This year’s MIDEM conference in Cannes has failed to build on last year’s attendance decline, as visitor numbers remained flat year-on-year at 4,400.
Taking place between June 6-9, the 51st MIDEM drew the exact same number of visitors as 2016, according to show organisers, although they would surely have been looking for an uptick in attendees given that the total was down significantly from 5,500 in 2015.
However, new MIDEM director Alexandre Deniot remained upbeat about the overall show, having told Music Week last week that the show was more about “quality than quantity” when it comes to visitor numbers.
“By changing the listening experience, making it personalised, improving discoverability of catalogues and creating a stronger link with music fans, streaming services improve the monetisation of music, opening new business opportunities for artists, labels, publishers and even for the live music ecosystem,” Deniot said of this year’s show. “After some challenging years for the music industry, this year’s MIDEM felt like the labels, publishers and artists appeared far more confident that a return to growth is no longer a dream but a reality.”
A key focus of MIDEM 2017 was the opportunities available in the international market; something that was reflected in the number of international delegates present at the show. The US, Latin America (particularly Chile, Mexico and Brazil) and Africa all increased the size of their delegation, while Ukraine and the Ivory Coast were represented at the show for the first time in its history.
“The global reach of music and the exciting potential for growth in such areas as Asia and Africa, means it is important for MIDEM to showcase countries and explain the different ways for entering those markets,” added Deniot. “This year we launched the MIDEM Worldwide Village which provided specialist insight into the main music markets such as the US, France, Germany or the UK and the developing markets in China, India, the Balkans and Latin America.”
Each of the major labels were present at the event, as were numerous indies and trade associations, including AIM, WIN, BPI, A2IM, VUT, SNEP, BMVI and IMPALA.
There was also a strong showing from streaming platforms, with Spotify, Amazon, Deezer, SoundCloud, Napster and Tencent making the trip to Cannes.
“I think what we have seen at MIDEM 2017 is a real coming together of labels, publishers and streaming platforms as they discuss the best way that they can work together for their mutual benefit and the benefit of artists,” Deniot concluded. “Issues still exist, such as artist remuneration from the digital platforms, but the dialogue appears more constructive and will certainly continue at Midem 2018.”
You can read our interview with Deniot in full here.
