Artists Put In Extra Shift

The idea of combining a festival with a conference has taken a new twist in Tel Aviv, where promoter Ilan Elkayam will have artists appearing on panels during the day and playing live in the evening.

Elkayam, head of Alive Productions and promoter for acts including Pet Shop Boys, Jamie Lidell, Slipknot and The Breeders, is starting the new Heineken Music Conference at Tel Aviv Fair Trade & Convention Centre Sept. 1-2.

Panels on local and international music industry topics such as developing and managing artists; the new media age; the record label transformation; and the connection between music, branding and the world of marketing will take place in the venue’s conference centre and the evening shows will take place at Bitan 1, which is on the same site.

Those taking part in the panels and playing the shows include members of Faith No More, Dinosaur Jr., MGMT, The Dallas Guild and a DJ set from LCD Soundsystem.

Alive Productions is also producing the first Non Stop Musix Festival at Gane HaTa’arucha – the Israeli name for the Tel Aviv conference centre – Aug. 19-20.

The headliners include Lady Gaga, Kaiser Chiefs, and Simple Plan and the company was expecting at least 10,000 people per day.