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Tech gives us the chance to create new paradigms

As the world begins to open up at a steady (or not so steady) pace, the questions around technology and how it will impact the live business when we are back in full swing remains.

That being said, the reason we are starting this monthly column is to keep you all informed and up to date as to the changes around technology that may very well become part and parcel of the live industry.

Change is real and although there may be some fatigue around livestreams, which dominated much of 2020, it is vital to remember that this technology in itself will become part of how we structure deals and open up new revenue streams for our artists. We must learn, adapt and look to the future. Nobody wants to be the next dinosaur.

Never before has it been so vital for an industry to get in the middle of this new opportunity – and indeed view it as an opportunity and not a hindrance. Agents and promoters worldwide have a chance to be part of something new, or face losing out.

We must learn, adapt and look to the future. Nobody wants to be the next dinosaur

On a personal level, I see us being at a crossroad and view the impact of technology in the live music industry as a way for us to better ourselves and our business.

The pandemic has been devastating to this sector, to put it lightly, and therefore technology, from livestreams to the new excitement around NFTs, gives us a chance to create new paradigms that I believe can help us give the live industry a cushion should such an event happen again.

This is why I feel so strongly and passionately about it all – we must protect and improve our ecosystem.

In order to make change, we need to do something that is unheard of in the music industry – all be on the same page, putting our individual egos to the side and focusing on how we can create these new models and put live front and centre in artist planning.

This column will look into specific market news on a monthly basis and analyse the impact it will have on our business whilst looking at both the pros and cons around each scenario and aim to problem solve.

[Tech] can help us give the live industry a cushion should such an event [like the pandemic] happen again

Live stream is probably not the term on everyone’s lips right now, but I am glad they are present. Not only have they been an opportunity for artists to have a creative output, but more importantly, as a whole, we have started to shift the conversation forwards when it comes to the public paying for artist content.

There should be no shame in artists charging for content that they put time and effort into in the future, as there is no issue in sports and other sectors that charge for content.

Therefore, with that in mind, the excitement will be working out how we can incorporate an element of livestreaming into our artist touring in the near future.

The live industry has been working on a largely copy/paste model for the last few decades, with artists touring Europe and hitting the “key cities” – but who said this was effective? What if your fans are spread out across a country? How do you reach everyone whilst also building your artists fanbase bigger and truly engaging fans? Geo-locking could be that way forward.

The excitement will be working out how we can incorporate an element of livestreaming into our artist touring

Imagine putting on a tour and playing your shows in the usual cities where you expect most traffic and sales but giving fans located in the nearby regions an opportunity to tune in to that show with their friends and family at home at a discounted rate and also allowing them to engage with the artist in some manner, whether through a pre-show element in the dressing room, Q&A sessions or chat rooms with other fans.

This opens the door to valuable revenue for artists of all levels through livestream ticketing income, exclusive merchandise income, tipping, brand deals, virtual meet and greets and more.

My concern is, that in conversations I sense people feel this would only apply to artists of a certain level, however, I strongly believe that this model will be key for new bands starting out, and those coming from territories such as North America and Australia into Europe for the first time.

As we all know, the pandemic means that most likely touring in the future will become more costly and thus any extra income your act can generate through a few t-shirt sales, live- stream access and so on will be valuable to their bottom line. It is our duty as those that defend artist careers to look at how we can both engage their audiences and increase the revenue streams.

 


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IQ 99 out now: NFT ticketing tech & more

IQ 99, the latest issue of the international live music industry’s favourite monthly magazine, is available to read online now.

In May’s edition, IQ examines the hype around nonfungible tokens and the exciting possibilities they can bring to ticketing, while news editor Jon Chapple discovers some of the ways that live entertainment can embrace sustainability in its return to action.

In comments and columns, the Australian Festivals Association’s Julia Robinson discusses how a lack of government-backed insurance could impact business confidence and Laura Davidson explains the driving force behind her new female-led live services consultancy, Amigas.

Following the inaugural edition of IPM Production Notes in IQ 98, tour manager Rebecca Travis reflects on 20 years on the road and one year off, while Mike Malak updates readers on the new technology impacting the music industry in Pulse.

Plus, enjoy the regular content you’ve come to expect from your monthly IQ Magazine, including news and new agency signings – the majority of which will appear online in some form in the next four weeks.

Whet your appetite with the preview below, but if you can’t wait for your fix of essential live music industry features, opinion and analysis, click here to subscribe now and receive IQ 99 in its entirety. Subscribers can log in and read the full magazine now.

 


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PULSE: Highlights from ILMC’s new tech event

PULSE is an all-new platform that sits at the intersection of technology and live entertainment. A collaboration between ILMC, senior booking agent Mike Malak (Paradigm), and digital entertainment expert Yvan Boudillet (TheLynk), the first PULSE event took place at ILMC today (3 March), welcoming leading figures from both industries for a full day of discussion and debate.

Tickets for ILMC 33, which include all panels, including PULSE, available to watch back until 5 April 2021, are still available. Click here for more information.

 


The final Pulse session of the day, The Business of Live Tech, brought together industry heads to discuss emerging business models and new deals around tech and music.

One of the panel’s most interesting discourses was about the perceived fan-appetite for livestreaming before, during and after the pandemic.

Steve Hancock, Melody VR/Napster (UK) points out that fans’ demand for livestreaming was strong before the pandemic and will continue to be a valuable complementary offering to live.

“Just exclusively VR, we moved on to mobile smartphone and tablet in 2019, where we launched our real-time live technology at Wireless with Live Nation in Finsbury Park. We did all three days, multi-stage, multi-cam jumps and had 250,000 people coming through the app on the first weekend at that festival and it showed everyone that appetite was there.

“And as we introduced paywalls, as the market progressed, people were good with it. Livestreaming will never replace live but I think a hybrid, and marriage, of physical and digital attendance is, in my opinion, the way forward,” said Hancock.

Olenik ventured that the way to keep fans interested in livestreaming events post-pandemic is to offer bonus features

Lesley Olenik, Live Nation (US), ventured that the way to keep fans interested in livestreaming events post-pandemic is to offer bonus features for those watching at home.

“If you have a world tour that you’re planning and if the artist is open to it, giving people access to maybe like the rehearsals or the soundcheck and doing some sort of virtual meet and greet could appeal to fans around the world. Billie Eilish did a really cool video that was shown before her live stream with her crew and how they all work together to bring this show to life and like what an undertaking is and fans loved it,” said Olenik.

Justin Lubliner, Darkroom (US), agreed and warned that without features tailored specifically for at-home livestreaming, fans’ interest could waiver.

“Billie’s show was an amazing live stream experience: I think the differentiating factor between the one that we did [with Billie] and the one that I’ve seen from other artists was that it was created specifically to be watched behind a computer and a TV. Not to offend anyone but personally, I am less bullish about the general virtual concert space,” he said.

Cheryl Paglierani, United Talent Agency (US), echoed that thought: “There is going to be ways for us to create virtual balconies or virtual meet and greet experiences if they’re already doing you can add, you know more and maybe it’s through zoom or whatever platform so you know it helps the artist generate more revenue, as opposed to you know just the bodies that are in the building, that’s what people are discussing right now and trying to find the best solutions for, but I do think people will be willing to pay for it for sure.”

Asking how to keep the fan at the centre of new virtual performance spaces, The New Fan Experience welcomed Sheri Bryant from virtual events platform Sansar, who spoke of the importance of connecting fans with performers while avoiding trying to compete with the live experience.

Livestreaming, said Driift’s Ric Salmon, is the “holy grail” for artists. “It’s a direct-to-fan format,” he said. “The ecosystem between the artist and the fan is complicated and there are a lot of mouths to feed in that process – [livestreaming] provides us with an opportunity to realign that relationship.

When choosing a platform, said Tommas Arnby (Locomotion), “you want to go where the fans are”. Streaming, he said, is about “creat[ing] scarce, unique moments. You want to really make something that blows the fans away – give them something they didn’t expect.”

Where the sector goes next, suggested Brandon Goodman of Best Friends Music “depends on the artist. It’s important for the creative to make sense with the artist – I don’t think artists should necessarily do what Billie [Eilish] did. For exampled, I loved the Dermot Kennedy stream – but I don’t think Dermot Kennedy in an XR world, like Billie, would be very on-brand for an artist like him.”

https://twitter.com/MartinMyers/status/1367108725094420482

Trivium frontman Matt Heafy opened The Livestreamers’ Guide to Live Music by talking about his following on videogame-focused livestreaming site Twitch, where has more than 200,000 subscribers (many of whom also tuned into the ILMC panel).

While Heafy has been streaming on Twitch for years (including every Trivium show for the past three), “it took up until the pandemic happening for my channel to really take off,” he explained. It’s because of his putting in that groundwork, he added, that, “now that everyone’s stuck at home, they know to come and see what Matt’s been telling us about all this time.”

Julie Bogaert from Facebook spoke of the importance for streamers of having a “presence on as many platforms as possible,” in addition to Facebook and Instagram, “because they all have different audiences”.

For livestreamers, viewer engagement is key, added Heafy. “That’s what separates live from video. That viewer-streamer relationship is the big difference [between a live broadcast and] a video that already exists.

“It’s really that human element that’s important. I’ve heard it described as the Bruce Dickinson effect. Iron Maiden have been playing arenas for 20 years, but what he can do is make even the person in the nosebleed seats feel like the show is all about them.”

Building an audience on a platform like Twitch is “a grind”, admitted Wiktoria Wójcik of esports specialist InStreamly. “You have to prepare to stream to, say, every day, or once a week – you need to have a schedule, and always deliver.”

Livestreaming, she added, “isn’t an easy way to be discovered, because you’re going live for a few hours and then you vanish, as it’s live content only. You have to have a place where you aggregate your fans and them push them towards your live streams.”’

Asian Agent’s Danny Lee, who works with a number of K-pop acts, described the subtle differences between the various platforms. For example, “Instagram Live is very immediate,” he said. “People just go right into it. Whereas on something like V Live, which is a very popular Korean livestreaming app, a streamer may start out by just looking at the camera for five minutes.”

Livestreaming will not replace live, said Wójcik, but act as an add-on in future. “Even when we come out of this, there will still be people who can’t come to see you in person or come to your shows, so streaming will provide a way to connect with those fans.”


Pulse continued with Sweet Streams – Best in Class, which saw Lars-Oliver Vogt, Live Nation GSA, assemble leaders in the livestreaming space to share best practice and reflect on 2020’s standout events.

James Sutcliffe, LiveNow Global (UK), reflected on the success of Dua Lipa’s first ticketed virtual show, Studio 2054, which took place late last year and garnered more than 500 million views and 300,000 ticket sales.

LiveNow splashed out a whopping $1.5 million in realising the Dua Lipa project but big budgets are part of the company’s business model, said Sutcliffe.

“We’re not afraid to invest and I think it’s important for us to ensure that the quality levels of the content and the product that we’re putting out is high. And by us coming to the table with the willingness to invest and help curate these shows, it gives them the best possible chance of the end product being as good as you’ve just seen.”

Mike Schabel, Kiswe (US), enjoyed similar success with K-pop band BTS and their Map of the Soul On:e pay-per-view live stream, which saw 993,000 people across 193 countries tune in.

“How does livestreaming become more than just a promotional vehicle or novelty for mid-range acts”

Schabel says the most exciting thing about the live stream was “the number of innovations we’ve brought to the table for the audience” including multiple cameras to choose from, multi-language live closed captioning and Bluetooth-enabled light sticks.

However, the “live live” aspect of the shows was “an overwhelming challenge that everybody in this space knows”.

Speaking on the role of an agent in livestreaming, Natasha Gregory, Mother Artists (UK), says that while there’s been little financial gain, there’s been a lot to learn.

“I really wanted to get involved and find out how streaming works and how many tickets you can sell for a rock band, for instance, Idles who sell 2,500 tickets in London, and how that can reflect.”

“[Idles livestream] was at least six weeks of solid work and what you get out of it is minimal. I mean we did 12,000 streams but we did decide to use it more as a marketing tool,” she adds.

“It’s really about what can you do differently [with livestreaming] that makes it actually viable”

However, Tim Westergreen, Sessions Live (US), asked “how does livestreaming become more than just a promotional vehicle or novelty for mid-range acts?”.

“It’s really about what can you do differently that makes it actually viable, so that an average band can take advantage of what should be a great platform. You can do all sorts of different ticketing to offer the ability to connect with a band that the real world doesn’t allow you and unless you until you do that and do that in a scalable way, [livestreaming] will continue to be more elitist.”

Westergreen says that the monetisation of livestreaming for mid-range acts depends on two things: a fan and audience development platform as well as a monetisation mechanism similar to those tried and tested in gaming.

“How do you monetise engagement? That’s what gaming has done for two decades now it’s why, as an industry, it’s been so much more successful than music in the digital era.”

“It has only taken 10 months for fans to accept they have to pay for tickets to a live stream”

Fabrice Sergent, Bandsintown group (US), says: “There’s hope, and not just for the large artists”.

Sergeant says that last year Bandsintown listed 70,000 live streams last year, 75% of which were actually listed by artists of less than 100,000 followers.

Not only that but from July to October, the number of live streams that were ticketed jumped from 2% to 50%.

“For something that started as a free medium, it has only taken 10 months for fans to accept they have to pay for tickets to a live stream. When you think back to the time when music was pirated on Napster and it took 10 years for fans to finally accept to buy a subscription to music streaming.”

 


Pulse kicked off with New Technology Pitches, hosted by Steve Machin LiveFrom Events (UK), comprised of quick-fire presentations on the best new tech and innovation in the business.

First up, Arjun Mehta (US) showcased Moment House’s premium digital platform for live creators.

“How do you marry technology with culture? That’s the question at the heart of our approach,” Mehta says.

Mehta explained that Moment House was launched because he felt “a fundamental tool was missing from the internet”.

“This was never meant to be a replacement for a physical concert. We built it from the standpoint of ‘how do we craft the most compelling digital fan experience digitally?’… a brand new unit that’s fully complementary to the physical world.”

“How do you marry technology with culture? That’s the question at the heart of [Moment House’s] approach”

Mehta says Moment House is built on three core principles: “Number one is beautiful design – a beautiful user experience that really prioritises the fan. Number two is our messaging and how we frame Moment House to both the artists and fans as this new independent unit of a moment. The third thing is curating the sorts of artists on the platform…it’s very important to us that we took a top-down approach and brought some of the world’s biggest superstars onto the platform.”

Eight Day Sound then presented its Virtual Live Audience (VLA) technology, which “meaningfully reconnects audiences to the entertainment they love”.

“VLA is cutting edge proprietary technology that allows for seamless communication between presenters and audiences with low latency and high quality remote participants are displayed via video screens on site and the team can customise the layout.”

“The sky is the limit for the number of participants able to join VLA, which means that the audience is no longer limited to the venue, and there are opportunities for scalable ticketing sponsorship, advertising and other revenue-generating streams. You can maximise event profits.”

Next to the stand was Vladic Ravich, who told ILMC delegates how Bramble came to be.

Vladic and co-founder Salimah Ebrahim launched Bramble to offer “a more human way to gather online”

The company behind Bramble, Artery, started as a way to “connect people with cultural experience” by helping users set up secret events in their own homes.

When the pandemic hit, rendering Artery’s business model redundant, Vladic and co-founder Salimah Ebrahim launched Bramble which sought to offer “a more human way to gather online”.

“What makes Bramble a good gathering? The first thing is our proprietary fluid video technology, and if you haven’t seen this kind of spatial video and audio, it’s immediately intuitive.”

Bramble also offers a customisable performance venue that has hosted events including the House of Yes’s Halloween show as well as the Artist and Manager awards.

Next up, Param Kanabar tells ILMC delegates about Noq, a cashless and contactless ordering system that “looks at tackling queue management and issues around queuing at events”.

Noq is “a hybrid blend between a marketplace app as well as a branding solution”

“You just need a QR code specific to a particular event. This could be shared with customers, ahead of the event, whether that be through a website, social media, tickets, newsletters.

“Additionally, at the event, there’ll be multiple touch points, at the entrance, near the food zones. So when customers scan a QR code, they are taken straight to a festival landing page where they’re able to see all the vendors that are around them.

“This is great because there’s a lot of increase in folks being gluten free, vegan and vegetarian. Plus people have food allergies. So, communicating what you want in a busy festival and an event is difficult sometimes. And so from a customer perspective, having this and access to view everything that is around them is important.”

Kanabar says Noq’s unique selling point is that the app is “ultimately a hybrid blend between a marketplace app as well as a branding solution”.

Notetracks founder and CEO Kam Lal was next in line to deliver his pitch on what was dubbed ‘Asana for video and audio’.

Lookport is “the biggest video livestreaming platform in Eastern Europe”

The platform to share music, video, audio projects and gather feedback and notes.

“The problem we aim to solve is working on audio and video files remotely. Currently, you know the tools are very fragmented and there’s a disconnected workflow – it’s not very collaborative. So our solution is one workspace where you could review and collaborate in a seamless environment and gather feedback.”

Lookport’s Alex Wolf was next to the stand to tell delegates about “the biggest video livestreaming platform in Eastern Europe” which has hosted 150 livestreams throughout the pandemic and boasts more than 90 million views.

Wolf said the unique selling point of Lookport is that it provides a full service, from promoting the event, to producing it, to selling tickets, and then streaming the show.

“Lockport is a completely web based solution and you don’t need to then launch any specific application, we created our own web player so users can watch our content from any device. The player can also be embedded into any web page or landing site.”

“It is next to impossible today to receive audience data for an artist or event team all in one place”

Last but by no means least, Aivar took to the virtual stage to pitch FanSifter.

“It is next to impossible today to receive audience data for an artist or event team all in one place, in one format because data is locked into silos both in music and live. To get that data out of the silos is now more important than ever because, with cookie-based targeting and advertising sunsetting, artists and all the partners, management teams, promoters, labels, merch stores, even brands need to collaborate on these first party audience data sets, have to comply to GDPR and other privacy laws. FanSifter exists to solve this with a collaborative and privacy-compliant customer data platform.”

 


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Mike Malak previews new ILMC session PULSE

ILMC this year features the launch of PULSE, an all-new conference and content platform focused on the intersection of technology and live entertainment.

PULSE is a collaboration between ILMC, Paradigm agent Mike Malak and digital entertainment expert Yvan Boudillet (TheLynk). Here, Malak previews the sessions that make up PULSE and outlines his expectations for the event.

 


What is the idea behind PULSE?
MM: During the pandemic, people have been doing a lot of live streams and I was really keen to dive deeply into that and see where it will take our business moving forward. We wanted to put together an event where we could look toward the future of live music, see where everything fits together and where it will take us.

Who can we expect to hear from during PULSE?
We’ve got a good mix of speakers both from the live stream space and also some younger forward-thinking people, whether on the label side or promoter side etc, so we can hear what they have to say and we can figure out how we can all work together. We’re also bringing in people from the e-sports and gaming sectors because they are the experts at monetising live streams and that kind of technology. We are aware that live music is behind all those sectors and we want to learn from those people, so I’ve no doubt they will provide us with some value.

We’re very lucky to have secured the likes of Justin Lubliner from Darkroom, Danny Rukasin and Brandon Goodman from Best Friends Music, Tommas Arnby from Locomotion, and Lesley Olenik from Live Nation to shape the discussions on the day, so I’m looking forward to a very informative and productive launch for PULSE.

“Livestreaming is still a work in progress, but I’m super excited about what it’s going to do for our business moving forward”

Why the focus on livestreaming, in particular?
Livestreaming is still a work in progress, but I’m super excited about what it’s going to do for our business moving forward. We all want to be back at real live shows, but I think this can really supplement artist income, especially new artists that have to budget really tightly to do a tour.

Livestreaming opens up different doors in terms of monetising things, and to get into the middle of content – which is basically a show – and create a whole separate experience while monetising it, is a huge opportunity. People are realising that live streams are a whole other asset, and monetising that can complement launching your tour or releasing your album while creating a special moment for fans that they can engage with, whether we’re in a pandemic or not.

“We will look at virtual venues and how fans interact with them, giving them a completely different experience”

From an agent’s perspective, what benefits does livestreaming bring you?
As much data as possible is always going to help us with our educated guesses about where we can go and what we can do on a tour. The world is a big place, and beyond all the traditional key cities where we go on tour, this can open other doors to understanding where some of those fanbases might actually be.

There’s a session about the “new fan experience”; what can we expect from that?
The new fan experience is figuring out how you can create a special moment for fans at home and make that a meaningful experience. So we will look at virtual venues and how fans interact with them, giving them a completely different experience that has nothing to do with a real live show.

“We’ll investigate the interesting ways that artists are interacting with the online viewers for more of a connection”

And on the other hand, we’ll investigate the interesting ways that artists are interacting with the online viewers so it feels like there is a bit more of a connection. Some artists have made content where they pop-up on screen while their fans are watching their show, for instance, but there are lots of different tactics that you can use to really embrace the audience, make them feel like they are part of the show and they are connecting with the artists in a different way.

A brand new American act might go to Paris, for example, but what if they have five fans in Lyon and five in Marseille? It might not sound like a lot, but if they buy a ticket for the live stream and they also buy a bit of merch and you give them a way to feel like they are experiencing the show, even if it’s cheaper, that’s going to help that new artist’s budget quite a lot. If you do that throughout Europe, it adds up.

“Livestreaming is an issue that concerns all of us… we’re all trying to figure out how it works and how we all fit in together”

Who do you think will be most interested in the PULSE sessions?
I hope, based on the amazing speakers that we have from the different sectors of the industry, that PULSE will attract a good spread of people. It’s an issue in our industry that concerns all of us, because we’re all trying to figure out how it works and how we all fit in together – where does the label and publisher fit in alongside the PRS? These are all things to be clarified and discussed together.

I hope people also tune in for the New Technology Pitch sessions because, as a lot of us know, there are a million streaming companies reaching out to all of us, all of the time, so it will be good to get an understanding of what is important, what’s key and what to look for when we’re figuring out who is doing it right.

PULSE will take place on 3 March featuring sessions including New Technology Pitches; Sweet Streams – Best in Class; The Livestreamers Guide to Live Music; The New Fan Experience; The Business of Live Tech. Register for ILMC 33 here.

 


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New year, new hope: IQ 96 is out now

IQ 96, the latest issue of the international live music industry’s favourite monthly magazine, is available to read online now.

February’s IQ Magazine details the unique 2021 edition of the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) and offers an exclusive preview of new session Pulse with agent Mike Malak.

Elsewhere, IQ editor Gordon Masson finds out New Zealand’s industry is coping in its post-pandemic bubble, and talks to some of Europe’s biggest venues to find out how they plan to get back up and running, as the European Arenas Association turns 30.

This issue also hears from Crosstown Concerts director Conal Dodds, who details his firm’s creation of a new live-streaming operation, and Nue Agency chief Jesse Kirshbaum, who extols gaming’s ability to introduce artists to new audiences and accelerate career development.

And if you’re curious to know what Rob Challice (Paradigm), Claudio Trotta (Barley Arts), Alan Day (Kilimanjaro Live) and other industry pros are looking forward to most when life gets back to normal, you’ll find the answers in Your Shout.

All that is in addition to all the regular content you’ve come to expect from your monthly IQ Magazine, including news analysis and new agency signings, the majority of which will appear online in some form in the next four weeks.

Whet your appetite with the preview below, but if you can’t wait for your fix of essential live music industry features, opinion and analysis, click here to subscribe now and receive IQ 96 in full.

 


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ILMC reveals provisional agenda for 2021 edition

The International Live Music Conference (ILMC) has unveiled the provisional agenda for the 33rd edition, which will go Virtually Live between 3–5 March.

This year’s agenda boasts three days’ worth of sessions with the industry’s top players, focusing on touring, agency, livestreaming, diversity, greener touring, mental health, ticketing, gender equality, Brexit, Covid and more.

ILMC’s Winter Rate ends before 6 pm GMT on 29 January, after which the price of registration increases. See the provisional agenda below.

Wednesday 3 March
Day one at ILMC 33 sees The Open Forum: The big build back and an all-star panel of guests answering the big questions, and Klaus-Peter Schulenberg: The five-year plan, in which the CTS Eventim founder and CEO lays out his five-year vision for live entertainment in Europe.

Insurance: The big update looks at what impact the last few years have had on insurance and changes in the market; guest speakers from across the industry take a look at the revolving world of A&R in The Talent Pipeline: bringing new artists online; and in Agency Business: Enter the new players a collection of new kids on the agency block present their different approaches to the business.

We assess the long-term effects of Covid-19 on the venue sector in The Venue’s Venue: Rooms to manoeuvre and grassroots music venue operators discuss the challenges facing their rooms in Grassroots Venues: Route to recovery; in Sustainability: The best of GEI, the team behind the Green Events & Innovations Conference presents the key takeaways from their event; and in Collaboration: The multiplayer experience, a panel considers whether the industry needs a representative body.

Wednesday also features the previously announced Pulse@ILMC, a new industry platform to sit at the intersection of technology and live events.

Wednesday also features Pulse@ILMC, a new industry platform to sit at the intersection of technology and live events

Thursday 4 March
Day two of ILMC starts with Brexit: The endgame, in which a panel of experts assesses the new normal in European touring; while Covid-19: The strategy game discusses the measures and strategies the industry can utilise to get back up and running. Ticketing: Moving beyond 2020 looks at how the relationship between ticketers, venues, promoters and fans has changed; whilst Artists: The view from the stage provides creators with an opportunity to discuss what’s new and what’s changed from their point of view.

The Engine Room: The IPM review will see a panel of production experts present the key takeaways from the ILMC Production Meeting, which took place the day ILMC kicked off; The Agency Business 2021 asks company heads and leading lights from the agency world to discuss the future of the agency; Race Matters in Live: Levelling up looks at strategies to repair the race deficit; whilst the challenges and opportunities of domestic touring are discussed in Touring in 2021 & Beyond: The long game.

Thursday’s line-up also includes Mobile Ticket and Covid Testing & Mitigation workshops, and an entire day dedicated to the exhibition and experience economy – TEEM.

Thursday winds up with The (late) Breakfast Meeting in which veteran artist manager and ILMC host-with-the-most Ed Bicknell chats with industry legend Irving Azoff.

Thursday winds up with The (late) Breakfast Meeting in which Ed Bicknell chats with industry legend Irving Azoff

Friday 5 March
The final day’s topics include Mental Health: Talking heads, which takes an annual look at the mental health of the live music industry; Sponsorship: Reinventing the deal contemplates what branding will look like in 2021; and Festival Forum: Reboot & reset looks at the lessons festivals have learned since the industry closed down in March 2020.

We ask who is taking care of out-of-work professionals during the pandemic in The Workforce: Protecting our ecosystemFestival Futures: Core priorities sees festival operators consider what their events mean to them and their audiences; and Gender Equality: The next level takes a keen look at diversity in the workplace.

Working Culture: Getting a live examines home-working and the evolving concept of the office; and in Live-streaming Rights: Wrongs & rates we analyse the confusing topic of rights around live-streaming.

Rounding up ILMC 33, Futures Forum: Meet the new bosses sees a group of junior execs discuss how the pandemic has changed the business for them; Rock: The mother of invention examines this unique and dynamic genre; and finally, the ever-changing topic of health, safety and security are discussed in E3S: Safety & security 2.0.

Click here to see the full ILMC agenda.

 


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ILMC launches tech platform PULSE

In collaboration with senior booking agent Mike Malak (Paradigm) and digital entertainment expert Yvan Boudillet (TheLynk), the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) has launched a new industry platform to sit at the intersection of technology and live events.

The first PULSE event will take place within this year’s ILMC on 3 March, comprising a full day of discussion and debate with leading figures from both industries. Companies already confirmed to be taking part include Driift, Moment House, MelodyVR, Maestro, Sansar, Live Nation, The Darkroom, LiveFrom Events and Locomotion.

Beyond its first edition, the PULSE team explain that they expect to host conversations at other events, virtual summits and develop an independent media presence. “Live music and technology are increasingly converging as a partnership, and PULSE will focus on that relationship,” says Malak. “Nothing will ever replace live shows, but the tech space is abundant with both opportunities and pitfalls, and PULSE gives us that platform to discuss as an industry; to remain open minded and informed about the future.”

Topics already slated for the PULSE day at ILMC include The New Fan Experience, considering fan engagement in the plethora of new virtual performance spaces online, with Danny Rukasin and Brandon Goodman (Best Friends Music), Sheri Bryant (Sansar), Ric Salmon (Driift) and Tommas Arnby (Locomotion).

“What’s exciting about PULSE is that it’s a fluid, transportable format”

Pitch sessions, a spiritual successor to ILMC’s popular New Technology panel, see the best new tech and innovation queued up to present with host and longtime tech evangelist Steve Machin (LiveFrom), while The Business of Live Tech looks at emerging business models and new deals around tech and music, with Cheryl Paglierani (United Talent Agency), Justin Lubliner (The Darkroom), Lesley Olenik (Live Nation) and Steven Hancock (MelodyVR).

Sweet Streams: Best in Class invites the leaders in the livestreaming space to share best practice and insight, with Sara Bollwinkel (Paradigm) and Natasha Bent (Mother Agency), and The Livestreamers’ Guide to Live Music collects a line-up of gamers, streamers and platform heads, including Trivium guitarist and vocalist Matt Heafy, to tell the live sector what’s in store.

“What’s exciting about PULSE is that – just like the fast-evolving technology that it’s obsessed with – it’s a fluid, transportable format,” says Boudillet. “As ILMC is the live music industry’s most prestigious annual event, it made sense to launch PULSE there in March, but we’re excited to see where it goes next.”

Early session details for the first edition of PULSE are available here.

 


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G4S denies responsibility for Pulse shooting

G4S – the British security company whose US subsidiary, G4S Security Solutions, employed Pulse gunman Omar Mateen as a security guard – has denied responsibility for Mateen’s “terrible actions” and asked to be dropped from a lawsuit brought by survivors.

Mateen, a New Yorker of Afghan parentage who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (Isis) jihadist group, massacred 49 people at Pulse, a gay club in Orlando, Florida, last June.

He was a security guard for Florida-based G4S Security Solutions at the time of his death, leading survivors of the attack to file a class-action lawsuit against G4s, alleging Mateen’s employer knew he was mentally unstable and still granted him a firearms licence, failing to revoke it even after his investigation by the FBI for terror-related offences in 2013.

Responding to the suit in the US district court for southern Florida earlier this week, the company’s lawyers denied the company’s involvement in “any aspect of Mateen’s employment”, saying its subsidiary acted independently, reports AP.

“While G4S wants nothing more than for Mateen’s victims and their families to find peace, this misguided lawsuit is not the answer”

For its part, Security Solutions earlier this month sought the dismissal of the suit, saying Mateen wasn’t working for them at the time and didn’t use their weapons in the attack. “Thus, while G4S’s employees and their families want nothing more than for Mateen’s victims and their families to find some semblance of peace, this misguided lawsuit is not the answer,” concluded its request.

It is unclear, then, exactly which company employed Mateen at the time of his death; a statement from G4S shortly after the attack confirmed that “Omar Mateen had been employed with G4S since September 10, 2007”.

The Pulse shooting was the deadliest mass attack by a single shooter in American history, and the deadliest attack on the US since 11 September 2001.

 


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