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Initial speakers announced for CMU Insights media session at Convergence
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 11 March 2016
The team from CMU Insights have announced some more details about the event they are staging next week as part of the Convergence Sessions programme in Shoreditch, which will explore how the rise of the web, digital and mobile have impacted on media.
The session will be led by CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke who says: “I often say that, as someone who owns a media company but writes about the music industry, I’m much more optimistic about the future of the music business than I am the media business! Just like with music, digital has opened up all sorts of opportunities in the media space, and enabled a plethora of new publications to exist. But, as with music, while digital provides the platform, and can unlock an audience, it remains a challenge turning all that into revenue”.
In the CMU Insights session ‘Making Money From Media? You Won’t Believe What Happens Next!’, Cooke will kick-start the proceedings with an overview of the media sector in 2016, and the challenges publishers and journalists now face. He will then discuss the different revenue streams media owners have experimented with – from ads to subscriptions to sponsorship to branded content and beyond – with media lawyer David Deakin of Lewis Silkin, who has advised numerous media companies on business models and monetisation.
In the second half of the session, the spotlight will fall onto music media, and how different publishers have sought to build a business around music journalism. DIY magazine Publisher Rupert Vereker and Loud & Quiet Editor Stuart Stubbs will both discuss their respective titles, and how they have evolved their businesses, both online and in print.
Continues Cooke: “If online media has to be free – and some would argue consumer-facing content does – then, as I see it, you either need to generate massive traffic by utilising clickbait-style content, so that banner ads generate enough cash, or you go the branded content route. Involving brands in your journalism can be exciting, but editorially speaking, can also be a concern. But are there any other models available? Or could we actually persuade people that they should start paying to access good journalism again?”
Cooke will provide more background on the session in a column for our sister title ThisWeek London later today, as part of its TW:Guide To Convergence, which you can check out here. And look out for news early next week on the full line-up of speakers set to take part in this CMU Insights session, which takes place at Shoreditch’s Ace Hotel next Thursday, 17 Mar, at midday. Click here to get your tickets.
