AFEM Industry Insider

Welcome to the first episode of the DJ and Producer Union, a new strand of the AFEM Industry Insider podcast offering practical advice and guidance for electronic artists.

This episode explores the artist-agent relationship: how booking agents work, what they look for before signing someone, and how unsigned DJs and producers can put themselves in the best position to land representation.

Host Alex Kenning (aka Lex Luca), artist, DJ and AFEM executive board member in the artist seat, is joined by Alex Montoya of Analog Agency, who shares insight from the agent's side of the desk.

Getting an agent is one of the biggest turning points in an artist's career, and one of the least understood. Whether you're weighing up whether you're ready for an agent or want to understand what happens once you're signed, this conversation offers real, usable takeaways for growing your career. The episode also includes questions put to Alex by artists during the live Q&A.

About Alex Montoya

Alex Montoya has been dedicated to the electronic music industry for 25 years, promoting events in Madrid since 2001. He is currently a partner of The Bassement club and Time Warp Spain. In 2009, he founded Magnum Bookings, which merged with Analog Agency in 2017, where he is a partner today. Analog represents 60+ artists including Carl Cox, Joseph Capriati, Anfisa Letyago, Aerea and Chelina Manuhutu. Since 2025, he has been managing Joseph Capriati and is also a co-founder of Music Business Academy, one of Spain's leading music industry education platforms.

With thanks to Distorted for their support in making this episode possible.

The media landscape is shifting fast. Algorithmic feeds are becoming less reliable, regulatory pressure is mounting (including under-16 social media bans now in effect in multiple territories), and artists who built their audiences on short-form content are finding those foundations harder to sustain.

This episode brings together practitioners from across artist management, PR, branded content, and artist-led media to make the case for long-form content as the foundation of sustainable audience building, and to offer a practical toolkit for getting started,.

Featuring:

Andi Durrant, This Is Distorted
Will Clarke, Artist
Darren Hemmings, Motive Unknown
Jessica Wilson, Circuit Group & Seven20

Brazil is now the eighth-largest recorded music market in the world, with 14.1% year-on-year growth in 2025, and a significant and growing force within the global electronic music industry, which reached a record $15.1 billion in 2025. But what is actually happening on the ground?

This edition of the AFEM Industry Insider brings together five leading voices from across the Brazilian electronic music ecosystem to take stock of where the market is, what is driving its momentum, and what structural challenges still need to be addressed.

The session covers the state of the market and the independent sector, conference culture and international positioning, the artist and label landscape, distribution and streaming infrastructure, and gender representation.

Speakers include Nazen Carneiro (NZPR), Rafael Nazareth (Hot Beats Music Conference), Marian Flow (Artist & Lady of the House Brazil Ambassador), and Fernanda Almeida (TuneCore Brazil).

Developing a live electronic music show is one of the most complex and rewarding steps an artist can take. But what does it actually involve, and how do the teams around an artist make it work? Join AFEM CEO Finlay Johnson with four industry practitioners who work at the sharp end of live electronic music production and touring:

Tom Cane, Musical Director, A Work In Progress - https://aworkinprogress.uk/
Kelly Money, Little Empire Management - https://littleempiremusic.com/
Pete Jordan, Promoter, LWE - https://www.lwe.events/

Drawing on perspectives across musical direction, artist management, promotion, and production, the panel will explore how artists evolve their performance identity, what it takes to design and scale a live show, and the common pitfalls that catch teams out along the way.

Gender parity remains one of the most important and widely discussed challenges facing the electronic music industry.

While there has been meaningful progress in recent years, disparities in representation, opportunity and visibility across many areas of the sector continue to shape the experiences of artists and professionals alike. We will hear from three organisations doing the real work to evolve this conversation covering Touring, Recording, Producing and Education.

Our thanks to our guests:

Martha Bolton
Not Bad For A Girl
https://www.instagram.com/notbadforagirluk

Professor Samantha Parsley
Author of Minor Keys / University of Portsmouth
https://www.instagram.com/inthekeyofficial/?hl=en www.inthekey.org

Sydney Blu
Change the Beat
https://www.instagram.com/djsydneyblu/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/changethebeatofficial/?hl=en

This AFEM Legal Summit session will explore what fair, transparent, and future-facing deals look like in today’s music industry. Our panel of legal specialists and industry professionals will unpack the current deal landscape.

Outcomes and insights from this conversation will directly feed into AFEM’s ongoing legal and policy workstreams, helping shape industry best practices and future initiatives.

Online Webinar Moderator: Finlay Johnson AFEM Speakers: Bindu De Knock (Crosslink Legal, NL) Justin Jacobson (Justin Jacobson Law, US) Sean Brosnan (Material Music, UK)

Join leading labels, distributors and PRs as they unpack what’s working in today’s release landscape.  From choosing the right formats and platforms to planning release frequency, strategy and spend, this podcast dives into the real-world decisions behind a successful campaign. We'll also explore the role of social media, the pros and cons of self-releasing vs. working with a label, and how approaches shift depending on the artists' goals and resources.

Contributors:

Connie Chow (FUGA)
Moody Jones (EMPIRE/Dirtybird)
Chris Goss (Hospital Records)
Benjamin Belaga (Yoyaku)
Aoife Lavery (Infectious PR)

AFEM, Paradise Worldwide & Africa Rising Music Conference Presents:  "Understanding the opportunities for artists, brands and labels in Africa”

Join this discussion with artist managers, promoters and artists from South Africa:  Unpacking growth opportunities in Africa’s electronic music scene: Discover how artists and labels can effectively utilize regional brands, distributors, DSPs, touring circuits, and global strategies to drive success. 

Contributors:

Jackie Queens (Artist)
Sarah Jane Nicholson (Africa Rising Music Conference / Paradise Worldwide)
Christian de Vos (Golden Hour)
Tumi Mothei (Jägermeister South Africa)

In 2024 AFEM partnered with the Masters Students at the Arts, Culture & Media programme at The University of Groningen, to initiate a study to explore the scope of burnout among professionals in the dance industry. So we surveyed over 1,000 dance music professionals across our membership and beyond to see what they understood of burnout including the causes and potential solutions.

Hear from leaders at the intersection of health, wellness and the music industry on their insights on how a better and more balanced future is available to all; our sincere thanks to:

Alexandra Williamson - Blue Rhythm / AFEM Health Co-Chair

https://www.bluerhythm.co.uk/

@wearebluerhythm on instagram

LOUISAHHH - Artist & Consent Coach
fyeahconsent.com
@louisahhh on instagram

Belinda Matwali - Listen Up Therapy
https://www.listenuptherapy.com/
@belinda_matwali/ on instagram

Mariana Brandão - DM Wellness
https://www.dmwellness.co.uk/
@mari.l.brandao on instagram

To learn more about our Partnership with the University of Groningen click below:

https://www.rug.nl/society-business/science-shops/taal-cultuur-en-communicatie/projecten/3-publicaties-en-rapporten/burn-out-in-the-dance-industry

AFEM Burnout Survey:

https://www.canva.com/design/DAF_BXxuK_Q/bz7blcmmUYNy2acsSVTvrg/view?utm_content=DAF_BXxuK_Q&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=viewer

Hear from a cross section of AFEM members at the forefront of the festival business as they review the festival season just past as well as looking into the club and festival market in 2025.  What will be the economic, market and cultural forces that will shape the next 12 months according to a panel of leading figures in promotion, booking agency, publicity, insurance and ticket selling. 

Featuring:

Duncan King - Skiddle 
Freddie Sparrow - Vento Insurance
Jennifer Cochrane - Get A Head / Exit Festival / XP Futures
Ryan Saltzman - The Bullitt Agency 
Nikki McNeill -  Global Publicity