MIDEM's Digital Edition has been hailed a success by organisers after featuring 263 speakers from 48 countries and attracting 8,000 "attendees".
The free online programme, held from June 2-5, followed the cancellation of the Cannes conference due to Covid-19, featured 64 sessions and 23 keynotes, including YouTube’s Tuma Basa and Kobalt founder and chairman Willard Ahdritz.
MIDEM is scheduled to return to Cannes for its 55th anniversary next year.
The platform has seen massive participation and has been able to bring together the industry's top artists and decision-makers
Alexandre Deniot
MIDEM
MIDEM director Alexandre Deniot (pictured), said: “Following the unprecedented success of the MIDEM Digital Edition, MIDEM enters a new era. The platform has seen massive participation and has been able to bring together the industry's top artists and decision-makers. It remained true to MIDEM’s DNA and is where the music business is happening right now.
"The Digital Edition has been and continues to be the place to learn, connect, and be inspired, to forge new business relationships, and find solutions together. The MIDEM Digital Edition is clearly the largest digital event for the music industry.
“I’m now looking forward to next year. Let’s regroup in Cannes to celebrate MIDEM’s 55th anniversary, our huge reunion edition. Our killer line-up already includes giants like TI with an exclusive Femi Kuti gig.”
Topics covered included the impact of coronavirus, the strength of the indie sector, the growth of the Artist & Label Services sector and the continuing growth of the African music markets, while 37 exclusive music shows were broadcast.
Alexandra Lioutikoff, president, Latin America and US Latin, Universal Music Publishing Group, said he was confident a brighter future would emerge for the biz after the pandemic.
"A new, proactive way of doing business is going to come out of this," he said. "I am sure we are going to become, as an industry, much stronger and better."
Commenting on the global industry recognising the potential of the African music markets, YouTube's Basa said: "The amount of activity they're seeing on social media, the activity they're seeing on streaming services, the view counts they're seeing on YouTube: that's what triggered the interest from the music industry in African music."
Fred Davis, partner of The Raine Group, claimed that artist and label services was the fastest growing segment in the whole music business.
"It was practically nothing two or three years ago, and this year we estimate it will be, a $2bn sector, 10% of the entire music industry, growing at a 35% to 40% year over year," he said.
The Digital Edition remains live and free to access.
