Committed to fostering a vibrant and inclusive music sector where everyone can enjoy music, ESNS presents an impressive lineup of prominent speakers across the industry. The ESNS Conference aims to amplify dynamic voices and facilitate engaging discussions featuring some of the biggest industry names in music today.

ESNS Delegate Passes are now available at a Late rate at ESNS.nl - The rates will go up soon.

Featured speakers taking the stage at ESNS 2025 include prominent tastemakers representing music brands such as AIM, ATC Live, Bandcamp, Beggars Group, BBC Music Introducing, Black Lives In Music, BMG, Drowned in Sound, EMMA, FUGA, Lowlands, Mad Cool Festival, MMF, Øja Festivalen, Paleo Festival, Primavera Sound, Primary Talent, Roskilde Festival, Spotify, UTA, Wasserman Music, and many more, including:

• Kelly Betts is the editor of BBC Music Introducing. She has passionately devoted her career to nurturing and spotlighting new musical talent across the UK. At ESNS, Kelly Betts will join a panel about innovative ways public broadcasters support local artists.
• Alex Bruford founded ATC Live in 2011; the agency now represents 400 artists, including Fontaines D.C., Metronomy, and PJ Harvey. He’ll speak at ESNS about the challenges bands face In a world where solo artists dominate the charts and headline major festivals.
• Cindy Castillo grew Mad Cool Festival into one of Spain’s premier music events in just a few years. With over twenty years of experience in the music industry as a manager, agent, and booker, she has played a significant role in developing the careers of numerous artists. Cindy Castillo will join the Art of Curation panel at ESNS.
• Gee Davy is the CEO of the Association of Independent Music (AIM), the not-for-profit trade body exclusively representing the UK's independent music sector, which makes up around a quarter of the recorded music market. Gee Davy will join an ESNS panel discussion about the UK’s ‘Voluntary Code of Good Practice on Transparency in Music Streaming’.
• Rauha Kyyrö is responsible for developing the FKP Scorpio’s booking and promoter activities across Europe. FKP Scorpio operates across Europe with offices in 11 countries, promoting over 25 festivals and several thousand shows annually. At ESNS, Rauha Kyyrö will join the panel ‘How to Lose (or Steal) an Act’.
• Fiona McAuley is Senior Director of Digital Marketing at BMG. She collaborates closely with artists to create innovative strategies that effectively connect and engage fans with the artist and their music throughout their careers. At ESNS, Fiona McAuley will share strategies for activism in music.
• Claes Olsen is the founder of Oslo’s Øyafestivalen and will speak at ESNS about the relationship between venues and festivals. Birgitte Mandelid is the festival’s Head of Marketing and a member of the booking team. She will join Yourope’s Festival Panel at ESNS. Øyafestivalen emerged from the local club scene, growing organically since 1999.
• Annika Walsh leads Spotify’s International Music Strategy, which is the vital link between local & global music teams to ensure that each unique market is included. A key focus area for the team is identifying opportunities to accelerate the export of music & culture worldwide. Annika willl be sharing her insights about the superfan economy at ESNS.

Other featured speakers taking the stage at ESNS 2025 include:

• Sean Adams, founder of Drowned in Sound.
• Primavera Sound’s Head of Partnerships & Programming for Primavera Pro Camila Anino.
• Ruth Barlow, the Director of Live Licensing at Beggars Group and chairperson at AIM.
• Chief Executive of Black Lives in Music, Dr. Charisse Beaumont.
• Henrik Bondo Nielsen, Roskilde Festival’s special adviser and festival manager.
• Lowlands festival director Eric van Eerdenburg.
• Melissa d’Engelbronner, Co-Director at shesaid.so’s Amsterdam chapter and the Head of Audience Strategy at FUGA.
• Deniz Everling, Artist and Label Representative at Bandcamp.
• Christof Huber, Director Festivals at Gadget Entertainment Group Switzerland and board member of Yourope.
• Music agent at United Talent Agency (UTA) Tom Matthews.
• Music agent at Primary Talent International Will Marshall.
• BBC radio host Huw Stephens.
• Pascal Viot of Paleo Festival and YES Group.
• Eefje de Visser (artist) and her manager, Hanne Valckenaers (Musickness).

In 2025, the ESNS Conference program focuses on thought-provoking topics such as the impact of AI on the music industry, the future of streaming, achieving sustainability goals for festivals by 2030, the fairness of dynamic pricing, activism among artists and festivals, the effect of private equity on business, and the devastating impact of rising costs and lack of personnel in the live music industry.

Earlier, ESNS announced Sumit Bothra (SB3 Artist Management), Alex Hardee (Wasserman Music), Jess Iszatt (BBC), Katie Melua (artist), and many more industry tastemakers as speakers for the ESNS Conference, as well as the Focus on Italy, ESNS Science and ESNS Tech programmes.