Its been a long day of listening. Its three a.m., and I have been listening all day. I never knew listening would be so tiring,

I rock up late to the convention at the Thistle hotel, joining the various queues to get my delegate pass. We queue twice; once to get our photo taken on digital camera, the second time to recieve a make-shift laminate with our name and business on. I join a conversation with Chris Morrisson, manager of Blur, amongst others, and hear anacdotes about managing Thin Lizzy, buying drugs by proxy and dealing with threats of physical violence. A good start. I hover between talks, picking up on the P2P long-tail talk by my namesake Eric Garland and PRS bod Will page- learning about how a small minority bring home the bread, leaving the 'long-tail' of acts to on-line distributors to monetise them. I hear about marketing campaigns via Bluetooth. Overall, I'm learning from the convention.

I wonder whether the music industry has moved with the times, after hearing the 'interview' with Limewire project manager Nathan Lovejoy. The provactive, sarcastic line of questioning reduces to farce when the interviewer Pete Jenner asks "How do you sleep at night", reminiscent of the old-fashioned industry view of trying revert established trends. There seemed to be a dogged level of ignorance about the nature of P2P networks, that Limewire don't know from the 0's and 1's crossing their network what binary data comprises a licensed file or not, and I felt as though there was still some imagined moral high-ground amongst some in the convention that their legitimate businesss is being subverted; that through some legal wrangling music will remain unassaulted from file-sharing websites. I ask Nathan why P2P will even be relevant in the world of high-speed downloads, and he answered that the cost of centralised file-hosting is prohibative. I wouldn't have liked to have been in his chair however.

The rest of the afternoon is hearing from Sean Adams and Chris Morrison about the state of the industry, and after some insights its time for a break.

I do some networking in the Thistle, meeting managers, promoters and PR-people. Everyone I meet is enthusiastic about the Vibey Subscriptions concept, adding weight behind the idea that I can break out my music by building a loyal fanbase through subscriptions.

While I am handing out business cards, the Bristol2Brighton crowd put on some music, starting with 12-year-old Theo from the West Country, brave enough to play to the tired apathetic audience at the hotel. After three songs, I realise this kid has played more than I have this year, and I am slightly intimidated. Unfortunately, Theo can't enjoy the remainder of the festival because he is under-eighteen; but nonetheless he is one to watch. Following soon after are The Volts, who perform two songs in their acoustic style. I'm instantly taken by the strength of the lead vocal, which the otherwise bland songs totally relied. I met Sam, the lead singer, after the show and failed to persuade him to quit and join my band instead. I got a free CD though.

Eventually, I wanted to see some bands and make the most of my wristband, so I strolled down to the Freebutt venue. I reasoned that it would be relatively quiet as it was further away from the seafront, and I wanted to see one-man-band S.J.Easu, I'm glad that I did, because it inspired me to work on a one-man show of my own; he performed a lively and inventive set using a Jamman and a cool rig of effects pedals, units and contact microphone; beat-boxing or live-drumming his beats, overdubbing and recording guitar and vocals for a delightful set of fun.

Afterwards I swapped venues to the Redrocker in Kemp Town, to hear the blissful songs of the Blue Roses, and to hear an old favourite of mine, Ian Archer. I arrived moments before the Blue Roses set, and was instantly spell-bounded by the fluent piano-playing of lead-singer Lara, who despite having a strong northern accent in speech, had an angelic and resonant voice on stage. Joined by a violinist and percussionist, the Blue Roses treated the audience to a truly beautiful experience, without a missed note, running through a dreamy and masterful set of crafted melodic music. It was the first time in recent memory when I have been swept away by a live performance, and I was held in their grip until the very end of their show.

Ian Archer, one-time member of Snow Patrol, concluded the music at Redroaster; showing how he can easily hold his own without membership in the popular group. He performs solo, playing acoustic guitar to great effect, playing songs composed on his travels to Germany. He finishes the set with a song from his first album, which I can't remember the name of but has the excellent song 'Running in Dreams', and is a favourite of mine. Seeing the man live, playing so well, is both an inspiration and a challenge. Why bother to make music when there are musicians like Blue Roses and Ian Archer doing it so well? I had learned from the talks earlier in the day that unless you are at the top of the 'long tail', that there is no money to be made, and after seeing the solo-act of S.J. Easu, who told me he had played over a thousand profitless gigs, the entire prospect seems hopeless.

I'm still wiping the perspiration from my brow as I decide to finish the evening by watching the Maccabees play at the Corn Exchange. I wasn't especially fussed to see them; but with all the hype and the fact it was a home fixture it seemed appropriate to end the night with a large gig. When I got in, there must have been about two thousand people in the audience, and the queue was running the length of Church Streeet. Without my delegate pass and priority entry, I wouldn't have seen them at all. Despite the atmosphere, I find the sound boring next to the beauty and invention of the earlier acts.

I recall the words of Chris Morrison earlier in the day: when he said the the industry was in a place of unparalled opportunity, where the old rules are absent; leaving a world of prospective hope and chance. I feel that the music business is as exciting as ever, and the best innovations and the best music is yet to come. Bring on the next two days of Great Escape!!!