On June 2 and 4, 2020, Frédéric ANTETOMASO and Fabrice BONNIOT, professors and coaches specializing in contemporary music at IESA arts & culture, organized and led MIDEM Digital at the school.
A pre-selection jury of the most motivated students was set up in early May with Frédéric Antetomaso, Fabrice Bonniot, and Sandrine Gryson, label manager at ULTIMAE RECORDS. 13 students were admitted to the 3-day seminar, which was conducted in English.
They look back on the event by answering our questions:
Frédéric ANTETOMASO and Fabrice BONNIOT, professors and coaches specializing in contemporary music at IESA art & culture.
Can you introduce the MIDEM x IESA seminar to me? How did it come about?
The MIDEM x IESA seminar came from the desire of Boris Grebille, director of IESA, and Anissa Abdellatif, academic manager, to set up a partnership with MIDEM this year and to offer our students the chance to take part.
MIDEM is the largest music professionals' trade show in the world and has taken place every year for 50 years in Cannes. Initially, Fabrice Bonniot and I were to supervise them on site, organize meetings with professionals and potential recruiters, as well as with potential partners for their projects. They would also have had the opportunity to attend conferences and master classes presented by experts on the burning topics animating the music world in 2020.
With the edition canceled due to health restrictions, Fabrice Bonniot and I wanted to offer students a new educational and professionalizing format. Our intention was to schedule, within the school, a brand-new seminar that would make it possible to:
- to deepen knowledge of the value chain in the music sector and the specifics of its careers, particularly in close connection with digital challenges,
- to meet recognized professionals,
- to spark networking and creativity among students from all of the school’s programs with a "performing arts / contemporary music" specialization (international Bachelor, Master, MBA). To that end, the program was conducted in English.
What criteria did you use to select the students?
The seminar was accessible by application only, and open to all of the school’s classes, giving priority to students with a solid professional project in the music sector.
Candidates had to present their background and ambitions in relation to the music sector, as well as their expectations of the seminar. Finally, during a bilingual (French/English) oral by videoconference, they had to pitch and argue a current topic related to the sector.
This allowed us to assess the candidates' professional maturity and their understanding of the artistic, technological, and economic challenges of music today.
How did this year’s edition go in the somewhat special health context?
This first 3-day edition was a success for us. The students had the chance to meet professionals working in prestigious structures of the music industry:
- Tarafa Jacques SAHLOUL (IDOL: digital distribution)
- Alexandre ESCOLIER (ATAL MUSIC: publishing)
- Bénédicte FROIDURE (File 7 PDB: Venue management / Programming)
- Cyril VESSIER (TRICATEL: Label management)
- Dorothée OURY (CARAMBA: Booking / Tour management)
The exchanges between the students and the invited professionals were very lively. The students benefited from rare information and advice for their professional future. During the last half-day, we asked students to summarize the seminar’s takeaways in the form of creative team projects. Their presentations are very interesting and show successful assimilation.
Will there be a next edition?
The feedback collected from both the invited professionals and the students about the seminar is very positive and encourages us to repeat the format. We want to give it an even more ambitious scope next year. This seminar could become a coaching step ahead of the study trip during MIDEM 2021. It would provide a refresher, a qualitative update for the selected students, in order to optimize their interactions with professionals during the trade show.