ILMC 26 –
Cirque d’ILMC

Both Hopewell and Parmley have publicly indicated that Hopewell will remain actively involved in the content and direction of the conference.

“I wanted to let you know that I’ll be shortly stepping up to run the ILMC full time,” Parmley stated. “As you know, I’ve always been hugely passionate about both ILMC and IQ, and I’m really excited that I have a chance to safeguard its philosophy and build the organization.”

During the 26 years that Hopewells’s run ILMC, it’s become Europe’s foremost live music conference and regularly attracts at least 1,000 visitors a year.

Parmley has acknowledged he purchased ILMC, but declined to offer details of the buyout.

“It needs to go well or I’ll be doing newspaper rounds for the rest of my life,” he told Pollstar. He’d previously spent four years writing for Audience magazine, two years editing The Hit Sheet, and more recently six years editing IQ, ILMC’s magazine.

Parmley begin the circus-themed conference in the hot seat by chairing the conference’s first panel, an “open forum” that can end up talking about any live music business issues.

Delegates ask questions from the floor or submit them in advance – “anonymous or otherwise,” as the conference guide says.

Panelists included Live Nation president of European concerts John Reid and Cem Yegul of Istanbul-based promoter Pozitif Productions. Still no official word on Live Nation opening an office in Turkey. 

The panel also had AEG European chief Tom Miserendino, Geoff Meall from The Agency Group and artists manager Paul Crockford, resplendent in a Hawaiian-style shirt as if to celebrate that outside London was basking under warm spring sunshine.

Although the live music business had a record-breaking year in 2013, Reid, Miserendino and particularly Yegul gave the vibe that they’re finding it tough to make money out there.

It will be interesting to see what their next sets of figures say, although none of them sounded as if they were trying to issue some sort of profit warning.

Although Turkey is a huge market with a population of more than 80 million, it seems very few of them have the disposable income to start rushing out and buying concert tickets.

Steve Hogan from William Morris Endeavour chaired a dance music session called “Blowing Up The Ballroom,” event consultant Carl A H Martin handled the venues’ panel, and Intellitix chief Serge Grimaux had and made great fun of the ticketing panel.

Live Nation UK production chief John Probyn ran a slick Festival Forum, talking with John Giddings from Solo Agency and Isle Of Wight Festival, Jim King from Loud Sound, Danny Hassenstein from Switzerland’s Paleo-Nyon and Girts Majors from Positivus in Latvia.