Thursday, February 3
Round Table - “Shawn Fanning Was Not An MIT Scientist On A CRAY 3”
Mike "Goon" McGinley, SRO Consultants

A highly successful new event implemented at the 2005 Concert Industry Consortium was a group of round tables, covering a wide range of topics and facilitated by some of the most highly respected people in their fields. Running the gamut of industry concerns from how to structure a deal to purchasing tour insurance to staying sober on the road, conference guests could stop at one discussion or visit them all for a taste of what’s happening in today’s concert business.

The Goon’s round table focused on new technology, media and their potential effects on the live touring business.

Unlike topics such as tour marketing, where “everyone has an opinion,” Mike McGinley’s session was more about introducing the subject matter to his audience. Although plenty of questions were asked, the nature of the topic precluded much debate.

“A lot of our stuff was more about information and presenting stuff and doing demos for people,” he told Pollstar.

McGinley illustrated his points with a computer and projection screen.

“To give the basic broad strokes is what people wanted. We were introducing new concepts to them so if we had gotten into much more detail, we might have lost some people.”

McGinley said 30 or 40 people attended the session, but he could have accommodated more if not for the noise of the packed round table room.

“But we had great interaction with the people that could hear,” he said.