More Rooms At The Top

This year’s Live UK Summit will add a third room for conference panels, confirming its growing reputation among those working in its core market.

Figures from last year’s gathering show that one in eight of those attending were either artist managers or agents.

A further 47 percent of the 300 or so delegates were festival organisers, promoters or venue operators.

Most of the rest of delegates – apparently about 120 of them – who showed at London’s Radisson Blu Portman Hotel came from sectors that are now closely allied with the live music business. They included branding execs, marketing companies and the broadcast and print media.

This year’s panel sessions will focus on subjects including how venues can maximise their income, current attitudes to secondary ticketing, how changes in the law may cut the red tape for smaller gigs, and the problems facing festival organisers.

The festival panel will no doubt touch on this summer’s stage collapse tragedies in the U.S. and Europe and what promoters can do to minimise the problems caused by extreme weather conditions.

Those who have made a particularly noticeable contribution to the live music industry in the last 12 months may be rewarded at the annual Live UK Music Business Awards.

The voting in all 21 categories is now closed and the winners will be announced at the awards bash that closes the two-day conference.
The Live UK Summit is at the Radisson Blu Portman Hotel Oct. 5-6.