THE MAN who signed Madonna has shared some of the secrets of his success at Liverpool Sound City's music conference.
Seymour Stein, co-founder of Sire Records, was keynote speaker on the second day of the conference, which has attracted delegates from all over the world to discuss the music industry's past, present and future.
Stein, who also signed Echo and the Bunnymen, was joined onstage by that band's singer Ian McCulloch, who also told stories from his life in music.

THE music industry could learn lessons from the world of adult entertainment when it comes to online marketing, the audience at the Liverpool Sound City music conference heard today.
Seminars at the conference today debated subjects from the future of radio to the health of the international touring circuit.
The closing seminar saw a panel discuss "Navigating the new frontier of Internet marketing."
In response to a light-hearted question from moderator Sat Bisla, the five-strong panel debated whether the music industry could learn from the way the adult entertainment industry uses the web.

THE keynote speaker at today's Liverpool Sound City music conference says the music industry needs new blood and new ideas so it can find new musical talent.
Doug D'Arcy, vice-chairman of the Association of Independent Music (AIM), said he wanted to see a more diverse range of people entering the industry to give it a new lease of life as it battles to cope with the changes caused by the internet and the digital distribution of music.

TRADITIONAL record sales may be falling - but there's still money to be made from licensing music to be used on television or in video games.
That was the topic of debate this afternoon as Liverpool Sound City's conference continued.
Speakers from the worlds of television, gaming and music publishing joined a panel at the Hilton Hotel in Liverpool One to debate "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle - Are the halcyon days of publishing over?"

MAJOR record labels came in for criticism at the second seminar at the Liverpool Sound City conference today.
The event at the Hilton in Liverpool One saw a panel discuss the future of record labels - and "Why the independent and DIY way is the right choice for the savvy artist"
The four panellists, who included Alan Wills, founder of Liverpool label Deltasonic, agreed that independent labels were best at finding new talent that could "change people's lives".

ARTISTS looking to break through overseas need to find great partners in their target countries if they're going to be successful - that was the message from the first seminar at the Liverpool Sound City conference today.
Hundreds of delegates are expected to attend this week's events, which will bring some of the leading figures in the music industry to Merseyside.
The event at the Hilton Hotel in Liverpool One opened with a seminar called "Big in Japan or 'I'm so bored with the USA - what's the secret to international success?"

THE new head of the agency that promotes design in Merseyside says she aims to find new ways to help the sector expand.
As revealed in LDP Creative in today's Liverpool Daily Post, Design Initiative, which offers training and promotional support to designers and design firms in Liverpool and the North West, has appointed Tanya Bryan as development director.

LIVERPOOL typography project Letterpool is to launch a London edition after winning another award.