More Bits & Pieces: Midem Down in Numbers, BMG CEO Predicts end of A&R & the Race to Own Facebook’s Music Space
Midem down again in '11
Midem attendance numbers continued to slide this year, with a total gate of 6,850 – a 4.9% drop from last year, though there was a 30% uptick in the participation from the digital and tech fields, according to figures shared in MusicWeek. As usual there was plenty of gossiping and spats at the Cannes conference, with the latest to get headlines coming from BMG Rights Management CEO Hartwig Masuch, who during a panel on the future of publishing asserted that moving forward in the new industry paradigm, A&R will be abolished. Saying that as a result of the rise in new DIY systems, “I think the importance of A&R in finding new talent will be less important going forward,” adding “currently there is an A&R bottleneck which is stopping a lot of talent being recognized”… Meanwhile, Digital Music News reports this morning that SonicBids will be entering the growing music space on Facebook, expanding their services to include an artist profile builder. Those who have already launched music page functions within the FB network include ReverbNation and RootMusic – though the latter is also involved in what appears to be a somewhat dubious Lady Gaga + Facebook promotion… And elsewhere, Mark Mulligan of Forrester Research, whose comments in the recent New York Times piece about the failure of digital music, explains his remarks and gives further perspective in a guest column on Billboard.biz.
08.6.10BMG Rights Management to Acquire Two U.S. Companies Before Years End, CEO Says
BMG Rights Management Chief Executive Officer Hartwig Masuch has announced that the Bertelsmann AG and KKR backed publishing venture will acquire two more U.S. companies before the end of the year. Each purchase will be in the range of 50 million to 80 million Euros and the first acquisition is expected to be complete within 6 weeks, the CEO revealed in London on Wednesday night. Most recently the company bought UK publisher Stage Three Music and before that the U.S. publishing company Cherry Lane Music… With the purchase size indicated by Masuch, the names of a few likely U.S. pubcos are being thrown around as seriously in play. Stay tuned…
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