Date
02/07/2013
PDF
Tech and media A-listers flocked to Los Angeles this week as part of a transatlantic innovation summit to promote Anglo-American entreprenuers. Musicmetric, the London and LA-based music analytics firm, shared a stage with the likes of Google, Dreamworks, Sony and Spotify, as its co-founder Marie-Alicia Chang was quizzed on how better understanding consumer trends could help the music industry boost digital revenues. Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.I.Am, Universal Music boss Lucian Grainge and founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales were joined by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who provided the opening address at the two-day extravaganza. Even David Cameron, the British prime minister, was patched in to sing the praises of the Anglo-American special relationship and promise favorable tax treatment to support innovation. London-born Grainge, the LA-based chairman of Universal Music Group is a UK business ambassador for UK Trade and Investment, the agency organizing the event in partnership with Founders Forum, a business group launched by lastminute.com founder, Brent Hoberman. Semetric, the company behind Musicmetric, has gained increaMsing visibility on both sides of thr Atlantic since it was formed over three years ago. By bringing together leading creatives and financiers, the Innovation Forum is seeking to foster greater collaboration between established industry leaders and entrepreneurs through a series of topic-rich forums, pitch sessions and private conversations. The United States and the United Kingdom continue to rank as the leading engines of global innovation in content and distribution. In the UK alone, the creative industries exported over £8bn ($13bn) worth of services in 2009 and accounted for 10.6% of all UK's exports. Chang joined fellow Brits such as Songkick and Mind Candy to showcase the best of British tech innovation. Semetric, the company behind Musicmetric, were announcing plans to expand into measuring TV, film and games. Chang also discussed how Musicmetric, the world's leading music analytics platform, was expanding its work with labels across the globe to help them better understand the digital consumption of music. Musicmetric works by allows industry chiefs, artists managers and promoters to track how their articles perform across social media and see precisely how much their songs are pirated. Its online dashboard offers real time data on popularity, sentiment and interaction which allows bands to see how and when their music is consumed. The firm has announced a deal with Spotify that will allow users to also compare legal streaming against everything else Musicmetric tracks. The Digital Music Index (DMI), published last October, saw a decline in piracy in countries where Spotify and iTunes was available. Marie-Alicia Chang, co-founder of Semetric, the firm behind Musicmetric, said, "Semetric is perfectly poised to be helping the entertainment industry better understand customer trends through real time analysis that enables better targeted advertising and powerful discovery of new trends and breaking artists. As a global business based in both LA and London, we've seen first hand how vital the Anglo-American relationship is for business and we're looking forward to further expanding our US-presence during 2013." Lucian Grainge, chairman of Universal Music Group, said, "whether you are a digital start-up, venture capitalist or a content company engaged in proper business development, it is imperative that you think and act globally. Nowhere is that achieved more than through collaboration. The Innovation Forum is an effort to foster stronger ties between new and established entrepreneurs from the US and UK. I'm certain that international ties will not only be strengthened, but significant innovative collaboration will emerge from this unprecedented gathering." Lord Marland, Chairman of the Prime Minister's Business Ambassadors and Trade Envoys, said, "this is an excellent opportunity for two great industries, creative and entertainment, to come together representing the best of the UK and US to establish deeper relationships and to undertake business development." The Innovation Forum LA 2013 is supported by Universal Music Group, UK Trade & Investment, Lepe Partners, Tech City UK, Jaguar, Rightster and Shazam. The Innovation Forum LA 2013
