Midem: engaging with audiences

Alongside its traditional (and central) role of providing a meeting place for music professionals to meet and do business, Midem has been underlining the need to engage with audiences for several years. This has probably been the biggest single shift in the dynamics of the music business in recent years, as the control slipped from the hands of labels and artists, brands and promoters found new ways to engage with audiences.

This provides everyone with massive opportunities and challenges. Needless to say, an event like Midem in January 2012 is anxious to point out the opportunities.

Visionary Monday at MIDEM

This year, Midem is inaugurating a Visionary Monday, giving keynote speakers to chance to address the worldwide music community. The shift from push to pull marketing had led to new ways to build lasting, profitable and loyal relationships with audiences. At Visionary Monday, artists, industry leaders, marketing and technology experts share their insights and discoveries on new innovative ways to reach, engage with and monetize audiences, on related key issues:

• What are the new rules of audience engagement and monetisation?
• How to build an artist career as a brand? What are the most sustainable models to achieve it?
• What are the content strategies and tools to engage with your consumers and raise brand loyalty?
• Is the technology the future for music or is music becoming the future of technology?

Speakers this year include Wendy Clark, SVP Integrated Marketing with Coca-Cola, Mark Ronson, Grammy-winning, artist, producer and DJ, mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio, Dan Rose, VP of Partnerships and Platforms with Facebook and Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide of ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi.

It would be interesting to see how these principles would apply (or are already being applied) in other industries such as television and cinema. The presence of Coca-Cola and Facebook is interesting as they are both outside the music business, but both use music to support their business.

Are there any special engagement issues you would like to see covered? What significant changes have affected your business over the past few years?

Other resources:

• More about Midem 2012.
• Getting the most from Midem via Cannes-or-Bust.
• Studio rental