Last year’s Midem saw the legendary music industry tradeshow in a state of transition. Although it’s traditionally a place for label bosses, managers and others at the sharp end of selling music to come together and do deals, there truly was enough going on to call it something of a tech-focused event, too. Looking at the programme for this year’s Midem, we’re in for even more of a blurring of the lines between music and technology.
Yes, The Next Web is returning to Cannes, France for Midem 2013 later this month to discover how technology continues to transform the music industry more than a decade on from Napster.
This year, big names including Amazon, Google, HTC, Microsoft, Pandora, Rovio, Samsung and SoundCloud will be in town for Midem, along with a whole host of startups including the 30 finalists of the Midemlab competition.
Then there’s the third annual Midem Hack Day, which will see 30 developers, designers and hackers from around the globe given 48 hours (so it’s a ‘Hack Two Days’ really) to build new apps and tools to solve music industry problems.
The conference strand, Visionary Monday will feature talks from some of the people working at the frontiers of the music industry. Other areas of the vast Palais des Festivals venue will offer specialist topic talks. No doubt we’ll be hanging out in the Innovation Factory area quite a lot, where there will be talks on topics such as ‘music as data-informed business’ and ‘where to find innovation in mobile music’.
The 💜 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
In short, this looks set to be an epic few days, and we’ll be bringing the best of it right to you here on The Next Web. If you want to be there, there’s still time to register for a ticket. There are special rates for young companies, performing artists and students.
➤ Midem
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.