“The main reason for establishing ourselves here is the Euro-Mediterranean music market, consisting of 118 million people under the age of 15.”
“The association Aide aux Musiques Innovatrices (A.M.I. – Help for Innovative Music), founded in 1985 was renamed “Centre National de Développement pour les Musiques Actuelles” (National Centre for the Development of Contemporary Music) in 1998.
I prefer to describe us as a “particle accelerator”. Our task is to discover innovative talents, whether they are artists or computer operators, and to help them blossom and emerge. It is up to them gradually to become independent. Our projects extend beyond the frontiers because, for example, we have been organising the Ormuz programme (Oriental Music) for the past 4 years, which puts young artists from Lebanon, Syria and Jordan in touch with computer operators. Liverpool, Capital of Culture in 2008, has invited us, along with Marseille and its computer operators, to create the Edgy Cities network with Naples, Gdansk and Istanbul. These fascinating cities are united by their differences, their specificity and their own originality. We hope that Marseille will be the Capital of Culture in 2013 in this same spirit.
All of these projects are possible here!
Apart from the costs, which are much lower than in Paris, and an unequalled quality of life, the main reason for establishing ourselves here is the market. In fact, the Mediterranean market is composed of 435 million people, 118 of whom are under the age of 15. The primary cultural activity for these young people is music. So the equation is really very simple.
What we need now is a network of competitive companies and micro-companies to be created locally so that real dynamism can be established. Artistic activity, and music in particular, can then take its rightful place here.”
