MUMBAI: Reed MIDEM announced that Paul Williams, composer and songwriter, President and Chairman of the Board of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), will deliver a keynote interview at Midem 2015. The upcoming Midem (Marché International du Disque et de l'Edition Musicale) which will take place in Cannes, France, has moved to a new slot, running from 5-8 June next year.

Williams has an Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe award. He is best known for hits like The Carpenter's 'We've Only Just Begun' and 'Rainy Days and Mondays,' Three Dog Night's 'An Old Fashioned Love Song' and 'The Rainbow Connection' which got him the Golden Globe. Williams' songs have also been recorded by diverse musical icons like Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Tony Bennett, Jason Mraz, The Carpenters and Kermit the Frog. In 2014, he won an Album of the Year Grammy as a featured artiste on two songs he co-wrote on Daft Punk's critically-acclaimed album, 'Random Access Memories.'

As President and Chairman of the performing rights organisation ASCAP, he is also a leading spokesman for music creators in the digital age. Since being elected head of ASCAP in 2009, Williams has been advocating for defending Copyright, both at home in the US and on the world stage, and has frequently lead delegations to Washington DC to meet with policymakers and discuss creators' rights.

It was stated in a release that during the interview at Midem, Williams will provide his vision on the future of licensing and the value of music today and how such value should be shared tomorrow.

"Since Midem brings together the whole music and digital ecosystem, it is the ideal event to discuss innovative directions for the future of licensing. The creative contributions of songwriters and composers remain the foundation upon which the entire ecosystem is built.  It is more important than ever that we work together to value music in a way that ensures a bright future for our entire industry,” said Paul Williams in a statement.

"We are thrilled to welcome Paul Williams as keynote interview of Midem 2015. Midem is the natural home for such legendary music creators, especially when they are as well-versed as Paul in the inner workings of the music business. His presence shows that the core industry is more than ever at the heart of Midem,” stated Midem Director Bruno Crolot.

The keynote session will be part of Midem Talks, the Midem plenary conference programme covering key topics for today's music business. The other keynote speaker so far confirmed for Midem 2015 is Indiegogo Co-Founder and Chief Development Officer Danae Ringelmann. Indiegogo is considered as the world's largest crowdfunding platform.