Midem International Music Conference Goes Digital for 2020 Edition: See the Full Program
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Rapper T.I., DJ D-Nice, K-pop artist Ailee, YouTube’s Tuma Bassa and top music attorney Kenny Meiselas are some of the scheduled participants in the digital edition of Midem 2020. The annual international music conference was slated to be held June 2 to 5 in Cannes, France, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the physical confab was canceled.
Listen to Ailee on SiriusXM.
Instead, Midem organizers decided to launch a virtual version, free for all on the same dates (Tuesday through Friday). In keeping with tradition, panels and keynotes (five of which are moderated by Variety editors) will cover a wide range of topics that affect the international business of music as well as discussions concerning the coronavirus pandemic and how its impacting entertainment.
Says Midem director Alexandre Deniot: “We were determined to bring Midem and the spirit of the French Riviera to our first Digital Edition. Our dedicated team has completely engaged in offering an impressive lineup of artists and executives who’ve joined us in this adventure. Midem Digital Edition will be the one destination to bring the global music community together in spite of these troubled times. Hosting all the high-level
conversations that will help shape the future of our industry, the event will unite our community in solidarity and bring some positivity and optimism to our current climate.”
Highlights of the program include:
- Global Hip-Hop Icons in Conversation: T.I. and Nasty C
- A conversation with Akon
- Business (Un)Usual with D-Nice (DJ Royalty) and Sound Exchange CEO Mike Huppe
- Music’s Bedroom Producer Boom: Secrets to quarantine reativity with Splice, Jammcard and hitmaker Oak Felder (Moderated by Variety‘s Shirley Halperin)
- Youtube’s Tuma Basa and Thabiso Khati share their vision on the African Hip-hop globalization phenomenon
- Shaping the Future of the Music industry: Believe CEO Denis Ladegaillerie
- Breaking in the USA: Behind the Scenes with K-Pop Superstar Ailee
- The New Normal: Willard Adhriz (Kobalt) (Moderated by Variety‘s Jem Aswad)
- Artists Voices in Francophone Africa: A’salfo x Fally Ipupa x Youssou N’Dour
- Amber Grimes (Capitol/UMG) and Nicole Wyskoarko (Interscope/UMG) in conversation on leadership in music and diversity
- Pepsi’s Ellen Healy will talk on the brand’s history and legacy in music, sharing insights on recent collaborations made with artists Badshah and Now United. (Moderated by Variety‘s Chris Willman)
- Artist and Label Services with Fred Davis (The Raine Group), Justin Kalifowitz (Downtown Music) and Kerry Trainor (SoundCloud)
- Music Supervisors’ Lynn Fainchtein and Jesper Gadeberg on music sync for film/TV and ad formats
- Kenny Meiselas: Lessons from The Weeknd and Lady Gaga’s attorney (Moderated by Variety‘s Jem Aswad)
- Global Indie Voices – Merlin: Charlie Lexton, Marie Clausen and Michael Ugwu
- Music Composers Pinar Toprak and Benjamin Wallfisch on scoring Hollywood movies in 2020 (in association with Variety) (Moderated by Variety‘s Jazz Tangcay)
- ICMP: 30 Years of Music Publishing with Ralph Peer II (peermusic) and John Phelan (ICMP)
Masterclasses include:
- Arabian Prince (+ 1 hour DJ set) Founding member of NWA, Songwriter, rapper, producer, DJ, technologist Pro Gamer and futurist.
- Wyclef Jean – Legendary solo artist, producer and founding member of the Fugees, winner of several Grammy Awards.
See the full Midem Digital Edition program here and watch a trailer for the conference below:
