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Music Matters
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Two-day music business conference attracts industry leaders;
Secures major business deals
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Over the course of the two day music business conference, 75 speakers highlighted the latest trends and issues in the industry. Key speakers included:
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Daniel Ek, CEO and co-founder of Spotify,
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Neil Warnock, CEO of the The Agency Group,
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Bill Silva, CEO of Bill Silva Entertainment.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Omniphone Group Executive Chairman Rob Lewis,
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Sire Records founder and CEO Seymour Stein,
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Yu Sasamoto of Microsoft marketing team,
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Nettwerk Records CEO Terry McBride,
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Rani Cohen, CEO of TuneWiki
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Scarlett Li of Zebra Media
[if !supportLists]· [endif]Jeff Jones, CEO of Apple Corps
Day One – Music Matters More Than Ever
“Music matters more than ever was the message that came out of the first day of the conference, with upbeat music industry talk dominating the,” said Jasper Donat, president of Music Matters. “This year’s event covered the ecosystem of music industries, with almost every discussion centred on the importance of the music business in the Asia Pacific region today.”
The conference opened with keynote speaker Daniel Ek, CEO and co-founder of Spotify, emphasising the importance of the Asian music market, stating: “We’re open for business,” in reference to continued queries about expanding his music streaming service across Asia.
Attendees expressed extreme optimism at how the industry has moved forward in the wake of last year’s economic recession. “Sixty eight percent of Asian youth are passionate about music, with Korea topping the list at an amazing 81 percent,” announced Synovate Research Director Susanna Lam of the latest regional survey conducted about music listening patterns. “By 2014, 40 percent of global spending on music will be in this region,” said Marcel Fenez of Pricewaterhouse Coopers in reference to the studies that they have conducted over the past year.
In a session about the world’s digital communities featuring both telecommunications and music industry heavyweights, Omniphone Group Executive Chairman Rob Lewis stated: “Music is the only type of content connectible to so many different sources.”
Major deals on the first day included the announcement that the Hong Kong based regional music label Love Da Records will partner with the Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA), a San Francisco based global leader in digital distribution and marketing for the independent music industry. IODA, while working with thousands of artists, currently distributes an estimated two and a half million tracks via several hundred digital stores around the world. “Love Da will now be able to promote both the physical and digital aspect of the business and we can help them obtain more physical rights in the future,” said IODA founder and CEO Kevin Arnold. Love Da, one of the largest music distributors in Southeast Asia, currently distributes 150 labels.
“Social networking is key today,” was the consensus among some of the world’s greatest talent makers at the concluding session on how acts from China can succeed in the West. The panel included Sire Records CEO and founder Seymour Stein, responsible for signing acts as varied as Madonna and Talking Heads, as well as Nettwerk Records CEO Terry McBride, who has managed Avril Lavigne and Sarah McLachlan. Insightful management, fan engagement, promotional set ups and good songwriting were also cited as key components for success.
Another major event of day one included moving presentations by industry leaders on the importance of giving back to the community. The discussion included talks by MTV Exit Foundation Executive Director Simon Goff on human trafficking, Bill Silva on charitable concerts, and philanthropy by Hard Rock Marketing Manager Blake Smith.
Live performances by six piece Mongolian folk rock band Altan Urag and Juno Award nominee Jully Black rocked the venue.
Day Two – A Big Hand to Jason Mraz
“Jason Mraz’s visionary performance and personal insights capped off what everyone agrees has been the most productive, insightful and successful Music Matters conference to date,” said Music Matters president Jasper Donat. “Many attendees have reported that this conference has been the conduit for deals which will have impact on a worldwide scale. On top of that, attendees expressed extreme optimism at how the industry has moved forward in the wake of last year’s economic recession.”
The conference was certainly a productive one for the Mongolian band Altan Urag. Invited to perform as the opening act of Music Matters, the six piece band was so impressive that the band have signed to performing rights association BMI for their worldwide performing rights representation. Altan Urag consist of six graduates of the Music and Dance College of Mongolia. Formed in 2002 and with seven albums to date, the group is sponsored by coal mining company South Gobi Resources whose CEO Alexander Molyneux said: “We are delighted to see Altan Urag sign its first international agreement with BMI thanks to the networking opportunities at Music Matters.”
Day two of Music Matters included panel discussions on the importance of social networking, mobile music, agency relations and new marketing strategies for the live music industry.
The importance of social media and media convergence in relation to the music industry was emphasised during the panel session on social networking, which included Neeraj Roy CEO of major Indian company Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, Microsoft Asia Pacific VP Yu Sasamoto and TNS Director Ian Stewart.
“Beyond Music: Gaming, Film and TV”, a panel which featured important industry figures including Apple Corps CEO Jeff Jones, Getty Images VP Vince Bannon and Fox International Programming VP Eddy Tan agreed that today’s consumers are living in an age of convergence, exciting possibilities and major geographical change. “Asia is the future,” said Broadcast Music executive director Brandon Bakshi. “I think there’s a paradigm shift from the West to the East.”
Before a packed, standing room only audience which included major musical heavyweights from around the globe, Mraz performed songs from his repertoire as he explained to Zomba Records founder Ralph Simon how his Grammy award-winning career has progressed internationally over the course of three studio albums.
Music Matters LIVE with H&M
Music Matters LIVE with H&M, Hong Kong’s FREE LIVE international music festival, was staged on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 May in four venues in Lan Kwai Fong.
The festival brought together a dynamic line-up of 36 international and local bands over two nights of free live performances, with bands from Australia, Canada, China, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore along with some of Hong Kong’s best and most loved home-grown talent.
The bands included the following:
Band
From
Website
26 the Band
Australia
85up2
Hong Kong
ah5ive
Singapore
Bei Lei
Shanghai
D.O.
Canada
Dappled Cities
Australia
DD/MM/YYYY
Canada
Delhi2Dublin
Canada
Dira
Indonesia
Dr. Eggs
France
www.facebook.com/pages/DREGGS/112340222113673?ref=ts
Drawn From Bees
Australia
Elyzia
Singapore
www.[elyziaband.com](http://elyziaband.com/)
F.B.I.
Hong Kong
Galaxy Express
Korea
Guarav Bangia
India
Helium3
Hong Kong
Ignite the Hope
Hong Kong
www.alivenotdead.com/ignitethehope
Inward Eye
Canada
Juicyning
Hong Kong
Julien Drolon
France/Philippines
www.facebook.com/pages/Julien-Drolon/123394177674482?ref=ts
Jully Black
Canada
Kris Lao
Hong Kong
Li Tong
Shanghai
Logo
Hong Kong
www.myspace.com/logopsychedelia
Marsha Yuan
Hong Kong
www.alivenotdead.com/marshayuan
Moja
Japan
O.T.O.
Macau
Ocean Boulevard
Japan
www.youtube.com/user/OceanBoulevard2009
Pesawat
Malaysia
Quasar
Hong Kong
Redpoll
Singapore
Robynn Yip
Hong Kong
www.alivenotdead.com/robynnyip
Sasi The Don
Malaysia
Shairah
Canada
www.myspace.com/shairahlyricalmistress
Shotgun Politics
Hong Kong
www.alivenotdead.com/shotgunpolitics
Teal
Hong Kong
The stages in Lan Kwai Fong were:
· The Cavern - LG, LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central
· Beer Bar - G/F, California Tower, 30-32 D'Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central
· di LUX Ristoranti & Bar - UG., California Tower, 30-32 D'Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central
· Backstage Live Restaurant - 1/F Sompteux Central, 52-54 Wellington Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central
Music Matters LIVE with H&M was a partnership between Music Matters, H&M, LKF Association and CSL 1010 to support live music in Hong Kong.Media Contacts
For more information, interviews or high resolution images, please contact Sinclair Communications:
Kiri Sinclair
T: +(852) 2915 1234
M: +(852) 9043 5476
Leona Ng
T: +(852) 2915 1281
M: +(852) 6137 0338
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