Happy Birthday Dear ILMC

ILMC promises to “back into the future” for its 25th birthday, and caution might be necessary considering the current business climate.

We’re not even one quarter into the year and already the UK government has tried to suppress a police report that recommended legislation against ticket touts, three well-known promoters (and ILMC-goers) have passed away, and most of the known world is still going through what seems a never-ending financial crisis.

With things looking so grim, the Tardis-like machine that’s supposed to carry delegates back and forth through 25 years of ILMC history sounds like it could be a handy tool.

Although it can be irksome to listen to people who claim they’re making such a pile of money that they’re worried about falling off the top of it, that’s arguably preferable to hearing that most people are barely muddling through.

Right now there are thousands of people working in the global live music industry who probably have every right to be fed up.

With increasing tension coming from the mere mention of secondary ticketing, last year there were no ticketing panels at ILMC, even though the conference came just one month after Channel 4 aired its “Dispatches” exposé into the touts.

A year later, it was revealed the report from Operation Podium recommended that the UK government legislate against the secondary market. The report is a clampdown on touts and fraudsters intent on profiting from the Olympic Games.

The Home Office’s clumsy efforts to suppress the report were unraveled by Labour MP Sharon Hodgson, who hates touts with something close to a vengeance and wasn’t prepared to let the matter lie.

Other organizations that have taken an anti-tout stance, such as the Association Of Independent Festivals and the Featured Artists Coalition, now have a dogged political ally in Hodgson.

The finally revealed police report could help a united anti-tout lobby put pressure on the government to see its need for action is even greater than in 2006, when former culture secretary Tessa Jowell held a drawn-out consultation before deciding not to outlaw the secondary market.

Last year, former IQ editor Greg Parmley tried to steer the opening session to comment on what had gone down in “Dispatches,” but the move didn’t take.

Having it come up in the opening session maybe caught people on the hop. Perhaps people have to rev themselves up for discussions on secondary ticketing. Also, the main protagonists need to be ready with their broken bottles or whatever. Even if it isn’t part of the official programme at this year’s ILMC, the topic will loom large.

Secondary ticketing is an issue that splits the live music business right down the middle. A week or so after Podium was published, Viagogo announced it’s now the secondary ticketing partner for John Giddings’ Isle Of Wight Festival.
The announcement followed earlier Viagogo bulletins saying it would also be a partner on Boyzone’s UK and it had also struck a deal with Spain’s BBK Live Festival.

ILMC is at The Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, London, March 7-10.