discuss but is also a vital part of the success of our business. I think it’s inspirational to have so many women in key positions that can mentor and lead the way for others within our company. “On the creative side, I would love to see the continued growth of songwriters and producers, not only with more women but also with more visibility for the women working in the industry. They need recognition in their own right. I think that’s inevitable in the future.”

“Not only do we see the gender issues and women’s roles in our business addressed in press, events, music community and other discussion groups, but also in our daily meetings with dealmakers, influencers and entrepreneurs. iMusica has been in the market for 17 years, and when I joined two years ago, I was very happy to find a company that has succeeded through a diverse group of decision-makers.”

Marie-Anne Robert

Vice president, international TuneCore (France)

Jessica Sobhraj

“At TuneCore, we’ve cultivated a very inclusive environment where women are empowered to grow and half of our management roles are filled by women. “These events are key in helping spread the word and inform the rest of the industry of the many talented women working throughout the music space. The event also creates a wonderful place for women to network. “As a recent transplant from Paris to New York, the organisation made me feel like I was part of a community and helped in my transition.”

President, US-based Women in Music (WIM) and CEO of Cosynd, the contentprotection platform “WIM not only provides educational and professional resources to women at all stages of their career, but we also place a concerted effort on showcasing leading women in the hopes that doing so will serve to encourage other women to aspire to the same.”

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BUSINESS

Streaming drives industry growth

After a decade and a half of decline, the music industry is currently striking an optimistic tune, thanks to two straight years of growth fuelled by streaming. Stuart Dredge reports

HE UPWARD trend in streaming was most recently quantified by industry body the IFPI, which published its annual Global Music Report in April, collating figures for recorded-music revenues from sales, streams, performance rights and sync in 2016. The headline figure was a 5.9% rise in global revenues to $15.7bn in 2016, following a 3.6% increase the previous year. That is still far off the $23.8bn of revenues in 1999 — a figure that didn’t include performance rights or sync — but

the return to growth is fuelling a buoyant mood within the music industry, as well as a determination to keep that momentum going. Streaming is the driver of this growth. In 2016, revenues from paid subscriptions and free, ad-supported streaming services grew by 60.4%, while those from physical music sales fell by 7.6%, and downloads by 20.5%. Digital now accounts for 50% of global recorded-music revenues, while streaming already accounts for 59% of that digital income for labels. Within that, paid sub-

scriptions are the key to the market’s surge. The industry ended 2016 with 97 million people paying for a streaming subscription, and 112 million using one, thanks to the growth of ‘family plans’ where one account-holder pays for an entire household. The streaming market is often presented as a head-tohead battle between Spotify and Apple Music, with their 50 million and 20 million subscribers respectively: both milestones from late 2016, so certainly higher now. However, the market is also

enlivened by Amazon’s emergence targeting an evenmore mainstream audience; US service Pandora’s move into premium subscriptions and plans to expand globally; ongoing competition from mid-tier global players including Deezer, Google Play, Tidal and Napster; and strong local services, for example Saavn in India to QQ Music in China. “Streaming as a digital content platform remains a fastgrowing industry and this will continue for the foreseeable future, as the rate of adoption and people’s willing-

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30/05/2017 15:05

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Chile Gig at MIDEM 2017 Wednesday 7 June Showcase

20:10 - 20:50 Venue: Cannes Beach Open Bar at Restaurant Majestic Beach

LIVE

De Mรณnaco

Miss Garrison PANEL: Make it in Chile! Thursday 8 June 11:15-12:15 Palais des Festivals: Worldwide Village Meet the Chileans! Speed-meeting Thursday 8 June 15:30-16:30 Palais des Festivals: Networking Hub CHILE Pavilion Palais des Festivals: P4B8

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26-05-17 14:21

BUSINESS

Qobuz’s Denis Thebaud

UMG India’s Devraj Sanyal

Deezer’s Hans-Holger Albrecht

ness to pay for a subscription service increases,” says Hans-Holger Albrecht, CEO of streaming service Deezer. However, he also predicts that the intense competition at a global scale will lead to some consolidation in the market. “As the industry grows, so will the competition. It is our expectation therefore that we will continue to see the bigger players outspend the smaller players, which will ultimately force consolidation,” Albrecht says. “Whether we have the same number of streaming companies as individual entities at the end of this year remains questionable.” While the IFPI’s headline figures were global, the underlying trends vary by region. One source of optimism is that even the most mature streaming markets, which could be seen as nearing saturation point, are still growing. Spotify’s homeland of Sweden saw recorded-music revenues grow by 6% in 2016, according to the IFPI, while Norway’s grew by 12.3% that year. “It is hugely encouraging that countries such as Norway and Sweden, which are

the most advanced premium subscription markets in the world, are still seeing growth in streaming revenue,” says Magnus Ribbeklint, vicepresident of marketing at Warner Music Nordics. “Services are still signing up new users and converting existing customers to premium services, but they are also fuelling growth through offerings such as family plans. We’re seeing incredibly high levels of engagement from music fans who are benefiting from ever-improving levels of curation on digital services.”

Spotify’s top four markets by usage now, with plenty more room for growth. “There’s still a huge addressable global market to be turned on to streaming in established and developing markets, so we have a long way to go,” says Jules Parker, European director of publisher and songwriter relations at Spotify. “These are early days for streaming, despite its influence on the global music industry.” Deezer’s Albrecht agrees that Latin America (LatAm) and the Asia Pacific (APAC) regions will be key. “We can also expect stronger growth from LatAm and APAC with more people willing and able to adapt their music catalogue and to tailor their offerings,” he says. Streaming’s growth is also sparking excitement about the speed with which artists from one part of the world can break globally, particularly when they have the backing of the most popular curated playlists on the streaming services. “In my opinion, 2017 to 2020 will be a most amazing time for new and emerging artists. It is my most fervent belief that the next hit can come from virtually any-

“It is my most fervent belief that the next hit can come from virtually anywhere” Devraj Sanyal

At the other end of the scale, emerging markets are also fuelling the industry’s positive mood around streaming. Latin America was the continent with the highest level of growth in 2016, with revenues rising by 12% — that’s also driven by streaming. And Brazil and Mexico are two of

where,” says Devraj Sanyal, managing director and CEO for Universal Music Group (UMG) India and South Asia. “We are already working with some of the greatest producers and songwriters in the world for our local artists to create the next generation of music for the global market, which traditionally has always been led by artists from the US, UK, France and Europe.” For all this optimism, there are of course still controversies around the impact of streaming, particularly when it comes to free, advertising-supported services like YouTube. Google’s video service continues to be an important partner for the music industry, as shown when Ed Sheeran recently launched every song from his new album Divide as a YouTube video on its release day, quickly racking up more than one billion views. YouTube also said in December 2016 that it had paid out more than $1bn to the music industry from advertising in the previous 12 months. However, music rightsholders and industry bodies continue to protest that YouTube should be paying more,

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BUSINESS

Warner Music’s Magnus Ribbeklint

Spotify’s Jules Parker

SoudCloud’s Raoul Chatterjee

Amazon’s Rishi Mirchandani

and that its ‘safe harbour’ legal protections should be removed, to force it to license music in the same way that Spotify, Apple Music and other services do. Some executives hope the music industry does not turn its back on the fans, who are using ad-supported services rather than paying for a subscription. “The hardest group for streaming services to monetise are the consumers who are not interested in a subscription due to the perceived value vs costs,” says SoundCloud’s European director of content partnerships Raoul Chatterjee. “For these people, the ad-supported arena still has a huge role to play. Optimising the mix of content, ad loads and targeting on these services is essential to give consumers some access but, ideally, leave them wanting more.” Other streaming trends you can expect to hear discussed on and off-stage at Midem include a drive to sign more mainstream music fans up to subscriptions, with Amazon at the forefront. “We think there are many areas of streaming music that the mainstream listener

wants, but most importantly we think simplicity is key,” says Rishi Mirchandani, director of content acquisition at Amazon Music. Amazon is also playing a key role in one of the key hardware trends of 2017: the popularity of ‘smart speakers’ like its Echo devices and the Alexa assistant, which can serve music up in response to voice commands.

popular, and thus more lucrative for the music industry. Qobuz, for example, has launched a tier of its service called Sublime+ which offers a mixture of high-res streams and downloads, and costs €349.99 a year. “In every market you have two trends: a trend for lower-quality and cheaper prices, but this co-exists with another trend: for more ed-

panies is crucial to drive future growth. We have the medium through streaming services to reach fans, but we need to ensure that we are constantly supplying great new music for them to enjoy, to keep their level of engagement up,” says Warner Music Nordic’s Ribbeklint. “I am optimistic that if we continue to discover and break interesting local and international artists then we will see growth ahead.” That said, from Chance the Rapper’s famous Apple Music partnership to goit-alone grime artists and YouTube-native musicians, streaming services are also fuelling opportunities for artists outside labels. “These days you can get your music straight from the studio to the consumer,” says British artist Adian Coker, who is one of the Midem Artist Accelerator finalists in 2017. “The tastemakers and gatekeepers aren’t as all powerful as they were, so it gives artists direct access to consumers and fans… Anything that removes obstacles for artists releasing music and creates more opportunities is definitely a good thing.”

“There’s still a huge addressable global market to be turned on to streaming in established and developing markets” Jules Parker

ucated or more passionate users, sometimes with more money but not always, who look for better quality,” says Qobuz CEO Denis Thebaud. Perhaps the most important streaming trend is the way the subscription-fuelled growth in industry revenues is spurring labels to devote more resources not just to digital innovation and partnerships, but to the traditional, creative elements of their businesses. “Investment in A&R and marketing by record com-

“Alexa, and the Echo, has changed the way people access and listen to music in the home. They have brought music listening back into the home, as a communal experience,” says Mirchandani. “We created a more natural music listening experience, with unbelievably simple interactions for customers to discover and listen to what they want.” Services including Deezer, Tidal and Qobuz are also hoping to make higher-quality ‘hi-res’ streaming more

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BUSINESS

Come to Cannes and see the world Thinking cross-border is truly essential in order to succeed in the music business today, and Midem is featuring a series of sessions in the Worldwide Village aimed at helping delegates to get the best from the global market. Gary Smith reports

N OUR hyper-connected world, it should be easier today to break talent internationally, than ever before. But while it is easier to send out your message, getting it heard is more chal-

lenging than ever because everyone is doing it. As BMG Rights management CEO and member of the Midem Advisory Board, Hartwig Masuch, says: “The combination of streaming and social me-

dia has leveled the playing field for talent wherever it comes from. Music fans want the best music regardless of origin. At the same time it has become more difficult for any individual song or art-

ist to break through because there is simply so much competition. In some ways that’s good news, but it also poses challenges for newer artists.” He adds: “I think the industry’s focus on this issue is

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Music Industry Insights Learn, share and get inspired by the biggest trends in the music industry with: Midemblog the reference platform for cutting-edge content from music industry influencers The Resources section with exclusive interviews, reports & white papers The Industry Trends Newsletter a monthly update on the music industry

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26/05/2017 13:47

BUSINESS

BMG Rights’ CEO Hartwig Masuch

The BPI’s Chris Tams

over-exaggerated. In a world where two-thirds of listening on streaming services is

devoted to catalogue, does it really make sense that the vast majority of the industry’s resources are devoted to unknown artists? Rather “The combination of than saying that streaming streaming and social has made it more difficult media has leveled the to break new artists, it may playing field for be more accurate to say that when people are given the talent” choice of all the music in the Hartwig Masuch EVENTS_NEWS_DEM 034_INFERNO world, they tend to choose

IMPALA’s Helen Smith

Cargo Records’ Alexander Warnke

proven favourites. New artists like Max Giesinger (Germany), Jack Savoretti (UK) or LP (US) are a vital part of what we do, but they are not all that we do.” In terms of getting the most from a corporate structure, Masuch has garnered much praise for his non-traditional approach: “Ideally you need a territory-neutral structure

which allows successes to emerge from anywhere, but that’s not something the music industry has traditionally achieved,” he says. “Given that we launched in 2008, the same week as Spotify, when it was already clear that the new world is a global world, we designed BMG as a truly international company from the outset.

20 – 23 SEPT. 2017 HAMBURG/GERMANY

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BUSINESS P AVIL IONS AT M IDEM

EVERYBODY NEEDS GOOD NEIGHBOURS ALEXANDER Warnke, in charge of rights management, neighbouring rights, publishing and sync at Cargo Records: “For international labels and artists these days it is crucial to maximise income from every available channel. Neighbouring rights collection is an ever-more important source of income for labels and musicians, and even if it’s not as high as publishing income or concert fees, it’s definitely too much to ignore. For instance in Germany GEMA (for copyright, publishing) collects 100% of the revenue, then gives 20% to GVL (neighbouring rights), which will be shared 50/50 by artist and labels.”

l A2IM – AMERICAN INDEPENDENTS PAVILION l AFRO BEATS PAVILION l BRAZILIAN PAVILION l BRITISH MUSIC AT MIDEM PAVILION l CANADIAN PAVILION l CHINA AUDIO VIDEO AND DIGITAL PUBLISHING PAVILION l CHILE - CONSEJO NACIONAL DE LA CULTURA Y LAS ARTES l CREATIVE CATALONIA l CZECH REPUBLIC PAVILION l DUTCH PAVILION – BUMA CULTUUR l GERMAN PAVILION l GREECE - HELLENIC MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND SPORTS l HOTS - HUNGARIAN ONCOMING TUNES l JAPANESE PAVILION l MACEDONIA PAVILION – TRETO UVO MACEDONIA l MINISTERE DE LA CULTURE ET DE LA COMMUNICATION l SABAM – BELGIUM PAVILION l SACEM l SCPP – SOCIETE CIVILE DES PRODUCTEURS PHONOGRAPHIQUES l SIAE - SOCIETAITALIANA DEGLI AUTORI ED EDITORI l SOUNDS AUSTRALIA l SOUTH AFRICA PAVILION - IMEXSA l SPPF - LES LABELS INDEPEPENDANTS l SWEDISH PAVILION - EXPORT MUSIC SWEDEN l SWISS PAVILION l TAIWAN l TURKISH MUSIC INDUSTRY

That means that rather than having a traditional structure with a series of loosely managed national companies, we operate as a single company with multiple offices. With an international perspective hard-wired into what we do, and short reporting lines, it is a lot easier to spot artists and songwriters with international potential and give them the support they need. A great example has been LP, a US-based singer-songwriter who first broke out of Greece, then spread to Italy and France and is now beginning to take off in the UK. Our philosophy is Sign Local, Think Global.” According to the BPI’s Chris Tams, director of independent member services and international, attending Midem is more pivotal than ever: “It’s hugely important,” he says. “At Midem last year, the UK Pavilion had 153 delegates from 85 companies (55% labels/40% publishers/5% others) and they collectively generated over £2m (€2.36) in forecasted business. But it’s not enough to just bring them along, it’s crucial that you help to educate your members, and to impress upon them the need to do more than just try to sell. For example we encourage them to think about signing artists from the labels and companies they are engaging with

as well as seeking to place their own acts. And generally, it’s healthy to approach an event with an open mind, because that way you are more likely to generate repeat business and create further opportunities.” Tams cites the example of Horus Music, which won the Queen’s Award for its export success this year: ”They came with us to India on a joint AIM/BPI/DIT trade mission three years ago, and were so impressed that they opened an office there which is now firmly established and doing very well,” Tams says. “Also we have been organising an event for the last 13 years in Los Angeles called the LA Sync Mission, which is very well attended and regularly generates in the region of $2m (€1.82) in sync licenses. What we do beforehand is make sure that the younger companies who are taking part are ready and that they have all their rights in place, because you only get one chance to make a first impression. As a result the professionals who come from the TV, film and gaming industries trust us and the labels that we bring along.” While on the one hand, aiming for an international career is a no-brainer, Scott Cohen, co-founder of The Orchard, and a member of the Midem

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BUSINESS Advisory Board, points out a fundamental truth about “Midem is the best how it works: “What people place to get to know forget is that meeting others that whole new layer face-to-face and hanging out of younger people together at events is crucial who are now part of to creating an international business network. Back in the industry” the day we used to arrive at Scott Cohen Midem with a box of CDs and you had no choice but to interact. These days however, days may be gone, and builda lot of younger people think ing an international network sending an email is enough, never was and never will be but they have to realise that easy, but everyone still needs you need platforms like Mi- an anchor point for doing dem to get to know people, business, and a lot of busibecause once you do that ness gets done in Cannes,” he you have their ear, and then says. “In some ways borders they will take the time to lis- are less significant than they were before the digital era, ten to you.” Equally for the older genera- but you still need marketing tions who have been coming drivers to get a hook in to to Midem for years, Cohen any local market. We work sees added value: “It’s the closely with labels and probest place to get to know vide a range of tools to help that whole new layer of them generate international younger people who are now business, but the truth is that part of the industry. The old magic happens all the time 019v3_TURKEY_NEWS_DEM

FOCUS ON THE BALKANS IMPALA executive chair Helen Smith: “IMPALA’s role is to shine a deeper and wider light across the music sector and promote the work of our younger labels. This is what energises the independent sector. Our Young Label Spotlight project continues at Midem this year, where we will also have a special focus on the Balkans where again young labels are leading the way.” like a Scandinavian band suddenly becoming big in South America, but you cannot reverse-engineer success. It’s a bit like asking someone how they won the lottery.” Sounds Australia’s export music producer Glenn Dickie agrees with Cohen about the importance of meeting people. “There are only three of us and we rely hugely on festivals and trade events to do our job,” he says. “We attend between 17 and 20 per year, and part of our job is to choose the best possible acts for each market because

we work across all genres. It is not easy but we’re very proud of the fact that you’ll see a number of Australian acts including Courtney Barnett, Flume, Sheppard, Empire of the Sun and The Amity Affliction with a steady global touring schedule, plus more agents than ever globally have Australian acts on their books. Skate punk act Sheppard are doing very well in South America, and generally we are seeing that market open up like never before, especially in Argentina, Brazil and Chile.”

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BUSINESS

‘Music gives people inspiration’ This year, Sony is sponsoring the Midem Artist Accelerator initiative with this message in mind: ‘Music gives people inspiration and something to strive for in their lives’

RTISTS will always be creating music for the purpose of pleasing and inspiring people. It will never go away, which is why Sony’s senior general manager, branding and product planning, Noritaka Sawamura, says the company is “grateful for the opportunity to support the Midem Artist Accelerator”. Sawamura, describes Sony’s dynamic as like “two driving wheels of a car” — one is Sony Music Entertainment, developing the artists and creating the music, and the other is Sony as a manufacturer, providing the equipment on which the music is played. “Sony’s aim is to develop the market,” Sawamura says. “Sony created the Walkman which allowed people to carry music with them outside their homes. Sony also developed the CD, thus starting the process that brought music out of analogue and into digital. Recently, Sony has been involved in the development of High-Res technology, which enables highquality music reproduction — one aim of which is to improve the experience of listening to music on the move. Now you can listen to music anywhere, and moreover with the quality of sound that the artist intended to deliver to the listener, thus providing a more intense experience. Sawamura recalled that the Sony president Kazuo Hirai spoke at MIPCOM

Noritaka Sawamura: “We want young people to have a new experience with their smartphones, turning them into Hi-Res natives” “Young people listen to music on headphones,” Sawamura said. “In fact, the whole of the Signature Series is popular with young people. We want young people to have a new experience with their smartphones, turning them into High-Res natives. It’s a completely different world, almost like listening to a different piece of music.” He added: “These headphones can certainly provide KANDO — by enabling users to be totally immersed in the music even if there is noise going on around them. This can in-turn activate the music industry and inspire more music lovers.”

last year on the theme of ‘KANDO’, “which is Japanese for ‘deeply moved’”. Through such developments, Sony’s intention is that its customers are not only music lovers, but also an active part of the music industry. For example, Sony introduced the Signature Series range of high-end audio products last year, and also a new set of High-Res stereo headphones called MDR1000X, which feature noisecancelling technology. The development of such a product is a direct result of Sony’s merging of soft and hard — of making products for music lovers and creators.

Meanwhile musicians will be Sony’s main target at Midem. “We want to communicate with musicians in Cannes, as many as possible,” Sawamura said, adding that he wants to hear from them what they think of Sony. “With this High-Res technology artists can feel the atmosphere of the space they’re in while they listen to high-quality music,” Sawamura added. “So this year at Midem, where all these music professionals are gathered, I want to show them how our sound products can help them be more creative, so that they can make even more fantastic music.”

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BUSINESS 13 Reasons Why, a sync opportunity for Third Side Music

Sync opportunities are on the rise

LOBAL revenues from music synchronisation grew by 2.8% in 2016 to $364.1m, according to industry body the IFPI. Although down from the 7% rise in 2015, it showed continued growth for this music-industry sector. Sync has also become an established and welcome segment of performers’ and songwriters’ incomes, at a time when the wider evolution of the recorded-music market from sales to streams has sparked discussions about the fortunes of artists below the top tier of stars. “A couple of years ago, doing a sync deal was seen as signing a contract with the devil,” says Jenny Ring, music supervisor at Swedish advertising agency Forsman & Bodenfors. “Now, a lot of artists and labels, see a value of it in an other way and want their music to be synced.”

sync market than we were a few years ago. It seems that agencies in international markets are increasingly seeing the value of licensing interesting music,” he says. “We’ve had ad placement opportunities recently in Turkey, Brazil, South Korea, Australia, UK, France and Holland, to go along with the numerous placements in the US and Canada.” For Charlotte Von Kotze, director of music at Vice Media, there is also a trend for supervisors to cast their nets wider to find great tracks to license. That’s partly fuelled by the supervisors’ ability to use various streaming services to discover new material. “There’s an overwhelming quantity of music available online, which gives the opportunity to select up-andcoming, international, local and indie artists that have yet to be discovered,” Von Kotze says. “I’ll also actively listen

Ring points to music publishers putting even more effort into the sync side of the business, working more closely with supervisors to connect them with composers and respond to briefs. Labels, too, see the growing value in their sync divisions, as they compete to forge partnerships in the film, TV and gaming worlds, as well as new frontiers including online video. In revenue terms, the US remains the big beast of the sync market, accounting for 56% of global sync revenues in 2016 according to the IFPI, with a long drop to Japan (9%), the UK and France (both 8%). There are some encouraging signs elsewhere in the world, according to Patrick Curley, president of sync-licensing and copyright administration firm Third Side Music. “We’re seeing way more action in the international advertising

There was a time when artistic integrity could disuade artists from agreeing to their music being used in a commercial or promotional context. But as music-industry business models change, this revenue stream is becoming important. Stuart Dredge reports to radio podcasts, go to record fairs and explore local markets anytime I travel. It’s always good to expand my knowledge and network as I might have specific needs for specific campaigns at any moment in the future.” That’s good news for the labels, publishers and artists who’ll be pitching tracks to Von Kotze and eight other high-profile supervisors in Midem’s Global Sync & Brands Summit, presented by A&R Worldwide/MUSEXPO and part of the Sync Day sponsored by SynchAudio, on June 7. Another key trend in the sync market is the continued growth of video-on-demand services, for example Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, which between them are expected to spend $10.5bn on shows and films in 2017 alone. Tony Scudellari, senior vicepresident of television music

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BUSINESS for Sony Pictures, says that the ‘originals’ being commissioned by these companies offer a broader creative canvas for songwriters, composers and artists. “Music budgets tend to be a bit better, so you have a bit more creative freedom. Having to create a unique musical voice provides more opportunities for new artists or for placement of deep cuts. There is also more of an opportunity for creation of original songs for in the body of a show,” he says. Vice Media’s Charlotte Von Kotze “Because Netflix, Amazon and online content providers Saul on AMC,” he says. usually don’t have the same Vice Media is a good examtypes of restriction on time, ple of another trend around main title sequences tend to the sync world: the blurring be longer, which means the of the boundaries between return of the theme song, online video — its roots makwhich is something that ing content predominantly makes me very happy!” for YouTube distribution — Third Side Music’s Curley and traditional television. agrees that the growth of Von Kotze says that the ocvideo-on-demand — Netflix casional bumps of licensing alone has more than 100 mil- music for online video should lion subscribers now — is pro- not be taken for granted by viding opportunities for sync either side of the synchroniexecutives and the creators sation equation. that they represent. “We’ve “New formats also present a had great placements recent- challenge for music supervily for our represented writers sion, as well as new opporin high-profile series such as tunities. TrueView, Shazam, Handmaid’s Tale for Hulu and Snapchat, Prommercial, VR, 13 Reasons Why and Girl Boss branded content vs. comfor Netflix, and also a really mercial, the rise of web TV cool long use of Can’t Leave series… all of these are new The Night by Badbadnotgood media concepts I need to in the opening sequence of understand and explain to the new season of Better Call rights holders to keep the 006v3_IMUSIC_NEWS_DEM

Third Side Music’s Patrick Curley

Sony Pictures’ Tony Scudellari

video on your phone in 4K,” negotiations fair,” she says. “The online budgets are defi- says Matthew Hawn, head of nitely not high as TV, but this product and customer expealso provides opportuni- rience at production-music ties to get creative and use firm Audio Network. “You’ve smaller, indie bands. With got amazing high-resoluthe internet speed, timelines tion tools that everybody are also tighter. I have to an- can use, much in the same ticipate my teams’ needs and way that desktop publishing count on my personal trust- changed print.” worthy relationships which Audio Network has a growing are crucial to avoid the risk part of its business providing of un-cleared samples some- licensed music to the creators times coming from internet making use of those tools, as does Swedish company Epibedroom-artists.” Online video is varied: the demic Sound, whose head of longer tail of YouTubers and growth Edward Hoglund also small- to medium-sized busi- points to the corporate sector. nesses making video for Fa- “Every marketing department cebook and corporate use is in every company makes also coming in to focus as an video for the internet, for soopportunity for smaller, of- cial networks… and everyone needs music and a reliable ten self-service syncs. “To me, video is an explosion music source where you know like desktop publishing was. you won’t get into trouble for You can shoot high-quality using the music,” he says. 017_DAVID ROSE_NEWS_DEM

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BUSINESS

Companies celebrate musical milestones

Budde Music’s Benjamin and Rolf Budde

Grand H Music’s Hille Hillekamp

RoastingHouse’s Anders ‘Theo’ Theander

The type of industry loyalty that Midem has attracted for many years is confirmed with the high-profile anniversaries celebrated by international music enterprises — and Midem regulars — in Cannes this year. Juliana Koranteng

EERMUSIC, the global independent publishing giant, celebrates its 90th birthday this year. The festivities include a special screening of American Epic, a BBC-PBS documentary highlighting classics in peermusic’s catalogue. The company, which recently boasted Grammy nominations, chart-topping repertoire from the US to Japan and signed new talent in markets including China and Brazil, has also retained its sub-publishing agreements with steadfast clients including BMG, Imagem Music, olé and SONGS over the years. Post-Midem, it will continue the partying at the peermusic group meetings in different regions worldwide. “Our business around the world is as vibrant and successful as any time I’ve been at the company,” says CEO/ chairman Ralph Peer II.

German indie publishing empire Grand H Music is 30 years old this year. Founder Hille Hillekamp, who has also been attending Midem for 40 years consecutively, and his managing director son Adrian, say long-established business partners will join them at four dinners and five lunches in Cannes. And the celebrations continue in September back in Germany. “Last year, we had the biggest German-language hit in Germany with Die Immer Lacht by Stereoact featuring Kerstin Ott,” Hillekamp says, proving Grand H’s longevity is not a fluke. “The song was declared GEMA’s Best German Song of the Year.” It has enjoyed over 102 million YouTube views, 500,000 downloads and 100,000 units in CD sales. In terms of market share, Grand H has been ranked

among Germany’s top-10 publishers in the official survey for several years, including 2016. Midem delegates will be joining in the 70th anniversary of Budde Music, the Germany headquartered international publishing house, just by wearing their Midem badges — as Budde Music is sponsoring the event’s delegate lanyards to mark the milestone. And its annual Midem reception will also be dedicated to the anniversary. “All our partners from around the world have been invited to our big anniversary party on July 13 in Berlin. That will be awesome,” says Rolf Budde, president of Budde Music and the German Music Publishers’ Association. Started by his father in 1947, Budde Music’s feats continue with the third generation — represented by joint managing director/head of

creative Benjamin Budde — steering new successes with artists including Aurora, Alle Farben and Charlotte OC. Swedish music conglomerate RoastingHouse has chosen to celebrate its 25th anniversary at Midem for good reason, says owner Anders ‘Theo’ Theander, whose company also houses its indemand recording studios. “The ability to meet with industry people from all over the world, under the same roof, and Reed Midem’s excellent planning and organisation of the conferences, concerts and other activities, create business opportunities that wouldn’t accrue otherwise,” he says. “Many of our deals, including a few signed during the market, are done at spontaneous meetings. Also, celebrating our 25th Midem in a row in 2017 gives us a distinction you can’t get anywhere else.”

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BUSINESS

Cap Digital on hunt for sound ideas French business cluster Cap Digital is attending Midem for the fifth consecutive year, looking for innovative ideas and prospective businesses to accelerate, as well as showcasing music-related startups from its current membership. Gary Smith reports

CCORDING to technology and ecosystems coordinator at Cap Digital, Stephane Delouche, during its 11 years of existence, the organisation has helped over 900 startups in a number of ways.“Our 1,010 members are primarily innovative small- and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) but also major universities, higher-education establishments, research labs, and corporations focused on a specific, technology-driven industry. What we seek to do is to connect people who have great ideas with big companies in order to help them grow. We are able to help startups enormously with access to funding and giving them the sort of visibility that being at events like Midem can offer, as well as giving advice on design concepts and helping them to develop strategic relationships,” Delouche says. Cap Digital also promotes competitiveness within the digital and media industries by providing its members with essential information, including competitive intelligence, training, partnerships and project reviews. “We are also at the core of national R&D and innovation projects through our label accreditation programme,” Delouche adds. “On top of that, we organise our own event in Paris called Future En Seine, which has grown into a major showcase for the very best innovations. And along-

The companies that came to Midem with Cap Digital last year welcomed then French Minister of Culture, Audrey Azoulay, at the French Tech stand new companies each day.” Among the cluster’s many successes, one of the standouts across all categories is Believe Digital, whose founder Denis Ladegaillerie was the recipient of an International Midem Award last year. “Believe first approached us as a very small operation in terms of employees and revenue,” Delouche says. “But the company has grown very quickly over the last five years because the underlying concept is strong, and now there are 200 employees in seven countries, and we are delighted to have been able to play a part in such spectacular growth.” Also in the music space, created in 2007 by three sound enthusiasts, Devialet’s success is down to some striking inventions in sound engineer-

side that, we are present at roughly 100 events each year. Last year we brought 17 companies to Cannes for the 50th anniversary of Midem and while this year there will be slightly fewer companies joining us on the Cap Digital stand, they are all based on some really excellent ideas,” he says. “France is somewhat underestimated as a source of innovation globally, and we aim to change that perception by bringing some of the best and brightest startups that we are currently working with. We are also very much looking forward to welcoming on our stand startups and innovators who are not yet members, and we’re optimistic that we will find some gems during our time at Midem — where, typically, we will see three to five

ing, the result of the work of 40 acoustic, mechanical, electrical, signal processing and computer engineers. The company recently launched the Phantom at CES 2015, an ‘Implosive Sound Center’ that can receive music from a smartphone, tablet, computer and other devices via wi-fi, and then processes the signal to produce a powerful sound. And, established in November 2014, Augmented Acoustics has developed Supralive, which with headphones, a receiver box and an app enables audience members to engineer live music to create a customised, High-Res sound experience. Cap Digital currently works with around 250 companies from the music, gaming and VFX sectors.

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031_BERTUS_NEWS_DEM.pdf

want something to hold “You want something to hold in your hands withwith beautifulbeaut in your hands artwork and made with passion.” and made with passion.” From the humble beginnings in the early Seventies to this day, Bertus Distribution has developed into one of the biggest players in the Dutch music industry. The last few years though, doors to other European countries opened wide with the development of local sales offices. In this interview with Managing Director Jan van Ditmarsch we will find out how it all came about and what the future will hold. With three company buildings in Capelle aan den IJssel Bertus is well represented in the Netherlands, but where are the other offices located? “Bertus has a long standing relationship with Belgian retail through our office in Brussels and in Germany through our sister company H’art. In recent years we have settled in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic and last but not least France, where we have people working on marketing & promotion as well.” So how does that work in practice? “We have set up sales offices with native speakers, which of course makes an essential difference. They work both from their offices as well as on the road as representatives of our releases. Next to that I have to mention our in house International sales department which covers territories where we don’t have a local office (yet?). Situated in the Netherlands they deal with countries like the UK, the US, Scandinavia and Japan. Doesn’t this require a totally new outlook on the logistic side of distribution? “Definitely! But we handle that challenge really well. In fact, I can say we are the only one in Europe right now who can deliver fast to over two thousand shops throughout Europe. But we are always trying to improve, so it’s a side of the company that’s always in development.”

only ones inonly Europe right now who “We are the one in Europe right now who can deliver can deliver fast to over two thousand shops throughout Europe.” fast to over two thousand shops througho So can you please tell us what more about current plans Bertus is working on in regards to European distribution? “Right now we are working on an even better connection in Germany, Switzerland and Austria together with our sister company H’Art. They will continue to handle the key clients for that market while our in house International department will deal with a larger amount of indie shops then before. We have also set up an office in the Nordics to complete our Western European coverage.” Do you only distribute music or do you release it yourself as well? “We have several labels on which we can release music. Together with Dutch record plant Record Industry we set up the vinyl label Music On Vinyl that now carries around 2000 titles. Without showing off, I think you can easily call Music on Vinyl a success story. We started the label just before the current vinyl revival and it has grown into a ‘label to watch’ so to speak. Especially now that we not only release reissues but new material as well. On our label Music On CD we reissue long out-of-print albums on CD if we think there’s still demand for them. For brand new signings we’ve got the Butler Records label. Apart from that record company V2 Benelux sails under the Bertus flag too.” So all in all there is obviously no doubt about the ongoing importance of physical product! “Very much so! Of course we see the convenience of downloading and streaming, but in the end you want to experience a whole, with something to actually hold in your hands with beautiful artwork and made with passion.”

BUSINESS Metropolis’ Liam Nolan picks up two Grammys for work on Adele album

ETROPOLIS Studios’ Liam Nolan picked up two Grammy Awards at the 59th annual award show in February for his work on Adele’s latest album 25. The two awards are for Record Of The Year for the track Hello, as well as Album Of The Year for 25. Nolan is a mentor within the Midem Artist Accelerator programme. “The continued acclaim Liam is receiving for his hard work and dedication to audio perfection is so well deserved,” Ian Brenchley, Metropolis CEO, said. “It’s always a pleasure welcoming Adele to record with us at Metropolis.” Adele stole the show, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, picking up a total of five Grammys including Album Of The Year for 25, Record Of The Year for Hello, Song Of The Year for Hello, Best Pop Solo Performance Hello and Best Pop Vocal Album for 25. The singer made history by becoming the first artist to win Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year in one evening for the second time, having done so in 2012 with 21, also recorded at Metropolis, and Rolling In The Deep.

Adele at the Grammy Awards

Royal honour for the UK’s Horus Music

EICESTER-based Horus Music, a music distribution and label services company based in Leicester in the UK, has been awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade. The company works with over 800 music download and streaming platforms in order to provide as many opportunities as possible for musicians to earn an income from their music, while retaining full control and ownership of their music at all times. On hearing the news, CEO Nick Dunn said: “We are absolutely overjoyed at being recognised by Her Majesty The Queen for outstanding growth in international trade. As a company that has been built without investment from outside sources, along with the hard work and

rus Music doesn’t have solely a western focus, unlike other companies. Our independent spirit motivates us to provide each of our clients with equal opportunities for distribution and marketing.”

dedication of our team, this award celebrates all that we have achieved.” Director of Horus Music, Nina Condron added: “The multiculturalism of Leicester has inspired us to ensure that Ho-

NEW VINYL PLANT OPENS IN DUBLIN DUBLIN Vinyl is a brand new, state-of-the-art record-pressing plant based in Glasnevin, Dublin, Eire. The plant opens in October, and will have the capacity to produce 25,000 albums per week. “We’ll do a majority of the production in-house, from cutting to stampers to pressing,” company founder Hugh Scully said. “We aim to produce some of the best-quality records on the market. We will outsource our print, and have partnered with Anglo Printers, the most advanced in the country. Apart from having the right machines, they’re also massive vinyl fans.” Dublin Vinyl’s aim is to bring the production time down to around five weeks. “We’re also building a fan-funding platform, where indie acts can pre-sell their albums, then we ship them to their fans, and those sales fund the vinyl they’ll be selling at gigs as well as distribution to stores. Plus we’re building our facility next door to the new Porterhouse Brewery in Glasnevin, Dublin. When it’s finished it’ll be the largest independent brewery in the country featuring a 500 capacity event space that we’ll be using for album launches and gigs.”

Horus Music’s 10th anniversary party

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The Man Doki Soulmates; do line-ups get any more stellar than this?

‘Real people playing real music’ Major stars from the global music scene are appearing at Midem this year, some as performers, some as speakers. Gary Smith reports

UNIQUE project with an everchanging line-up that includes Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, Al Di Meola, David ClaytonThomas, Chaka Khan, Chris Thompson, Bobby Kimball, Steve Lukather, Nick van Eede, Eric Burdon, Nik Kershaw, Greg Lake, Randy and Michael Brecker, Bill Evans, John Helliwell, Mike Stern, Anthony Jackson, Victor Bailey, Pino Palladino, Paul Carrack, Peter Frampton and Jon Lord, is performing during the MIdem By Night series of concerts in the Grand Auditorium of the Palais des Festivals on June 8. This stellar group of musicians was first put together in 1992 by producer Leslie Mandoki and is known as Man Doki Soulmates. Their recent Wings of Freedom concerts in London, Paris and Berlin were all sold-out events, and at this year’s Midem, Reed MIDEM CEO Paul Zilk will be presenting Man-

June 7 sees an appearance at Midem by Fugees founder, rapper, artist, musician, composer, producer, entrepreneur and actor Wyclef Jean, also part of the Midem By Night series of concerts, on the Majestic Beach. And if his recent appearance at the Kaya Fest in Miami is anything to go by, Midem is in for a treat. Jean performed a set in which he played guitar with his teeth and on his knees, Jimi Hendrix-style; and free-styled in English, Spanish, French, and Japanese. And true to form he got political, mentioning Trump in the first sentence he spoke on stage. He told the crowd to “show Donald Trump we’re not scared of him” and suggested they should have voted for him instead. Jean is also a global ambassador for the Midem Artist Accelerator programme: “Today, you see a greater emphasis on the digital aspect of the music industry.

doki with a special Midem prize in recognition of his outstanding work in music. Mandoki will also be signing a publishing deal with BMG Rights Management’s CEO Hartwig Masuch in Cannes. “Leslie is the captain of the ship, the ship of the Soulmates that ploughs its way across humanity and Leslie knows where to steer,” Supertramp’s John Helliwell said. “The Soulmates are people with heart and it comes over. Real people, playing real music. That´s what I like to do. Leslie is like a big umbrella covering everyone inside. I quite like that.” On June 6, Music is Great presents British Music at Midem, featuring Public Service Broadcasting, Jake Isaac and Dream Wife. The showcase takes place on the beach of the Majestic hotel, where food and drink is served before the show, offeriing networking opportunities ahead of the performances.

While that is essential, artists can’t forget about the value of face-to-face networking,” he said of the programme. For the best emerging artists from Taiwan, a show at Midem has become an essential badge of honour, and a passport to wider recognition. Ever since the first Taiwan Beats Showcase in 2011 featuring Suming, Deserts Chang and 1976, the event in Cannes — organised by GCA Entertainment and MOC, the Taiwanese governmentsponsored cultural body — has attracted the very best Taiwanese musical talent. “Managers and agents of established local artists try to reach MOC/GCA to get onto the Midem showcase list, because they value highly our successful experience and they are all chasing the potential glory of being part of the Taiwan Beats line-up,” Ed Yen, creative director at GCA, said. “But only GMA Awardwinners or nominated artists are eligible to be chosen

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TALENT for the Showcase. The GMA (Golden Melody Awards) is not only considered as the Chinese Grammys but also one the world’s top three Awards shows, attracting over 1.5 billion Chinese viewers worldwide.” This year’s Taiwan Beats takes place on June 8, on the Majestic Beach as part of Midem By Night, and features The ChairMan, The Mixer and QuestionMark. International talent can also

PARTICIPATE AT SXSW 2018 July 2017: Artist and PanelPicker Applications, and Film Submissions accepted August 2017: Registration and Housing Open sxsw.com/discover2018

be seen away from the live stage, thanks to the participation of big-name global artists sharing their experiences with delegates. Another Midem Artist Accelerator Ambassador is Latino superstar Daddy Yankee, the multi-awardwinning Puerto Rican pioneer of the Reggaeton genre with more than 40 million social media followers. At the From Local To Reggaeton pioneer Daddy Yankee

Wyclef Jean: ‘Vote for me!’

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Magic Power’s 2015 Taiwan Beats Showcase appearance was a huge success

Global, The Power Of Digital session, he will share his experience in leveraging social media and digital marketing to reach fans. “I think streaming has had a

lot to do with us [Latin-music acts] being in the same arena as any mainstream American artist and I think that we have an audience that is global. We simply

couldn’t register that before with numbers,” he says. During a standout keynote session in Auditorium A on June 7, delegates will get a glimpse into the process and

technology of modern songwriting as Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda and Mark Hoppus from Blink-182 co-write and record a song from scratch, live on stage.

2017 Yearbook The international b2b music market

who’s who

Pick up your copy at the registration area Foyer Debussy

A year-round networking tool 37

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Tomorrow’s stars get taste of the big time For the third year running, new talent will get international exposure and expert advice at Midem through its Midem Artist Accelerator programme. Stuart Dredge reports

HE finalists for this year’s Midem Artist Accelerator were chosen from more than 600 submissions. All will perform beachfront gigs as part of the Midem by Night strand, as well as receiving mentorship from a group of industry experts. Major artists Wyclef Jean and Daddy Yankee have signed on as ambassadors to bring some star power to the programme — and some insightful advice for its finalists. “To be selected from a pool of so many great acts is pretty humbling, but also very exciting,” says British artist Adian Coker, one of the 2017 finalists. “It’s just a great opportunity to meet people who are knowledgeable in fields that can make a huge difference to my career.” Fellow 2017 finalist Charlotte Brimner, of UK act Be Charlotte, is equally excited about the prospect of playing in Cannes and meeting the experts on the Artist Accelerator’s Artistic Committee. “This time last year I was doing presentations on events like Midem at college, so it’s insane to be actually performing this year,” Brimner says. Another finalist, Ghana’s M.anifest, has already enjoyed the attention of a

Charlotte Brimner

Adian Coker

M.anifest

global star, with Gorillaz’s Damon Albarn saying of his fourth album: “I’ve always loved what M.anifest is saying, and this record is no exception.” For their part, the Artistic Committee members are also enthusiastic about the prospect of passing on their experience to the 11 emerging artists. “The main aspect for an artist to take part in the Midem Artist Accelerator is broadening their skills with a group of professionals coming from all angles of the business,” said Willy Ehmann, senior vice-president, music domestic division GSA, at Sony Music in Germany. “Each artist may have their own personal targets, but the Accelerator is a good ground for making contact on both ways, and spreading the word about the artist.” Fellow committee member

Yoon-Young Kong (‘Dalse’), founder and executive producer of Zandari Culture Company in South Korea, says that digital trends will be a key part of the mentorship. “This is the time for these artists to study digital services: social networks, streaming and other music websites, and plan how to distribute and promote their music,” Kong says. “But the problem is that those platforms are still not integrated worldwide, and the trends change very fast.” Another committee member, Devraj Sanyal, managing director and CEO, Universal Music Group India and South Asia, stresses the broad nature of the programme. “It will be very helpful for the finalists to get expert advice on A&R, production, marketing, PR or whatever they need most,” Sanyal

says. “Finally, to play the Midem stage in front of a global gathering of the industry, and to get real-time feedback will help these artists tremendously.” The lure of performing is undoubtedly strong. “I’m going to be playing on a beach, in Cannes, just before Wyclef Jean,” says Coker. “Pretty cool!”

CLASS OF 2017 The 11 finalists for the 2017 Midem Artist Accelerator Acid Arab (France) Adian Coker (UK) Be Charlotte (UK) Geoffroy (Canada) Iris Gold (Denmark) Kiddy Smile (France) M.anifest (Ghana) Prateek Kuhad (India) Shakka (UK) Rendez-Vous (France) XXX (South Korea)

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Music startups prepare for the 10th Midemlab This is the 10th year that Midem has shone a spotlight on the brightest new music startups, with its Midemlab pitching competition. Stuart Dredge reports

WENTY startups across four categories will take part in this year’s Midemlab event, pitching in public while also meeting industry executives and potential investors behind the scenes. A total of 136 startups from 32 countries applied for this year’s contest, and were then narrowed down to the final 20. “We’re looking forward to helping find and support the new players that will shape tomorrow’s music business,” says Guillaume Filliere, head of sponsor OVH’s Digital Launch Pad programme. URights, the global music copyright management system co-developed by SACEM and IBM is also a Midemlab sponsor. “SACEM has a long history of innovation,” says SACEM COO Jean-Noel Tronc. “With URights, we will capture value to the benefit of music creators worldwide. Partnering Midemlab represents an important step in that story.” “The thing we’re most looking forward to is getting feedback from the judges and the people in the crowd,” said Syd Lawrence, CEO at The Bot Platform, a finalist in this year’s marketing and data/analytics category. Eckart Burgwedel, CEO at Uberchord — a finalist in this year’s music creation and education category, says: “This gives us credibility and visibility in the music industry who, we think, watches closely what’s going on at Midem. Midem is the place to be.”

Sony Music’s Andre Stapleton

Linkin Park frontman Mike Shinoda

Past winners and finalists spoke to us about the impact that Midemlab had on their businesses, including 2015 winner Fusic, from Israel. “Midemlab was a wonderful opportunity for us. This was the first time we shared our vision to a professional audience both on the music and the investors side,” says Fusic’s CEO Liat Sade. “The feedback we received strengthened us, sharpened our path, and some of it was assimilated and constitutes a cornerstone of the development of the company.” Some startups find Midemlab sets them on a new, unexpected path, for example 2015 finalist Soundsgood. “Midemlab was a key moment for us. It was the first time we showcased our startup in front of an audience of industry executives,” says CEO Josquin Farge. “Thanks to the feedback we had and the meetings we scheduled the week after, we did a pivot from B2C to B2B.” This year’s finalists will pitch to a jury that includes Linkin Park frontman Mike Shinoda

and representatives from all three major labels and Google, among other companies. Jury member Andre Stapleton, from Sony Music, says he’ll be looking for “a strong team with good pedigree and connections, financing if possible, and of course a terrific idea, but also some realistic business models”. “The music space has been an infamously difficult one in which to survive financially across many areas of the industry,” he says. “A healthy dose of realism is always a good thing, especially when thinking of attracting investors.” Midemlab selecting partners Music Ally, bluenove and Northzone helped to choose the 20 finalists. Paul Brindley, CEO of MusicAlly, says that the contest chimes with current industry trends. “There’s a real appetite among labels and artist managers to forge creative, mutually-beneficial relationships with startups,” Brindley says. Other Midemlab partners include: IAEL, Abbey Road, 500 Startups, FrenchWeb, Paris&Co, STHLM Music City and Rock Paper Scissors.

Fusic’s Liat Sade

MIDEMLAB 2017: THE FINALISTS Music creation and education - Uberchord (Germany) - Studytracks (Ireland) - Roadie 2 (US) - Skoog (UK) - HumOn (South Korea) Music distribution and discovery - TrueLinked (Denmark) - Diggers Factory (France) - Yokee Music (Israel) - Atmosphere (Netherlands) - Disco (Australia) Marketing and Data/ Analytics - Soundcharts (France) - Rotor Videos (UK) - NPREX (US) - The Bot Platform (UK) - Instrumental (UK) Experiential Technologies - Vinci Smart Headphones (China) - SYOS (France) - Pacemaker (Sweden) - TheWaveVR (US) - ORB (Sweden)

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FAE’s Sarah Stennet

Shazam’s Andrew Fisher

Peermusic’s Ralph Peer II

Midem Awards 2017 honourees

Gary Smith meets the recipients of this year’s Midem Awards, ahead of the gala ceremony in Cannes where they will be honoured

N 2016, for its 50th anniversary, Midem inaugurated the International Midem Awards, which this year will once again be celebrated at a prestigious gala dinner and ceremony attended by international industry luminaries at the Carlton hotel. The event — organised in partnership with DTS, Sensu, Universal/DEG and media partner Billboard — honours key figures who have proved to be significant within the global music business through their talent, leadership and passion. Last year’s winners were highly influential hip-hop producer Timbaland; iconic label heads Daniel Glass of Glassnote; Hartwig Masuch of BMG Rights Management; and Denis Ladegaillerie, founder of Believe Digital. This year Midem Awards go to Sarah Stennett, CEO and

co-founder of management and branding company First Access Entertainment (FAE); Ralph Peer II, chair and CEO of peermusic; and Shazam executive chairman Andrew Fisher. “It is a great honour to receive the international award as without the Midem community Shazam would not exist,” said Fisher, whose company has been valued at over one billion dollars. Fisher is no stranger to awards having been presented with a prestigious OBE by Queen Elizabeth II last year in recognition of his services to the digital economy. The company has grown from a textbased service when Fisher joined in 2005 to a company that is an engine driving millions of downloads and streams each day. It has been estimated that the company directly drives around one

tenth of all downloads and is used by well over 100 million people per month. Ralph Peer II said: “As we celebrate our 90th anniversary, peermusic is blessed to have both an enviable heritage repertoire and a full spectrum of diverse contemporary successes. Our repertoire is wellbalanced between proven catalogue songs and adventuresome contemporary hits. We remain passionate about the A&R roots and philosophies upon which that this company was founded. And I’m greatly honoured to receive this award from Midem, which I have always considered to be an important instrument in the functioning of global music publishing markets.” Peermusic remains committed to empowering the global songwriters it represents, giving their music a voice, and offering regional

Because Music’s Emmanuel de Buretel songwriters a global audience. “We have an enviable catalogue of both domestic and international works and a global footprint that is unparalleled in the independent music publishing community,” Peer said. Sarah Stennett, who cofounded First Access Entertainment (FAE) has launched the careers of many successful international artists, including Sugababes, Jessie J, Rita Ora and Iggy Azalea. When she founded First Access in 2015, Stennett described FAE as “an entertainment company that not only encompasses music but also fashion, film, TV and technology. This enables us to develop talent and brands in a way that is synergistic, with music at its core.” The fourth award this year goes to French industry veteran Emmanuel de Buretel, CEO and founder of Because Music. In the mid-1980s De Buretel was appointed head of Virgin Publishing France where he signed Youssou N’Dour, Cheb Khaled, Mano Negra and Les Negresses Vertes. Later as head of Delabel, he signed I Am, Keziah Jones and Les Rita Mitsouko. He started the Because Group in 2004, whose roster includes Justice, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Amadou & Mariam and Manu Chao.

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IDEAS

Africa’s music industry gets boost from digital Africa Focus, the sessions and events dedicated to the African music market, returns to Midem to highlight the rapidly emerging opportunities in a region once associated primarily with piracy. Juliana Koranteng reports

ollowing the global impact of legendary veterans including Angelique Kidjo, Miriam Makeba and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a new generation of African performers and entrepreneurs is using social media to reach millions of fans at home and internationally, including the African diaspora. Irrespective of uncertain domestic music sales, overseas followers pay to see them perform live in London, Berlin, Paris, New York and other major cities worldwide. Digital technology, especially connected mobile phones and marketing, has been the catalyst. “Africa is the next big thing for many industries, especially for music and entertainment on mobile,” says director of Midem Alexandre Deniot, who previously spearheaded digital services in Africa as Universal Music Group France’s business development director. “The forward-thinking techrelated approach in many African countries is a prime example of musical use there,” says Peer Steinwald, head of catalogue exploitation at German publishing group Budde Music Publishing. Budde Music has signed internationally popular acts including Ghana’s Guy One

Budde Music Publishing’s Peer Steinwald and South Africa’s Sean Koch Trio. “Midem and other events are helping to raise awareness, connect with potential international partners and media and create an opportunity for us to catch up in one place,” adds Yoel Kenan, CEO of UK/South Africabased distributor and licensing specialist Africori. Major labels Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment recently set up offices in West Africa, a region they deserted in the Eighties because of piracy. In May, global trade organisation IFPI sealed a milestone agreement with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation to strengthen the legislation and licensing protecting African artists and music. Africans are paying for mobile music, especially ring-

Africori’s Yoel Kenan back tones. Global telecoms association GSMA forecasts 500 million smartphones in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2020. Accountancy giant PwC predicts Nigeria’s music sector alone will deliver $86m by 2020. In the first six months of 2016, South African telecoms conglomerate MTN Group reported $70m in revenues from its Africa-wide streaming music platform. Orange Radio, from French telecoms giant Orange, is another indemand Africa-wide online music platform. At Midem expect to see national pavilions from African markets including South Africa and emerging economies Nigeria and Kenya. Award-winning Ghanaian hip-hop star M.anifest, who has recorded with several international hit makers, including Gorillaz’s Damon Al-

barn, is performing live. And attend Afrobeat To The World, a session dedicated to the Nigeria-originated genre making a global impact. Western chart-toppers including Trey Songz, Ludacris, Chris Brown and Tinchy Stryder are collaborating with Afrobeat superstars including D’banj, Sarkodie and Fuse ODG. “Afrobeat is a gateway for discovering everything awesome about Africa. Artists are able to stay true to their roots and sound yet make the genre internationally accepted,” says the panel’s organiser Steve Osagie, principal partner at UK-based Spotlight Management & Consultancy. “Mainstream artists like Omarion, Drake, Kanye West, Ed Sheeran, Sean Paul and Rick Ross understand this new powerful sound.”

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IDEAS

Xperi’s Geir Skaaden

DEG’s Marc Finer

UMG’s Ty Roberts

Industry calls for better sound The development of high-resolution (High-Res) audio on consumer digital music services is high and loud on Midem’s agenda. Juliana Koranteng reports

NUMBER of Midem sessions this year aim to tackle the value of quality audio in 21st-century recorded music. One such session is the Stream The Studio panel presented by US-based trade association Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), part of the Streaming Day at Midem, June 6. “The market for High-Res Audio devices, music and services is poised to take subscription streaming to a whole new level,” says Marc Finer, DEG senior director. Fastidious music fans and professionals have always insisted that compressed audio files, for example the MP3 and Apple’s AAC on digital music players and platforms have forced a generation to accept sub-standard sounds on the music they listen to. Rock legend Neil Young, the Jay Z-controlled stream-

ing platform Tidal, France’s Qobuz and UK-based specialist MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) are among the proponents encouraging the extension of CDs and vinyl discs’ detailed acoustics to digital sounds. Now, Finer says, the whole industry, “from studio professionals and music executives to device manufacturers and technology specialists”, wants to raise awareness of High-Res audio at Midem. “All of us must work together to deliver a compelling and consistent message to those enthusiasts who are demanding both higher quality sound and a better user experience,” he adds. DEG members include the major record labels including Universal Music Group (UMG) where chief technology officer Ty Roberts believes fans are ready for HD audio the way they are with HD TV.

“We are moving to a massmarket appeal from a more niche audiophile audience,” he says. “High-Res Audio streaming just became possible this year thanks to new technology. This lowers the barrier for accessing the music, because all you need is a decent pair of headphones and a smartphone. We believe this will make High-Res audio available to the large number of music fans who listen to music on mobile phones.” Geir Skaaden, executive vicepresident and chief products and services officer at Xperi, the US-based audio tech specialist, says his company is democratising access to High-Res via DTS-HD, its High-Res audio format. “Traditionally, DTS has been used for playback of HighRes recordings distributed on DVDs and Blu-Ray discs,” he says. “Today, we’re work-

ing closely with consumer electronics partners, music labels, streaming services and digital radio distribution platforms to enable a higher-quality listening experience.” The goal is to make the format available on headphones, in home Hi-Fi systems and in cars, Skaaden says. “If we expose users to High-Res in familiar environments such as the radio in their car or their wireless home-music system, the High-Res trend will reach a broader mass market.” UMG’s Roberts agrees. “With any new product offering, education of the marketplace and consumers is very important. We have been working through the DEG on the Stream The Studio campaign. This allows us as an industry to get our message out in consistent and effective way.”

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Summit debates value gap issue This year’s Copyright Summit provides the forum for authoritative debates about the future of the already complex business of music copyright. Juliana Koranteng reports

IGH-profile experts at this year’s Midem Copyright Summit will debate the controversial value gap, a crucial issue in the context of streaming; the need for efficient rights-management systems, and the potential solutions via blockchain technology. Frances Moore, CEO of Global organisation IFPI, is participating in The Value Gap: Round II, a session that continues a debate started last year. It asked why subscription-funded audio streaming platforms like Spotify generated about $20 per user, while streaming video services like YouTube, with a much larger user base, brought in less than $1. The record industry argues that some streaming platforms are abusing the Safe Harbour provisions in the US’ 1996 Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the EU’s E-commerce Directive, to avoid paying the required music-licence fees. Guillaume Leblanc, managing director of French music trade organisation SNEP, is on a related panel called Addressing The Value Gap – The European Perspective. Leblanc says that the European Commission has published a proposed amendment to Safe Harbour provisions in the Copyright Directive.“The EC has identified the issue and admitted that something

The European Parliament appears to be supportive. German MEP Christian Ehler says: “An unfair market has been created, threatening the development of the Digital Single Market.” “It is now time to solve this issue politically,” adds JeanMarie Cavada, MEP and vicechair of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs. The industry’s need for global rights-management databas-

needs to be done,” he adds. Florian Drucke, managing director of German organisation BVMI, attacks streaming services misusing exemptions in EU legislation. “Such platforms should be forced to pay fees in accordance with standard commercial practice,” he says. Meanwhile, Enzo Mazza, CEO at Italian music organisation FIMI, says that the relevant laws regulating the licensing business need to be amended. Amos Biegun

Benjamin Bailer

Christian Ehler

Jean-Marie Cavada

Guillaume Leblanc

Frances Moore

es will be examined on the Building Transparent Rights Management Systems panel. On-going international rightsmanagement projects include ICE (International Copyright Enterprise) and VRDB2 (Virtual Recording Database). “The benefits of the new IT systems and processes will be a significant step forward in the efficiency and accuracy of global exchanges of neighbouring rights revenue,” says Peter Leathem, CEO of UK licensing body PPL, which is spearheading VRDB2. Amos Biegun, UK-based managing director of royalties tech specialist Vistex, says: “A discussion regarding interim alternatives and longer-term plans, including who might actually drive and own these, would be helpful.” The Blockchain & Copyright panelists will discuss how blockchain tech, a digital form of accountancy ledger, could help resolve these issues. Benji Rogers, CEO/co-founder of US-based dotBlockchain Music, is spearheading the radical application of blockchain to rights management. “I would encourage everyone to research and do their homework to see how it will work for them,’ he says. “If the internet arrived as a gentle breeze, this is going to be a hurricane.” The input of information into blockchain databases should be accurate from the get-to, says Bailer Music Publishing president Benjamin Bailer. “Blockchain standards will give rights creators the opportunity to participate in the usage of music fairly. But the technology can only be as good as the data given.” Other key participants in the Copyright Summit include: Veronique Desbrosses, general manager of Belgium-based authors’ societies organisation GESAC; and Annabella Coldrick, CEO of the UK’s Music Managers Forum (MMF).

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IDEAS EC in Cannes to support music

HE EUROPEAN Commission (EC) returns to Midem with its Music Moves Europe initiative to promote and support the growing pan-European music industry. As well as the scheduled keynote speech by Martine Reicherts, the EC’s directorgeneral for education, youth, sport and culture, the EC will host a pavilion at Midem and sessions focusing on advancing the key assets of Europe’s music sector. These include creativity, diversity, digital distribution, competitiveness, funding, copyright reforms and related tech startups. Susanne Hollmann, the EC’s deputy head of the cultural policy unit, said: “We had a complex series of dialogues with the music industry’s

stakeholders last year. They co nf i r m e d exp e c t ati o n s for more specific support to the sector to tackle the challenges in the field and

to address more effectively the opportunities offered by online and offline distribution.” She added: “This year, we

The EC’s Martine Reicherts

The EC’s Susanne Hollmann

Legal Summit focuses on technology THE INTERNATIONAL Association of Entertainment Lawyers (IAEL) is co-ordinating this year’s Legal Summit to offer much-needed guidance in the complex legal minefield spurred by the growing digital music industry. One highlight is the main seminar Tech, Disruption & Evolution In The Entertainment Industries. Based on the recently published IAEL book of the same name, the seminar examines the impact of next-generation technologies, from virtual-reality distribution, artificial intelligence gadgets to blockchain usage, on music and the related rights. “In this book, we’ve tried to identify new trends and developments of technologies which raise many legal questions and challenges,”

said Anne-Marie Pecoraro, attorney at law at Paris/ Brussels-based ATurqoise and the book’s co-editor. “It is on those more disruptive technologies which we have focused this year.” IAEL president Jeff Liebenson, the book’s co-editor and principal at New York-based Liebenson Law, is organising the summit’s related panels, including The IAEL Masterclass – The Musician As Contestant: Legal Issues In Contests And Reality TV, and Legal Update For Entertainment & Technology. Among the issues to be debated are the safe harbour legal provisions in Europe and the US and whether they are being abused by some digital services; the value gap controversy among streaming platforms; the

want to build on that dialogue. Midem will be an excellent occasion to present some of our new initiatives and discuss the possible next steps.” The EC, which has financially supported 60-plus musicrelated projects to date, will examine the funding of music ventures via its 1.46bn Creative Europe scheme. It will also look at the state of live music, plus the discoverability of European repertoire on digital platforms. Delegates will learn about The European Playlists, an aggregation of tracks offered from Europe’s music export offices to highlight talent diversity on streaming services. Also, the Commission is working with Paris-based Sesame Startup to showcase innovative music tech developed by EU startups.

EU’s long-awaited General Data Protection Regulation and other copyright reforms. “Tech is having a dramatic

effect right now on the value of music,” Liebenson said. “Things are moving very quickly and at our IAEL Legal Summit we will focus on many new developments of great importance.”

Liebenson Law’s Jeff Liebenson

ATurqoise’s Anne-Marie Pecoraro

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