Abba’s Bjorn Ulvaeus added to In Conversations programme at Great Escape

29 April 2021 - Press release

The legendary artist and CISAC President will discuss rebalancing the song economy

Further speakers and full schedule unveiled for the Great Escape online conference

 

DELEGATE PASSES AVAILABLE NOW

 

The Great Escape, the festival for new music, has today unveiled the full schedule for The Great Escape Online Conference 2021, including details on new partner panels and a keynote in-conversation with ABBA singer-songwriter and CISAC president Bjorn Ulvaeus.

Ulvaeus, who was a founding member of the legendary group which has sold over 385 million records worldwide, became President of CISAC, the global organisation for songwriter collecting societies, in May 2020. In the latest keynote in conversation added to the TGE programme, Ulvaeus will be discussing ‘Rebalancing The Song Economy’, the new report he co-produced with music business consultancy MIDiA that puts the spotlight on the challenges faced by songwriters in the streaming age and the how the industry can address those issues.

The full schedule for this year’s TGE Conference – including the CMU+TGE sessions, the TGE Elevate webinars and a series of panels presented by TGE’s industry partners – is now available on the festival’s website. Across the programme the key trends, challenges and debates in the music industry today will be dissected and discussed, enabling delegates to…

GET NOTICED

60,000 new tracks are uploaded to Spotify every day – so how can you stand out? Artist managers Ameena Badley, Ben Skerritt, Kaiya Milan and Nick Myers will all share their experiences of working with new talent to build and engage a fanbase. Vevo’s Carl Young will focus on current marketing trends in the world of music videos in the modern landscape and tips and tricks for your artists and their teams. The 'Influencing The Influencers' panel, meanwhile, will identify the key opinion formers in music today and explain how to engage them, with insights from Blackstar's Olivia Hobbs, Warner Records' Seb Simone,Blueprint Pods' Sophie Paluch and Creed Media's Timothy Collins.

Plus, find out all about how the music industry is tapping TikTok to grow artist audiences from the app's Global Head Of Music, Ole Obermann.

GET PAID

The economics of streaming have been hotly debated in the past year as the industry considers how digital revenues should be shared out. However, getting paid at all begins with understanding music copyright and music data. CMU's Chris Cooke will explain exactly how music copyright and the streaming business work as part of the TGE Elevate webinars, while Sentric Music’s Simon Pursehouse will be on hand to explain'WTF Is Music Publishing'.

Plus there will be expert insights on how to ‘Get Rights Data Right’ – explaining how bad data stops artists from being paid - with music licensing consultant Becky Brook, PPL’s David Goggin, The MLC’s Indi Chawla and RightsHub’s Lee Morrison.

 

GET AHEAD

The music industry continues to be in flux, and not just because of COVID and Brexit, new technologies and business models also present both challenges and opportunities. TGE’s industry partners will explore the latest trends and developments, and consider how artists and music companies can stay ahead of the game and ensure long-term success. 

SyncVault will present ‘Innovation In The Face Of Crisis’, looking at how artists and their business partners have adapted during a very challenging year for the industry, with Dialogue Management’s Max Savard, SyncVault’s Kali Bradford, Killing Moon’s Achal Dhillon, CD Baby’s Sandra Croft and Fabyl’s Nick Faber.

The Association of Independent Music will present 'How To Build A Modern Music Business', with key input from CTRL Music’s Nadia Kahn, Anjunabeats' Penny Longstaff, Finesse Foreva's Toby ‘TK’ Egekwu and Hospital Records' Chris Goss.

Meanwhile, the team from Ditto Music will be on hand discuss how choosing to stay independent can be a career-defining decision for musicians. 

 

GET INSPIRED

We will hear about how organisations like the PRS Foundation, The F List and Women In CTRL are helping open doors and remove barriers to enable a more diverse music community. Julie’s Bicycle will showcase projects that are making the music industry more sustainable. And, Young Guns will discuss a brilliant new programme they are running with AWAL that is allowing future music industry talent to learn by doing. 

The British Council will also help build connections between the music community across the globe, hosting two roundtables, one on new markets, and another on the future of international collaboration. Finally, attendees will also hear from ‘Sisters With Transistors’ director Lisa Rovner about the untold story of electronic music’s female pioneers who embraced machines and their liberating technologies to utterly transform how we produce and listen to music today.

Finally, Julie’s Bicycle and Music Declares Emergency will take on meaningful climate action in the music industry, highlighting how artists and businesses can discover new ways of working while sparking creativity and activism. 

 

During the conference itself, there will be two livestream channels to choose from. Channel One will present the CMU+TGE sessions and this year's keynote in conversations. Meanwhile, Channel Two will feature educational webinars from TGE Elevate plus a series of great panels from TGE's industry partners.

Delegates will also be able to login to the TGE online conference platform via Swapcard from Monday 10 May, where they will be able to access a number of on-demand webinars and bonus panel discussions, arrange meetings and calls with other delegates, and plan their schedule ahead of the conference going live on 13 and 14 May.

 

FULL CONFERENCE PROGRAMME & TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE