Tod Machover Keynote to Open Rethink Music Conference

BOSTON and PARIS, April 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Tod Machover, Professor of Music & Media, MIT Media Lab, will open proceedings at the first "Rethink Music: Creativity, Commerce and Policy in the 21st Century" conference with the inaugural keynote address.  Heralded as "America's most wired composer" by the Los Angeles Times, and inventor of new technologies for music, such as his Hyper instruments for virtuosi like Yo-Yo Ma and Prince to players of Guitar Hero, he will join a prestigious line-up of speakers at the three-day Boston event.

Machover's keynote will be followed by discussions with leading executives from some of today's most innovative digital companies including, Nimbit, BigChampagne, MOG, Echo Nest, Topspin, RootMusic and NextBigSound and also digital power-houses, Google, YouTube, Microsoft, Vevo and Pandora, about new business models for the music industry.  Key topics will include licensing, "the cloud," copyright law, artist and songwriter perspectives, and DIY distribution among many others.

The first Rethink Music conference presented by Berklee and MIDEM, in association with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society and Harvard Business School, will be held in Boston, April 25-27, 2011. The event, sponsored by YouTube, BMI and Sound Exchange, will bring together a unique mix of experts to discuss the challenges facing the music industry in the digital era and formulate solutions to better shape its future.

Rethink Music will engage attendees' voices through state-of-the-art interactive feedback technology through partner Balloon, which will allow participants to submit comments and questions to panelists in an interactive manner. Other Rethink Music partners include Berkleemusic, Billboard Pro, CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival, Livestream, DIMA, Hypebot, Music Dish, Mobile Roadie, and National Association for Campus Activities (NACA).

For more information on conference speakers and the final conference program at Rethink Music please click on www.rethink-music.com.

Press registration: http://www.rethink-music.com/en/Press/Press-Registration-Form/

About Berklee College of Music – The Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music was through the study and practice of contemporary music. For over 65 years, the college has evolved constantly to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. With over a dozen performance and nonperformance majors, a diverse and talented student body representing over 70 countries, and a music industry "who's who" of alumni, Berklee is the world's premier learning lab for the music of today — and tomorrow. More information can be found at http://www.berklee.edu

About Reed MIDEM – Founded in 1963, Reed MIDEM is a leading organiser of professional, international tradeshows.  Reed MIDEM events have established themselves as key dates in professional diaries. The company hosts MIPTV, MIPDOC, MIPCOM, and MIPJUNIOR for the television and digital content industries, MIDEM for music professionals, MIPIM, MIPIM Asia and MAPIC for the property and retail real estate sectors. More information can be found at http://www.midem.com

About the Berkman Center for Internet & Society – The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University is a research program founded to explore cyberspace, share in its study, and help pioneer its development. Founded in 1997, through a generous gift from Jack N. and Lillian R. Berkman, the Center is home to an ever-growing community of faculty, fellows, staff, and affiliates working on projects that span the broad range of intersections between cyberspace, technology, and society. More information can be found at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu

About Harvard Business School – Founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University, Harvard Business School is located on a 40-acre campus in Boston. Its faculty of more than 200 offers full-time programs leading to the MBA and doctoral degrees, as well as more than 75 open enrollment Executive Education programs and more than 60 custom programs. For more than a century, HBS faculty have drawn on their research, their experience in working with organizations worldwide, and their passion for teaching to educate leaders who have shaped the practice of business and entrepreneurship around the globe. More information can be found at http://www.hbs.edu

SOURCE Reed MIDEM