We've been invited to go along to a conference next week organized by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on "creative industries". Although we made it clear to them that we are not-for-profit and a lot of the programme is not particularly relevant, they were very keen to get us to go along, even to the extent of giving us a free ticket.
The website is at http://www.cabinetforum.org and the agenda is:
* Access to finance for creative industries: What do creative businesses need to do to attract investment and demonstrate reliability of future cash flow? How do you tackle the lack of understanding between investors and creative * New business models for online content: How can a viable business be made out of online content without relying on advertising? * Developing Talent: What can be done to create opportunities for the next generation of creative talent? How can creative businesses make sure tomorrow’s employees have the right skills to thrive? * Securing creative rights: How best to ensure that those who generate and fund creative product are able to secure its value? Both regulatory and non-regulatory methods will be examined.
Some of these things are clearly not relevant for us but some - "securing creative rights" and "new business models" - are issues that we may wish to have input into. There are also likely to be some big hitters there who we would be interested in partnering with in the future, including senior people from companies like Spotify, BBC Vision and Wired UK. Peter Mandelson is a keynote speaker, which could be an important opportunity to put the case for public domain to a key decision maker.
My question: what should I focus on at this conference and what should I aim to get out of it?
Any thoughts appreciated.
Andrew