In Review

If you can’t wait for the next issue of IQ Magazine to hit your desk, you can read about some of ILMC’s  top panels on IQ-mag.net:

Phil Bowdery and Maria May kicked off the conference proper during in The Open Forum session with topics ranging from the return to touring and the Ukraine invasion.

The Agency Business 2022 saw chair Tom Schroeder and guests examine the post-pandemic landscape; Casey Wasserman talked acquisitions during The Hot Seat: Casey Wasserman; and ticketing execs discussed the sector’s new normal in Ticketing: All change please! Meanwhile, Alex Hardee and John Giddings entertained all in attendance during their Dragons’ Den session.

Chic legend Nile Rodgers brought the house down during this year’s The (Late) Breakfast Meeting. Whilst the equally legendary Brian Eno discussed climate change with Aurora and Love Ssega during GEI’s Keynote Conversation.

During the Arthur Awards, SJM’s Chris York was honoured with The Bottle Award for lifetime achievement.

On the final day of ILMC, GEI’s Stepping into a Greener Arena panel saw top execs discuss the sustainability of the arena sector.

Highlights of the ILMC Production Meeting, which took place the day before ILMC commenced, include main panels Covid & Brexit: The Perfect Storm and The Power of Energy.

ILMC was back as an in-person event, April 26-29, in London, as were the Arthur Awards and Gala Dinner, which took place at the Grade II-listed ballroom…
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The 34th ILMC – between turning point and comeback…
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Nile Rodgers breakfast session wows the ILMC crowd…
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Crew shortages among key concerns raised at ILMC Production Meeting…
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ILMC’s Bursary Scheme and ASM Global Dramatically Expand Efforts to Promote Next Generation of Young Executive Talent…
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RECORD OF THE WEEK

Congratulations should be extended for ILMC for reuniting the live business in person post Covid and Brexit. While possibly a slightly smaller event than in previous years, any dip in numbers was made up for in the sheer exuberance of events resuming and bonhomie of a Zoomed-out sector meeting in person.

A theme running throughout the event was the C-word, which unlikely as you might imagine, in 2022, stands for Collaboration. This stemmed from the pandemic, as people worked together more closely, cutting each other slack where necessary, to get events off the ground in the worst conditions imaginable.

The theme pervaded the conference, with Driift’s Ric Salmon imploring all across the value chain for once to be as collegiate and collaborative as possible when it came to ironing out rights issues.

Mongrel heard that in some cases, this new empathetic approach was extending into the dressing room, with some artists now supplying ‘care’ riders, expressing how they’d like to be treated, as opposed to how many bottles of JD they’d need. Moving to the wider workforce, many argued for a rethink on how the sector recruits and retains talent, with the promise of glamour no longer cutting it with stage hands on 12-14hr shifts whose living costs now threaten to outstrip wages. The theme continued through Friday’s Green Events & Innovations Conference, with Aurora arguing for less preaching and more empathy and encouragement to inspire people into climate action.

A nod should go to organisers on their own efforts to cultivate inclusivity. This ranged from a catered Associations Summit on Tuesday that brought representatives from the UK, Europe and US together to share experiences and collaborate, to a bursary scheme offering complimentary conference passes and mentoring opportunities to 30 young professionals – confirmed to run again in 2023.