MIDEM Conference decides to move to June 2015

Reed MIDEM just issued a press release announcing that the music industry conference held in Cannes will be moving to June 2015, a major shift from the traditional January/February timeframe it has followed since 1967.

The conference has also announced an expanded programme that will be geared towards supporting labels and publishers that wish to expand internationally as well as a new exhibition space devoted to Tech and Innovation.

The Director of Music Markets at REED Midem Bruno Crolot stated: “Midem 2015 will have a new look, new content and a new atmosphere, as well as being partially open to the general public. We believe the result of the changes will be a bigger, more vibrant Midem, with more participants from more countries. All of this and a move to a June date when Cannes is at its best.”

The first reactions to the move on social media are very positive. MIDEM's attendance has dropped year after year in spite of the conference producing a consistently brilliant program attracting great speakers from all over the world.

The location was identified as a potential problem (Cannes is seen as hard to reach and expensive) but also the time of the year, since a couple of the editions held in the past five years have been complete wash-outs.

The move to June and the new spaces that have been announced are sure to bring about a renewed interest in the event, although given its proximity to the holiday season it will be interesting to see what the accommodation prices will be like.


(Andrea Leonelli)