From Billboard:
Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien will give a keynote address at the digital music business conference MidemNet in Cannes on Jan. 23.
O’Brien, who is a director on the board of the Featured Artists Coalition (Billboard, April 4), will describe the initiatives Radiohead has taken on the Web and discuss the opportunities for the artist to fan relationship in the digital era.
Michael Gudinski, founder and chairman of the Australian Mushroom Group of Companies, has also signed up to the main MIDEM international music conference and trade fair. He will deliver a keynote within the International Indie Summit on Jan. 26 – the official national day of Australia.
Gudinski is a promoter, publisher, producer and label boss, and one of the best-known executives in the Australian music industry. He entered the business in 1972 with the creation of Mushroom Records, the largest independent in Australia. He signed artists including pop act Kylie Minogue, one of Australia’s biggest music stars and a successful pop export.
Gudinski built Mushroom into a music group and created the Frontier Touring Company in 1979, which has become the leading tour promoter in Australasia, working with acts including Justin Timberlake, Garbage and Aerosmith.
He has been the recipient of many awards and won the prestigious JC Williamson Award, the Australian live entertainment sector’s most coveted trophy, this summer.
The 44th edition of MIDEM will be held from Jan. 24 to 27.