Archive for January, 2008

French music sales down (again)

On the eve of Midem in Cannes, the French industry body has released worrying figures. “The 2007 fall is between 15 percent and 20 percent probably around 17 percent, with the market for gross sales worth less than 800 million euros,” Christophe Lameignere and Herve Rony, respectively chairman and managing director of the country’s recording [...]

Former Pink Floyd manager calls for new music business approach

On the eve of Midem former Pink Floyd, Marc Bolan and Baaba Maal manager Peter Jenner has called for a new approach to the music business. On the MidemNet blog, Jenner explained the changes that the industry is going through as a move towards “a mass of international niche markets, rather than a world of [...]

RailEurope and TGV simplify trains to Cannes

TGV has decided to simplify things for people travelling in Europe by train. The Raileurope service will now fall under the banner of TGV, the high-speed network that connects France, Belgium, Germany and Holland. I just had a quick look at the prices from Paris, which range from €43 to about €92 one-way depending on [...]

Smoking ban in Cannes?

Heaven for some, hell for others, the smoking ban in cafés, restaurants, “bar-tabacs” and casinos that was introduced in France on January 1 obviously affects Cannes as well. The big question is how vigilantly will it be applied? French cafes and restaurants globally tend to be pretty smoker-friendly. But if a country as strong-headed as [...]