Event Music Matters, Digital Matters, Music Matters Live
Organiser Branded Asia
Venue Ritz-Carlton Millenia, Singapore and several off-site locations
Delegates 1,200
Date May 24-28
 


The brief
This annual tri-event was being held in Singapore for the first time, following five years in Hong Kong. The conferences and live music sessions attract senior executives from the digital and live entertainment industries, with 73% coming from Asia Pacific.
 
Challenges
“We are moving towards a paperless event, but people still refer to the programmes frequently,” says Donat. “It is very expensive to print materials in Singapore so we brought them down from Hong Kong. Producing anything from an AV standpoint is also quite expensive. Also, it is a minor thing, but I would advise anyone holding an event in Singapore to work in net quotes as taxes are added to everything.”
 
Execution
Bringing the event to Singapore meant collaborating with relevant government and industry bodies. “We did way more in Singapore than ever before,” says Jasper Donat, co-founder, Branded. “We worked closely with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), Media Development Authority and Infocomm Development Authority (IDA).”
 
The main conference programmes were held at Ritz-Carlton Millenia, where several themed lunches and an evening poolside party were also held. In addition, Hard Rock Café and several venues in and around Clarke Quay were used for live music performances, including a special stage at Central Fountain Square for the opening party event.
 
The events’ high production values meant a lot of AV and lighting equipment was needed, all of which was able to be sourced locally. “We had around 40 bands and artists from 18 countries in attendance,” says Donat. “It was important to keep them at the forefront through live performances between conference sessions and at evening functions.”
 
This year’s event saw the introduction of a comprehensive mobile app for the event, which included speaker and programme info, music from featured artists and more.
 
A charitable live recording session to benefit victims of the Japan earthquake was set-up just two weeks before the event. “We were able to organise a recording session with numerous performers Ocean Butterflies studio (who donated the venue and their time) within 36 hours,” says Donat.
 
Comment
“Singapore’s entertainment and event infrastructure is second to none – every second doorway is a venue,” says Donat. “There are a lot of hotels and more live music venues than anywhere in Asia.
 
“STB was a wonderful organisation to work with. Once you’re on their team they hold your hand, open doors for sourcing local venues and speakers, are proactive and very supportive. We had a team of five or six STB staff sending us ideas throughout the planning process.”
 
Andrew Grant, head of film and interactive entertainment group, Akamai Technologies, says: “Digital Matters was truly an outstanding event. In short: great crowd, great venue, and time very well spent.”