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Armenia participated as the Country of Honour of 2015 in prestigious international musical festival MIDEM, which took place on 5-8 June in Cannes. The participation of the Armenian delegation in the festival was a part of the Armenian Genocide Centennial events and was sponsored by Pro Art and Tashir Group. Panorama.am correspondent in Cannes Nvard Chalikyan has conducted a series of interviews with MIDEM organizers and participants, which Panorama.am will present to your attention in the follow-up to MIDEM.  

Below is the first part of the interview with President and CEO of Reed MIDEM Mr. Paul Zilk.

Part 1

- Mr. Zilk, thank you for hosting Armenia as the Country of Honour at MIDEM this year. What are your impressions from this year’s MIDEM and from the Armenian program?

- This MIDEM has been absolutely spectacular and very memorable. I think this is the most exciting Country of Honour celebration that I’ve ever seen in the history of MIDEM! Armenian delegation has done such a fantastic job by bringing together all the spectacular, interesting and colourful, historical and also innovative elements of their culture. One of the best highlights was the opening night party organized by Armenia, when we had thousands of participants from the MIDEM community in the streets of Cannes with the celebration that started out with a very colourful Armenian dancing, followed by different concerts, with jazz music, rock music, folk music, ethno jazz music… It was really extraordinary and amazing, and I think made an enormous impression on the community – a tremendous work to start with!

- Could you say a couple of words about MIDEM itself? What is its main mission? What is it trying to accomplish?

- MIDEM has existed for 49 years, and through 49 years MIDEM’s mission has been to bring the world of music together (by the ‘world of music’ I mean all parts of the music business, the music eco-system – from writers of songs and performer artists to producers of music and businesses made around music) so that they can make contacts with one another and find new opportunities to work together – that’s one element. The other element is to bring the world, with its different countries and cultural diversity, together. All human beings in the world love music, but they are not necessarily aware of or able to appreciate the music of other countries and cultures. So one of our missions is to promote the exchange and the showcasing of all types and genres of music from everywhere in the world. That’s why Armenia is such a fantastic choice as the Country of Honour, because Armenia really has a tremendous diverse and fantastic music to discover.

- How can countries like Armenia, which are not that well-known to the world, make the most out of their representation in this kind of international platform? How can it help to promote Armenia’s music in the world in future?

- I think Armenia’s presence as the Country of Honour has already been a massive first step and a very giant step. Armenia is a small country, with its richness going far beyond the size of the country, however this is not well known outside of Armenia too much. There are obviously exceptions with well-known composers and artists, but in terms of the breadth and the depth of the music and culture of Armenia, there’s much more that the world needs to discover. So I think the MIDEM platform, which gives access to and really reaches so many hundreds and thousands of people worldwide who are concerned by music business, is an excellent way to raise the level of awareness and excitement with regard to the Armenian music.

I think the MIDEM community has really discovered Armenia and Armenia’s musical richness here at MIDEM, and that is a foundation upon which to build the future. So on the one hand you can expose the Armenian music itself and have people on the human level being able to appreciate and enjoy its beauty, and on the other hand you can meet and make personal connections with people in the business in other countries. And now that more than 200 music people from the Armenian delegation have been here, no doubt they’ve made hundreds and probably thousands of contacts that hopefully will help Armenian music business develop in the future.

- What can be the follow-up of this MIDEM after the festival days are over and in the long run how can the participants go on using it as a platform?

- MIDEM is an event that takes place during several days, but there’s actually a lot that goes on leading up to MIDEM and after it. Of course the relationships and the impact that it made during the MIDEM event moves on through the rest of the year through our websites, through online communications and promotion. All that was showcased at MIDEM will continue to get exposed through the year and will reach many more thousands of people. So that of course will help. I also believe that Armenia and the people from the Armenian delegation have seen the potential for building upon their presence this year. That’s why I think it is important to maintain some kind of continuity of presence on the part of Armenia.

- I would like to ask for your advice as a top professional in music management - what steps should Armenia take in order to better promote the Armenian music worldwide?

- The starting point is to have creative and talented artists that create wonderful music, and that Armenia already has; that’s clear. In fact what I see is that the young artists are taking the rich history of the Armenian music and transforming it into very modern musical forms. At the same time the beautiful and unique personality that’s reflected in the Armenian music is preserved, and that is really fantastic.

I think it’s just a matter of building from that base and making relationships with people who are perhaps more experienced in other countries that can help Armenia build its own expertise and promote its music internationally on year-round basis. The artistic talent is there as a strongest point, the language skills are there (I’ve seen that many Armenian artists speak English), so they can create their international careers. Basically it is just a matter of building relationships and having the commitment to go abroad, not giving up but working hard and building those connections; and it will come.

I think Armenia is heading for success. I’ve heard the vision of the President of the Republic of Armenia, I’ve heard the Minister of Culture speak – they have a lot of confidence and a lot of determination to move into the future and to have Armenian music as one of the most important factors for the country and its image. This promises a good future.

-For you as a non-Armenian, from among different genres and styles of music what is more interesting and exciting to hear from Armenia?

- part 2

Interview by Nvard Chalikyan