Thursday March 11th 2010
The Music Business Journal (of the Berklee College of Music) is a student publication that serves as a forum for intellectual discussion and research into the various aspects of the music business. The goal is to inform and educate aspiring music professionals, connect them with the industry, and raise the academic level and interest inside and outside the Berklee Community.
Over the years, the MIDEM Music Convention in Cannes, France, has been looked upon as a staple for emerging trends and new business deals within the music industry. It is now in its 43rd cycle and this year, between January 23-27, industry professionals from seventy-eight countries discussed the business and networked together. Among the attendees was Allen Bargfrede, a professor at Berklee’s Music Business/Management program. We were able to get some insights from him and gain perspective on the event.
MIDEM, often at the forefront of new activity within the music industry, has suffered a drop in attendance. According to Bargfrede, “it was less crowded this year; this is the fourth time I’ve been, and numbers were down about 13% and as much as 20% from two years ago.” Bargfrede wondered if the explanation was the state of the industry, or the decline in the economy, with its resulting travel cutbacks.
MIDEM is also in danger of losing relevance. Says Bargfrede: “MIDEM started in the 1970’s as a way for people to license their music across borders, so if you were a US label who wanted to license your music into Europe, Asia and South America, you had to get on a plane and fly there…[The MIDEM organization] created an event where everyone descended on Cannes to meet with people from around the world and knock out deals all at once; now, however, with MP3’s and technology, the need to sit down and play music for someone face-to-face has diminished.” For Bargfrede, current shows seem to be more about learning digital technologies and less about actual business deals--although many do take place. The keynote addresses have also transformed the venue into a forum for exposing and exploiting new technologies.