MUMBAI: Midem announced the launch of its inaugural Midem Artist Accelerator on 10 December, designed to fast-track budding musical talent onto the global stage. In partnership with Pepsi and Deezer, the Midem Artist Accelerator will support managers, agents, labels and publishers as they look to grow their artists’ profiles globally. Organised by Reed MIDEM, Midem takes place in Cannes, France, from 5-8 June in 2015.

The Midem Artist Accelerator will spotlight 10-15 promising talents, selected by an Artistic Committee made up of key players in the music ecosystem (artistes, managers, festival executives, promoters, agents, etc.).

Participants will play live on the Midem Festival open-air stage, and will benefit from a tailored professional programme onsite, with entry to selected conferences, coaching sessions with industry mentors and networking opportunities with key players of the Midem community.

Moreover, Midem, Pepsi and Deezer’s global and cross-industry expertise will help them better engage with decision-makers and will provide the talent with unrivalled business development opportunities. Media training will be offered to artists, courtesy of Pepsi. Deezer, in addition to providing the artists with the recording of a Deezer Session, will present a workshop specifically developed for the project. An online monetization best practice session will be presented by BandPage. Participants will also benefit from special legal consulting from the IAEL (International Association of Entertainment Lawyers) and privileged access to the Global Sync & Brands Summit. Participants will also benefit of international reach via Midem, Pepsi and Deezer’s multiple promotion channels.

Members of the Artistic Committee so far confirmed include legendary producer and promoter Harvey Goldsmith, CBE, who was behind two of the largest music events in history, Live Aid and Live 8; industry veteran Rob Hallett, recognised as one of Europe’s most successful music promoters, who has worked with everyone from the Rolling Stones to Leonard Cohen; Will Botwin , President & CEO of Red Light Management and ATO Records, who represents some of the world's most popular musical artists such as Ben Harper or Alabama Shakes; Chris Kaskie, President and founder of the acclaimed Pitchfork publication and all its sub-brands, including the Pitchfork Music Festival; Mathieu Jaton, CEO of the distinguished Montreux Jazz Festival, the Swiss event that has welcomed, since its creation in 1967, international stars such as  Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett, Nina Simone Ella Fitzgerald, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd Deep Purple or Prince; Fruzsina Szép, Director of Festival Coordination & Public Affairs at Hörstmann Unternehmensgruppe – the group counting in its portfolio festivals such as the Berlin Festival, MELT Festival, MTV Mobile Beats and Lollapalooza Berlin.

Fruzsina is a board member of Yourope (the European Festival Association) and also the former Program & Artistic Director of the Sziget Festival; Frank Cooper III, Chief Marketing Officer, Global Consumer Engagement, PepsiCo Global Beverages Group who worked as a senior executive at Def Jam and has partnered with artists ranging from Blake Shelton to Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé; and finally Delphine Ferré , VP International Artist Marketing at Deezer whose murky past at Sony Music has enabled her to work with legends such as Depeche Mode, Bruce Springsteen, ACDC, MGMT, Gossip, The Foo Fighters, Kasabian, Pharrell Williams and Patti Smith.

"Pepsi has phenomenal history and equity in music and creativity," explains Cooper. "Through the years, we have brought artists like Ray Charles, David Bowie, Britney Spears, Shakira and Beyoncé to the world and the world to these artists. In keeping with this storied tradition, we are proud to partner with Midem and Deezer on this Midem Artist Accelerator to discover, share and showcase the next generation of amazing talents."

Deezer's Delphine Ferré says: "New artist development and championing new talent has always been at the heart of our business, with music discovery and recommendation in our DNA. With the Midem Artist Accelerator, we are extremely excited to be part of this first in the industry, and wish all participants the best of luck as they begin what will no doubt be an incredible journey from the stage at Cannes."

"Midem is actively working to support artists. It is essential for us to accompany our Midem Artist Accelerator participants as they connect the different dots of the music ecosystem. Who better than Midem to help up-and-coming stars grow their profiles globally, meet the right people, and learn from the most talented mentors? I am delighted to launch this first edition at Midem 2015 and particularly excited that Pepsi and Deezer are bringing their expertise and support to the project," says Reed MIDEM Director of Music Markets Bruno Crolot.