Midem attendance off

Album sales up, French see record high

By ERICH BOEHM

Roy

CANNES -- The number of U.S. companies at this year's Midem has dropped 28% after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. But the market is bustling, and those who have come to Cannes are determined to make it business as usual following the tragedy.

Midem topper Xavier Roy said there were about 9,500 attendees as of Monday, down 500 from last year, and 1,978 exhibiting companies, down 200.

Roy had feared the terrorist attacks and war in Afghanistan would prevent more Americans from attending. During the Gulf War in 1991, virtually no Americans came to the market.

"We are a little bit down," he told Daily Variety. "But it is still very, very busy."

The U.K. had 730 companies at the market, followed by the U.S. at 527, France at 500 and Germany with 349. Roy said he was especially pleased that a record 24 countries had taken stands, and that China, India, Egypt and the Palestinians were at Midem for the first time.

One Midem newcomer from the U.S. who braved the journey was former four-time heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, who took a stand to promote his nascent indie label, Real Deal Records.

"When my career started ending, I knew I had to make an adjustment," Holyfield said. "I love music, and I'm a people person, so it's the right fit." His company has a roster of a dozen acts ranging from hip-hop to gospel.

French tune sales soar

Meanwhile, statistics released at Midem indicate the French music market hit a record high in 2001, with sales up 10.8% to 1.2 billion euros ($1 billion) and a 7.4% jump in units sold.

That halts the slide in the territory of the previous two years.

French record biz org SNEP cited a 10% boost in album sales for the improvement.

In contrast, worldwide record sales in all formats dropped 5% in the first six months of 2001, with units sold globally falling 6.7%. The U.K. is the only other country to report a rise in revs (10.5%) and units sold (7.1%).

Music is now the second most profitable cultural industry in France, behind the book trade but ahead of the film biz.

Recordings by French artists made up 58.9% of total sales, up 2.3% from 2000. The year's top three singles were by French artists, and 18 of the top 20 album sales were by local artists, led by Garou's "Seul" (Alone) at No. 1.

Universal Music held 36% of the market, followed by Sony Music (22.7%), Virgin (12.5%), Warner Music (10%), EMI (9%) and BMG (6.8%).

(Andrea R. Vaucher in Paris contributed to this report.)