Added 24/05/2013 by ronni

Midem change dates due to the Grammy Awards

Midem 2014 has been rescheduled to 1-4 February. Learning of the strong chance that the Grammy Awards will take place on the January 26th next year, to avoid key televised sports events, Midem organizers decided to reschedule the date of the 2014 international music business trade event.

Bruno Crolot, Midem Director, comments, “We didn’t want to take the risk of overlapping with the Grammy Awards as many of our clients attend this important music industry event. After checking with a great number of our attendees that they were favorable to this change, we decided to reschedule Midem 2014 to 1–4 February. So that people can re-organise their agendas we are announcing the new dates as soon as possible.”

Despite an aggressive effort to include tech, brands, ad agencies and live music alongside the core music business, attendance at Midem 2013 was down 7% from 2012 to 6400, according to festival organizers. At it's peak in 2005, 9,230 delegates registered for the event.

Added 23/05/2013 by ronni

Live Nation steps up in Asia

Live Nation Entertainment is stepping-up its activities in Asia through a joint venture with Lushington Entertainments.

The new Live Nation Lushington JV will promote live concerts in Hong Kong and Singapore, two of the most established touring markets in the region outside of Japan.

Lushington Entertainment managing director Michael Roche becomes head of Live Nation Lushington, whose first event will be Linkin Park's Hong Kong concert on Aug. 15.

Asia’s live market is fast becoming an international touring hotspot, and Live Nation’s push into the region is the latest in a growing trend.

In recent years, the Australia’s Laneway festival established an annual event in Singapore, while Sydney-based booking agency Artist Voice opened new offices in Hong Kong and Singapore, becoming the first Australian booker to aggressively enter the Asian market.

Cheaper and more abundant flight routes explain part of the growth trend, while the region’s venue infrastructure is also maturing at a steady pace, music executives note. Superstar acts have beat a path through Asia, with Bob Dylan, Kylie Minogue and Janet Jackson visiting the region in recent times. But execs also believe there’s a real and growing appetite for new alternative acts throughout Asia.

Lushington, an affiliate of the publicly-held HPL group of companies, has been operating since 1990, when it was established to promote Eric Clapton's first Asian tour.

Live Nation opened for business in Hong Kong and Singapore back in 2005, and last year promoted seven sell-out Lady Gaga performances in Hong Kong (four) and Singapore (three), according to the company.

The two companies have history. Live Nation and Lushington have partnered on recent tours by Sting, Roxette and Korean pop star Big Bang, among others.

In 2012, the two companies presented approximately 70 shows and sold 280,000 tickets across the two markets, according to a joint statement.

"Live Nation continues to enhance and expand our global footprint,” comments Live Nation CEO and president Michael Rapino in a statement. “Our new joint venture with Lushington will increase our presence in Asia and enable us to bring more live entertainment to more fans in Hong Kong, Singapore and throughout the region."

Adds Roche: "After 23 years of promoting in the region, we found a great partner in Live Nation. We share a common vision and work style centered on hard work, integrity and dedication to bring the very best international and emerging stars to Hong Kong and Singapore."

Live Nation currently operates five offices throughout Asia, including Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo.

According to Billboard

Added 22/05/2013 by ronni

New President of Ticketmaster North America

Ticketmaster have announced the appointment of Jared Smith as the President of Ticketmaster North America.

In this role, Smith is responsible for Ticketmaster's support, sales, distribution and marketing operations that service more than 10,000 key client accounts in North America and will add strategic oversight of the product development teams for the company's world-leading business-to-business ticketing software platforms.

"Jared continues to be a transformational leader in Ticketmaster's evolution," said Michael Rapino, CEO and president of Live Nation Entertainment. "His dedication to clients has consistently resulted in a greater than 100% net renewal rates and his innovative thinking has led to the creation of value-added services and products to better support them and the fans they serve."

Formerly Ticketmaster's Chief Operating Officer, Smith revolutionized the company's approach to client engagement and transformed the client-facing sales and support organization. He also led the team to focus on data-driven products and services and technology-driven marketing tools.

Prior to joining Ticketmaster in 2003, Jared oversaw the administration, sales and marketing departments of the Columbus Civic Center in Columbus, Georgia, and served as the Executive Director of the Quad Cities Sports Commission in Moline, Illinois.