Overheard #Midem 2014

Music industry gathering Midem is in full swing in the south of France. Think of Midem as a more international SXSW with less music, but even more of the rare mingling of music business leaders, music technologists, musicians and big brands. They had a lot to say, and here are some highlights:

"Our music sells other people's hardware, and it's a hard pill to swallow," said will.i.am at Midem on Saturday. Speaking via Skype, the Black Eyed Peas frontman called the music industry “delusional”. "I try my hardest not dwell on it, so I try to focus on my philanthropy.” – Will.i.am via The Guardian
"Brands have customers but want fans; Music has fans but wants customers" @sydlawrence
"Consumer habits are moving from downloads to streaming in both music and video/tv/movies" – Marc Geiger of William Morris Endeavor
"What we should all wake up to do is set things up so the artist and their fans can close the deal” – Lyor Cohen via @MusicAlly
Base79’s Walker: "I think this year's going to be a tough year, a lot of consolidation I think, and some death along the highway” via @Music Ally
"Start thinking about your global audience…the increase in CPMs globally over the next few yrs will be hugely important" D Shayegan via @lucyeblair
YouTube’s Lewit: "Video on YouTube is the cornerstone of income of a career for many artists” via @MusicAlly
"To get attention on YouTube, collaborate, release content consistently & optimise it with the right metadata" Dana Shayegan via @lucyeblair