Digital Minds: on How to Anticipate on the Promises and Speculations of Web3

Maarten Walraven has a PhD in History and combines that academic thinking with experience in music & TV. He’s currently working on a new livestreaming platform called GÂRDEN built around a physical studio in Rotterdam. He also teaches music business at Utrecht University, works with Liedhuis, a music theatre company, and co-edits MUSIC x, a newsletter focused on music, tech, and innovation.

Yosha Wijngaarden (1987) is assistant professor in media studies and cultural policy at Radboud University.
Her research focuses on work practices, earnings and innovations in the creative industries, the music industry in particular. She has written a dissertation on whether and how working together makes creative workers more innovative. Currently, she is particularly interested in online and offline forms of self-organization and alternative funding models.
Yosha holds a PhD from Erasmus University Rotterdam, and master degrees in Sociology (University of Amsterdam) and History (VU University). She also has a failed career as a bass player in an Iron Maiden cover band.

Dr Hyojung Sun is a research associate in the creative industries department at the University of Ulster and she works as part of NESTA’s Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC) programme. She holds a Ph.D. in Science and Technology Studies (STS) from the University of Edinburgh. Her thesis looked at why the predicted digital revolution in the recording industry did not happen. This was turned into a book titled “Digital Revolution Tamed: The Case of the Recording Industry” published by Palgrave MacMillan. As a multidisciplinary researcher, her academic expertise crosses law, social science, cultural studies and popular music studies. Her main academic interests involve digital and disruptive technology, the music industry, and creative industries more widely. Most of her work so far has focused on issues relevant to digital music disruption. This includes the recently published research project Music Creators’ Earnings in the Digital Era and Music 2025 – the Music Data Dilemma.

Cherie Hu is the founder and publisher of Water & Music, a newsletter and research DAO building the innovator's guide to the music business. Previously, she covered music and tech as a freelance writer for publications including Billboard, Forbes, NPR Music and Pitchfork.

Frank Kimenai is an independent consultant, researcher and cultural professional, specialized in the creative industry in general and popular music in particular. Frank operates from Amsterdam, and is involved in European, national and regional projects, for example the development of Music Moves Europe, and the business management of the Grauzone festival. He is currently conducting PhD research on the resilience of music ecosystems. Frank feels most at home at the intersection of economy, culture, policy and the social domain. He likes Excel sheets and listens to Black Flag.