Midem Draws Ministers European Officials Have High Profile

A Music & Media/Billboard staff report.

CANNES‹The European music industry's campaign to be given the same political and public standing as other businesses appears to have made a breakthrough.
"The music industry has suffered from the stigma of being a glorified hobby, but those days are now over," says Export Music Sweden managing director Stuart Ward.
Evidence supporting that view was the presence at MIDEM, held Jan. 24-28 here, of government ministers from France, Sweden, the U.K., Luxembourg, and Poland, along with a large contingent of European Union policy-makers. "Culture is pretty much the prerogative of [EU] member states, but the Maastricht Treaty now allows for some action at a European level," noted Luxembourg Minister of Culture Ema Hennicot-Schoepges.
Traditionally, the only government minister to attend MIDEM has been the French minister of culture, who regularly used the trade fair to unveil new policies in the musical field. Ironically, this year's visit by French Minister of Culture Catherine Trautmann was widely regarded as "disappointing" by French music industry executives, who accused Trautmann of failing to address any of the problems faced by the industry.
Trautmann's silence contrasted with the high visibility of other ministers, most notably Kim Howells, the U.K.'s parliamentary undersecretary of state at the Department of Trade and Industry, and Leif Pagrotsky, Sweden's minister of trade. Howells was a replacement for former Trade and Industry Minister Peter Mandelson, who initially planned to visit Midem but resigned from the British cabinet in January, while Pagrotsky was in Cannes to support the "Cool Sweden" opening-night party, which featured live performances from the likes of the Cardigans, Robyn, and Emilia.
Both Howells and Pagrotsky recognized the value of the music industry to their countries as a major source of income. Pagrotsky, whose department contributed 500,000 kroner ($64,000) to the Swedish industry's Midem initiative, told Music & Media, "What I can offer the industry by going to events such as Midem is recognition. By treating the music industry as any other industry, I'm simply helping them with their self-esteem. They were not used to dealing with the government. They have to realize that they are just as welcomed [as any other industry]."
Export Music Sweden's Ward says the presence of the minister of trade was "a recognition of the hard work people in the Swedish industry have put in every day." He adds, "Success didn't come by itself. There's a lot of hard work behind the success of all the Swedish acts, and it doesn't do any harm to get our share of recognition from the establishment that the minister represents."
Through the voice of Howells, the U.K. government underlined the importance of the British music industry and stressed its commitment to protecting copyright in the digital age. "There's a whole new world in cyberspace‹if we're not sharp, it will make us all redundant," Howells told a gathering of U.K. executives organized by labels' body the British Phonographic Industry and authors' umbrella body British Music Rights. Howells, who also visited stands and attended two showcases of new U.K. acts during his visit, warned that other interests would "thieve" from creative people without protection and suggested that copyright legislation might have to be updated yearly in order to keep abreast of technological changes.
"You must tell us what you think, so that we can use your initiative when talking to other countries," he told delegates, arguing that the EU's forthcoming Copyright Directive will be of assistance "to ensure that the theft of intellectual property does not become the norm."
British Music Rights director general Nanette Rigg said the presence of ministers such as Howells was "the final recognition that the business of entertainment is treated as a serious business." For Rigg, the glamorous aspect of the music industry can sometimes be one reason that politicians are interested in mingling with artists and music businesspeople, but "it is more than just being sexy. In Europe, we are beginning to see the importance of the knowledge-based economy. With the building of the online business, the rise of E-commerce, consumers will want content, and the music industry is at the heart of that process."
Sweden's Pagrotsky acknowledges that there is a danger that some politicians will use music only for image purposes, without looking at the substance of the industry. "I can see the risk," he says. "There is a temptation to attract voters in this way, but it can have a boomerang effect because it can appear too populistic."