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By Carl A H Martin
Firstly, I want to compliment IAAM Europe’s hard
working and dedicated DVP, Peter Gruber, for the recent honour given to him
by the Austrian government. They have made him a professor! He is, as well
as being one of the most laid back people I have ever been lucky enough to
meet, CEO of Wiener Stadthalle, a six hall, 24,000sq.m/250,000-sq.-ft.,
multifunctional complex in Vienna, Austria. Peter took up this position in
1999. Before that he was the manager, for 10 years, of the music-publishing
house Warner/Chappell, a Time Warner company, in Austria.
Back in 2003/2004 Peter was one of the first Europeans to address the need
for IAAM Europe. This he did steadfastly as chair of the initial Steering
Committee and subsequently, after last year’s first IAAM Europe’s elections,
as the VP, where he has continued to endeavor to develop IAAM Europe and,
along with the Board, is successfully doing so.
The IAAM Europe Annual Meeting, in Amsterdam, on April 18- 20, will be an
opportunity for all members, and indeed non-members, to get together to
discover just how much progress has been made and for dialogue to take place
with a view to improving things further. There will be some dynamic
presentations on the 19th and 20th, at the Amsterdam Arena, and details of
the exciting programme, and the recommended hotel, can be found by going to
www.iaam.org and clicking on meetings.
Registration is going to cost 50euros for members and 80euros for
non-members. I urge you to read the details now.
There is only one drawback to Peter Gruber receiving this honour: How now to
address him? In his own country and Germany he is addressed as...
Kommerzialrat Herr Professor Direktor Peter Gruber, CEO Wiener Stadthalle,
Betriebs – und Veranstaltungsges. m.b.H … and VP IAAM Europe.
There that’s easy isn’t it? I pray I have got it right!
Onwards, within two weeks of this article going to press the International
Live Music Conference (ILMC) takes place in London. It is my privilege, as
director European Services, IAAM Europe, to have been asked to join the
panel of one of the sessions.
The content of the discussion is basically that international tours travel
the world without referring to local promoters and the venues before the
shows are put together. Thus they are said to ignore local laws, rules and
regulations, etc. This is going to be interesting because, although I am to
talk as an IAAM representative, I am also talking as a venue representative
as well; I am operations consultant for the Budapest Arena in Hungary. I
don’t really think the hypothesis is correct although we do sometimes have
to ask for some changes and inclusions, most of the time the problem is that
each country, particularly in Europe, has differing views towards a
particular situation.
(For instance, there is a wonderful local ordinance in Budapest that says a
particular special effect that is often used, which causes a vertical flame
3m/10 feet high, is not a pyrotechnic feature and therefore needs no license
from the fire officer. Err, forgive me, but the word “pyro” in Greek means
fire and that 3m high “effect” is caused by fire ... but it isn’t a
pyrotechnic!)
Given this, it is a brilliant opportunity for me to introduce and explain
the EAVM (European Academy of Venue Management), which will take place in
Innsbruck, Austria, during the period of September 2-7 this year, and which
will be an opportunity for venue staff from all over Europe to come together
to be taught, by European instructors, a “standard, international” manner of
operation of venues, whilst, of course, realizing that each country has,
until now, had its own way of doing things. I am sure there will be a lot of
debate but it can only be healthy. We will follow the way that Oglebay and
the similar school run by the VMA have successfully provided education for
the industry in their territories. Details about the EAVM can be found by
going to www.iaam.org and clicking on
meetings.
That’s all the gossip for now. I look forward to seeing a lot of you in
Amsterdam. In the meantime, take care.
Carl A H Martin is director, European Services, IAAM Europe. He may be
contacted at cahm98@aol.com. |
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