PRESS RELEASE
LINKIN PARK VOCALIST AND PRODUCER MIKE SHINODA TO KEYNOTE AT MIDEM 2017
©James Minchin
Paris, 8 March 2017 – Mike Shinoda, vocalist and producer of Linkin Park, visual artist and co-founder of Machine Shop, will deliver a keynote on Wednesday 7 June and take part in the Midemlab startup competition as a Jury Member during Midem 2017. Midem, the world’s leading music industry trade event, will be held in Cannes, France, from 6-9 June 2017.
Shinoda and Linkin Park are without a doubt at the forefront of the growing convergence of creativity and technology. The band oversees their own creative and business affairs via their own in-house management and innovation studio, Machine Shop, which develops and executes the band’s creative endeavors across music, technology, content, design, marketing, apparel, the LP Underground fan club, Music For Relief non-profit, and the Machine Shop Ventures VC Fund.
Shinoda will also act as Jury Member for Midemlab, the leading international competition for music-related startups, celebrating its 10th edition this year. By joining a stellar line-up of music professionals and venture capitalists, Shinoda will hear the most promising startups in the music ecosystem pitch their business in four main fields of innovation: Music Creation & Education; Music Discovery & Distribution; Marketing & Data/Analytics; and Experiential Technologies, covering VR/AR, high-resolution, IoT & hardware.
“The DNA of Linkin Park has always been integrating forward-thinking culture, sounds and technology into our musical landscape,” said Shinoda. “We are always seeking new ways to release our music and connect with our global fan base. Interacting with bright minds and partnering with innovators that authentically connect with the band keeps us inspired and part of the changing tide.”
“As Midemlab celebrates its 10th anniversary, innovation is more than ever at the heart of Midem and we are very proud to welcome Mike Shinoda, who is a true artist-entrepreneur. Mike brings together creativity and technology in the most exciting ways to break barriers, promote and invest globally in innovation, even beyond music. His vision will undoubtedly be highly inspirational for both the Midem audience and the Midemlab finalists, who will be able to pitch their solutions to him and get his extremely valuable feedback,” said Alexandre Deniot, Director of Midem.
The Call for Entries for the 2017 Midemlab competition is open and projects must be submitted by 20 March here. The 20 finalists will be announced early May. bluenove, Music Ally, Northzone, 500 Startups, FrenchWeb, Paris&CO and STHLM Music City are partners of Midemlab.
Mike Shinoda is a songwriter, performer, record producer and visual artist. He is best known as vocalist for two-time Grammy-Award winning rock band, Linkin Park. Shinoda oversees the band's online efforts, including linkinpark.com and Facebook.com/LinkinPark, which currently boasts over 62 million followers – the biggest band page in the world on Facebook. Shinoda also holds advisory board positions with Sonos and Spotify, and founded, along with his bandmates, Music for Relief, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing aid to survivors of natural disasters and the prevention of such disasters.
Linkin Park command a massive YouTube channel of over 3 billion plays and 7 million subscribers. Their first album, Hybrid Theory, is the best-selling debut of this century, certified diamond (10 million) in the US. They have won two Grammy Awards, five American Music Awards, four MTV VMA Awards, 10 MTV Europe Music Awards and three World Music Awards. After debuting their new single “Heavy” [feat. Kiiara] last month, Linkin Park are gearing up to release their seventh studio album, “One More Light” on 19 May 2017.
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