Canadian Music Week, Festival de Cannes, Casual Connect Asia, PALM Expo, are highlights in May’s Global Media and Entertainment Industry

In Century City, the Music Business Association, formerly NARM (National Association of Recording Merchandisers),  opens Music Biz 2014 for a three day run. Along with its hub for digital initiatives, digitalmusic.org, the summit agenda is to advance and promote music commerce. The summit runs through May 8. As a non-profit membership organization that advances and promotes music commerce, particularly through the Music Business Association’s flagship annual event, Music Biz 2014, the Music Business Association is a community committed to the full spectrum of monetization models in the industry.

Day one gets started with the Music Biz Academy, a program that travels across the country educating music startups and app developers on how to get through barriers of entry to the music industry. A networking breakfast follows that early session and then there will be a formal welcome and introduction as Music Biz President James Donio gives an industry overview including some of the newest stats on sales and consumer behaviors. The talk will review the resources the Music Business Association has available to help artists, managers, students, and startups navigate the music industry. Up for exploration is an entire range of delivery models: physical, digital, mobile, and otherwise.

Some of the other Music Biz topics that will be reviewed during the summit, most of which are handled in 30, 45 and 60 minute time limits: Keep Social Sexy: Using Your Profiles To Build Your Brand, Navigating The Music Industry Online, Alternative Revenue Streams: Making It In Today’s Music Biz, The Music Industry Infrastructure Of The Future, Grow Your Audience On YouTube, Metadata Summit: Information And Technology In The Music Business, Managing The Complexity Of An Artist’s Digital Experience, Country Music Meetup, Licensing and Royalty Payments From An Artists Perspective. The summit ends with a closing reception.

In Toronto, Canadian Music Week 2014 will have music industry business, learning and discovery sessions blueprinting how to guide projects to the next level. Planned film screenings offer a mix of music-oriented films, special screenings, documentaries and movie premieres along with special appearances and Q&As with some of the films’ acting talent, directors and crew in appearances. Added to the convention’s agenda since 2012, the Canadian International Comedy Fest features stand-up, with performances from some of Canada’s emerging comedy talent as well as headline talent from comedy venues worldwide. The festival’s Indie Awards is the principal closing event for Canadian Music Week.

The CMW Synch Summit is suited to music supervisors looking to place music in upcoming advertisements, films and TV productions and gives presenting submitters an opportunity to pitch music to them face to face. The International Festival Network, an exclusive networking and matchmaking session for companies to meet with representatives from various international festivals, booking agencies and promoters from around the world will be open. An international marketplace and Export Buyers’ Program featuring a Spotlight on Germany and a Focus on Austria and Switzerland with market overviews, presentations and incoming delegations is planned. The Digital Media Summit at CMW brings together media and brand specialists that focus on the task of outlining an integrated Digital Media strategy.

Now in its 17th year, the New York City Streaming Media East event is a showcase for all forms of online video business models and technology. It is focused on the “business” of streaming media in the Media and Entertainment, Enterprise, Education and Broadcast sectors. Convention events feature extensive multi-day panel sessions producing an executive forum on current topics from industry technology leaders to executives from companies utilizing streaming today. Essentially the two-day convention running till May 14 brings together digital media experts and professionals in order to exchange ideas, strategies and success stories.

The Streaming Media East Exhibit Hall will be the showplace for anyone selling streaming products, services, or content for use in corporate communications, digital media entertainment and technology, marketing, or the streaming industry itself. The shows provide an interactive exhibit floor enabling vendors to exhibit their products and solutions to businesses and organizations looking to incorporate streaming media enterprise solutions into their infrastructure. The Keynote address will be delivered by Matthew Szatmary, senior video encoding engineer at Twitch where he develops next generation encoding services and playback technologies to serve live video. Day one activities close with an evening reception.

Pre-conference seminars will actually be held before Streaming Media’s official open, on  May 12. Among the topics, “Setting up Live Streaming Workflows On-Premises and In The Cloud,” with Chris Knowlton, VP, Product Management, Wowza Media Systems; “Producing A Webcast From Soup To Nuts: Part One,” with Jan Ozer, Principal, Doceo Publishing; “Building A Better Web Video Player,” with Robert Reinhardt, Founder, videoRx (dot) com; “Producing A Webcast From Soup To Nuts: Part Two,” with Jan Ozer, Principal, Doceo Publishing. Other areas to be explored after the start of the regular conference, include: “Online Distribution and Monetization Strategies for the TV Industry,” “The Future of Digital Entertainment in a Multiscreen World,” “Making the Move to Multiscreen 2.0,” “New Opportunities for Monetizing Premium Video” among other topics.

Festival de Cannes, the anticipated film festival started in 1946 and held in Cannes, previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from around the world. Concurrent to the festival, France also hosts its national film awards, the César Awards – generally considered to be the French equivalent of the American Academy Awards – at the same time. Admission to the festival which stretches May 14-25 is by invite only. Festival organizers have already announced that “Party Girl,” from the trio of directors Marie Amachoukeli, Claire Burger and Samuel Theis, will open up the Un Certain Regard sidebar, a category originally created to showcase the most experimental, left-of-field and smaller-scale films that didn’t make the Competition cut. Film director Sofia Coppola, actors Gael Garcia Bernal and Willem Dafoe will join Jane Campion on the Cannes film festival jury for 2014.

There will be several featured event stops set up throughout the Festival complex. The Directors’ Fortnight (La Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is a parallel section independent of the Festival de Cannes, organised by the French Directors Society (Société des Réalisateurs de Films). Critics Week, La Semaine de la Critique is a parallel section independent of the Festival de Cannes, organised by the French Film Critics Syndicate (SC). The ACID Programme in Cannes will be a parallel selection independent of the Festival de Cannes organized by the Association for Independant Cinema and its Distribution (ACID). Cannes Cinéphiles is an event organised by Cannes Cinéma and the Festival de Cannes to provide public screenings from the Official Selection, as well as films from the parallel sections. Cannes Cinema will be adding to this program with two international selections: Ecrans Juniors and Cinéma des Antipodes.

TV Festival de Cannes, co-produced by CANAL+, Orange and the Festival de Cannes, will cover the red carpet, the press conferences, the photo calls and interviews for films in Competition, as well as a number of event highlights. TV Festival de Cannes will be broadcast in French and English throughout the Palais complex and in most hotels along the Croisette. It will also be available on “Web TV”, YouTube (Canal+/English) and DailyMotion (Orange/French). The Official Selection is revealed through the awarding of the Palme d’Or to the best film entry during the Closing Ceremony. Un Certain Regard selection, “Party Girl,” which depicts the life of a 60 year-old night club hostess who still loves men and enjoys partying, was shot with the lead role is played by the real-life Angélique.

WINSTON | BAKER will be hosting the 5th Annual International Film Finance Forum in association with Variety magazine in Cannes during the 67th Festival de Cannes. The Film Finance Forum® Series was created by the Winston Baker team to educate equity and debt financiers on the latest trends and strategies for film investing while reducing risks, provide producers with effective approaches to fundraising, and demonstrating ways to create great content and generate revenue through various distribution platforms. This particular forum will be a half-day program focused on international issues such as what it takes to make films today, worldwide sales and distribution strategies, emerging film finance resources, applying risk mitigation across borders, co-production opportunities and strategies, subsidies and incentive updates. There will be a featured keynote on the globalization of entertainment.

World Arts Film Festival in Jacksonville seeks to highlight voices of young artists and filmmakers, giving individuals with special needs such as autism and their peers the opportunity to learn side by side. Individuals of all ages and abilities have been encouraged to participate in World Arts’ events and programs to gain success in the creative industries and beyond. World Arts Education + Film Festival is run by a team of dedicated volunteers who serve in their free time to promote and support quality film programs. Special panels and presentations during the festival will include: a Meet the Filmmakers Q&A, Film Creativity + Education panel, on May 15, the Festival’s start; Farm to Film Social panel discussion and panel, Dream It, Learn It, Live It, Love It, on May 16; Girl Directors, Young Directors and Animation Stories are the focus for panels on May 17, Festival closing date, among other topics. There is also the Kaleidoscope Awards presentations in all categories followed by closing ceremony and storytelling performance with David Gonzalez on the final day.

As part of WAE’s global educational outreach, the festival will bring diverse groups of filmmakers of all ages and backgrounds, including those with special needs, to meet and mentor each other and their audiences through this new venue. Created by individuals in New York, Los Angeles and Jacksonville, and supported by a growing network of advisors around the world, the organization is dedicated to a global message of inclusion through the arts and education. An Improv Acting Workshop with Guest Artists Hester Wagner and Sabra Shelley will be conducted. Hester Wagner of Inclusion Films and Futures Explored and co-director Sabra Shelly, who is a New York based actress, Autism specialist and teaching artist, will lead the three-day festival workshop on the 5th Floor at the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville. All day interactive workshops for all ages, Drawing-On-Film, will be conducted with Guest Artist Lois Siegel, instructor of Video Production at the University of Ottawa, Department of Communication.

At the 2014 Seattle International Film Festival, the opening night gala will be, ‘Jimi: All Is By My Side’ with Outkast’s André Benjamin in the lead role of this biopic about rock legend Jimi Hendrix. ‘Jimi: All Is By My Side’ looks at the early, momentous years in London in the life of the legendary guitarist after his beginning as an unknown backup guitarist in New York. The Director, John Ridley (Academy Award®-winning screenwriter of ’12 Years a Slave’) is scheduled to attend. Tickets include a walk on the Red Carpet, a private reception, reserved seats for the film, an exclusive after-party in the Red Carpet Lounge. The Seattle International Film Festival is an Academy Award-qualifying festival for short films. SIFF presents the annual Seattle International Film Festival and year-round programming at our SIFF Cinema venues the Uptown (Queen Anne) and the SIFF Film Center (Seattle Center). The Closing Night Gala will have one last night of mingling with Festival guests and friends while enjoying live music, food, and cocktails.

Global gaming convention, Casual Connect is the place to learn more about the video game industry, which entertains 300 million people each month. This gaming convention which has a trail through many international cities will be held in Singapore, May 20-22 as Casual Connect Asia 2014. Along with the conference sessions, over 80 indie developers will be presenting their games at the Indie Prize Showcase. Also making its debut is the International Design, Entertain, and Amaze (IDEA) Showcase, where established developers are looking for international partners for publishing, user acquisition, game performance monitoring and logistical support, will be presenting their recent projects. The International Design, Entertain and Amaze (IDEA) Showcase, Hosted four times a year in conjunction with Casual Connect, acts on behalf of established developers looking for international partners for publishing, user aquisition, game performance monitoring and logistical support.

Many lectures and talks are scheduled at Casual Connect Asia. On May 20, Robin Sagacious NG, head of International Business, Asiasoft Online Pte Ltd, leads a session that will provide an overview of the South East Asia online and mobile gaming markets and its projected trends. Later that same day Stephen Lee, head of publishing at 6waves, where he leads all business development and publishing-related matters, will share perspective from a publisher’s perspective and highlight key issues developers should be mindful of when getting ready to launch and grow their games globally. On May 21, Si Shen, a co-founder and CEO of PapayaMobile, will discuss the trends, obstacles, and strategies that Asian game developers must know in 2014 for Asian game studios to climb to the top of app store charts in Western app markets. On May 22, Bob Meese, Global Head, Games Business Development, Google Play, conducts a workshop on “Growing Your Business with Google Play.”

Networking and reception events begin with the Badge Pickup and Pre-Funk Party the day before the official convention start on May 19. On opening day, there will be the Official Casual Connect with servings of beer, wine and light snacks. Three receptions for May 21 will include a Womens Lunch at noon, an Official Casual Connect Party with beer, wine and cocktails and the Indie Prize Awards. The final convention day on May 22 is a simple “Mingle” with beer and light snacks. The Indie Prize Showcase is part exclusive gaming arcade and part scholarship program for up and coming indie development teams who show promise to be future leaders in the games industry besides being able to display games to a lot of publishers and industry gurus.

Founded in 2005, the Casual Games Association is a professional international trade organization providing educational resources and community support for those involved in creating games for the mass market consumer. Developed for the general public and families, casual games are video games that are fun and easy to learn and play. The games are platform agnostic, so they can be played via the Internet, PC and Macintosh computers, Facebook, Xbox, PlayStation, iPhone, Nintendo DS, Wii, Android and even mobile phones. They’re nonviolent, arcade-style games that involve puzzles, words, board and card games, game show and trivia. Popular games are Mahjong, Tetris, Solitaire, Bejeweled, Mystery Case Files, and Farmville.

PALM™ Expo in Mumbai serves the Indian pro audio, sound and lighting market by showcasing the wares of global vendors. The Expo draws its base of participants from the global pro audio, live sound and lighting, music production and system integration industries. This year, Music Expo – a dedicated trade show for the MI Industry – will be co-located with PALM Expo, located in Hall 2 of the Bombay Exhibition Center. Music Expo is dedicated to showcasing the latest MI products from major brands in an industry expanding MI consumption of western musical instruments to an expanding consumer base in the 200 million strong youth market.

The 2014 PALM Expo has several feature areas to explore and take part in while it is in session, May 29-31. The HARMAN PALM Live Arena is a secluded space for stage, sound, light and music to come together, provides visitors with an equipped stage to identify, evaluate and analyse how to enhance audio requirements and deliver the best sound quality. New this year, PALM Expo introduces the demo hall facility enabling audio companies to demonstrate their products and latest features in a private cube structure that is specially tailored for this purpose.

Innovator of Indian Slap Bass and Bass Guitarist for The Khayal Groove band, Jayen Varma (www.jayenvarma.net), is appearing at Palm Expo, May 30-31, doing performances for ROCKIN’ 24/7 on behalf of GRUV GEAR Wraps. He is known for developing Tabla and Mridangam style finger technique on bass guitar to play slap bass, a style developed by him and termed Indian slap bass, and in 2008 and 2011 respectively, the Registry of Official World Records (Record Holders Republic), USA&UK and The Record Setter Book of World Records USA, declared him the Fastest Bass Guitar Player. Jayen Varma plays with his band, The Khayal Groove made up of Aparna Panshikar on north Indian classical Vocals and Jayen Varma on Bass Guitar in collaboration with the French Drummer, Jean Davoisne and various artists and bands across the globe. Since the release of the band’s first album, ‘Reflections of a Purple Moon,’ it has since been working on its second album.

The above events are only a sample of what is fully listed. Complete details are on the “Media, Entertainment and Performing Arts Industry News and Events” page at: http://www.actorschecklist.com/news.html. The events blog also shows links to pages that are translated into ten of the most widely used international languages read over the Internet other than English. This month’s photo placement highlights the 67th Festival de Cannes and Bass Guitarist Jayen Varma at PALM Expo in Mumbai. If the photo does not appear in this post please visit the blog page to view it. Looking ahead into the next month be aware that: the 59th Annual Drama Desk Awards will be held in New York City, CineGear LA comes to Hollywood, BANFF World Media Festival opens in Alberta, annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival comes to Manchester, Barcelona Film Festival opens in Barcelona.

Monaco International Clubbing Show, American Film Market, Salon de la Photo, Billboard Touring Conference, are highlights in November’s Global Media and Entertainment Industry

Salon de la Photo is the annual Parisian trade show and conference for creative video and photography professionals. (photo credit: lesalondelaphoto.com)

The TV Connect trade show in Dubai strives to influence and advance the television service, delivery and telecom sector for the North Africa region through its resources. Planned lecture sessions, business seminars and conferences will put emphasis on issues like IPTV, OTTtv, multiscreen and Cloud TV services for local TV manufacturers and service providers. The event, once mostly rooted in IPTV, has evolved to include significant emphasis on OTTtv, multiscreen and Cloud TV services for regional TV service providers. The program agenda will shed light on monetising OTTtv, achieving the best broadcast quality through technologies including CDNs, transparent caching and web acceleration, the connected home, advice on growing revenue through the next level of quad-play services, focus on data centres and the debate on the convergence of telco business into caching business.

In a close-up of Day Two events on November 6 when the show closes, “Multi-screen services becoming part of the Digital Home” will offer insights into: Outlook of the Home of the Future and Facilitating Connected Lifestyles by Using the Power of 4G/LTE Network. A session on “User Interface and Content Discovery” shows the impact of social media on TV viewing habits – Defining Social TV and Taking content discovery to the next level by offering a premium user interface. TV Connect Middle East and North Africa will seek global exposure for all the leading domestic as well as international brands and service providers for showcasing various kinds of industrial products and services.

The Monaco International Clubbing Show (MICS) is an international meeting and forum assembled to address the needs of the nightlife and clubbing industry. The annual event, now in its fourth year happens in Monte Carlo. The highlights for this event are the conference, the exhibits and the DJ Festival. In the opening November 6 conference session, DJ Joachim Garraud, Sylvain Berretaga of Electrobeach Festival, and Fabrice Gadeau of Rex Club participate in a discussion on the rising prospects and profile within the DJ industry. The very next day, November 7, Dominique Wolton, Director of the Institute of Science and Communication of CNRS, and Pierre Chambon from UMIH Nuit will host speakers: Pierre Thomas of By Pass, Lionel Azoulay of Hostplatinium and Frederic Poulet of Optimize CHR as they build the case for how social networks are at the heart of commercial relations in todays nightlife establishments and in particular how Facebook remains the most effective tool for successful digital communication.

Another highlighted feature of the exposition are the showcase-clubbing parties. The Life Club is the official nightclub for these events, and on November 6, after the NRJ DJ Awards, there is an Official After Party with the dutch superstar AFROJACK for an exclusive DJ Set, followed by Reepublic, Niki Belucci, Paulette, Dj Oriska and Maeva Carter. On November 7, the dutch producer behind the record label Mixmash – Laidback Luke –  spins the turntables for an evening. On November 8, the DJ resident of the « Caves Du Roy » in Saint-Tropez, Jack-E, takes a turn. And on November 9, DJ Sub Zero, known as an American oriented French DJ, makes a return to the scene since two years that passed after his first performance at MICS.

AFM is the anticipated, annual film event that’s not quite festival, not quite conference, but mostly business opportunity — the business of independent motion picture production and distribution — set oceanside along Santa Monica beach. AFM will run from November 6-13. The AFM Conference Series will happen November 8-12, and will include conferences on Finance, Pitching, Production, Marketing and Distribution. Adam Carolla, comedian, podcast king, New York Times Best Selling Author and recent crowd funding leader, will deliver the Keynote Address at the American Film Market’s Production Conference on November 10. A Pitch Conference will be conducted November 9, and audience participants (pre-registered in advance) who will pitch to a panel of Hollywood decision makers, give feedback on each pitch – explaining what worked, what didn’t and why.

A special session on “How to Work the AFM” will be presented by Jonathan Wolf, AFM Managing Director, on November 6 and 9, and is limited to 100 people. New for 2013, the AFM Producers Forum offers access to specially designed educational sessions, including co-productions, working with sales agents, production incentives, and the amenities that lead to great networking and private hosted receptions. Another new presentation this year is “Hong Kong: Asia’s Co-production Centre and Gateway to China” which will be made by: Zhou Tiedong, President, China Film Promotion International (CFPI), Maria Orzel, Producer, Studio Strada, Jeffrey Chan, CEO, Distribution Workshop on November 7. Core Barre will be held at Exhale Spa at Fairmont Miramar Hotel on November 9, Yoga Flow at Viceroy Hotel – Bristol Patio on November 10 and both events are open to all AFM Badge holders.

AFM is produced by the Independent Film and Television Alliance®, the global trade association of the independent motion picture and television industry and the voice and advocate for the Independents worldwide. The American Film Market (AFM) is the market partner of AFI FEST. The association between the two events connects art and commerce (more on AFI in the next story below). AFM badges will allow access to many AFI events, including all public screenings. AFI FEST badges will allow access to the AFM screenings. AFI FEST filmmakers, whose films are part of the festival, will have full access to AFM (and to be able to promote their film to the AFM participant distributors. Shuttle buses will move participants between Santa Monica and Hollywood.

American Film Institute offers film enthusiasts a variety of events throughout the year, including AFI Fest every November in Hollywood presented by Audi. It operates in tandem with AFM in nearby Santa Monica running nearly identical dates. A Gala Tribute screening of ‘Osage County’ directed by John Wells is set for November 8. In this dramatic comedy Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts head an all star cast about a crisis that reunites the women of an Oklahoma family and re-ignites their dysfunction. Festival-goers will be able to obtain available tickets online at AFI.com/AFIFEST beginning Nov 2 until the last day of the festival, November 14. Additional tickets will be available all day, every day through Closing Night online and at the festival’s box office.

As a non-profit educational and cultural organization, American Film Institute carries a mandate to preserve the history of the motion picture, honor the artists and their work and educate the next generation of storytellers. It preserves the legacy of America’s film heritage for future generations through the AFI Archive, comprised of rare footage from across the history of the moving image and the AFI Catalog of Feature Films, an authoritative record of American films from 1893 to the present. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes AFI FEST as a qualifying festival for the Short Films category of the annual Academy Awards. AFI FEST holds the FIAPF accreditation (FIAPF.org), assuring a high standard of quality and reliability for the international film community.

Salon de la Photo is the annual Parisian trade show and conference for creative professionals looking to update or enhance their studio and location equipment, get new tips and techniques, network with industry mentors and imaging gurus. From November 7-11 daily meetings with experts will be used to review legal, retouching, video, photographic projects, portfolio sessions, Visual correspondence. Demonstrations will be held of making and projecting picture shows (photo + video) via a programme of screenings and events focusing on the methods and tools available today from digital technology. Three topics are covered: Designing the show: taking the pictures, Making the show: software tools, Projecting the show: video-projection

Polka magazine will be organizing signing sessions with photographers. Portfolio sessions will take place every morning with members of the editorial team. In the afternoon: discussions and Q&A sessions with experts from the magazine take place. Fisheye magazine will launch its first photo competition at the Salon de la Photo, entitled “Suprise Us”. There will be experts giving technical advice for underwater photography. Five pro and amateur photographers reveal how they made photography their profession, talking about the choices they have made and the way they organize themselves in order to make a living from it. The Salon de la Photo is giving the ZOOM awards for the third year running. Nine photo magazines editors each choose their favourite up-and-coming professional photographer (French or living in France) who has real but as yet insufficiently recognized talent and whose work deserves to be brought to the attention of the general public.

Also on display will be the famous photography collection belonging to fashion designer agnès b., showing works by major photographers and new talents she supports as a patron of the arts and a gallery owner. The works exhibited are a selection of some sixty photographs chosen by her on the theme of “the young girl in the city”. Another featured exhibition will be  a retrospective of the work of Raymond Cauchetier, humanist photographer and emblematic figure of Nouvelle Vague film set photography. He began as a film set photographer when film producer Marcel Camus asked him to take photos for his film ‘Mort en Fraude’. He captured a notably iconic image of Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo on the Champs-Elysées in ‘Breathless’. He then worked on ‘Lola’, Jacques Demy’s first feature film, ‘Adieu Philippine’ by Jacques Rozier, ‘Jules et Jim’ by François Truffaut, ‘Landru’ by Claude Chabrol and other films most particularly with Jean-Luc Godard.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is organizing the second “State of the Entertainment Industry” conference for one day on November 12. The conference theme will be “Highlighting the Value of Hollywood’s Entertainment Industry to Los Angeles and California.” The conference is being presented by Variety and admission includes continental breakfast sponsored by Paramount Pictures and luncheon sponsored by The Hollywood Museum. Co-chairs of the conference are Paul Audley, President of FilmL.A., Inc and Chris Barton, Executive Vice President, Hudson Pacific. Speakers at the conference will be addressing the issues of how important the Entertainment Industry is for Los Angeles and what the outlook is for the future. The day closes with a cocktail reception.

At “State of the Entertainment Industry”, a special “Commitment to California” Award will be presented to an as yet unnamed awardee in the industry who has worked to keep production in-state. Last year’s honoree was Anthony E. Zuicker of CSI. Two days afterward on November 14 the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce will hold its – unrelated – Leadership Luncheon Series with Assemblymember Richard Bloom at the Hollywood Chamber offices. This is a free event but space is limited, so it is essential to RSVP to the Hollywood Chamber in advance. The Mission of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is to promote and enhance the business, cultural and civic well-being of Hollywood. Significant accomplishments have come out of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce since its formation. For example, the Hollywood Sign and the Walk of Fame exist today due to the efforts of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

Started in 2004, the Billboard Touring Conference and Awards is an annual meeting sponsored by Billboard Magazine which also honors the top international live entertainment industry artists and professionals. Taking place in New York City for two days starting November 13, some program highlights include a featured keynote Q&A with Roger Waters whose most recent tour, The Wall Live, which captured Top Tour honors at the 2012 Billboard Touring Awards, an artist development panel with Florida Georgia Line, a Grateful Dead panel featuring Skrillex and Warren Haynes, and the Touring Conference Awards honoring George Strait. Each year features a keynote speaker from the performance industry, who in the past have included the likes of Gene Simmons of Kiss and 3 Doors Down.

On day one, following a late afternoon conference presentation: “Agents In The New World Order…” there will be an Agency Forum in which attendees can get some face time with active agents in all genres of touring including: Comedy, Country, Hip-Hop/R&B, Rock, Pop, Hard Rock/Metal, EDM. At the close of day one there is a “Welcome Cocktail Reception” followed by the 10th Anniversary Billboard Touring Conference Concert with performances by Florida Georgia Line with Dallas Smith and Chris Lane. The conference day closes with a Pre-Awards Reception, followed by The Billboard Touring Awards hosted by Gary Dell’Abate.

Beginning day two of the conference and following opening remarks from Ray Waddell, Executive Director of Content and Programming for Touring and Live Entertainment, Billboard, the subject matter of targeted and efficient marketing opportunities brought about by digital media,  mobile, social, e-mail, push marketing, and an array of non-traditional sales channels will be addressed in “Music Marketing In the Digital Age”, moderated by Joyce Szudzik, VP of Digital, AEG Live. Toward the end of day two, a pre-awards reception opens for the main event to follow in which Billboard will honor the industry’s top artists, venues and professionals of the year at the annual Billboard Touring Awards reception based on the Billboard Boxscore chart recognizing box office success and industry achievement in the period of October 1, 2012 to September 30, 2013.

The above events are only a sample of what is fully listed. Complete details are on the “Media, Entertainment and Performing Arts Industry News and Events” page at: http://www.actorschecklist.com/news.html. The events blog also shows links to pages that are translated into ten of the most widely used international languages read over the Internet other than English. This month’s picture placement highlights the Salon de la Photo photography exposition in Paris, France. If the photo does not appear in this post please click this link to view it. In a preview of next month’s events, be aware that: International Film & TV Finance Summit will be in New York City, Florida Media Market will be held in Miami, 2nd Mumbai Shorts International Film Festival will be in Mumbai, Art Basel will be at Miami Beach, Asia Television Forum will be happen in Singapore, Cineasia Hong Kong 2013 will be in Hong Kong.