There were in excess of 700 delegates, including four Vip-Booking representatives, at this past weekend’s International Live Music Conference (ILMC). This is the largest attendance figure in sixteen years of the Conference, and going by those people I spoke to before leaving the Royal Garden Hotel in London, very possibly, the best. An exhausted Martin Hopewell, founder and organiser, plus, this year, celebrity interviewer, managed to croak out, after adding his guitar playing skills to last night’s jam session “ Well, they all seem happy, and everyone says they liked it”. – he wasn’t referring to his musical abilities, somewhat hampered by a recent mishap with a domestic machine tool, but from the reactions of others, understating the overall reaction from delegates.

“I’ve learned more here in three days about the business of this business than I ever could from a whole year of any college course.” This was a quote from ILMC ‘Newbie’ (as first timers to the Conference are known), Denis Jeter of Wynton Marsalis Enterprises (USA). Denis also walked off with the first ever award for best solo performance in the Rock-It Cargo delegates jam, one of several new additions to the weekend schedule.

Intro & Overview:

As one would expect from the increased numbers there were many newcomers, including visitors from as far afield as Mexico, India, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, to name a few. In my role as Agenda Consultant to the Conference, I chaired the ‘Newbies’ Briefing’ on Friday morning with over-worked Conference Producer, Alia Dann. This is the opening meeting, aimed at helping first timers steer their way through the intricacies of the event, and urging them to contribute and participate as fully as they can to the proceedings. There are mikes on hand and an invitation to practice having their say, in the past the majority have been nervous, in this case there was no holding them back, and in fact business was done between some of them before leaving this first introductory session.

 

 

 

 

As usual Martin Hopewell kicked off proceedings in one of the main rooms, before handing over to agent Carl Leighton Pope of the Leighton-Pope Organisation for the Talking Shop, the traditional review of developments and trends in the industry. Carl: commented on abiding success of established acts - plus the growing popularity of Jazz and Easy Listening, referring to the huge success of artists such as Jamie Cullum and Norah Jones, who only a short while ago was playing in jazz cafes, plus the popularity of shows featuring Sinatra and Martin etc, look and sound alikes like the Rat Pack show.

The increasing power and importance of the ‘grey audience’, the adult audience that we have remarked upon in Vip of late was noted. Artists like Diana Kraal are breaking in France, playing 2000 capacity plus shows. Over the last year/ 18 months – Carl considered that it was almost like a new business: There was a change in the travelling of acts – something considered in Saturday’s ‘Crossing Borders’ panel –the UK has not been exporting that well, apart from The Darkness and a few others. On the other hands other territories have done very well – Mojo/ Clear Channel Holland has acts that sell out 6 stadiums and sing in Dutch: in Germany Herbert Grunemeyer sold 2½ m tickets. Claudio Trotta of Barley Arts remarked that he is able to do 30 open air shows with homegrown acts, Italian national music was always strong since Claudio started in the 80s. At a later point in the Conference Bernard Batzen of France’s Azimuth Productions made the valid point that as majors drop away independents proliferate and concentrate on local acts.Does, as Claudio said, it all go round in circles? –

 

Poland is recognised as a territory starting to grow. Harvey Goldsmith (who stepped in to co-chair the ‘Show Business’ panel with yours truly, following illness preventing Peter Rieger and Roberto de Luca from taking their arranged chairs - we wish them speedy recoveries) putting together Festivals and shows to break new acts:

Festivals were mentioned, with memories of the now venerable Roskilde starting up.
John Giddings of Solo/Clear Channel has revived the Isle of Wight Festival; it lost in the first year but is building with The Who and David Bowie on this year’s bill (so things do go round in circles!): Tony Scott the organiser of the Guildford Festival recalled that it started in1992 as a folk festival then built to a 3 day event presenting hit acts from the past mixed with local and up and coming acts. Saturday’s Festival Forum dealt in depth with the establishing of new revenue streams such as shares in DVD’s and the fast turn around filming and web streaming to make available material from their shows

The conclusion from this opening session was that LIVE is good and buoyant, ticket prices continue to rise, but there has not been the expected audience objection and revolt:which was pretty much echoed throughout the weekend, with some words of caution, and a warning from the presenters of dance and family shows that in comparison with their business, rock promoters were being ‘stiffed’ by the artists in terms of profit margins. This prompted Marc Lambelet of Switzerland’s Black Lamb Productions to make the point that he and many others were not in this business just for money, an observation that received warm applause from the floor.

The ‘Manager’s Office’ put forward the view that Agents are too lazy and don’t really work, and with a healthy live industry – they don’t need exclusive deals and can work acts themselves’ - no return phone calls from agents on new acts .Also agents get paid on the gross - managers on the net, this was a call to- get rid of old-fashioned agency ways . Paul Fitzgerald , the oldest agent in Concorde at the age of 36 insisted that some agents had big egos, but others like himself were prepared to work hard at developing acts

Highlights:

There were many highlights over the weekend – Leon Ramakers of Mojo in Holland
Was surprised by Carl who presented a ‘This is Your Life’ presentation of his long and illustrious career: Feargal Sharkey ex of the Undertones presented the ideas, and took suggestions for the operation of the UK Government’s new Live Music Forum, inviting ILMC delegates to contribute ideas. Martin Hopewell interviewed Ed Bicknell, ex-manager of Dire Straits and usually in the other seat, having interviewed some 40 business luminaries in his time, including Brian Becker CEO of CCE, and Who and Led Zeppelin manager Bill Curbishley at the past two ILMC’s. The room was packed and the event so entertaining and well received that it overran considerably, and could have gone on even longer.

Manfred Tari will report on other aspects, and we will return in detail to the many interesting points raised by the following panels: The Emerging Markets Place; Safety in Numbers; The Radio Session: The Dance Club; Crossing Borders; The Festival Forum; The Booking Ring, and ‘Showbusiness –Everything that Traffic will Allow’

The Cure (who picked up an ‘Arthur’s award at the Saturday night gala dinner at Claridges Hotel) are back on the road and doing business.