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

Hear a recording from an interview conducted live in front of an audience at Resonate Conference in Glasgow, between AFEM COO Finlay Johnson and Nick Halkes, a dance music industry icon known for managing luminaries like Liam Howlett (The Prodigy) and Bad Company UK. With a rich history at XL Recordings and Positiva, Nick has ventured into music publishing and has achieved top 10 UK chart success as an artist/remixer, including remixes for Kylie and Mel C under the moniker Nick Reach Up. Currently gracing UK festivals as part of Reach Up Disco Wonderland, Nick is now working on the fifth season of his Trailblazers-electronic pioneers podcast and has recently made available the first episode of a new podcast series called Talking Matters where he speaks to people outside the world of music who have faced significant challenges and successfully moved beyond them. Explore the dynamic world of music with Nick's wealth of experience and insights.

Recorded at https://www.resonatescot.co.uk/
https://www.instagram.com/resonatescotland // https://www.facebook.com/ResonateScot/

You can hear more from Nick Halkes here: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Z6HiOZX4WUmD4nETMG0oM?si=ebdc4d98860a4a01 and here: https://open.spotify.com/show/6TpE58HuSLRTJqhtCvUk7b?si=f43fb95328ec47a3

https://www.instagram.com/nickhalkes/
https://www.instagram.com/nick_reach_up/

AFEM has invited a variety of members to explore the current landscape of releasing and marketing electronic music in 2024. Hear from labels, PR specialists, managers, platforms and distributors about the success stories and trends emerging this year.

Speakers: Eli Fola (Artist & Tech Afrique), Anton Partridge (Good Company), Hiroki Beck (Fabric Records), Clara Suess (Suess Media), Jack Bridges (Soundcloud)

Moderator: Graham Luckhurst (Believe)

The Industry Insider from AFEM is back! In this brand new episode we discuss the intersection of music and AI, the cultural and business benefits and risks of AI and Web3 platforms in music.

Beyond the hype cycle and the fear, how do we frame the current explosion in AI technologies as an opportunity for artists and creators? 

Contributors:

Sarasara 
Linktree 

Pal Chohan
VP Audio Systems & Music - PIXELYNX
https://pixelynx.io/
https://korus.co/

Carl Hayden Smith 
The Museum of Consciousness:
https://www.themoc.org
Wavepaths:
https://wavepaths.com

Gareth Deakin - Sonorous 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/garethdeakin/  

Jay Ahern - Consultant
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayahern/

Tom Middleton
Co-Founder White Mirror  
White Mirror
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommiddletonmusic/


AI Tools and Apps Referenced in the podcast:

Audioshake: https://www.audioshake.ai/ 

Neutone AI https://neutone.ai/

Human Artistry Campaign https://www.humanartistrycampaign.com/

Content Authenticity Initiative https://contentauthenticity.org/

Articles References In the podcast:

https://musically.com/2023/08/01/tunecore-study-27-of-indie-artists-have-used-ai-music-tools/

https://www.9news.com.au/technology/musiclm-google-artificial-intelligence-music-maker-wont-be-released-for-now/b98b610a-abc9-47d8-a640-7502019e0fa8

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/aug/09/google-and-universal-music-working-on-licensing-voices-for-ai-generated-songs

https://musically.com/2023/07/12/ai-music-startup-mubert-reaches-100m-tracks-milestone/#

Jaron Lanier – Who is Civilization for? (+ Q&A with Ulrich Kelber) Willy Brandt Lecture 2018

Events Reimagined

The massive challenges of the past 18 months have highlighted both the fragility of the electronic music live sector, and the deep interdependence of the chain of businesses and creatives involved.

On this podcast, we look into some of the innovations and new ideas developed during the COVID and lockdown periods, and how we can work together to make the ecosystem and electronic music scene more sustainable, more inspiring, and more future-proof.

Our panel of experts for this discussion are:

Andy Peyton - Maiden Voyage / Phonox / Boiler Room
Claire O’Neil - A Greener Festival
Daniel Fletcher - Primavera Festival
Jo Vidler - AMFE
Morgan Deane - Lasher Louis Productions

Host: Andi Durrant - https://www.thisisdistorted.com/

Links:
https://associationforelectronicmusic.org/

NFTs have really exploded into our industry this year - it’s becoming a high profile new format for selling digital art, music, fan experience bundles and essentially anything where digital ownership changes hands.. so in this discussion we’re going to try and cover off all the basics and explain what NFTs are, what opportunities and potential challenges they might present for creators and the wider electronic music industry, and separate the hype from the reality..

Our panel of experts for this discussion are:

Heiko Hoffmann - Beatport
Paula van der Waerden - RCRDSHP
John Wander - XLR8R
Inder Phull - Pixelynx
Dina LaPolt - LaPolt Law
UMEK - Viberate

Host: Andi Durrant - This Is Distorted

Links:
https://associationforelectronicmusic.org/
https://www.weallareequal.org/
https://www.thisisdistorted.com/

Discussions, profiles, interviews and chat from the AFEM - the trade body for the electronic music scene around the world.

On this month’s episode of the AFEM Industry Insider we’ve put together an expert panel to talk about Article 17 of the EU Copyright Directive - a change of law which will affect a large sector of the electronic music industry from artists and labels to content creators and copyright owners.

We’ll also be hearing about Moving The Needle - a new educational support network for students and young professional women in the music industry.

Contributors and social handles:

@AFEMORG
@MTNnow_
@ChrisUnLimited
@sophie_goossens
@GregorPryor
@andidurrant
@silviavoicebox

https://www.mtnnow.com/
https://associationforelectronicmusic.org/
https://www.thisisdistorted.com/

2020 has seen a massive shift in focus for DJs and artists - moving from live gigs and events to streaming and online, but how are people who make music going to get paid when their tracks are played in live streams?

In the 2nd episode of the Industry Insider we take a look at what’s happening in this area of the industry with our expert panel from Mixcloud, Boiler Room, DJ Monitor, Blokur, Fuga and APRA AMCOS.

We’ll also be hearing a little profile with Lindi Delight about the brilliant Masks for Music project.

Related Links from this months discussion:

AFEM Livestream Get Played Get Paid:
https://associationforelectronicmusic.org/livestream-get-played-get-paid-core-principles/

Boiler Room:
https://boilerroom.tv/

Mixcloud Live:
https://www.mixcloud.com/live/

DJ Monitor:
https://djmonitor.com/

Blokur:
https://blokur.com/

Fuga:
https://fuga.com/

APRA AMCOS:
https://apraamcos.com.au/

This Is Distorted:
https://www.thisisdistorted.com/

Contributors twitter handles:

Frank Rodi: @axiom303
Loredana Cacciotti: @DanaCacciotti
Nico Perez: @nicoperez
Silvia Montello: @silviavoicebox
Tom Wiltshire: @twiltshire
Yuri Dokter: @djmonitor
Andi Durrant: @andidurrant
AFEM: @AFEMORG

The middle of a global pandemic might be a strange time to launch a new podcast, but with clubs, bars, events and festivals all shut down, there’s never been a more difficult or turbulent time for the electronic music industry. In times of adversity though, there are always new opportunities, new ideas, and advances in technology and creativity.

In the first episode of the Industry Insider we’ll be discussing how the new world might look with contributors from Beatport, BBC Radio 1, Little Empire, Graphite, Mixcloud and Defected.

Related Links from this months discussion:

AFEM:
https://www.associationforelectronicmusic.org

Little Empire:
http://littleempiremusic.com

Defected:
https://defected.com

Mixcloud Live:
https://www.mixcloud.com/live/

BBC Introducing Dance
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000h0zx

Beatport:
https://www.beatport.com

Graphite Media:
http://www.graphitemedia.net

This Is Distorted:
https://www.thisisdistorted.com/


Contributors twitter handles:

Nico Perez: @nicoperez
Inder Phull: @inderphull22
Kelly Money: @kellymoney
James Kirkham: @spoonybear
Jonas Tempel: @JonasTempel
Jaguar Bingham: @JaguarWorldwide
AFEM: @AFEMORG

Discussions, profiles, interviews and chat from the AFEM - the trade body for the electronic music scene around the world.

This is a trailer - Episode 1 will be landing at the beginning of July 2020