Panel moderator Ron Fair (President/CEO, Geffen Records) kicked off Musexpo's 2009 Global A&R Forum by promising that he and his fellow panelists--Archie Meguro (Sr. VP, Sony Music Japan International Inc.); Ben Ralph (Managing Director, Road Runner Records Australia); Bruce Flohr (Sr. VP A&R, ATO Records/Red Light Management); Fred Goldring (Partner, Goldring, Hertz & Lichtenstein); Jason Flom (President, Lava Records/Universal) and Jonas Sjöström (CEO, Playground Music Scandinavia)--would solve all the problems that the music industry currently faces. Although they didn't quite manage that, they did talk about a lot of the challenges they face as the industry continues to redefine itself.
Rather than talking about finding "the next generation of superstars," each member of the panel shared their views on the way their roles have shifted in recent years, and the growing importance of TV placement in breaking new songs and artists, as well as the diminishing importance of rock radio. And each panelist also shared their current "passion plays," mainly sticking with the most recent artists they're working with.
Although much of the session dealt with the continued shrinking of the traditional music industry universe, there remained an air of optimism among the panelists and the attendees.
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