Conventions & Awards

MIDEM Update & How To Follow The Action


Main Midem Billboard (UPDATED) It's Saturday morning in Cannes as MIDEM officially opens.

Last night MTV's Rock Band hosted a marvelous dinner at the Concord Hotel. I shared a table and some great conversation with execs from Bonnaroo, Microsoft, WE7, Cherry Lane, and Harmonix.

Rumor has it that attendance here is down about 10-12% from last year to 7000+.  There are many new music tech companies attending for the first time, but other outfits are sending smaller delegations. It's a sign of the times, but also a testimony to how important MIDEM is that some of them are coming at all.

Universal is one of the few major music companies said to be skipping MIDEM all together – apparently because of major new restrictions in every divisions travel budget. Sony also has a much smaller presence then in other years.

But for those thousands here, the action is about to begin. It's the first year that the tech centered MidemNet is free with your MIDEM badge; so it will be interesting to see is attendance jumps there today.

Whether you are on site are off, don't miss any of the action:

  • I'll be blogging on Hypebot and via Twitter – @hypebot
  • Follow on the official Midem blog
    with live posts from Music
    Ally
  • Share your thoughts by tweeting #midem
  • Download the official MIDEM iPhone app. View
    the demo

Share on: