On the Record

JIM CARROLLon music

Manchester’s In the City has China in its hands

You don’t have to look too hard to spot the changes in the music industry’s world order at the In the City conference in Manchester, which began on Wednesday.

Where once In the City featured numerous discussion panels on record label-related topics, 2010’s fare has moved far from those issues.

Indeed, there are few record label reps even among the talking heads. Instead, you’ve discussions on brands investing in music, the influence of bloggers, the potential of the Chinese live music market, data-mining, new-school home entertainment systems and what the music business can learn from sport.

The conference began with a Musicians Union panel on pay-to-play. Elbow’s Guy Garvey admitted they often had to pay a venue in order to play in the early days and he felt “quite bitter” about it. “It’s out of order,” Garvey said. “It should be the norm that you don’t get ripped off by venues.”

The branding panel stressed again and again that brands are really seeking unique content from bands to drive people to their sites. Acts expecting altruism are barking up the wrong tree.

At a time when brands appear to have more money for music projects than anyone else, there was also a timely reminder that most brand-related projects have a limited time span. They may be a band’s best friend now, but it will be a different story in 18 months.

But the yakking is only one side to In the City. Night-time is all about gigs, and the city’s live-music hub, in the Northern Quarter, has been awash with bands and punters over the past two nights.

Acts who’ve already caught our attention include Factory Floor, Mazes, O Children, Egyptian Hip Hop, Gypsy & The Cat and Still Corners.

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