When Taiwan announced its focus on 4G development in 2014, increased transmission speeds and smartphone functionality came with it; these were the keys that opened the doors to audio and video anywhere anytime for consumers. Companies and technologies filled the new spaces in this new digital expanse with new business and applications. This year’s Golden Melody Panel Discussions are designed specifically for this new media landscape. The Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development (BAMID) designed the Panel Discussions to improve the music industry in Taiwan, to allow it to keep up with the quick pace of technology, to understand added-value business, as well as to know where to hunt for opportunities in this diverse media environment. Out of the ten panels planned by BAMID, three will deal specifically with today’s digital trends. Digital and the Development of Music, Business Opportunities in Live Concert Streaming, Visual Technology at the Concert. At these three panels, the best of the best in each sector has been invited to share their ideas.
For the forum on the impact of digital music, the sponsors have invited Tracy Maddux, CEO of the physical and digital music distributor CD Baby. The platform allows independent musicians to distribute and promote their music in the form of CDs, digital downloads, streaming services, and social media marketing. Since its founding, it has amassed 6.5 million tracks from musician to consumer and over US$500 million in sales with 450 thousand users. CD Baby is the world’s largest digital distributer for independent musicians. In addition to distribution, the platform also offers analysis tools to musicians so that they can digitally manage their services.
Also at the event, Andrew Chan, Universal Music’s senior VP of digital and strategic development for the Greater China region, said of the trend, “For the music industry, these past ten years have been transformative. Digital downloads and online streaming are the norm. The way in which people engage with music is different. Record labels, songwriters, singer’s remuneration, and distribution of profits—all these things will need to change as well.” Andrew will pull from his experiences at Universal, a truly global company, to share his views on the changing global music industry.
Next on the guest list, Alex Goatcher, CEO of KWL (KnowWhatsLoved). KWL is a big-data analytics company that provides services to music and video content providers. Not only they track the listens and comments on online music—they can track data at a live performance. With its capabilities in big-data analysis of music and advertisement, KWL is able to analyze concerts, band performances, brands, and relationships and interaction between fans. With millions of pieces of data on various aspects of music, they can provide their clients with analysis of the latest trends, thus giving the client the insights they need to develop their business. To understand how to analyze data is one of the must-knows of today’s business world, the GMAs have also invited Google Taiwan’s Country Marketing Manager Richard Li, an expert in product marketing, search, mobile, and social media. Li is deeply experienced in the field, with ten years of technical experience in the area of tech-innovation promotion. Past clients of his include Apple, Accenture, and IBM.
With the advent of 4G, audio-visual content straight to the phone has become not only a reality, but the norm. Speaking on the topic of Business Opportunities in Live Concert Streaming will be Mathieu Sibille, CEO of iConcerts TV – Stingray. With a reach of four continents, one million online viewers, and 1,600 on-demand live performances from the world’s biggest stars, iConcerts is one of the world’s largest multi-media platforms for live music. Jolin Tsai was one of the first Mandarin Pop stars to work with the platform, and previous years of the Golden Melody Awards are available for viewing on the platform as well.
Chunghwa Telecom Mobile Business Division's Digital Products Department and Product Innovation and New Businesses Office’s Managing Director Joseph Kuo and CEO of Seed Music Group Felix Wu will join up to discuss how to apply direct digital broadcast to find new business possibilities for Taiwan’s music industry. Added-value services between online providers and their consumers, the place and benefits of the musician, as well as solutions that satisfy all parties involved, are on the docket of discussion at this forum.
In addition: the forum on Visual Technology at the Concert, which will be moderated by Feng Chien-Chang, Chief Creative Officer at B'IN LIVE. Invited to speak at the forum includes Group Managing Director of Hexogon Solution, Adrian Guo. Hexagon specializes in holographic projection, event planning, and commercial exhibitions. The company ran Jam Hsiao’s Triple Jam tour, Singapore’s National Day Parade for 2012-2015, the F-1 races for 2013-2015, the Merlion Magic Light Show for 2013-2015, and the countdown to Singapore’s 50th anniversary in 2015. Pierre Gufflet, one of the genre-crossing artistic trio of CITYFORMS, has also been invited to speak. Pierre has long been involved in cross-genre integration and instantaneous interaction, as well as international, inter-regional cooperation. He also shows his works in a number of different cities. Next, Marc-André Baril, Interactive Director at Moment Factory. Moment Factory specializes in creating immersive, unforgettable experiences through special-effects video, lighting, construction, and sound. Since its founding in 2001, Moment Factory has created over 350 such immersive worlds at concerts and venues around the world. Its clients include: Cirque du Soleil, Nine Inch Nails, Disney, Microsoft, Sony, Barcelona’s Sagrada Família, the Los Angeles International Airport, Madonna’s 2012 Super Bowl Performance, and the sport brand designer Oakley. The forum will discuss the use of technology in live concerts, and the tech and techniques used by companies in the field. New possible technologies will also be explored. To wrap up and top off the discussion, a live exploration of the technology will be given at the GMA Global Music Festival’s “Crossroads Between Digital Technology And Live Concerts—The Many Aspects Of Visual Technology.”
The 2016 Golden Melody Festival will take place on June 22nd through June 24th at hotel Humble House Taipei. The Festival is a 3-day B2B event that brings together industry representatives from a range of fields including but not limited to cinema, television, telecommunication, gaming and digital technology. It aims to facilitate cross-border and cross-industry business matching opportunities through its series of events: Conference, Business Matching Center, Pitching, Speed Meeting, Exhibition (this year’s theme: visual technology), Showcase, GMA Talk, Workshops and Golden Melody Academia. All are welcome!
