Delegates are down, but diversity is up, say organisers.

Attendance may have been down, but the diversity of participants at Midem 2007 illustrates the event's continuing importance to the wider music industry, according to Midem director Dominique Leguern.

In total, 9,452 people attended the 41st Midem, down from 9,798 in 2006, reflecting a difficult period for the traditional music industry. However, with an increase in both the number and variety of companies exhibiting - 2,376 in 2007, compared to 2,310 last year - Leguern says that Midem remains vital.

"We have heard a lot of things about what is going on in the industry," she says. "We know that the record industry is not in the best of health. But we are a market for the music industry, not just the record industry.

"We have to have all the components of the music industry value chain. Every year we have to analyse what are the new components of the value chain, for example, a couple of years ago content aggregators didn't exist."

"The diversity of the business models that are open is amazing," she adds. "But I am not able to tell you which will be the goldmine of the future."

This diversity was also evident in the number of different nationalities who attended Midem, which although slipping slightly - from 93 in 2006 to 91 this year - included first-time representatives from the ...