We are on the countdown now to The Music Show and every nerve is jangling. I mean this in a positive sense. There is a feeling of mounting excitement here in camp HP, as the elements of what is a huge jigsaw that we have been working on for 18 months now fall into place.
It is going to be a pulsating weekend. This much we know. But in terms of what we can pull off, there is still a lot to play for. People are working around the clock to ensure that it rocks throughout the weekend in every respect. Keep a close eye on hotpress.com for updates. There will be plenty of them over the coming two weeks.
The Music Show takes place against a dramatic backdrop. The music industry is going through a period of great uncertainty. Everyone is scrabbling. No-one can confidently look forward and say that they know how the business is going to develop over the next five years or what it will look like in the future. Will it settle down, in the new digital dispensation, into a reliable pattern that protects the jobs and the livelihoods of artists and others in the industry? Or will the process of rapid-fire change continue to run at its present break-neck pace?
There are a number of key issues of which everyone needs to be aware right now. The most obvious relates to the impact of the internet on the consumption of music. The ubiquity of the digital transmission of music, and the extent to which audiences – or fans – take it for granted, has profoundly changed the entire apparatus of what we used to call the record business. It is a work in progress, of course, but there is no denying that the changes are fundamental.
In particular, the ease with which music is copied and shared in the digital world has devastated the historic revenue streams from which artists, record companies and publishing companies alike, to a large extent, earned their crust. Some people insist that there is no way back, that the vast majority of young people are no longer willing to pay for the music that they access online. Others argue, similarly, that the resources available to those who are predisposed to make music available free, irrespective of the wishes of the artist, or of any related copyright issues, are so powerful that it is inconceivable that any obstacle can be successfully mounted which might turn the tide.
The contrary view is that an artist has a fundamental right to be paid for his or her endeavours, and that the system of copyright can and should be effectively enforced in the digital world – just as it has been for years in the context of physical cultural products, including music, movies, books, games, visuals and indeed all forms of media.
These issues will be discussed in detail at The Music Show – including a focus on the kind of divvy that is happening from the exploitation of music catalogue in the digital arena.
Panels and debates will also explore the various mechanisms musicians, artists and bands can now adopt in order to get their records made and into the marketplace in a way that delivers an effective return. They will examine the issue of convergence – between record companies and live music promoters, for example – and ask if this is a good thing for the artists.
They will reflect on 360º deals and what they mean for emerging artists. They will look at the role of music publishers – and their take from digital exploitation. And they will identify the different strategies open to artists who are determined to earn their living from music, in this utterly changed world.
If all of that sounds enormously serious, then fear not. There is a huge amount of fun involved, plenty of great yarns, and humour in abundance over the course of the weekend. There is also a cornucopia of wonderful music. From the masterclasses and public interviews with leading figures like Brendan Graham – who will do what promises to be a superb presentation on songwriting – the extraordinary Donal Lunny, Eric Bell, Jonathan Mover and more, one of the most inspiring aspects of The Music Show is the sharing of knowledge and skills, the fact that the experience of the ages is being passed on to curious and ambitious younger musicians and artists.
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Niall Stokes 
