Here are the 30 startups set to help shape the future of the music industry at Midem

Annual music industry convention Midem returns next month, and as label bosses and other people ‘in the business’ convene in Cannes, France, they’ll be joined by a horde of tech startups. Yes, Midem is increasingly a place as much for technology as it is for music. Nowhere more is that apparent than at the Midemlab competition.

Midemlab is all about highlighting ground-breaking technological solutions to music industry problems, from artist-fan engagement to new revenue streams.

Last year’s winners were radio discovery app MPme, video stream enhancement service Crowdsuft, by Liveone, and Ovelin’s guitar tutor game Wildchords.

This year’s competition will see 30 finalists competing across three categories:

Music Discovery, Recommendation & Creation

Featurin.gs (Switzerland) – cloud music/video collaboration platform
Musigram (USA) – social musical app
MyMusic (Canada) – create, discover, share music magazines
MyTourManager (France) – live music discovery and recommendation
Songful by instruMagic (Israel) – the guitar app for everyone
Soundrop (Norway) – real-time social music platform
T’écoutes quoi ? (France) – meeting people through music
The Party Player (France) – music streaming services for home parties
Tomahawk (USA) – multi-source music platform and players
YaSound (France) – social music service

Marketing & Social Engagement

Audience.fm (France) – music identity and direct-to-fan platform
Beatrobo (Japan) – avatar-based music curation
Emues (Sweden) – audience-driven live music booking system
FanDistro (USA) – fanbase development, socially-aware distribution
Jamplify (USA) – social marketing platform
Kollector (Belgium) – realtime radio broadcast tracking system
mBaSo (UK) – direct2Fan artist engagement platform
Spins.FM (USA) – social radio requests
Sponsr (USA) -music sponsorship marketplace
Vyclone (USA) – social video collaboration app

Direct to Consumer Sales & Content Monetisation

Decksi by Creative D (Canada) – direct-to-fan content platform
Eazieer (France) – online music management for & by artists
Evergig (France)- hybrid concerts’ videos sharing platform
Mixgar (Hungary) – social jukebox
Murfie (USA) – social music marketplace
Piano Galaxy by JoyTunes (Israel) – addictive music education apps
Pulselocker (USA) – disrupting the DJ ecosystem
rightclearing (Switzerland) – music licensing infrastructure
Stageit (USA) – monetise live, interactive video
WeDemand /Queremos! (Brazil) – social platform to crowdfund and promote concerts

I’ll be at Midem for The Next Web, reporting on how the lines between the music industry and the startup world are blurring. If you’d like to be there too, tickets are available now. Special rates are available for young companies, performing artists and students.

Image credit: Thinkstock