People Power Comes To Midem

MIDEM will respond to the international music industry's fears about slumping sales by putting consumers at the center of its 2007 international trade show, set for Jan. 20-25 in Cannes.

The theme of this year's MidemNet—MIDEM's digital music forum on Jan. 20-21—is "Power to the Consumer," which is a response to the popularity of social-networking Web sites like YouTube and MySpace. A highlight of the sessions will be a special filmed focus group of young consumers discussing their music consumption habits.

MIDEM director Dominique Leguern says, "We are focusing on consumers because they are influencing all those companies creating new tools and platforms consumers use to enjoy music. This could offer new revenue possibilities for the industry."

"User-generated content is a phenomenon," says Paul Brindley, managing director of London-based digital music consultancy MusicAlly, which coordinated the consumer panel for MIDEM. "There's a desire by consumers to be producers or interact with music in new ways that need to be satiated."

Panelists and speakers this year will include former EMI Music Publishing chairman/CEO Martin Bandier; Larry Kenswil, president of Universal Music Group's eLabs unit; RIAA chairman Mitch Bainwol; and David Pakman, CEO of independent digital retailer eMusic.

Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am will explain how digital media startup musicane.com, where he is head of marketing, can help independent musicians showcase and sell digital content from their own Web and social-networking sites.

"This is a great time for indies," Will.i.am says. "If there is an issue, it's with record companies; their business model is falling apart. The indies never had a business model in the first place, so they benefit, while others are suffering."

Pakman is participating in a debate Jan. 21, "DRMs—Do We Really Need 'M'?," centering on the controversial digital rights management technology embraced by the majors yet shunned by most indies. eMusic distributes its music via DRM-free MP3 files.

"Billions of CDs are sold with no protection," Pakman says, "and the [open] MP3 file is no different from the way the industry has sold music since the early 1980s, when the CD started."

Other panel themes covered at MidemNet and MIDEM include dedicated advertising-funded music services ("Sounds Like Free: Ad-Supported Music"), the survival of niche genres in the digital landscape ("Long Tail Illustrated—Is Small the New Big?") and the impact of music on advertising ("Are Brands Shaping the New Music Economy?").