At Wind Music Awards, broadcast by Italian TV Rai1, Assomusica was present. Chairman Vincenzo Spera rose to the stage in front of 15,000 spectators to award a prize to Fiorella Mannoia by live show producers and promoters.

Mannoia was chosen for her social commitment, including the live show against gender violence organized with colleagues Loredana Bertè, Elisa, Emma and Alessandra Amoroso.

Spera seemed to enjoy the public of the Arena, always a breathtaking spectacle. He summed up: "Our job is to cultivate emotions." 
The award, a stylized microphone designed by a Genoese, was then handed over to Fiorella Mannoia, who no longer knew how to rummage between a microphone to talk and the received prize. 

VINCENZO SPERA was confirmed today as President of Assomusica, at the conclusion of the National Assembly of Associates, held on 17th and 18th May.

At his third term - he has been at the helm of the Association of Organizers and Producers of Live Music Shows since 2012 - President Spera will thus be able to continue his activity that in the last few yeats enabled him to achieve remarkable results in the legislative area as well as the Institutional one, making Assomusica an indispensable reference for lawmakers, media and workmen.

 "I am proud of this choice - says President Spera - that rewards the work done before. This renewed trust invests me with greater responsibility, with an even greater commitment. I am sure that with the new Board we will be able to tackle the work we have in front of us with even more operativity and incisiveness. Now we are focusing on some of the projects we will present as soon as possible: among others, a live entertainment law that should be voted by the Senate by June; Another important commitment is that, signed with the City of Milan, for the realization of a "music week" because Milan attracts the international interest in this sector, as is the case of other capitals in Europe. There is really much work to do, which requires an unusual load of daily work".

On the occasion of the confirmation to President of Vincenzo Spera, the new Board of Directors was elected: it will be composed of Paolo De Biasi, Fulvio De Rosa, Ilaria Gradella, Carlo Parodi, Maurizio Salvadori and Claudio Trotta.

Anche Spotify cerca di utilizzare sempre più la quantità di dati che ha a disposizione grazie ai suoi utenti. Ora ha lanciato Spotify for Artists, una piattaforma che permette agli artisti di capire chi ascolta la loro musica, dove, per quanto tempo e altri dettagli come le canzoni di un album che vengono saltate.

In un mondo in cui gli artisti guadagnano sempre di più grazie ai concerti e sempre meno per la vendita dei dischi, informazioni di questo genere possono rivelarsi fondamentali. Altri servizi puntano proprio sulla condivisione di informazioni fra fan e artisti, come la startup TootToot che permette ai fan di chiedere date più vicine per i loro musicisti preferiti.

Lo streaming sta inoltre diventando sempre più un canale di guadagno, superando le vendite. 

Vincenzo Spera from Assomusica explained that their initiatives are designed to encourage a continuation of discussion following on from the meeting. As there had been little communication since the last meeting (except from within IQ Magazine), and Music Moves Europe has not gone in the direction desired as yet, Assomusica has produced two initiatives it hopes will keep the conversation moving forward between associations and relevant institutions over the next twelve months.

ELMA (European Live Music Association), initially formed alongside BDV from Germany, MESO from Greece, Root Music from England, Common Creation from Czeck Republic, aims to give a voice to the live music sector on local, regional, national and European levels by and connecting experts and stakeholders from European and National music associations, private organisations (venue owners, festival organizer, music exhibitions, production companies) and educational organisations and public bodies such as export offices, music councils, music centres, music academies, conservatories and music camps.

The objectives of ELMA are to build up the number of partnerships, strengthening local capacities in a truly European framework, support the set up of new industry policies and relevant actions toward European institutions for the live sector which are currently underrepresented in the EU programme, and to exchange knowledge, services and encourage collaboration of every kind. A special focus in ELMA action concerns less represented regions of Europe like Eastern and Mediterranean countries; often high potential as far as art production and artists but with a lesser access to more structured markets and often not as represented at an European institutional level as the usual few northern and western European countries.

The goals of ELMA are to identify common sector problems and needs, organise economies of scale through new partnerships, support a young talent artist circulation model and provide data and innovative models of sustainable development to the EU.

The short term objectives of ELMA (3-12 months from the meeting) include gathering a think tank of live music producers and professionals, identify the current market needs across different European countries, measuring live music business across Europe through mapping activities implemented by EMLA partners, and to generate live music circuits for grass roots talents and artists mobility.

The mid-long term objectives of ELMA (12-36 months onward) are to foster cross border mobility, exchanges and business opportunities amongst stakeholders, to provide a networking tool in European countries currently lacking trade union or association support, and to encourage the set up of these kinds of institutions. ELMA also wants to support the development of a European music sup-program dedicated to live music, and to influence through proper lobbying, European legislative policies in the live music sector to be adopted at EU and national level.

The second initiative Assomusica presented at the summit was NIMPE (Network for internationalisation of music producers in Europe), a project co-funded by Creative Europe in response to the difficulties encountered by smaller music production companies when exporting and internationalising their projects or activities.

NIMPE’s strategic objectives include providing music producers with information and practical tools, to encourage access of audiences to music from different countries, to create an international network of producers, technicians and stakeholders, to strengthen the business dimension of music producer’s enterprises and to create and test a pilot Factory dedicated to music operators and their artists.

 Conclusions

The consensus at the end of the summit was that there was a clear need for associations to work together in tackling the issues discussed across the day. There were calls for collaboration with those producing similar initiatives in their respective territories.

The question was asked about the possibility of more regular meetings, and what the format for these meetings could be. As this year’s revised format around presentations was received positively, the call for smaller-sized “focus group” meetings between associations to discuss mutual issues arose.

Attendees remarked that the softer framework of a ‘working group’ enabled the meetings to tackle the issues at hand effectively. One point which was appreciated across the board, was the possibility of inviting an expert in a field to be discussed at the meeting, so they can give their professional opinions to the group and allow more of an exchange of knowledge.

Attendees also called for more time to prepare topics for the meeting, which would allow them to get more out of the session. Other topics the attendees would like to see discussed at future meetings included lobbying, data, as well as further talks about PROs. There was a lot of interest in the ISNI, which the IMMF presented, and there was agreement that this topic needed further discussion. 

Torna insieme al Midem anche il Midemlab, una gara fra startup che sarà giudicata da una giuria di esperti. Ne faranno parte quest’anno anche TC Pan, CEO e fondatore di Ultimate Music China, e Cecil Kleine, di The Next Web (TNW). Innovazione è una delle parole chiave, secondo quanto spiegato dai giurati, ma non solo.

«Uno dei modi migliori per emergere è creare valore, sia per gli utenti che per l’industria, fare qualcosa che non sia “anche io” e infine la chiave è la scalabilità. Piccolo e di nicchia è una cosa carina, ma se non è scalabile significa molto poco», ha spiegato TC Pan.

La tecnologia, ha continuato il giudice, dovrebbe aiutare a ottenere una maggiore automatizzazione rispetto al lavoro ripetitivo, permettendo all’industria di concentrarsi sugli aspetti creativi. Cecil Kleine ha aggiunto: «La musica deve essere resa più democratica. Ci sono molti artisti in tutto il mondo e stiamo solo grattando la superficie per quanto riguarda il consumo della musica.

Riguardo alla startup che potrebbe essere utile al momento nel mondo musicale, Kleine ha spiegato: «Gli smartphone hanno spinto molto l’innovazione, soprattutto riguardo alla musica e al modo di ascoltarla, scoprirla e acquistarla. Sarei interessato a esplorare il modo in cui le macchine possono imparare a creare musica».

James Cotton, leggendaria armonica della storia del blues, è morto a Austin in Texas all'età di 81 anni. A sconfiggere uno degli ultimi grandi del genere della sua generazione una polmonite, che lo aveva costretto ad un ricovero al David's medical center.

Lo ha fatto sapere la sua casa discografica, la Alligator records. Nato a Tunica, Mississippi, è stato compositore, strumentista e showman. Vinse un Grammy Award nel '96 con "Deep in the blues" e il suo ultimo album, inciso con la Alligator nel 2013, "Cotton Mouth Man" aveva ottenuto una nomination al premio. Imparò a suonare l'armonica da Sonny Boy Williamson II, poi suonò con Howlin' Wolf.

Nel 1952 forma il suo primo gruppo e nel 1954 trasferitosi a Chicago, rimpiazza Little Walter e Junior Wells nella band di Muddy Waters e da questo connubio che durerà 11 anni, trarrà gli stimoli che gli permetteranno finalmente di dare al proprio strumento una dimensione personale. Nel 1966 formò una propria blues band, con cui abbraccia anche il funky.

Il governo britannico ha pubblicato la risposta al rapporto di Michael Waterson, che lo scorso maggio era entrato nel merito del secondary ticketing. Il governo, ha deciso di includere un emendamento al Digital Economy Bill che criminalizza l’uso dei bot, i programmi automatici per acquistare biglietti. Le multe possono arrivare a essere molto alte.

Aumenterà anche l’investimento nell’agenzia per la protezione dei consumatori e i siti di rivendita come StubHub, Viagogo, Seatwave e Get Me In! saranno spinti a controllare meglio i possibili bagarini.

Il governo ha accettato in toto le raccomanazioni di Waterson, che potrebbero, secondo le associazioni di consumatori, portare a una maggiore trasparenza.

Secondo altri esperti, invece, il governo dovrebbe bandire del tutto la rivendita di biglietti per un profitto.

Milan’s public prosecutor is investigating See Tickets parent Vivendi for alleged market manipulation following its acquisition of a 12% stake in Italian entertainment group Mediaset.

Reuters reports several high-ranking Vivendi executives, including chairman Vincent Bolloré, are being probed under a law banning the dissemination of fake news to influence share prices.

Mediaset, founded by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi (pictured), is known primarily as Italy’s largest commercial broadcaster, but also has a live entertainment ticketing arm, Taquilla Mediaset (‘Mediaset Box Office’), closely linked with Ticketmaster.

A statement from Vivendi, released today, says the investigation is the result of “an unfounded and abusive lawsuit filed by the Berlusconis” and emphasises it “does not in any way signify any accusation against any person”.

“THE INVESTIGATION OF VIVENDI EXECUTIVES … IS THE RESULT OF AN UNFOUNDED AND ABUSIVE LAWSUIT FILED BY THE BERLUSCONIS”

In other Vivendi news, the French multinational today released its 2016 full-year financial results, showing a 0.5% increase in revenue to €10.82 billion but a 2.9% decline in EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) to €1.2bn.

In ticketing, Vivendi Ticketing (See Tickets UK and US, Digitick in France) generated revenues of €52 million, up 11.8% on 2015 – an improvement on the +6.6% seen in quarters one to three.

Revenue was static at the Olympia venue in Paris, which Vivendi says is satisfactory given the “difficult environment following the November 2016 Paris bombings”.

ILMC 29 Association Summit

10:30 – 16:00

Tuesday 7 March

York Suite (mezzanine level)

Royal Garden Hotel

London

W8 4PT

Attending

Rachel Parker, Association of Event Venues (UK)

Paul Reed, Association of Independent Festivals (UK)

Vincenzo Spera, Assomusica Associazione (Italy)

Jens Michow, BDV (Germany)

Paul-Henri Wauters, De Concert! (France)

Nancy Skipper, EAA / NAA (UK)

Olivier Toth, IMMF (Luxembourg)

Jake Beaumont-Nesbitt, IMMF (UK)

Joppe Pihlgren, Liveusik Sverige (Sweden)

Karsten Schölermann, LiveMusikKommission e.V. (Germany)

Neill Dixon, Music Canada Live (Canada)

Fiona McGugan, Music Managers Forum UK (UK)

Adam Webb, Music Managers Forum UK/FanFair Alliance (UK)

Mark Davyd, Music Venue Trust (UK)

Ben Liss, NACPA (USA)

Anita Debaere, Pearle* Live Performance Europe (Belgium)

Aline Renet, Prodiss (France)

Alp Günal, TESDER (Turkey)

Alan Cutler, The Agent's Association (UK)

Christof Huber, Yourope (Switzerland)

 Introduction

The second edition of the ILMC Association Summit presents a follow up on both current and the latest developments that are of relevance for live music organisations on a national and international level.

This year's agenda will feature topics such as health and safety at festivals, copyright and royalty issues and secondary ticketing, as well as updates, reports and presentations by various associations on their current achievements and activities.

The main aim of the meeting is to expand and deepen the exchange of information and communication between live entertainment industry organisations, by sharing experiences and knowledge.

Each topic will be presented with the opportunity for a brief Q&A session afterwards, while discussion about the launch of an internal working group will conclude the meeting.

The meeting will be hosted by Manfred Tari (Pop100) and Greg Parmley (ILMC). Ben Delger (ILMC) will be taking minutes to circulate after the meeting.

Agenda

 10:30 – 10:45: Coffee break

 Arrival of European associations and coffee/tea served.

 10:45 – 11:00: Speed Dating for Attendees

The chance for attendees to introduce themselves and their organisations before the Summit begins.

 11:00 -12:00:  New Initiatives and Campaigns for Festivals

 There are various initiatives that tackle health & safety issues at events, including among others sexual harassment on festivals. The first presentations will be the introduction of the "Take A Stand" campaign, a pan-European mission for society engagement by the festival organisation Yourope.

 TESDER will present on the Event Safety Symposium held in Istanbul, in collaboration with ILNESS, and will report on Istanbul’s "Certificate programme". The Association of Independent Festivals will then discuss their planned public campaign for sexual safety at events and charter of best practice, and their fight for onsite forensic drugs testing at festivals. In addition to this, Live Music Sweden will report on their findings for how to deal with this matter, as well as the recent move in Sweden regarding police costs at festivals.

 12:00 – 12:15: Coffee break

 12:15 – 12:45: Secondary ticketing

Music Canada Live and the Music Managers Forum (MMF) UK, who will present their FanFair Alliance campaign, will tackle the issue of secondary ticketing. This has become a key topic for conversation due to its recent financial growth, as questionable incidents in various countries have garnered extensive media coverage. This has lead to the rise in demand for legal regulation of unauthorized secondary ticketing.

 12:45 – 13:30: Update on the Situation of Venues

LiveKomm, De Concert! and the Music Venue Trust will provide overviews of their current initiatives dealing with the protection of grassroots music clubs and venues in their respective territories.

 13:30 – 14:00 Lunch

Complimentary lunch will be served in the York Suite

 14:00 - 14:30: For the Files

The EAA / NAA’s latest statistics will provide an insight into the performance of arenas around the UK an Europe, while Music Canada Live will be discussing their Year in Review, as well as explaining their strategies for music policies in Canadian cities. 

14:30 – 15:00: From Neighbourhood to Neighbouring Rights 

Assomusica and BDV will join forces to provide an update on their efforts to establish a "European Live Music Association" in Brussels. Assomusica will also report on its project to create a "European Network for the Internationalization of Music Producers."

In the light of the next session about "Performance Royalties", one of the most priority topics for this meeting, BDV will introduce their newly launched "Collecting Agency for the Neighbouring Rights (GWVR)", which targets European promoters. 

15:00 – 15:15: Coffee break

15:15 - 16:00:  Data, Money & Performance Royalties

The topic of "Collection Societies & performance royalties" appeared on the agenda for the 2016 Association Summit, and so it does this year again. The NACPA will address questions regarding "single license rates" while IMMF address stakeholder ID and extracting more value from live performances through efficient use of data.

15:45 – 16:00: Conclusions and Next Steps

Winding up the day, a brief discussion on how live music associations could communicate better, and whether there is a need for a working group or loose forum of associations.