Flight 82 to Midem: What a Long Strange Trip It's Been

Authored by Ned Sherman on January 19, 2007 - 1:19pm.

For the last four years, I have been among the 200 or so who take Delta's overnight Thursday flight (Flight 82) from JFK to Nice, often referred to as the "Midem Shuttle", to join the thousands of industry leaders from around the world at the Midem Music Conference & Market in Cannes. The passenger list for this 7 hour flight reads like a who's who list of music industry movers and shakers - top label execs mingling with artists, talent managers, the digirati and members of the press. The scene is almost surreal and time goes by like a college road trip with a constant flow of networking, drinking and bantering that you would expect at a Grammy's after party.

This year I was seated in the cramped coach section across the row from none other than Mr. Funkadelic himself - George Clinton - who is slated to speak at the conference over the weekend. How cool is that? George slept for most of the flight, but awoke about an hour before we landed, commenting to me on how well my 21 month old son (who was still sleeping) had done during the flight and jumped into a lively conversation taking place in the middle of our aisle about the increasing number of opportunities for artists in this new digital age.

I even heard the "Long Tail" mentioned a few times. (It's incredible how that term seems to have been adopted so widely in the industry.) Later, I ran into Chris Anderson (Wired's Editor-in-Chief and creator of the term) in the baggage claim area - one of many digital visionaries who are having a lasting impact on the future direction of the industry and is speaking at the event. Of course he was on the flight, I thought.

Then, as the flight attendant jammed my seat back into the straight up position in preparation for landing and my coffee and wine high began to fade, I was jolted by the beauty of the French Riviera as the plane carefully glided to the North revealing an unobstructed sun rising from the East over the blue waters, and I tingled inside as I reminded myself why I take this trip each year.

There is no other event like Midem!

http://www.midem.com

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Comments

Clinton in Coach????

Submitted by FunkaDelic Chick (not verified) on January 20, 2007 - 12:25pm.

So the question we all want the answer to is:

"Why in the Hell was the 'Prime Minister of Funk' flying Coach??????"

Good Question

Submitted by Ned Sherman on January 25, 2007 - 11:35am.

I was thinking the same thing.