In English

About me:

I don’t want to sound like an industry veteran, but I’ve been around the music industry for a while.

In 1997, I was finishing my business studies in the US and was discovering MP3.com. In 2000 I was addicted to Napster. Then I worked for television channels, radio broadcasting services and digital music companies, within positions handling music and artists. I was always in touch with the record industry. And artists. And digital. I worked for Canal Plus (trendy pay per view channel), MSN, NRJ Group (radio and media group) and MySpace as the Marketing and Content Director for France (french territories)

For over ten years I’ve been observing all the attempts to “save” music (and participating to some): Napster to Go, online media players launched by major labels (highly secured, with no common catalogues and no interoperability), 360 deals, Comes with Music, Starbucks Music, MySpace, Spotify…

But over 10 years, I have been lucky to work for creative people and I find myself one of the happy fews in France who are working hard in order to change the formal vision of music in terms of strategy and sales for the artist’s benefit.

Since in France, there is a huge span for improvement, music strategy-wise, all day long, I work on an operational way with artists (big stars and DIY), records companies (majors and indies), music tech companies (start-ups and big companies) and medias. I advise them and give them tools on how to build their own innovative ways of communicating, how to find active ways of monetization, how to add value, actively trying to make them understand that “no, marketing is not evil” and that online presence helps…

Nonetheless, it’s not the theory that matters. It’s the overall vision and the execution of strategy that make the difference.

That is why I founded “Don’t believe the Hype”, a website and a full marketing service and promotion company.

Don’t believe the Hype the website is dedicated to musicians, artists and bands. It gives them tools, ressources, expertise and guidance they need to take their music career to the next level.

Don’t believe the Hype the Artistic Agency is a complete one stop agency that implements 360 degree multi-tiered marketing and promotion campaigns providing press, radio promotion – although my speciality remains on the internet – as well as digital project management, social media knowledge, sync & license and business development and all under one roof.

Next conferences you can reach me:

- E-G8 (24/25 May 2011)
- Europavox (27 May)
- Les 3 Baudets (Paris) (31th May)
- L’autre Canal (Nancy) (6th June)
- Centre Barbara (Paris) (7th June)
- Krakatoa (Bordeaux) (8th June)
- L’aero (Caen) (11th June)
- Festival International de Jazz (Montreal) (27th-1st July)

Past events:

- Panelist for Mama Paris (oct 2010)
- Panelist FAM Toulouse 2010 (nov)
- Panelist FEPPRA Lyon 2010 (nov)
- Panelist Strasbourg 2010 (nov)

- MIDEM 2011 Moderator of the Panel “Reinventing the Music Biz – The Next Generation’s Voice”  Saturday 22th January 2011

- MIDEM 2011 Midemnet+ as Digital Strategy Expert.

I am also lecturer for IMM, Nanterre university, Moca master 2 and Irma. Author of “Music and digital strategies” (Irma).

My last published articles

Series of exclusive white papers for Midem on a monthly basis about “well, what is music marketing”, ” The 6 mainstays of digital music marketing” and “Freeconomics”. You can find all my white papers on Midem Net Blog.

http://blog.midem.com/2010/12/virginie-berger-well-what-is-music-marketing-midem-exclusive-white-paper/
http://blog.midem.com/2010/12/virginie-berger-the-6-mainstays-of-digital-music-marketing-midem-exclusive-white-paper/

http://blog.midem.com/2011/01/virginie-berger-freeconomics-midem-exclusive-white-paper/

On the Music Think Tank and Hypebot:

- http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/well-what-is-a-good-digital-music-strategy-part-1-introducti.html,
- http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/well-what-is-a-good-digital-music-strategy-part-2-social-net.html,
- http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2010/06/how-to-create-a-great-digital-musc-strategy.html,
- http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100610/0227039762.shtml?threaded=true#c273

You can download my free whitepaper “Well what is a good digital music strategy” in English on slideshare

http://www.slideshare.net/virberg/digitalstrategy-052010