Well, the Edinburgh Festival kicks off this week, which means Freshers' Weeks are not very far away, and that means In The City must be just around the corner. Not that our lives at CMU are stuck to a rigid annual calendar.
Details of this year's In The City have been formally announced. The topic for the event, which will take place at the Radisson Edwardian Free Trade Hall Hotel in Manchester from 17 to 21 Sep, will be 'Music Is Priceless - That's Why We Have To Pay For It'. On the seminar component of the convention, In The City Director Yvette Livesey told CMU: " This year, more than any other in recent memory, there is a strong sense that the old rules are being re-written and a new template for the music industry is emerging. In The City has always been a catalyst for radical thinking and I can't think of a better time to be debating this new era of opportunity at a time when we are facing perhaps our biggest challenges." The seminars will be organised by our good friends at Record Of The Day - more on who will be speaking when we get it.
Music wise, and a special concentration on urban music this year. Jamelia, Manchester-based Raw T, Terri Walker, J'Nay and Big Brovaz are all booked to play, and there will be a special urban unsigned showcase on the Saturday night. On that programming decision ITC founder Anthony Wilson told us: "It is obvious to anybody with even a passing interest in popular music that the British urban scene now has an authentic and unique voice with more and more artists breaking out of the underground and into the mainstream. In The City is celebrating urban music this year with a programme of events designed to highlight the continued success of these artists."
More details on the full line up and delegate registration info are at http:// www.inthecity.co.uk