This year's MidemNet conference is primarily exploring the
opportunities & solutions to enhance the artist-fan relationship.
What are the most promising ways to foster this relationship further?
- This is a very well run conference with something for almost everyone if you are open to new ideas and a good networker. I've heard that attendance is down a bit to 8000. Many waiting until the last minute to pay; so no hard numbers. The companies and people that move and shake are still here in full force.
- Surprisingly Napster (with a tiny Best Buy logo in the corner) is a marquee sponsor. Not sure if it was a deal done pre-Best Buy buyout or what their goal might be since name recognition is the least of their problems. And for all of the money they are spending I have not seen any staffers on panels which is standard practice.
- Last night's Topspin Hypebot Meetup was a great success. Many great conversations with folks
- The panel that I hosted on data highlighted the importance, opportunities and huge challenges in mining, analyzing and using the vast amount of that fan and new media activity generated on the net. Perhaps the most vexing issue is measuring the relative importance of various web activity, Does, for example, a band's friend on Facebook suggest more of a commitment then a friend on MySpace? Many think Facebook wins although they also decry how unfriendly to music the site is. Panelist Duncan Freeman of Band Metrics has written about discussion on his IndieMusicTech blog. I'll write more about the data topic soon.
- Interesting interview: J.Y. Park's Worldwide Hit Machine
