Music that feels like free, but what does it actually cost and do the sums add up?

In the sessions MEF organized at the annual Popkomm music conference in Berlin last October, Jupiter’s Mark Mulligan predicted mobile music’s success lay in subsidised subscription services.

Furthermore, these services needed to harness the best attributes of mobile yet be fully integrated cross platform. Cue the recent Omnifone announcements in the US on multi-device synchronisation of their unlimited music service.

Taking the discussions a stage further, we’ve organised a panel at the world’s music gathering, Midem, on Monday 19 January (10-11am). Entitled “Music that feels like free – but what does it actually cost”, MEF has gathered a stellar line-up of speakers from across the value chain; from artist manager through to handset manufacturer, moderated by MEF EMEA Chairman Gerard Grech.

Other industry profiles confirmed to speak include:

• Tim Clark, Manager of Robbie Williams & Managing Director, ie:music (UK)
  
• Liz Schimel, Global Head of Music, Nokia (US)
  
• Ian Henderson, VP, Digital Business Development, Europe & Africa, Sony Music Entertainment (UK)
  
• Rob Lewis, CEO, Omnifone (UK)
  
• Ralph Simon, CEO, The Mobilium Advisory Group/Chairman Emeritus & Founder, Mobile Entertainment Forum – Americas (USA)

Kicking off with a quick recap courtesy of the Frukt agency on subscription services ‘past, present & future’, the session will look at the different services available and debate some of the challenges including business model sustainability, user experience and consumer take-up.

You can find out more about the event and other MEF activity at Midem here.