With a raft of specialist keynote sessions, seminars and industry panels, there’s plenty to get stuck into at this year’s Cannes extravaganza, which takes place from June 6-9. Here, we’ve selected five of the main attractions at the 2017 show.
Sarah Stennett
Acclaimed artist manager and winner of The Strat at this year’s Music Week Awards, Sarah Stennett will deliver her The Modern Artist keynote address in Cannes this year. Having worked with the likes of Zayn Malik, Ellie Goulding and Rita Ora to name but a few, she will discuss some of the key issues surrounding the process of breaking new acts and how the industry is adapting to support them.
MIDEM Artist Accelerator
The MIDEM Artist Accelerator (MAA) is built to serve as a major, international career booster for exciting new talent, and runs throughout the event. Among the programme’s ambassadors this year is hip-hop icon Wyclef Jean, who will deliver a live performance on Wednesday, June 7. UK acts appearing include Adian Coker. Be Charlotte, and Shakka.
Mike Shinoda
Mike Shinoda, vocalist and producer with US rock outfit Linkin Park, will deliver another insightful keynote. On Wednesday, June 7, Shinoda will give a talk based around technological innovation across the music industry. He will also take part in the MIDEM Lab startup competition as a jury member, whereby a selection of music start-ups present their ideas across four main business fields: Music Creation & Education; Music Discovery & Distribution; Marketing & Data/Analytics; and Experiential Technologies.
Steve Bartels
Music industry veteran and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, Steve Bartels, will deliver a keynote presentation at MIDEM on June 7, delving into the ever-evolving world of new talent scouting and artist development. He will also be providing some unique insights into the Def Jam philosophy and its approach to both marketing and creating a unique brand identity.
Warner Music
Warner Music Group’s Beth Appleton, SVP, global marketing, Simon Robson, president, Warner Music Asia, and Jonas Siljemark, president, Warner Music Nordics, will deliver a keynote named Breaking China: How a European pop star made it in Asia. They will be joined by said multi-platinum-selling Danish pop star Christopher and manager Thomas Børresen to discuss their story.
You can read our interview with new MIDEM director Alexandre Deniot, who told Music Week what he is hoping to bring to this year’s show and why he thinks the annual industry gathering is more vital than ever.
