Paris Stakes Place On Conference Circuit

The growing number of European showcase conferences doesn’t appear to sate the industry or the public’s appetite for them as 3,800 showed for MaMA in Paris Oct. 16-18.

That was 18 percent up on the 3,220 who attended in 2012. In the four years since it started, music fans – as well as the music business – have taken a shine to the French gathering.

More than 9,000 attended the evening showcases, 40 percent up on the 6,454 that attended last year – the equivalent of 97 percent of the tickets reserved for the public.

Organisers were equally pleased with how MaMA’s international reach is growing.

MaMA’s media profile is also on the up as there were 400 journalists covering the event.

MaMA consisted of 60 conferences, debates and workshops over the course of three days, plus 100 concerts in 20 venues situated in the city’s Montmarte and Pigalle neighborhoods.