Simon, founder and president of the Mobile Entertainment Forum of the Americas, will be one of the mobile leaders at “Mobile Backstage,” a joint production by the Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA), Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter for the Mobile World Congress.
Featured speakers during “Mobile Backstage” include Robert Redford, actor and founder of the Sundance Foundation and Film Festival; actress Isabella Rossellini; Will.i.am, of The Black Eyed Peas, and serial entrepreneur Jonathan Medved, CEO of Vringo, Inc., the pioneer in video ringtone sharing. In an interesting juxtaposition, Redford, acclaimed for his association with one of the world’s highest-profile film festivals, will be appearing at the same forum with Medved, whose company is staging the “World’s Tiniest Film Festival” – movies playing on mobile handset screens – in a booth at Mobile World Congress.
Simon will be the interviewer on a panel discussion on innovations in mobile video content and sharing that features Medved; Ty Roberts, chief technical officer of Gracenote; and Rob Lewis, CEO and co-founder of Omnifone.
“Mobile Backstage,” from 8:45 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13, will bring together leading figures from the entertainment and mobile industries who are defining where mobile entertainment is today and where it is heading.
Industry insiders from music, film, TV, video-gaming and technology will offer their perspectives on the evolution of mobile entertainment, addressing topics such as: Creating Content for Mobile; Value Chain Control and Compensation; Business Models: A La Carte vs. Subscription vs. Ad-Supported; Custom Mobile Entertainment Research; Innovative Case Studies; and Social Networking on Mobile.
Other speakers during “Mobile Backstage” include:
Bill Gajda, GSMA
Fred Goldring, Hertz Lichtenstein
Eric Mika, Nielsen
Tamara Conniff, Billboard
Ken Hertz, Hertz Lichtenstein
Craig Palmer, Gracenote
Rob Lewis, Omnifone
Jeffrey Merrihue, MoFilm
Andrew Wallenstein, The Hollywood Reporter
Jeff Herrmann, Nielsen
Mark Sutherland, Billboard
Jody Shapiro, Canadian filmmaker
Christopher Barry, Sundance Channel
