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Music 4.5: The social live music industry - where is the money?

13th December 2011, The Building Centre, 26 Store Street, London, WC1E 7BT

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80% of the money made in the UK live industry is made by 5% of the participants.

The market in the US started to dip last year, and similar stumbles are expected in the UK this year (MusicAlly) - notably 27 festivals went bust this past summer.

The often reported health of the live sector is mainly down to huge grossing headline acts flogging the circuit and doesn't reflect the grass roots scene, which is in decline. Not because of a lack of industry investment for new artists, but because the world is a different place than it was even 10 years ago, with things like social media and the streaming of films competing for our money and spare time.

Some might say that festivals today are like supermarkets: they buy artist performances in bulk, drive down the fees and devalue your brand...but they are one of the few places still left to play.

The live industry is keen to nail that elusive 'social' factor to power their business to the next stage and there are a lot of new services out there to help. But, do they deliver?

What does the future of the live music industry look like?

Topics for discussion

How will the live music industry develop?
For whom is the live industry the great cash-cow? Only the top 1% performers?
How much money do live gigs really make for the artist?
What are the true economics of a live gig?
Niche gigs or sell-out venues?
Live is the music market place for new talent...
Do digital tools mitigate the tour costs?
How much do the events listings companies influence the market?
The ticketing dirty market...how strong is its' grip on power?
What are the marketing tactics and tools, social and digital?


Agenda

14:00 Registration

14:30 Introduction

2Pears welcome and introducing the chair of the day, Stuart Dredge

14:40 The changing live music landscape

Jon McIldowie, promotions director, Mama Group, organiser of The Great Escape

Setting the scene from a festival and events' organisers point of view.

15.05 Debate: How can new digital business models help artists earn money from playing live

A panel discussion with artists and managers

Panellists:
Laura Kidd, SheMakesWar, DIY artist
Rynda Laurel, digital marketing, Smashing Pumpkins
Jon Mansfield, MusicConnex and CEO, JM Music Limited
Gaynor O'Flynn, BeingHuman

It is vitally important to play live, a lot of bands wouldn't be around without it, but... who makes money out of it?
- Investigating the economics and differing motivations (gaining new fans and/or making money) of playing a live gig and a festival for artists to help dispel a lot of myths about how profitable live is for everyone. Do new digital business models and tools change the economics and the revenue sharing?
- Would scrapping of the license to play live music for less than 200 people change the dynamics?
- Is it different from the business case for the DIY artist (the bulk of artists in the UK today)? With a few established named exceptions and 'world artists' on the arts centre circuit, the traditional circuit is probably not that viable.

15:45 Brands + Live Music = Money? Only if done right...

Paul Sampson, EskimoLive

- A lot of brands are using music and festivals to target their customers, but getting it right is hard, yet crucial to both the brands and the artists.
- How to communicate brand messages via the medium of music and live, and how to create and deliver the right strategic campaign activation.

16:10 Coffee/Tea Break


16:30 Is social and digital promotion for festivals and live gigs too expensive? And does it lead to conversion?

Joshua Greene, Digital Marketing Consultant - Social Media Strategy for the Lovebox and Wilderness festivals

-How festivals and live gigs should be doing promotion in the digital age.
-How to deal with the fickleness of people in the digital environment, and getting them to fulfill the initial interest.
-How social and digital promotion is relevant to a small promoter or a large live group.
-The Lovebox case study...

16:55 Getting more people through the door - the digital way

Saint - 10Tribes

Better linking and knowledge sharing throughout the entire eco-system, including promoters, artists, fans and venues is key to succeeding in growing the number of music fans attending live events. Developing and standardising the use of metrics like fans-per-gig to achieve the better results and better ROI for all parties involved.

17.20 The dirty ticketing market... do you ask for legislation or do you work around/with it?

Discussion moderated by Eamonn Forde
Joe Cohen, Seatwave
Tom Hopewell, MusicGlue

- The live industry has developed bad practices. More and more agents, promoters and ticket retailers are trying to take larger cuts from the artists to sustain their organisations and business models.
- How can artists use new services and tools to avoid being ripped off and change the dynamics.

18:00 Closing remarks followed by Drinks & Networking


Speakers

Joe Cohen, CEO, Seatwave
Stuart Dredge, music-tech journalist, editor MusicAlly Bulletin, The Appside
Eamonn Forde, music business journalist
Joshua Greene, digital marketing consultant - Social Media Strategy
Tom Hopewell, MusicGlue
Laura Kidd, SheMakesWar, DIY artist
Rynda Laurel, digital marketing, Smashing Pumpkins
Jon Mansfield, MusicConnex and CEO, JM Music Limited
Jon McIldowie, promotions director, Mama Group, organiser of The Great Escape
Gaynor O'Flynn, BeingHuman
Paul Sampson, EskimoLive
Saint, 10Tribes

Venue

The Building Centre (conference room B), 26 Store Street, London, WC1E 7BT
Need somewhere to stay near the venue, please check out HotelMap for the best available rates on hotel rooms

Register to attend

A two-tiered pricing structure allows qualified (and cash-strapped) music tech startups, artists and bands to attend Music 4.5 at a reduced rate. 2Pears reserve the right to approve registrations and refuse entry if incorrect category is stated.

Early bird rates applies to bookings made and paid by 11th November 2011

                                                                                                            Standard rate                     Early bird rate            
                                                                                                      From 12th Nov 2011             Until 11th Nov 2011

Standard ticket                                                                                   GBP 155+VAT                 GBP 135+VAT           BOOK NOW

Music Tech Startups, Artists & Bands                                             GBP 125+VAT                 GBP 105+VAT           BOOK NOW

If you have any questions about registering for Music 4.5 please contact us on +44 (0)20 3239 9325 or email petra (at) 2pears (dot) com.


Who should attend?

Venues, promoters, gig organisers, ticketing companies, music managers, music-tech startups, artists