The Great Escape Festival, held in Brighton UK from 15th to 17th of May 2008, has been added to the calendar. They still have early bird delegate tickets available!

Convention Highlights
The 2007 Convention featured Barney Wragg (Global Head of Digital, EMI Music), Tim Westergren (Founder, Pandora) and Michael Robertson (New Music Services, Anywhere CD and MP3 Tunes) as part of another successful Music Ally Digital Day. Howard Marks (Mr, Nice) caught up with Shaun Ryder (Happy Mondays) and Rob da Bank (Radio 1and Bestival) interviewed Norman Cook (Fat Boy Slim)

The Festival
Over 200 bands in 25+ music venues over three days in Brighton, outdoor shows, afternoon gigs, secret performances, club nights and much more. The Great Escape 2006 saw The Fratellis, The Klaxons, The Kooks and The Gossip play, and then go on to sell millions of records. Highlights of The Great Escape 2007 were Jack Penate, Patrick Watson, The Maccabees, The Pigeon Detectives and Kate Nash. The 2008 line up will feature more hotly tipped bands from UK, fresh international artists and a few globally established acts.

Just added Finnish Metal Expo 2008 to the calendar. The metal event takes place 15th to 16th of February at Cable Factory, Helsinki, Finland. The event consists of a consumer event with top notch metal acts performing, music clinics held by professional players, Finnish Metal Awards and for professionals: The International Metal Meeting.

Go to www.fme.fi for more information:

International Metal Meeting is a get together for European metal professionals during Finnish Metal Expo. Anyone who has ever attended seminars at regular music tradeshows, knows there is very little, if anything to offer to people working within the metal industry. Metal industry operates with a set of rules that differs quite dramatically from those of the mainstream. From medias to record sales to the importance of touring and merchandise, everything works with methods that have proven themselves over the years, but are very unique. That is what IMM is for – talk about issues that concern the metal industry directly.

5pm, Tue Oct 30^th, MCPS-PRS Alliance

As the music industry’s hottest new sales platform and possibly the main vehicle for future music consumption, the mobile phone is now a must for those keen to market and distribute their music to the widest possible audience. Music2 Mobile will see the leading industry experts sharing hints, tips and trade secrets on all aspects of mobile marketing and distribution, offering valuable advice to suit all budgets.

A brief overview of the market by Mobile Entertainment Forum Europe General Manager Sarah Roberts will be followed by two panels.  The first considers the latest tricks for using mobiles for music marketing –from freebies and giveaways to personal artist messages, voicemails, bluecasting and mobisodes.

The second panel explores the options for sales via mobile, from paid-for ringtones, wallpaper, full tracks and viideos to future fornats and the evolving mobile distirbution value-chain. 

Speakers:

Overview:               Sarah Roberts, General Manager, MEF Europe

Marketing Panel:    Liam Alt, Head of Music, Pocket Group

                            Seth Jackson, IndieMobile

                            Nico Kopke, CEO, Kodime

                            (others tbc)   

         Distribution Panel:  Steve Mayall, Founding Director, MusicAlly

                            Richard Wheeler, Head of Music Partnerships, Orange UK

                            (others tbc)   

Chairman:             Harry Leckstein, MD, Freeport Records / Founder, London Urban Collective

Where / When:

Date:                    Tue Oct 30, 2007

Venue:                 The Basement, MCPS-PRS Alliance, 29-33 Berners Street, London, W1T 3AB

Location:             Nearest Tube – Goodge St. (Northern Line), Alliance is at Mortimer St end of Berners St.

Time:                   5pm – 10pm

Cost:                    Standard: £50.00, Trade Body Members: £45.00, Members: £35.00 

All places MUST be booked and paid for in advance via www.musictank.co.uk

Full Details:

The UK is leading the European market for mobile music, with ‘music’ handset penetration now standing at an impressive 40% (BPI, 06/07), while MusicAlly recently estimated that UK users download as many as many 1.3million tracks a month using mobile phones.  Above all else, mobile phones are pretty much omnipresent – we carry them with us wherever we go – meaning that for the tech-savvy music marketer, potential custom is always just a few clicks away.

This two-part seminar will explore the world of possibility associated with mobile music, as well as debunking the myth that only larger labels have the necessary resources to capitalise on its potential.  Equally suited to labels and individual artists, this session will see top notch industry speakers sharing tips and techniques to suit all levels of expenditure – from the tightest of budgets upwards.

The evening kicks off with an in depth look at mobile as a marketing tool, while the second part will examine the fine art of mobile distribution.

Part One: Mobile Marketing

One of the catchphrases of the changing music industry is ‘getting closer to the fans’, and if there’s such thing as a perfect tool for the job, then it’s undoubtedly the mobile phone.  From freebies and giveaways to ads and personal artist messages, from truetones and polyphonics to wallpapers, mobisodes and bluecasting, the number of ways to engage with fans via mobile is truly staggering.

Such variety represents a dream come true for ambitious marketers, and this session will see some of the industry’s best share the secrets of their success, as well as valuable insight into the kind of results you can expect to achieve – even on a small budget. From the basics of gathering contact numbers right through to the complexities of content delivery, this session will handle it all, providing attendees with the knowledge they need to make the most of the ‘humble’ mobile.

Part Two: Mobile Distribution

The scope for marketing via mobile is surpassed only by its potential as a sales platform. With wallpaper and ringtone markets now firmly established (and proving to be highly lucrative), recent moves to cap data transfer charges look set to ensure that single track downloads and subscription services (see Omniphone) enjoy similar success.

Part two of this unmissable double-header will see industry heavyweights outline the many paths to success in mobile distribution, from on-portal downloads to sideloading from artist homepages, whilst also describing the complexities of the value chain and the pivotal role mobile distribution can play in a wider campaign.

With innovative product bundles (possibly including the much-hyped ‘ringle’ ) set to provide a welcome fillip to music sales, this session is a must for those hoping to make the most of the impending mobile music boom.

Schedule

Overview                        17.00 – 17.15 – Sarah Roberts (tbc)

Panel 1                         17.15 – 18.45 – Mobile Marketing

Break                            18.45 – 19.30 – light refreshments

Panel 2                         19.30 – 21.00 – Mobile Distribution

Drinks/networking          21.00 -  22.00

About MusicTank

MusicTank is the UK’s music business network, an initiative of the University of Westminster, set up with the support of 14 UK music industry organisations.

MusicTank aims to foster new collaborations and circulate innovative ideas, best practice and cutting-edge strategies to increase innovation and productivity across the business.  Regular think tanks bring hot topics into sharp focus and help pinpoint the opportunities created by disruptive technologies.

MusicTank conferences deal with everything from record production to copyright review while occasional social evenings blend the entertaining recollections of music business virtuosos with the opportunity to develop valuable industry contacts.

MusicTank aims to override traditional partitions by providing improved access to expert knowledge via musictank.co.uk, the leading music business web-site, offering free industry discussion on new business techniques alongside useful reports and comments from leading lights. MusicTank also produces a free monthly newsletter to keep subscribers up to date with all the latest music developments.

www.musictank.co.uk

Music’s New Conundrum: Too Much Choice?

Wednesday 3^rd October, MCPS-PRS Alliance

MusicTank asks “Web 2.0’s music consumers’ paradise of unlimited music poses one overriding question: how do fans discover and sort the wheat from the chaff amidst the clamour of a thousand different advisory voices?”

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

Tom Robinson , Broadcaster & Songwriter

Panelists include:

Andrew Keen Author, Cult of The Amateur: How Today’s Internet is Killing Our Culture

Paul Brown Managing Director – International, Pandora

David Jennings Director, DJ Alchemi Ltd and Author

Other panelists to be confirmed…

The event will be chaired by Keith Harris, Chairman of MusicTank, and renowned artist manager.

With so much music vying for our attention in this digital age, the public is now faced with a head-spinning level choice. While we were once used to receiving our weekly dose of music via the all-important Top 40 and a now defunct Top of the Pops, we can access over 420,000 rock acts and 400,000 hip hop acts via MySpace alone.

In this sea of music of unimagineable scale, can we really be expected to sort the wheat from the chaff amidst the clamour of a thousand different advisory voices? And with the accompanying explosion of hype over substance, are we at risk of losing the tradition of nurturing our talent to its fullest potential?

The speakers discussing these issues include:

KEYNOTE:

Tom Robinson has co-written songs with Peter Gabriel, Elton John, Dan Hartman and Manu Katché whilst his own early hits include ‘2-4-6-8 Motorway’, ‘Glad To Be Gay’ and ‘War Baby’. Now an award-winning broadcaster, Tom now hosts his own new music show on BBC 6Music and is a regular presenter on Radios 2 and 4.

PANEL:

Andrew Keen Author, Cult of The Amateur: How Today’s Internet is Killing Our Culture The San Francisco Chronicle recently wrote that “every good movement needs a contrarian. Web 2.0 has Andrew Keen.” Andrew is indeed the leading contemporary critic of the Internet, and is established as one of the most controversial and incisive voices in Silicon Valley.

Paul Brown Managing Director – International, Pandora

David Jennings Director, DJ Alchemi Ltd and Author is an independent consultant in online learning, who has written on music and technology for Five Eight and The Spectator and advised the (now defunct) National Centre for Popular Music, Sheffield as part of their Exhibitory Education Advisory Group.

(Full Event Copy is below)

Event Details:

Date: Wednesday, 3^rd October 2007

Time: 18.30 – 21.00 hrs Complimentary drink on arrival

Venue: The Basement, MCPS-PRS Alliance

Location: 9-33 Berners Street , London, W1T 3AB

Price: £30, £25 trade body members

(AIM, BACS, BPI, MMF, MPG, MPA, MU, MCPS-PRS Alliance, PPL)

All places MUST be booked and paid for in advance via www.musictank.co.uk

Now in its seventh year, the Future of Music Policy Summit brings an unprecedented group of panelists and keynote speakers together with an engaged, diverse audience for a robust debate about the critical issues at the intersection of music, law, technology and policy.

Widely praised by advocates and industry alike, FMC’s Policy Summits have gained a reputation as “a kind of Geneva where all sides in any number of contentious music industry fights can get together and play nice for a few days. Even more importantly, it offers pinstriped Washingtonians a rare opportunity to hear musicians articulate their concerns in person instead of relying on competing lobbying groups that claim to espouse their interests.” (Washington Post, May 6, 2004)

FMC’s Policy Summit is one of the year’s most important music/technology/policy conferences – the place where musicians, industry and policymakers engage in core issues in a meaningful way.
http://www.futureofmusic.org/events/summit07/

You can’t afford to miss this comprehensive event on digital rights business and technology issues – a must-attend for those involved in content security in both consumer media distribution and information security for businesses.

Digital Rights Strategies ‘07 will be your chance to experience and compare the most important DRM technology solutions under one roof. The conference will feature keynotes from leading industry figures that will introduce you to the fundamentals of DRM, shed light on future DRM directions, and provide incendiary debate on today’s controversial issues of online piracy and digital copyright.

Go to conference homepage

Music Mashup Pre-Conference at The Mashup, is all about gaining true understanding of how the combined forces of youth and technology are transforming how youth listen to and consume music. Co-programmed by Jay Frank of Yahoo! Music, this event will open with a keynote by Eric Garland, CEO of Big Champagne Online Media Measurement. Eric will break out the genres that teens are actually listening to and give a better idea of what sounds work for marketers. He’ll also offer analysis on how much is being consumed illegally vs. legally along with the methods by which young people obtain this music.

Should be interesting. Check out more at:

http://mashup.ypulse.com

The Bandwidth Conference discusses issues of interest to the music and technology communities, with a particular focus on the evolving musical experience. Topics focus on marketing, fan behavior, trends and future forecasts, and an examination of the ways people discover, purchase, interact with, and are exposed to music. San Francisco 17th-18th.of August 2007

http://www.bandwidthconference.com/

Buzz Building: Podcasts and Vodcasts

While words and pictures might have done the trick for your dad’s old website, the modern web demands a modern approach. In 2007, that means using audio and video to add personality and panache to your message. The latest session in our series concerning practical branding and the routes to cyber-success takes on the world of sound and vision.

The F Word: Monetising Filesharing – An Industry Solution

This event brings together the leading proponents of the remuneration-for-access model with rightsholders, ISPs and other stakeholders to debate the issues and opportunities of licensing filesharing. It will seek to generate an outline of discussion points and next steps for the industries involved, which we hope will illuminate an exciting new dawn for recorded music.

More info at http://www.musictank.co.uk/events

Added to calendar. Check the site: