Chill out dude! Don't get on a downer or nuthin' but even people as hip as us gotta have some kind of agenda. And there's so much cool stuff goin' down in ours that all you hipsters will wanna grab the talking stick and really speak out.

We don't wanna like panic you or anythin' but there are just over two weeks to go until we slip into our kaftans, pull on our loon pants and get ready for some heady sessions. We gotta tell you though, this agenda is provisional, which means that if some heavy shit goes down, it could be a changin'. You can check out the final agenda in the Globetrotters Guide, which we will give you when you pitch up at our digs.

Peace man!

10.00 onward           

Industry Association Meetings

The International Jazz Festivals Organization (IJFO), UKCMA, Concert Promoters Association (CPA) and YOUROPE will be holding private association meetings throughout the day.

10:00 - 17:30            

IJFO Private Association Meeting

10:00 - 13:30            

UKCMA Association Meeting

10:30 - 14:30            

CPA Private Association Meeting

YOUROPE Private Association Meeting

12.30 - 13:00            

New Delegates’ Orientation

Chairmen: Alia Dann (ILMC, UK) & Greg Parmley (IQ, UK)

Alia Dann and Greg Parmley extend a warm welcome to new ILMC delegates and explain how the conference is structured and how to get the most out of it. Everyone was a newbie once, and the first impression of ILMC can be slightly overwhelming, so this informal session provides a necessary introduction to both first timers, and those who can’t remember their first time.

15:00 - 15:15            

Flight Attendant’s Briefing

Chairman: Martin Hopewell (ILMC, UK)

The ‘Head’ Head, Martin Hopewell, welcomes all of the hipsters and cool cats to what promises to be a fabulous 20th anniversary ILMC. This is where ILMC begins and the weekend starts to get hazy…

15:15 - 17:00            

Talking Shop

Chairman: Carl Leighton-Pope (LPO, UK)

10.00 - 11:30            

The Emerging Markets Place: ‘e.Merging markets’

Chairman: Serge Grimaux (Ticketpro International)

Emerging markets might have a less developed touring infrastructure, but they often share the same levels of mobile and internet technology, sometimes more so, than the ‘developed’ markets of the world. Building on data from last year’s panel, Serge Grimaux examines what new revenue streams are emerging and makes a case for these markets as inspirational future areas in which to do business.

10.00 - 11:30            

The Engine Room: ‘A question of responsibility’

Chairman: Chrissy Uerlings (Peter Rieger Konzertagentur, Germany)

From clubs to Greenfield sites, there are far too many accidents in our industry, and most go unreported. When it comes to health and safety at work, how can we manage the risks on site? What systems are already in place, and how can we promote and communicate these ideas? It all comes down to liability, and when both touring crews and local hands are treading the same stage space, just who is responsible?

10.00 - 11:30            

The Manager’s Office: ‘The man in the middle’

Chairman: Jon Webster (MMF, UK)

You can’t move without hearing the ‘catch-all’ term ‘360-degree’ these days. Well if the business is a wheel, then at its very centre is the artist and manager. Has the manager ever been more central to the industry’s future? With acts increasingly looking to make up lost recording income from live and its ancillary revenues, the session will examine both managers’ expectations of live and live’s expectations of them.

12:00 - 13:30            

Ticketing: ‘An honest admission’

Chairman: Stuart Galbraith (Kilimanjaro Live, UK)

If it’s not the secondary ticketing companies gaining a foothold, it’s the other sectors of the business wanting to sell their own. When it comes to ticketing, there are some serious changes afoot, and for the first half of the session, chairman Stuart Galbraith will be examining just whose right it is to sell them in the first place, how it affects various roles and responsibilities, and how they’ll be sold in the future. The second half of the session will be dedicated to secondary ticketing, and asking whether we should all jump on board or whether this controversial revenue stream should be dammed?

12:00 - 13:30            

The Media Lounge: ‘Indecent exposure’

Chairman: Emmanuel Legrand (Impact magazine, UK)

The right choice of media partners is crucial to the success of a live music event, but between the two sides there is often a love/hate relationship. A panel of experts from both sides of the fence will try to unravel the recipes for successful media partnership deals.

12:00 - 13:30            

The Green Room: ‘Footprints & footfalls’

Chairman: Peter Tudor (Wembley Arena, UK)

2007 was the year to put the environment at the top of the political agenda. Both voluntarily and as a result of imminent national and regional legislation beyond our industry, venues, promoters, artists, and hopefully the audience, have heeded the call to action, to embrace sustainable live music events and a carbon neutral, waste-free future. Our experts discuss where we stand and what is still to be done.

14:30 - 16:00            

Festival Forum: ‘Further afield’

Chairmen: Melvin Benn (Festival Republic, UK) & Bojan Boškovic (EXIT Festival, Serbia)

Festival tourism and touring festivals became more noticeable trends in 2007 but with UK festival brands moving into the US and Australia, Australian events moving into Asia and South Africa, and the upcoming boom in the US festival market, will the festival that remains unscathed by weather and disaster have enough acts to top the bill?

14:30 - 16:00            

Sponsorship: ‘New labels for old’

Chairman: Richard Taylor (Michael Simkins LLP, UK)

More than ever before, festivals and tours are relying on big brand involvement to fund live activities, but what expectations are placed on them by their branding partner? When it comes to sponsoring live events, are the big brands’ big budgets getting enough bang for their buck, and with increasingly innovative partnerships being struck, how else are they getting involved?

14:30 - 16:00            

The Venues’ Venue: ‘Building on new foundations’

Chairman: Don Elford (Acer Arena, Australia)

There’s a battleground emerging on the international arena map, as AEG and Live Nation both race into Asia to establish new markets. Meanwhile, new arrivals are rewriting the rulebook and forcing venues of all sizes to reassess their product. In this year’s edition of the ILMC favourite, venue owners, promoters and managers will be asking how to keep pace with increasing customer expectations, advances in new technology and the changing ownership map of operators internationally.

16:30 - 18:00            

Meet the New Boss: ‘Getting in on the act’

Chairmen: Juha Kyyrö (Fullsteam, Finland) & Jon McIldowie (MAMA Group, UK)

Record companies, publishers, venture capitalists, investors, brands and telecoms are all trying to get into live, and they’re all used to being in charge. The future shape of the live music industry will be governed by the way the different sectors combine, cooperate and learn to truly understand each other. This session features two of ‘our’ new bosses (both already involved with 360-degree companies) getting a feel for what ‘their’ new bosses want.

16:30 - 18:00            

Showbusiness: ‘That’s “edutainment”’

Chairman: Koen Melis (Immersion, The Netherlands)

10:30 - 12:00            

The Breakfast Meeting

Host-with-the-most: Ed Bicknell (William Morris, UK)

While some of the ILMC hipsters sleep off the night before, there’ll be a large crowd of delegates at this year’s Breakfast Meeting for a special anniversary treat. Manager, agency boss and raconteur Ed Bicknell will be interviewing a trio of extremely influential promoters from across the world of live. Legendary New York promoter Ron Delsener, widely regarded as the grandfather of the US concert industry, will be joined by Marcel Avram, whose European promoting CV reads like a who’s who of international music. Also joining them will be the UK’s Harvey Goldsmith, famed for his work on Live Aid, Live 8 and countless other large scale productions. This year’s Breakfast Meeting is sure to be one of our most popular yet as these three statesmen of live music discuss their experiences over the last 20 years.

10:30 - 12:00            

The Tax Office ‘Ringing up the changes’

Chairmen: Dick Molenaar (All Arts Tax Advisers, The Netherlands) & Harald Grams (Grams und Partner, Germany)

The withholding tax war is not one being won overnight, and this specialist meeting will serve to bring many of those on the frontline up to date on recent developments. This roundtable session will focus on the increasing conflict between the EC Treaty and artists' withholding tax in individual countries, new initiatives being undertaken by tax professionals, and specific court decisions and case studies.

12:30 - 14:00            

The Booking Ring: ‘Punching below the belt?’

Chairman: Nick Hobbs (Charmenko, Turkey)

Last year, this annual sparring match discussed what goes wrong with a show when an artist defaults but this year it's the turn of the promoter. The promoter's idea of legitimate force majeure might not be the artist's; and what about the penalties when a promoter gets it wrong? Does the artist at fault walk away scot-free while the promoter at fault loses their shirt?

12:30 - 14:00            

Immigration: ‘Getting around the road blocks’

Chairman: Tina Waters (The Tour Company, UK)

The very essence of the ILMC is international touring. In most cases we assume that access to foreign markets will be granted but are we all still on the guest list? Increasingly, this access is problematic, and recent visa refusals in the US have hindered the career plans of both high profile and new talents. Can we be better prepared? We call on a panel of experts, including a former US State Department official, for guidance.

12:30 - 14:00           

Special Interest Meetings

Two private rooms will be kept free for meetings of your choice on a first-come, first-served basis. To book a room, enquire at the Help Desk during the weekend for more information.

15:30 - 17:00            

Sunday Supplement: ‘The conference call… about the future’

Chairman: Allan McGowan (IQ, UK)

This year’s Sunday Supplement will not only be summarising the ILMC weekend itself, but will discuss the future of the industry and where we’re headed. As part of a three-conference think tank that includes Noorderslag in the Netherlands and SXSW in the US, and alongside his panel of industry pundits, Allan McGowan will be continuing a future-facing theme to not only examine where we’ve come from, but where we’ll be in another 20 years time.

17:00 - 17:30            

The ILMC 20 Autopsy

Chairman: Martin Hopewell (ILMC, UK)

International Live Music Conference 2-4 Prowse Place London NW1 9PH UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7284 5868 Fax: +44 (0)20 7284 1870 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it