U. hosts conference on entertainment

The sunny weather and a crowd of entertainment-industry executives chatting on their cellular telephones outside the Mask and Wig clubhouse Friday may have confused passersby into thinking that Philadelphia had just become part of Hollywood. The executives, however, were merely in Center City to participate in the Wharton Media and Entertainment Club's fifth-annual Business of Entertainment conference. About 200 undergraduate and graduate students attended the day-long event. Conference organizer Monica Hooks, a Wharton graduate student, explained that the conference's purpose "was to give people access [to the entertainment industry] in a casual way." Students had the opportunity to mingle with panelists during lunch and a cocktail hour at the end of the day. Keynote speaker Alain Levy, the chairperson and chief executive officer of film and music giant PolyGram, began the day by pinpointing technology and the debate between quality and sales as two of the main issues facing the entertainment industry today. Although other industries are becoming increasingly dependent upon technology, Levy, who holds an MBA from Wharton, doubted that it would have the same far-reaching impact upon the entertainment industry. He explained that the Internet could not replace the "social experience" of going to a record store in person. Following Levy, a series of four panel discussions featuring managers and executives in the film, music and television industries addressed the issues he raised. The panels, organized by sectors of the entertainment industry, included a film, television and cable panel; an international music panel; a news media and publishing panel; and a music panel. Film panelist Michael Wolf, who founded the media and entertainment practice of the consulting firm Booz Allen & Hamilton, disagreed with some of Levy's comments. Wolf argued that the Internet "will threaten the industry in terms of transactions," adding that it could replace the mail-order catalog part of the entertainment business. The media and publishing panel also highlighted the controversial role of the Internet in the entertainment industry. Part of the debate revolved around whether the Internet could replace the television. Steve Rennie, a senior vice president at Epic Records, said "people aren't going to stop watching the Super Bowl on TV and watch it on their computer," even though it is possible to do so today. But Tina Sharkey, a vice president for the Children's Television Workshop's Online Group, strongly disagreed with his comments, pointing out that she had in fact watched the Super Bowl on her computer this year. The international music panel featured 1985 College graduate Jonathan Kessler and 1989 College graduate David Lande. Kessler, who manages the popular English rock band Depeche Mode, said he got his start in the entertainment industry purely "by luck." And Lande, who practices entertainment law in Los Angeles and counts several celebrities among his clients, noted that "[American] artists for the most part don't recognize the importance of having a presence? beyond North America." Wharton graduate student Dorothea Herrey, the president of the Wharton M&E; Club, pointed out the conference's "funky" venue this year as a sign of the entertainment industry's unique character. "It's not as formal as banking or marketing," Herrey said. "A lot of it is talking to people. We wanted the format of the conference to be conducive to that."