Music Matters gets its mojo back
Friday, June 10, 2011
Music Matters has got its mojo back. This year’s edition of Asia’s biggest music-biz confab definitely felt rejuvenated compared to last year. One key reason was the decision by conference organizers Branded to move MM to Singapore from Hong Kong, where it had been held for the past five years.
The level of discussion on the panels was better, there were fewer cases of people touting their companies’ services or products, and there were more Asians and young people at the conference compared to previous years.
Music Matters was preceded on May 24 and 25 by Digital Matters, which addressed a whole gamut of issues relating to content creation and distribution in the digital era.
According to Branded, about 1,000 people attended the 2011 edition of MM, representing some 300 companies. No fewer than 176 of those taking part in the conference were speakers or panelists (including the present writer), while more than 200 artists performed at the Music Matters Live showcases in Singapore’s highly lubricated Clarke Quay district.
As you might expect, the single-largest national contingent was from Singapore (18% of delegates), followed by Japan (12%). One territory that was under-represented at this year’s MM was South Korea, which was odd, given the extraordinary success idol groups from that country have been enjoying all over Asia of late.
Throughout the conference, speakers and artists expressed support and goodwill for Japan following the country’s March 11 catastrophe. After Avex Music Publishing President Haji Taniguchi provided a brief update on the situation in Japan, Branded Executive Director Jasper Donat announced that Music Matters had obtained permission to organize a cover of Coldplay’s “Fix You” featuring artists from around the world. Proceeds from downloads of the soon-to-be-released single will be be donated to the Japanese Red Cross and Japanese NPO Peace Boat.
"Bringing the digital media and music communities togethe for the first time in Singapore proved a huge success," says Donat. "Ideas and solutions were shared, new and exciting business collaborations are in the pipeline and a number of bands have already signed fairly hefty Asian deals. There was a genuine sense of optimism and excitement and we’re looking forward to doing it all again next year."
The conference got off to a rousing start early on the morning of May 26 with an impressive display of fretwork by 11-year-old Japanese guitarist Yuto Miyazawa. Named "The Youngest Professional Guitarist" by the Guinness Bok of World Records in 2008, Miyazawa performed a note-perfect version of “Crossroads” a la Eric Clapton.
As in previous years, tweets to the MM Twitter site were posted on monitors beside the stage (as well as smaller ones facing panelists so they could keep up with the tweets). They included gems such as “The Twitter feeds on the screen are kind of distracting.” For the most part, though, the tweets added a healthy dose of interactivity to the panel discussions.
High points of the conference were ace interlocutor Ralph Simon’s interviews with singer/songwriter Imogen Heap and producer Steve Lillywhite. In her May 26 interview, Heap described how she started a blog a few years back when she felt creatively blocked, and how that led to feedback and encouragement from her fan base.
Since then, Heap has used the Web and social media such as Twitter (she has 1.4 million Twitter followers) to develop a uniquely interactive relationship with her fans, who are constantly supplying her with ideas such as “found sound” samples and lyrics that she integrates into her work. They’re even helping Heap design a new typeface for her website.
Accompanying herself on electric piano, Heap performed “Lifeline,” which she wrote a few months ago with a little help from her online friends. “There are a couple of lines in there that you’ll recognize,” Heap said. “Like ‘effervescent’ – not ‘f---ing pheasant!’”
Social media has enabled Heap to make connections with fans in parts of the world where she didn’t realize her music was popular. “In 2010 I started getting lots of tweets from Indonesia,” she told the MM audience. “It was a whole new fan base for me.” That led Heap to book a show at Jakarta’s Kartika Expo Centre on March 31, 2010, which drew some 4,000 Indonesian Heapsters.
She told MM that she’s now considering a four-week “residency” at an undisclosed location in China. Heap says her next project is to create “the world’s first 3-D song,” which promises to lend new life to the old cliché about “new dimensions in sound.”
Producer Steve Lillywhite sounded a similar note when Simon interviewed him onstage late in the afternoon of May 27. “I’ve always seen sound in 3D, not left to right,” Lillywhite said, describing himself as “the guy who created the big rock sound” for acts such U2, Jason Mraz, the Rolling Stones and the Dave Mathews Band.
Lillywhite, who had the audience rolling in the aisles with his sparkling, self-deprecating wit, summed up his outlook on life and work thus: “Complacency is bad. Mad is good.” Defending the album as an art form, he said the purpose of an album is to take the fan on a journey,” in the way the best Beatles albums do. Lillywhite was vague about possible future projects, noting, “The one thing I find boring now is two guitars, a bass and drums."
Key conference quotes:
“The industry has operated from a position of fear, not opportunity.” – Sami Valkonen, head of international music licensing, Android, Google
“We will see legitimate, licensed locker services from Amazon and Google by this time next year.” – Rob Wells, president, global digital business, Universal Music Group
“Clouds and lockers are a stupid idea.” -- Alex Ljung, founder/CEO, Soundcloud
“Listen to your customer. Don’t hang on to price point. Do what the customer wants.” – Vince Bannon, VP, entertainment partnerships and development, Getty Images
“China reminds me of when we were starting out in Tasmania in ’59, ’60 and ’61 and the police would run you out of town. I wish I was 30 years old again – it’s a great time. It’s going to be great for the next 10 to 15 years.” – Michael Chugg, Chairman, Chugg Entertainment
And the Conference Catchphrase Award goes to “lean-back experience,” a term used by more than one speaker to describe the position one assumes when using a device such as an iPad, as opposed to the “lean-forward experience” of browsing with a PC. One hopes that paying close attention to such important distinctions will help the music industry survive its current lean times.
(Apologies for the late arrival of this wrap-up; MAMN has been experiencing some software glitches of late. The gremlins responsible have been given their walking papers.)
