Midem, for decades the primary international conference for the music industry, will not be returning in 2022 and the brand will be taken over by the city of Cannes, owner RX France announced on Wednesday.
“Due to the lasting pandemic and following a review of its activity, RX France [formerly Reed Midem] has decided to no longer organize the Midem events,” the announcement reads in part. “It is with regret therefore that we are canceling the Midem 2022 edition, scheduled in Cannes from June 7 to 10, 2022. Furthermore, RX France and the city of Cannes are in exclusive and advanced discussions for the latter to take over the Midem brand. More news on that will come in due course.”
The conference launched in Cannes in 1967 and for decades was a showcase for the world’s biggest artists and executives. However, attendance began to wane over the past couple of decades — its most recent in-person event, in 2019, drew around 5,000 attendees, down from 10,000 in 2001 — and the pandemic has forced the last two events to be held virtually. News of the 2022 cancelationwas first reported by Music Business Worldwide.
While the company has made efforts to modernize itself to combat falling attendance in recent years — launching events based on Africa and Latin America, and even moved its traditional time frame from chilly late January to balmy early June — the numbers have remained relatively steady, between 4,000-5,000 attendees, presumably a large number of which were comped as panelists or moderators for the hundreds of panels, keynotes and discussions that took place at the conference.
Alexandre Deniot, a former Universal Music France executive, took the director role of the conference in 2017, succeeding Bruno Crolot, who had taken a role at Spotify.
“RX France wants to express its utmost gratitude to the global music community, all its partners and clients for the continuous support they have demonstrated over the years, and to its Midem team for its unwavering efforts, passion and enthusiasm,” the statement concludes.
As for the prospects for RX France’s other Cannes conferences, sources indicate that the global TV industry markets, MipTV and Mipcom, are not affected in any way, with plans still holding firm for in-person events in April and October, respectively. RX’s other global TV events, including Mip Cancun and Mip China are also believed to be in the clear.
PvNew will have more on this situation as it develops.
Manori Ravindran contributed to this story.
