CANNES, FRANCE (Top40 Charts / Reed MIDEM) Jean Michel Jarre will top-line Midem Talks 2014, joining key music industry players as they tackle this year's main theme: "Back to Growth? Make it Sustainable!"
A pioneer of electronic music, Jarre has sold more than 80 million albums worldwide in a career spanning four decades, and has staged many superlative live performances against iconic backdrops such as the Eiffel Tower and the pyramids of Egypt . He recently took over as President of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), the leading worldwide network of authors' royalty collection societies.
Entitled "Fair Share for Creators," Jarre's interview is scheduled for Monday 3 February. He will tell the Midem audience how he believes a sustainable future for music in the digital eco-system cannot be achieved without ensuring fair remuneration for all stakeholders, especially creators, and why the latter need to mobilise if they want to benefit from the growth of the digital economy.
"We're thrilled to welcome
Jean Michel Jarre as part of our stellar line-up of keynote speakers at Midem. We're living at the tipping-point of a new growth era for music. Let's embrace optimism and work together to ensure our industry's recovery expands to every market, from emerging ones to more mature economies," said Bruno Crolot,
Director of Midem. "Midem is here to support the industry and to help make growth sustainable by providing a complete toolkit for success."
Figures — soon to be released by the CISAC at its press conference at Midem 2014 — show an increase in growth for global collections of author's royalties in music in 2012, compared to the prior year period. In addition, recent figures from the International Federation of the Phonographic
Industry (IFPI) showed the first year of growth after over a decade of steep decline. All these figures suggest that the music business is on the road to recovery, with digital download sales and streaming subscriptions growing rapidly.
To explore what these green shoots mean for the industry, the line-up of Midem speakers includes Seymour Stein , VP of Warner Bros. Records and co-founder of Sire Records, a legendary music executive who signed acts such as The Ramones,
Talking Heads and Madonna. Stein will host a special session during which he'll share how he built a successful music company by making the right, and often hard, decisions while forging a unique business acumen.
The indie sector will also join Midem 2014, with Alison Wenham , Chairman/CEO of the Association of Independent
Music & Chair of the Worldwide Independent Network (UK), who will outline what labels are doing to get back to growth. Ronny Krieger , Label Manager, Monkeytown Records ( Germany ), and Alain Verhave ,
Director of Marketing, Epitaph Records ( Netherlands ) will discuss how indie labels are reinventing fan engagement.
As part of the conference programme, Midem will welcome Geoff Taylor , Chief Executive of the British Phonographic
Industry and the BRIT Awards (UK), and Jordan Berliant , Partner & Head of
Music Management, The
Collective Music Group ( USA ), in a session about the best practices for online video success and how YouTube became the leading platform to consume, discover and share music. Stephen Bryan , SVP,
Digital Business Development, Warner
Music Group ( USA ), and Mandar Thakur , COO, Times
Music (
India ), will also take part in a discussion about the challenges of streaming music today. The Next Big Thing in Licensing will be debated by speakers such as Mary Megan Peer , President, Asia Pacific & Strategic Markets, peermusic ( USA ), and Florian Drucke , Managing Director, BVMI/IFPI ( Germany ). Lastly, Pete Ganbarg , EVP/Head of A&R, Atlantic Records ( USA ), and Steven
Melrose , Co-Managing Director, Epic Records (UK), will engage in a discussion on how to build an artist's career from discovery to success.
Midem will welcome representatives from all the leading international professional music associations, including publishers (ICMP), authors' societies (CISAC), lawyers (IAEL), indies (IMPALA/WIN) and managers (IMMF), who will rub shoulders with major labels (Sony Music, Universal
Music and Warner
Music ) and indie labels (Beggars, PIAS, Domino, Ministry of Sound, Mute, Epitaph), publishers ( Warner Chappell , peermusic, Budde
Music , Sony ATV, Sugar Music), managers (Golden Gate Management, Reverb Music, Reservoir Media Management, 1968 Media, CEMA, Promogroup BV), authors' societies (BUMA/STEMRA, SABAM, SACEM, BMI, PRS, GEMA) and live promoters (Manchester Light & Stage Co LTD, Live Nation, IKON, Global Gumbo Group, Jazzahead!).
