The 2008 conference video series: Janus Friis at MidemNet

Janus Friis, co-founder & co-chairman of Joost (and co-founder of Kazaa & Skype) spoke to TAG Strategic's Ted Cohen about the importance of disruption; and of going legit'! (Midemnet's Blog)

The 2008 conference video series: Bob Ezrin at MidemNet

Bob Ezrin, producer & chairman of Live Nation Recordings - and one of the most important music producers ever - spoke to Billboard's Tamara Conniff at MidemNet 2008. He notably insisted that music should not be considered as mere content... (Midemnet's Blog)

The 2008 conference video series: MidemNet "Reinventing the label" panel

This ground-breaking MidemNet 2008 session looked at how labels are going beyond their core business of selling recorded music; and at what the label of the future might look like. Speakers: Steve Greenberg, S-Curve Records; Thomas Hesse, Sony BMG Music Entertainment; Emmanuel Mougin-Pivert, Warner Music France 360°, Peter Rojas, RCRD LBL; Ke Song, Taihe Rye Music. (Midemnet's Blog)

The 2008 conference video series: The Free Music Business

In this eagerly awaited MidemNet panel, speakers such as Steve Purdham (of the Peter Gabriel co-founded ad-supported music service We7) and Steve Jang of innovative social network imeem discussed whether free music ventures are the business model of the future... (Midemnet's Blog)

The 2008 conference video series: Nokia CTO Tero Ojanperä

Tero Ojanperä, EVP & Chief Technology Officer of Nokia, the world's largest mobile handset maker, interviewed by Ralph Simon, chairman emeritus & founder, Mobile Entertainment Forum Americas, at the 2008 MidemNet Forum. (Midemnet's Blog)

The 2008 conference video series: Music, Images and Brands

This insightful MIDEM panel saw industry leaders such as Digicompanion's Gilles Babinet (of Musiwave fame) discuss the business models emerging between music, images and brands. Moderator: Daniel Glass, Glassnote Entertainment. (Midemnet Blog)

The 2008 conference video series: Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Lévy

As head of the world's largest major's parent company, Lévy used his MidemNet session to reassure delegates of the value still inherent in the industry... (Midemnet's Blog)

The 2008 conference video series: Fans Business panel

Chuck D, iLike's Ali Partovi and Live Nation's Bryan Perez were just a few of the industry specialists discussing how fans' enthusiasm can help the music business... (Midemnet's Blog)

The 2008 conference video series: Music Licensing panel

A video stream of a panel delving into the thorny issue of music licensing in the digital age; speakers on this Emmanuel Legrand-moderated panel include WIN's Alison Wenham, to name just one... (Midemnet's Blog)

Sony Ericsson cuts deals with 10 music labels

Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson said it had signed deals with 10 music labels to add content to its PlayNow service, which lets users download music via their mobile phones. It has signed deals with Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, EMI, The Orchard, IODA, The PocketGroup, Hungama, X5Music, Bonnier Amigo and VidZone and said it was negotiating further deals with regional labels. (Reuters)

@ MidemNet: Frustrations On Fragmentation And The ‘Unwinnable War’

The multifarious avenues via which online music service providers must license tunes is still curtailing development, we continue to hear. “The ideal world is a quantum leap from where we are,” Yahoo Music GM Ian Rogers told a Midemnet panel on the topic, calling the current system “prohibitive and expensive”. (PaidContent)

Mathew Daniel, R2G: So You Want To Sell Music In China…

Ahead of MIDEM 2008's focus on China, MidemNet speaker Mathew Daniel, of local online music specialists R2G (interviewed previously on this blog), has written an informative post about how to sell music in China. He gives his main tips for surmounting the challenge. (Midemnet's Blog)

Janus Friis (Joost): Disruption is not destruction!

In this exclusive midemnet blog interview, MidemNet keynote Janus Friis, co-founder of Joost, Kazaa and Skype , explains why internet TV platform Joost – of which he is also chairman - can be a boon for music companies; and why its OK to call him a ‘disruptor’... if it’s in the positive sense of the word! (Midemnet's Blog)

Paul Brindley: 2008 - A tough year for rental subscriptions

2008 is going to be a hugely tough year for the rental music subscription business. The announcement from Nokia that it has been able to secure a deal to allow unlimited permanent downloads which will be bundled along with its devices free for 12 months will exert huge pressure on the rental model offered by the likes of Napster and Rhapsody. Consumer research constantly shows that the lack of ownership offered by rental models is one of the biggest barriers to a business model which was supposed to be a future saviour of the recorded music business. (Midemnet's Blog)

Peter Jenner: Thoughts on the Challenge of the New Digital Reality for the Recorded Music Industry

The digital revolution has fundamentally transformed all the processes of the traditional recorded music value chain. These technologies have made recording easier and cheaper, and made the distribution and manufacture of those recordings cost almost nothing. Promotion and marketing has morphed as well, creating the possibility that we have entered a business environment dominated by a mass of international niche markets, rather than a world of national mass markets. Maybe the most interesting question is: what remains the same? Clearly the two essentials for a music market remain the same, the creators and the audience. (Midemnet's Blog)

Music Week Q&A: Harvey Goldsmith

At risk of stating the obvious, Harvey Goldsmith is one of the most important people in the live music business today; a reputation the recent Led Zeppelin reunion gig at London's O2 did little to harm. The managing director of Artiste Management Productions (and MidemNet Visionary Chair Committee member) answers Music Week's questions right here, right now... (Midemnet's Blog)

Ali Partovi, iLike: “Syndication holds real promise for the music business”

If you’re on Facebook, chances are you’ve added the iLike application: with 11 million users to date, it is by far the much-hyped social network’s favourite music tool. Yet as CEO and MidemNet 2008 speaker Ali Partovi points out, iLike won’t stop there. Its new Universal Artist Dashboard aspires to become a one-stop shop for online artist promotion, enabling them to upload data (tour dates, new songs, whatever) to all social networks at once. Partovi explains all, here… (Midemnet's Blog)