The Golden Melody Awards & Festival (GMA) kicked off in Taipei on June 20 with an international music trade show offering forums, business meets, and showcases of the newest technological applications in music.
This year's special guests include Stacy Turner, chair of the Hollywood-based Musicians Institute's Music Business Program; Rob Schwartz, Asian Bureau Chief of Billboard Magazine; Peter Åstedt, senior adviser at Musichelp; Vaughn McKenzie-Landell, co-founder of JAAK; and Daniel Lawton, UK Ambassador for Musicoin Foundation.
They will join other leading figures from home and abroad to speak on the current and future trends in the music industry, including music production, market exploration, technological innovation, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Taiwanese and global music companies or businesses with interest to work across the industries are also invited to sign up for business-matching events at the GMA, where music festival curators and buyers actively network.
New attendees this year include representatives of Canada's North by Northeast, Sweden's Live at Heart, Spain's Primavera Pro, Iceland Airwaves, Germany's C/O POP, and the Netherland's Le Guess Who?
Also of note is a pitching forum on June 20 that features Taiwanese startup teams in event marketing, interactive technology, online music platforms, analytics tools, and intelligent systems.
The GMA's exhibition area is also highly recommended for its glimpse of the latest music and interdisciplinary technologies. This year's lineup includes a mood-analyzing jukebox juicer, visual representations of music, a rhythm mobile game, and futuristic VR showcases.
As of June 15, the GMA's online reservation system has tallied the confirmed attendance of 1,026 music professionals from 387 companies or festivals ― 321 of which are based in Taiwan, and 66 from abroad.
Upon the three-day festival's conclusion on June 23, the ceremony for one of Asia’s most-established music awards ― the Golden Melody Awards ― will be held at the Taipei Arena. The event will be broadcast live across several international platforms, including YouTube.
Both nominees and winners will have the opportunity to hold showcases in Asia and Europe in the latter half of the year through the GMA's ongoing collaboration with heavyweights such as the Tokyo International Music Market, Thailand's Big Mountain Music Festival, and Germany's Reeperbahn.