ITC 2008 ON ITUNES

To get you in the mood for In The City 2008, we’re pleased to announce that you can now download the latest installment of our eagerly anticipated ITC Unsigned Album.

The ITC 2008 Unsigned album – with a whopping 45 tracks on this year, count ‘em - is available exclusively though iTunes and you can download it by clicking here or copy and pasting the link below - all for just £4.74. And that’s a bargain whichever way you look at it.

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=291005293&s=143444

But don’t forget, if you’re a delegate or wristband holder you’ll get your copy free.

That’s right – squat, gratis, not a penny, free like a bird. And better yet, we’ll be sending you the download codes over the next day or so, meaning you can arrive at ITC prepared and ready to go and find the best new bands you’ve never heard of.

REGISTER NOW

So, to register as a delegate for this year's ITC, please visit www.inthecity.co.uk - or contact Gavin via gavin@inthecity.co.uk for more details on registration and to take advantage of our special Midland hotel rate of £109 per night.

ITC WRISTBANDS

www.wegottickets.com/inthecity2008

All right – don’t tell everyone, but if you fancy free entry to all the showcases we are putting on (with priority access to those that are free to begin with, of course) now you can.*

We thought that it’s not fair our delegates get all the perks, so we’ve decided to issue a limited run of ITC wristbands. To get your paws on one, simply go to www.wegottickets.com/inthecity2008 or www.inthecity.co.uk, hand over £26 and you too can charge around Manchester pretending to be an A&R.

*Excludes ITC opening party at The Warehouse Project. Entry to all venues is subject to capacity. All line-ups are subject to change.

BRAND NEW ITC WEB COVERAGE

Want to catch up with all the news of the day? Want to find out who punched who in which panel, and which band’s singer finished their set hanging from the ceiling? This year ITC is stepping up its game and so from audio highlights of the day’s best panels to news of secret special guests and all of ITC’s gig listings www.inthecity.co.uk will be the only place for the best online coverage. And make sure you sign up to the ITC mailout for even more of the same, direct to your inbox by clicking here clicking here.

BBC INTRODUCING LINE-UP ANNOUNCED

As announced last Wednesday on the lovely Huw Stephens’ BBC Introducing show on Radio 1, there will be a special BBC gig at The Deaf Institute on Tuesday 7th October, featuring:

TWISTED WHEEL
TUBELORD
LITTLE COMETS
ITS A BUFFALO

For more information on the show, please visit the BBC In The City page.

The gig will be free entry, with priority given to ITC wristband wearers – details of which can be found here.

ITC 2008 (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)

Andrew Loog Oldham, Andy Burnham MP, Wiley, Bless Beats, Greg Haver, Lyor Cohen, Jazz Summers, Dick Carruthers, Kevin Cummins, Seymour Stein, Richard Gottehrer, Jarvis Cocker, Sean Adams, Eric Garland, Faisal Islam (Channel 4 News), Heather McGill (2Rock), Fiona Stewart (Green Man Festival), Gareth Cooper (Outgoing & Snowbombing), Anton Lockwood (Daybrook House Promotions), Jade Garrow (Euro RSCG KLP), Steve Machin (Tixdaq Ltd), Peter Elliot (Primary Talent International), Ben Jones (Musicians Union), Geoff Ellis (DF Concerts Ltd), Ray Cooper (Former Co-President, Virgin Records; Founder Zama Media Management), Natasha Kizzie (KLP), David Rowell (Autonomy Music Group), Oliver Issacs (This Is Music), Henry Semmence (Absolute Marketing), James Sandom (Kaiser Chiefs / The Cribs), Cerne Canning (Franz Ferdinand), Nathan McGough (White Lies/Happy Mondays), Conrad Murray (The Courteeners), Andy Booth (Turner Parkinson), Jason Yang (Dragon Page Management), Petri Lunden (IMMF), John Woolf (Wiley), Alex Andrews (Dirty Pretty Things), Barney Wragg (Former Global Head of Digital, EMI), Ben Drury (7 Digital.com), Vince Bannon (Getty Images), Graeme Ferguson (Sony BMG), Mark Mulligan (Jupiter Research), Tim Hadley (Omnifone), Gareth Currie (Gulp! Marketing), Tom McLennan (Vodafone), Tim Grimsditch (Nokia Music), David Taghioff (William Morris Agency), Tom Robinson (BBC 6Music), Peter Hook (New Order, Monaco, Freebass and Joy Division), Clint Boon (Inspiral Carpets and Xfm Manchester), Steve White (Trio Valore, The Style Council, Paul Weller), Steve Chandra Savale (Asian Dub Foundation), Marc Marot (Terra Firma Management), Neil Boote (Firebrand), Andrew Martyn (Mubito), Raoul Chatterjee (Trinity Street), Andy Allen (Backstreet International Merchandise), Russel Coultart (Digital Stores), Nick Stewart, Craig Averill (Serling Rooks and Ferrara, LLP), Ian Ramage (Sony/ATV Music Publishing), Blair MacDonald (Nettwerk UK), Nora Mullally, Paul Brindley (Music Ally), Steve Purdham (We7), Charles Caldas (Merlin), Anthony Lukom (Myspace), Ted Cohen, Jon Webster (MMF), John Glover (Go West, ABC), Jake Beaumont-Nesbitt (International Royalty Rescue), Andy Spinoza, John Robb, Chris Cowey (Executive Producer), Phil Poole (Box TV), Chris Price (MTV Networks UK & Ireland), Symon Hallam (Joost), Dylan White (Dylan White Promotions), Michael Barry (BT Vision), Emma Smithwick (BBC Switch), Caroline Bottomley (Radar Music Videos), Martin Talbot (Official Charts Company), Lucy Wilson (Notion magazine), Stuart Green (These New Puritans and Patrick Wolf), Rachel Kirby (Adidas), Stephen Craig (All Saints), Will Skeaping (Lex Records), Kimberley Nicholson (PPQ clothing), Jenna G (1 Xtra), Matt Verovkins (Hyponik and Civil Music), Benga (Artist), Shifty (Artist), Geli Berg (World Music DJ/Broadcaster/Agent/Promoter), Kanda Bongo Man (Musician), Mike Chadwick (Broadcaster/Venue Programmer), Ann Tucker (International Arts Festival Producer), Helienne Lindvall (Swede As Candy), Todd Eckert (Eutechnyx), Lance Phillips (Sheridans), Joe Taylor (Record of the Day), Jude Rogers (The Guardian), Chris Price (MTV) , Bethan Elfyn (Radio 1), Andy Ross (Boss Music), Mike Walsh (Xfm), Piers Miller (Turning Worm), James Foley (Record of the Day), Jode Steele (Verbal Vigilante ), David Wainwright (Verbal Vigilante), Neil Claxton (Mint Royale), Gareth Smith (Chrysalis Music), Jonathan Tester (Bucks Music Group), Marc Robinson (Universal Records), Pete Mitchell (Radio 2), Kenny McGoff (EMI Publishing), Jason Carter (Radio 1), Huw Stephens (Radio 1), John Kennedy (Xfm), Eden Blackman (Head of Ish Media), Korda Marshall (Warner Bros Records UK), Martin Coogan (Radio Republic), Matt Cadman (All Around The World), Cris Nuttall (All Around The World), Gareth Davies (Kontor Records), HP Baxxter (Scooter), Jens Thele (Kontor Records), Kate Brockhurst (Kdot Management), Brent Tobin (Galaxy FM), Alex Paterson (The Orb), Dom Beken (Higher Frequency Bandwidth), Graeme Park (107.6 Juice FM), Kutski (Radio 1), Carl Sukonik (Tillate.com), Nick DeCosemo (Mixmag), Johnny Jay (Music Entrepreneur), Jay Reynolds (Long Island Records), Jonathan McNamara (Retro Fuzz Ltd), Jon Grant (Black Country Grammar Blog), Paul Griffiths (Babycakes), Ben Mawson (SSB Lawyers), Alan McGee, Mike Smith (Columbia)...

REGISTER NOW

So, to register as a delegate for this year's ITC, please visit www.inthecity.co.uk - or contact Gavin via gavin@inthecity.co.uk for more details on registration and to take advantage of our special Midland hotel rate of £109 per night.

BRAND NEW ITC WEB COVERAGE

Want to catch up with all the news of the day? Want to find out who punched who in which panel, and which band’s singer finished their set hanging from the ceiling? This year ITC is stepping up its game and so from audio highlights of the day’s best panels to news of secret special guests and all of ITC’s gig listings www.inthecity.co.uk will be the only place for the best online coverage. And make sure you sign up to the ITC mailout for even more of the same, direct to your inbox by clicking here clicking here.

JARVIS COCKER KEYNOTE

On Tuesday 7th October, the final day of In The City 2008, Jarvis Cocker will give his ‘Saying the Unsayable’ lecture – first commissioned by The Brighton Festival - on the function of lyrics in popular song.

It will be a completely biased & subjective exploration of some of Jarvis’s favourite lyrics from other people's songs plus a few from his own that he is most fond of. The starting point is that lyrics in songs don't really matter but, because he is a lyricist himself, he does have strong opinions on what constitutes a good lyric and how they should be presented. The show will use excerpts from the songs in question and will cover subjects such as ‘Should Songs Rhyme?’, ‘Are Songs Poetry?’, ‘Is There Anything You Can't Write Songs About?’, ‘Which Phrases Should be Avoided at All Costs?’ and ‘Great First Lines’ ( amongst many others). As well as his own work he intends to investigate songs by Leonard Cohen, Pete Doherty, Hot Chocolate, Amy Winehouse, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Neil Sedaka, Dory Previn, Katerine, Rozalla, Arctic Monkeys plus many more he hasn’t thought of yet - and there will be an in-depth analysis of the words to ‘Louie, Louie’…

Jarvis joins a list of high-profile keynotes set to appear at ITC 2008 including: guest host and former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, Sire Records founders Seymour Stein and Richard Gotterher, Warners legend Lyor Cohen and Big Life founder Jazz Summers, the UK Culture Seceratary Andy Burnham MP, iconic music photographer Kevin Cummins and legendary filmmaker Dick Carruthers – with more to be announced over the next few days.

Full details of all of this year’s panel, seminars and keynote speakers – as well as all live listings - can be found by visiting www.inthecity.co.uk. A full breakdown of all the various packages on offer and the opportunity to register online is also available at the In The City official website.

REGISTER NOW

So, to register as a delegate for this year's ITC, please visit www.inthecity.co.uk - or contact Gavin via gavin@inthecity.co.uk for more details on registration and to take advantage of our special Midland hotel rate of £109 per night.

BRAND NEW ITC WEB COVERAGE

Want to catch up with all the news of the day? Want to find out who punched who in which panel, and which band’s singer finished their set hanging from the ceiling? This year ITC is stepping up its game and so from audio highlights of the day’s best panels to news of secret special guests and all of ITC’s gig listings www.inthecity.co.uk will be the only place for the best online coverage. And make sure you sign up to the ITC mailout for even more of the same, direct to your inbox by clicking here clicking here.

FULL ITC SCHEDULES NOW ONLINE

Well – the time is nearly upon us and ITC 2008 is just around the corner.

So, to whet your respective appetites a little, we’ve put our panel schedule up on site. We’ll keep adding to it in the run-up to ITC, but there’s more than enough on there to keep you going for now.

Also, as well as our wonderful unsigned bands, we’re now got a full list of all the ITC Live events taking place. There are some great nights planned, so make sure you check those out too.

THE FRATELLIS AT ITC 2008

We are delighted to announce that we have teamed up with international live music and content specialists All The Worlds and Nokia Music, to present an exclusive gig by acclaimed Glaswegian outfit – and former ITC Unsigned band - The Fratellis, which will form part of our closing night celebrations.

The band will play Manchester Academy 1 - supported by critically acclaimed newcomers The Chapman Family - with doors at 7.30pm.

The Fratellis – Jon, Baz and Mince - formed in Glasgow in March 05, and have released two albums of “stadium-shaking riffs” (Uncut) – their multi-platinum debut, ‘Costello Music’ (2006), which spawned the monster hits ‘Creepin Up The Backstairs’, ‘Whistle For The Choir’ and the unintentional football anthem ‘Chelsea Dagger’ and this year’s “Here We Stand” (2008) featuring more “arena roof-raising choruses” (Q) such as ‘Mistress Mabel’ and ‘Look Out Sunshine’. Anyone lucky enough to have caught the Fratellis live at Glastonbury, T In The Park and Reading festivals over the summer will testify that the band are the essence of good times rock’n’roll.

Thanks to Nokia Music, this show will be exclusively mobile ticketed, which will allow fans to receive tickets electronically on their mobile phones in the form of a barcode that will be scanned at the venue upon entry. Subsequently, NO BOOKING FEE will be added to the fantastic £12.50 ticket price.

Tickets are on sale now exclusively through The Fratellis official website www.thefratellis.com.

PANEL HIGHLIGHTS AT IN THE CITY 2008

Whilst we realise that this is one hell of a long email, there's just no way we could cut down this year's panel highlights any more. We're sure you'll agree, the pedigree of panellists at this year's ITC is frighteningly strong - and this isn't even the full picture. If you need ANY more reasons to come up to Manchester at the start of October then check out the ITC website at the start of next week for the full list of panels, showcases, bands and parties. Or just go there now, click on 'register' and spend the next two weeks planning who you'll see, what you'll ask and just how you'll get all those booze receipts past accounts...

Here are just some of the forthcoming highlights of this year’s event:

On the Sunday 5th October, the first day of In The City 2008, the opening address will be given by this year’s official In The City host Andrew Loog Oldham. This will be followed by a keynote address from Andrew Burnham MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport who will then be interviewed live on stage by Channel 4 News correspondent Faisal Islam.

The highlights of Sunday’s panels include ‘Festival Independence’ a look at the health of the UK’s music festival industry with participants including Fiona Stewart, the MD of the Green Man Festival, Steve Machin of Tixdaq, Geoff Ellis of DF Concerts, Peter Elliott the Managing Director of Primary Talent International and Heather McGill of 2 Rock.

Sunday 5th also sees a panel devoted to ‘The New, New Marketing’ which will look at how music marketing has changed in recent years. Panellists include Co-President of Virgin Records US Ray Cooper who will moderate, Natasha Kizzle from KLP, Oliver Issacs from This is Music and Henry Semmence from Absolute Marketing.

Monday 6th October kicks off with ‘Caught by the Buzz – The Managers Panel,’ which will investigate how managers can build the visibility of new artists. Former Rolling Stones Manager Andrew Loog-Oldham, James Sandom and Cerne Canning of Supervision Management - who between them represent Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs and The Cribs – and Petri Lunden, Manager of The Cardigans and Chair of IMMF amongst others will be on hand to debate the subject.

As a counterpoint to the managers panel, this year ITC are introducing an artists debate entitled ‘The Importance of Being Idols – Keeping Your Creativity,’ which is described by the organisers as “a lesson in how to stay creative amongst the chaos”. Taking part will be New Order’s Peter Hook, Steve Chandra Savale of Asian Dub Foundation, Steve White of The Style Council and Clint Boon. The panel will be moderated by former TRB frontman and Radio 6Music presenter Tom Robinson.

Also on Monday will be a three-part debate entitled ‘The Digital Buffet’ which will look at the high- end, mid-end and low-end of the ‘all you can eat’ business model in three separate discussions throughout the day. A stellar cast of panellists including Tim Hadley (Vodaphone), Tim Grimsditch (Nokia), Edward Averdieck (Real World), Ben Drury (7 Digital), Graeme Ferguson (Sony BMG), Mark Mulligan (Jupiter Research), Steve Purdham (We7) and Charles Caldas (Merlin) and more will be chewing over the whys and wherefores.

Keeping with the digital theme, Monday will also see a panel called ‘On the Storefront’ which will look at how artists can monetise their online activities by selling downloads, physical product and merchandise online. Andy Allen (Backstreet Entertainment), Neil Boote (Firebrand), Raoul Chatterjee (Trinity Street) and Andrew Martyn (Mubito) will be among the panellists being moderated by Marc Marot of Terra Firma Management.

In The City disapproves of the expression ‘360 degree deal’ but are hosting a panel on Monday called ‘All Rights – There Are No Record Deals Anymore’ which examines this contentious subject. Nick Stewart of Nick Stewart & Associates will moderate a discussion between Ian Ramage of Sony/ATV, Paul Craig of Atlantic Records, Blair Macdonald of Nettwerk and Craig Averill of Serling Rooks and Ferrara , LLP.

To top off the Monday panels delegates are asked to come along to ‘The Filth and the Theory – The Adult Entertainment Industry Model’ where the porn industry business model will be compared to the music industry model. At the present time the ITC organisers are keeping the speakers on this panel close to their, ahem, chests.

The final day of In The City, Tuesday 7th October, kicks off with a seminar entitled ‘What Becomes of The Broken Charted’ which will examine the development of music TV and the adaptation to online and 24 hour on demand. It will also ask the question “is the concept of charts now almost as extinct as the polar bear?” Panellists will include Chris Cowey, Phil Poole (Box TV), Chris Price (MTV), Symon Hallam (Joost), Martin Talbot (Official Charts Company), Emma Smithwick (BBC Switch) and others.

Advertising in music will be examined in the panel “Syncing In The Rain” which looks at whether having an artist’s music in an advert is now a normal part of their marketing strategy or if it is, in fact, an unfair exploitation of an artist’s rights. Gareth Smith (Chrysalis), Jonathan Tester (Bucks Music Group), Jode Steele (Verbal Vigilante) and Marc Robinson (Universal) will debate the issues.

The radio panel this year is called ‘Dab Your Tears’ and will attempt an examination of whether DAB radio can still break bands without competing with other digital formats for exclusive plays and whether a DJ can still champion a band in these days of safe, commercially viable playlist. A stellar line-up of panellists including Pete Mitchell (Radio 2), Jason Carter (Radio 1), John Kennedy (XFM), Korda Marshall (Warners), Huw Stevens (Radio 1), Mike Walsh (XFM) and others will chew the subject over.

Dance music also gets a special focus this year with a panel entitled ‘Put A Donk On It – The Consistent Success of the Dance Industy’ which firstly carries out an in-depth case study of the hugely successful Clubland TV brand and then moves on to discuss just why dance music continues to do rather well. Matt Cadman (All Around The World), Cris Nuttall (All Around The World), Gareth Davies (Kontor Records), HP Baxxter (Scooter) and Helienne Lindvall (Swede As Candy) work up a sweat about things.

In The City 2008 comes to an end for another year with two panels looking at the big picture and examining exactly where we are at this moment in time in the music industry.

The first panel entitled ‘I’m The Model and I’m Looking Good’ brings together a number of people who are working at the coalface of the modern music industry and asks them whether things are working or not. Talking about this and other issues will be Jay Reynolds (Long Island Records), Paul Griffiths (Babycakes), Sean Adams (Drowned in Sound and The Quietus Group) and J Mcnamara (Retro Fuzz) among others.

And following this debate In The City rolls out the big guns to close the show. ‘Has The Music Industry Gone Full Circle?’ will wrap up 2008’s event and industry legends Andrew Loog-Oldham, Seymour Stein, Alan McGee, Richard Gottehrer and others will gather to cast an eye where the industry has been, where it’s at and where it’s going.

These are just some of the panel highlights at this year’s In The City convention. Delegates will find many more keynote addresses, celebrity interviews, masterclasses, panels and seminars at the event where they can listen to discussions and participate in debates about the future of the music business.

REGISTER NOW

To register as an ITC delegate - or to volunteer as one of our little helpers contact the ITC office on 0161 8393930 or go to www.inthecity.co.uk.

THE MIDLAND HOTEL

To book a room at the special delegates-only price of £109 per night, register online and fill out the hotel booking form. Alternatively, give us a call on 0161 839 3930 or email Gavin on gavin@inthecity.co.uk.

Keep checking www.inthecity.co.uk for all the latest news and updates.

ITC Unsigned 2008 bands announced

After much deliberation, shouting, arguing, begging, pleading and even the odd moment of rapturous applause from our esteemed A&R panel, In The City is pleased to announce this year’s official ITC Unsigned line-up – the 49 bands we think will change the world and follow in the footsteps of past ITC luminaries.

This year’s line up is:

6 Day Riot

Alban Dereyer

Alphabet Backwards

Arthur Delaney

Baddies

Barn Owl

Bo Pepper

Broadcast Radio

The Brute Chorus

Charlene Soraia

EJ

El Condorez

Fenech Soler

The Fire And I

Flashguns

Friends Electric

General Fiasco

The Grants

Graveyard Johnnys

Hemme Fatale

Hold Fire

Hotel de Ville

I Am Austin

Isosceles

The Jessie Rose Trip

Karoshi Bros

Kids On Bridges

Last Gang

Les Gars

Lord Auch

Maths Class

Meadow

Micachu And The Shapes

The Mood

Nomad Jones

Oscar Charlie

The Paris Riots

Rod Thomas

Run Toto Run

Silverclub

Soft Toy Emergency

Substatic

Telegram From The Queen

To The Bones

The Travelling Band

Tubelord

Twin Atlantic

Winners

Zeigeist


For more info on the bands and how good they really are – as well as times, dates and all that other important stuff – go to www.inthecity.co.uk

And don’t forget, you can hear them in advance by getting hold of the ITC Unsigned Album 2008 – containing 45 of our bands - available exclusively on iTunes from September 28th.