ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag), the key exchange for emerging European music, announces new speakers and panels for its annual music conference. ESNS24 will take place from January 17 - 20, 2024, in Groningen, the Netherlands.

A panel moderated by Boyan Pinter (Believe, Spike Bulgarian Music Showcase, Green Futures Field Glastonbury) discusses music curation’s transformation from monopoly to accountability. Rapid technological innovation allows the general audience to influence algorithms and, by extension, playlists and people’s listening habits.

Panellists with leading expertise in live, streaming, and music media industries explore what this says about our society and its ongoing development sonically and socially: Veteran booking agent Tom Windish has developed the touring careers of some of the hottest names in music, including Lorde, Billie Eilish, The xx, M83, Viagra Boys, and more. MOJO Concerts Director Kim Bloem represents Mojo festivals like Pinkpop, Down the Rabbit Hole, Lowlands and North Sea Jazz. Bryan Johnson is Head of Artist & Industry Partnerships at Spotify. Gemma Bradley is a BBC Radio host, and an independent artist herself.

With the live music business reporting record revenues for shows, at the top end at least, things are looking good. But 2024 will not be without its challenges. Greg Parmley (ILMC/IQ Magazine) will moderate a panel of representatives from various talent agencies including Beckie Sugden (CAA) and Carlos Abreu (United Talent), discussing the challenges the live industry faces in 2024. Both boutique and major festivals share their challenges for 2024, such as limited resources, weather extremes and large-scale events such as the Paris 2024 Olympics, in a panel discussion moderated by Gordon Masson (IQ Magazine).

Commissioned by YOUROPE and its Event Safety Group, several panels discuss the quality of festivals internationally. Representatives from festivals such as Pinkpop and Way Out West share with Lisa Henderson (IQ Magazine) how they keep their festivals relevant in the lives of millions of young people, and in popular culture in general. Henrik Bondo Nielsen (Roskilde Festival) and Pascal Viot (Paléo Festival) will host a panel discussion on the topic of Event Safety Management, focussing on the impact and opportunities of social media platforms for crowd communication.

Diversity and inclusive approaches have become priority topics for festivals and grant providers such as the European Commission. In a panel discussion moderated by Katharina Webe (BN*PD YOUROPE), Mika Christoffersen (Roskilde Festival), Artur Mendes (Boom Festival) and Marta Pallarès (Primavera Sound) present many magnificent examples and showcase projects in a Diversity & Inclusion toolbox. A joint force of 13 leading organisations in the European sustainable events sector developed a strategy to help festivals accelerate their sustainable transformation. Holger Jan Schmidt (YOUROPE) and Judith Videcoq (European Commission/Head Of Creative Europe) join a panel to discuss how they can achieve sustainability with the entire events and festival sector.

EMERGE is a ground-breaking AI-powered chat interface for sync professionals, linking European music with sync prospects such as film producers, advertising agencies, the gaming industry, and sync agents. EMERGE will launch as a project at ESNS24 and is developed by ESNS, Soundcharts, which will be presented by Soundcharts CEO, David Weiszfeld, in close collaboration with ICMP, EBU, Impala, IMPF, Europe in Synch, and it will be EU-funded by Creative Innovation Lab.

Representatives from Deezer and Universal Music Group will also discuss the ongoing negotiations between the French streaming platform and the record labels, with new revenue distribution models to remunerate artists at stake.

Other featured speakers announced include Lodevico Benvenutti (IFPI), András Berta (Backstage Ticketing), Froukje Bouma (MOTEL Artist Management), Conchitta Bottse (Stichting Spraakuhloos ), Yvan Boudillet (Utopia Music), Márk Bóna (Sziget Festival), Elk Dijkhuizen (Heineken Nederland), Iara Dias (Meexdy), Belle Doron (CUT_), Sherlo Asajas (BumaStemra), Tessaly Felida (MOJO Concerts), Grace Goodwin (University of Liverpool), Jos Feijen (De Effenaar), Jennifer Feaster (Age Media), Dieuwertje Heuvelings (Dutch Music Export), Eva Karman Rheinold (SOM), Hanna Kahlert (MiDIA Research), Eelko van Kooten (Collabhouse), Anne Löhr (MITC), Laurent Marceau (EBU), Emeline Marabelle (Bellemeute), Claire O’Neill (A Greener Future), Jess Partridge (EMMA), Turo Pekari (Music Finland), Helen Sildna (Tallinn Music Week), Selah Sue (artist), Rutger Tuit (Google), Kees van Weijen (STOMP/IMPALA), Ama Walton (Soundcloud), Linda Vermaat (Innofest), and Rita Zipora (BAM! Popauteurs).

Earlier, ESNS announced Amy Thomson (formerly Hipgnosis, ATM Artists), John Mulder (MOJO Concerts / Live Nation) and Mark Mulligan (MIDiA Research) are the first keynote speakers for ESNS24. Other featured speakers confirmed include Justin Lockey (Editors, Mastersystem, Minor Victories), Ibán García Del Blanco (European Parliament), Helienne Lindvall (ECSA), and George Musgrave (Goldsmiths, University of London).

Discover the full conference program here and stay tuned for more conference program highlights to be announced in the coming weeks including the ETEP / ESNS Exchange 20-year celebration, European Music Prize MME Awards 20-year celebration, and a globalisation project that brings delegates from Canada, India and Mexico to meet European music professionals.

Join ESNS at the Conference in January and meet with tastemakers from the European music industry, including representatives from companies like Spotify, Universal Music, Google/YouTube, Live Nation, UTA, See Tickets, MIDiA Research, Pollstar, IQ, and over a hundred European festivals and live music venues.

ESNS Conference Registrations include:

• Access to the conference and festival with fast-lane access.
• Access to networking lounges and hospitality options.
• Access to the ESNS Delegates Database to network with other delegates in advance.
• Access to ESNS Analytics, where you can find up-to-date data on artists who performed at previous editions.

ESNS24 will take place from January 17 - 20, 2024, in Groningen, the Netherlands.