Insights Blog

Insights Blog: Top ten questions we’ll answer at The Great Escape

By | Published on Monday 16 April 2018

The Great Escape 2018

With The Great Escape now just a month away, over the next fortnight we’ll be considering ten questions that will be answered during the three CMU Insights conferences that are set to take place there this year: The Education Conference (16 May), The AI Conference (17 May) and The China Conference (18 May). Look out for a different question going live here each day.

01: Which music technologies will shape the next decade in music?
The history of the music industry is basically a story about how a sequence of new technologies respectively transformed the way music is made, performed, recorded, distributed and consumed. Each new chapter begins as a new technology takes hold and kickstarts a revolution. Although each time that happens, we know that another equally revolutionary technology isn’t far way. [READ MORE]

02: What do we even mean by music education?
We are presenting an entire conference focused on music education this year. This follows a flurry of articles and opinion pieces declaring that music education in England is in crisis. We want to see if that’s really true and, if so, what can be done do tackle the issues and fix the problems. In particular whether more closely aligning music education with the music industry could help shift things in the right direction. [READ MORE]

03: Which streaming services dominate in China?
The shift to streaming has made China a market with huge potential for the global record industry. Which is why Western music companies have all been busy doing deals to access that market in recent years, and one of the reasons why we have decided to stage a full-day China Conference at The Great Escape next month. [READ MORE]

04: How are Shazam-like technologies quietly revolutionising the music business?
Shazam probably remains the highest profile of all the technologies that can recognise music. When Apple announced its plan to buy the company last year, we were reminded just how long Shazam had been telling people what tracks they were listening to – the service having launched long before the smartphone, initially informing users of a track’s name by SMS. [READ MORE]

05: Should music education include more business and career skills?
The Education Conference at The Great Escape next month will also see CMU Insights fully launch ‘Redefining Music Education’, a new research project we are undertaking with Urban Development and BIMM. We’ll present the findings of phase one of that research – a mapping exercise – and then kickstart phase two based on the debates that take place during the day. [READ MORE]

06: Where will the fan conversation go next?
Despite various attempts to launch music or artist-specific social networks over the years, artists generally follow their fans when it comes to social media, rather than the other way around. Which is to say, consumers pick the digital channels that best meet their wider social and entertainment needs, and then expect to be able to connect with their favourite artists in those places. [READ MORE]

07: Why is there a crisis in music education?
There have been a plethora of articles in the last year about how music education in England is currently in crisis. Seeming to confirm this, a recent BBC survey showed that the vast majority of English schools have recently cut back lesson time, staff and/or facilities in at least one creative arts subject, which would include music. [READ MORE]

08: How can we enhance and enforce music copyright in China?
The record industry’s worldwide trade group IFPI yesterday confirmed that China has entered the top ten global recorded music markets for the first time. And in the trade body’s ‘Global Music Report’, Universal Music’s EVP Market Development, Adam Granite, remarks that “it’s impossible not to be excited at the opportunity” that the Chinese market offers artists and labels, although challenges remain. [READ MORE]

09: Will machines write the pop hits of the future?
Among the technologies under the spotlight at The AI Conference at The Great Escape next month are three automated creation tools, one that composes music, one that edits music, and one that creates video to accompany music.The AI platforms that compose music are fascinating and the technology is evolving rapidly. [READ MORE]

10: How can you capitalise on the imminent “explosive growth” of live music in China?
Although many of the global headlines regarding the Chinese music market have focused on recorded music – in particular the deals between the Western record companies and Tencent, NetEase and Alibaba – the country’s live music industry is also growing at an incredible rate. [READ MORE]



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