Lions Entertainment: Timbaland, Steve Angello & YouTube Join New Event at Cannes Lions
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Former Swedish House Mafia star Steve Angello and producer Timbaland, along with execs from YouTube and Sony, have joined the music-centric lineup for Lions Entertainment, a new event being held at this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Organizers say the two-day event spanning June 23-24 in Cannes, France will bring together brands, agencies and entertainment companies whose goals are producing top creative work. Lions Festivals CEO Philip Thomas noted that the parent festival has hosted music stars before (Iggy Pop and Nigerian rapper Falz have joined the lineup), but that Lions Entertainment will be more targeted at the music industry.
"More than ever, music is playing a significant role in the creative process," said Thomas. "We want to bring the talent together with the content creators, marketers and entertainment companies so that together they can define the future and focus on creating outstanding creative work together."
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Timbaland and Jingle Punks’ Jared Gutstadt are teaming up for a panel on reshaping the way brands and artists work together, titled "Music as Marketing: Flipping the Script on Celebrity Talent." In a statement, the producer said he was "excited to share how I’m working with Jingle Punks to change the game and reshape the existing model to completely disrupt how brands and artists collaborate."
In the "Fueling the Content Revolution" panel, YouTube’s CMO Danielle Tiedt and vp of content partnerships Kelly Merryman will make the case that "despite concerns about technology undermining artistic quality, the new media revolution is actually fueling a creative boom." Shazam will be on hand to talk about music data tools and their role in measuring an artist’s success.
Also appearing at the event will be Sony’s vp of strategy, Fred Bolza and Vivendi’s recently appointed CMO, Lucien Boyer. Angello has been confirmed as well, along with international club DJ Gilles Peterson, Indian streaming service Saavn and Maker Studios, whose panel includes Super Size Me director Morgan Spurlock. Hulu’s panel will feature its CEO, Mike Hopkins, and one of its biggest content creators, Mindy Kaling of The Mindy Project.
During the event, Spotify and Pandora will present a number of new artist showcases, plus a mystery agency will unveil results of a "secret experiment" in launching a band-to-be-unveiled-later using only media and zero label involvement.
Lions Entertainment takes place June 23-24 and is a new component of the 63rd Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, being held June 18-25. More information, including schedule and passes, can be found here.