The final day of the BIME 2016 conference provided another packed programme of panels, seminars and keynote addresses.
The morning kicked off with a session on how artists can generate revenues money in the digital age. Juan Carlos Fernandez, north-western area manager, SGAE, Miguel Martorell, Iberia content director, Altafonte, and Carlos Vinnuesa, business programme leader, SAE Institute, each discussed the need for artists and managers not to rely on traditional revenue streams in the pursuit of profit.
This was followed by a panel on the opportunities the gaming sector has to offer music rights-holders. The session saw Alistair Lindsay, head of music, Sony Interactive Entertainment Group and John Broomhall, co-founder, Game Music Connect, explore the key opportunities in the market for musicians to connect with the gaming sector.
A number of leading execs then came together to discuss the future of the music industry. Moderated by The Orchard founder Scott Cohen, the panel comprised Cooking Vinyl owner Martin Goldschmidt, Ableton CEO Gerhard Behles, WIN CEO Alison Wenham and Deezer VP southern Europe and MEA Phil Moore.
One of the event’s more lively sessions, it covered everything from music consumption habits to the influence of drugs and pornography upon the music industry.
On the ever-evolving nature of consumption, Cohen stated his view that technological advances will always be the key factor in how we engage with music. “Technology is driving the evolution of music consumption, not the consumer,” he said.
As conversation moved to albums vs singles and the ways in which technology will affect the way music is made, Goldschmidt offered his view that wider social and cultural factors will continue to be the overriding influence on new music.
“Music exists in a vacuum and it is always affected by outside influences, like drugs,” he said. “You like at the type of drugs people were taking in different eras and you can see the ways they have affected the music of that time. Also, things like porn and gaming have affected the way technology is developed, and that shapes consumption methods. Music reflects culture.”
Picking up the subject of tech, Wenham noted that the industry is now beginning to co-exist with the digital world.
“We’ve had a really bumpy 15 years in the industry, but now we are more comfortable with technology,” she commented. “It’s now just a part of our everyday life.”
She then drew the biggest laugh of the day, adding: “This panel is a fucking fraud. We haven’t got a clue what’s going to happen in the future!”
Later in the day, Mirik Milan, Amsterdam’s night mayor, addressed a packed room on his role in ensuring that the city’s nightlife is able to thrive and is considered a key facet of its overall cultural offering.
The afternoon also featured another keynote address, this time from Benji Rogers, founder and CSO of Pledge Music, who offered some insights into the benefits of blockchain and how it could potentially revolutionise the industry in the same way that the Internet has.
To see Thursday’s highlights, click here.
