Music Tectonics, the beachside conference that celebrates emerging directions in music innovation, is unveiling its program, which has expanded to include an entire new category of experience. This year’s conference will feature Music Tectonics’ signature high-energy panels that unite the industry’s sharpest minds and dive into the industry’s biggest questions, challenges, and opportunities.
Highlights of this year’s panels include:
- License to Generate with Bill Colitre, Andrew Batey, and Billboard’s Kristen Robinson: The AI music cat is out of the bag and there’s no stuffing it back in. There is an opportunity for rights holders to develop new revenue streams in AI, but it’s not an easy needle to thread. This conversation brings together deep thinkers to show a positive way to move forward for all.
- The State of Music and Gaming with panelists from Riot and Epic Games, as well as music licensing wizard Vickie Nauman: Music has a crush on the gaming industry, and exciting things are developing that smash two of the most powerful culture industries together. Find out from leaders in gaming how music is staying core to the gamer experience and why so many labels and artists think of games as a growth opportunity.
- How to Scale your Startup with Tracy Maddux, Sun Jen Yung, and Darryl Ballantyne: Getting your music tech company off the ground is a challenge, but even if you make it through the first year, that’s just an invitation to the starting line. Becoming cash positive, reaching beyond bootstrapping, and overcoming the unique hurdles in music are all necessary to scale your business. Hear from veterans who have succeeded to make their companies profitable and what it takes, pitfalls to avoid, and how to succeed in the current climate.
- The Current State of Music Tech Investment with Phil Quist of CAA/Connect Ventures, Bruce Hamilton of Everybody Ventures, and Amy LaMeyer of WXR Fund: A conference favorite, this panel provides an invaluable portrait of the music tech investment climate and who is looking to fund what.
- Bifurcation: the Presidential Debate with Mark Mulligan and Tatiana Cirisano of MIDiA Research: As election fever builds, Music Tectonics brings you its very own music industry presidential debate. On one side, the traditional, streaming-focused music business, on the other, the emerging fandom and creator-centered sector. Streaming and social go head to head. MIDiA analysts will present the case for each side as they explain how, regardless of which side you may be backing, today’s music business will become two.
- Music & Media Tech Investor Chat with Joe Tou of Sony Ventures and Bob Moczydlowsky, former MD of Techstars Music: Investment for music, media, and entertainment tech has been a shifting landscape. Two seasoned investors discuss how to navigate the new terrain and what shifts they see on the horizon.
Full program available on the Music Tectonics website.
For the first time, Music Tectonics will mix music making with music business at the inaugural Creator Fair. Held in tandem with the conference’s always incisive panels, the Creator Fair will demonstrate how companies and creators are pushing the sound and expressive possibilities of music forward–and charting new paths to musical prominence.
The Creator Fair will give attendees the opportunity to:
- Play cool new instruments from Roland, AlphaTheta, Artiphon (makers of Orba, Chorda), BlipBlox (makers of MyTracks), and Eternal Research (makers of Demon Box);
- Learn from leading creators (SEIDS) and creator tool innovators (BandLab, Music.AI, Feeture);
- Explore how the new music creator economy is unfolding with keynotes and workshops.
…all at the same gorgeous location, the historic Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica, as the traditional conference. (Find the full program here.)
The addition of creators is no accident: “The music industry is being impacted by a new wave of young people who don’t play by traditional rules. Their approach to music is forming an alternative industry that’s running in parallel with a robust commercial industry and that incorporates gaming, short-form video, remixing… everything!” notes Dmitri Vietze, managing director and founder of Music Tectonics. “As Mark Mulligan and Tatiana Cirisano will debate presidential style at the conference, this ‘bifurcation’ promises to completely transform the music business, which is why we’re including creators and creative tools this year.”
Music Tectonics’ depth and breadth is inspired by some of the key companies driving innovation in music tech. Top-level support for this year’s conference comes from leaders including Beatdapp, LyricFind, Mu:Con, and the Canadian Creative Accelerator, with additional support from AIMS, Feeture, KITbetter, The MLC, Music.AI, Music Reports, and Tarka Labs.
Music and tech innovation thrives on discovery and conversation, and the Music Tectonics schedule makes space for meetings and serendipity around its insightful programming. “We think better connections happen in more inspiring, relaxed settings,” explains Music Tectonics head of events Shayli Ankenbruck. “Everyone is more open and willing to engage when they watch the sun set on the beach or ride a carousel together, we’ve found. It’s tough to feel like a genuine community in a drab hotel ballroom or on a screen, and genuine community is what we’re building.”
To stay in the loop on all the ways Music Tectonics brings music innovators together, sign up for the Music Tectonics newsletter here.
Full list of conference sessions:
- Music & Media Tech Investor Chat
- The Current State of Music Tech Investment
- License to Generate
- Distributors, Portals, and Monetization – How Companies can Work Together to Get Artists Paid
- The Power of Collaboration
- The Era of the Fan: From Physical to Digital
- Building Bridges between Music and AI
- Sound in 3 Dimensions: The Future of Music is Immersive
- AI’s Got Talent
- The State of Music and Gaming
- AI is for Labels Too
- What it Takes to Build a Music Tech Startup
- The Evolution of Artificial Streaming – Lessons for 2025 and Beyond
- The Opportunities and Challenges of Fan Data
- Swimming with Narwhals Startup Pitch Competition
- How to Scale Up Your Startup
- Bifurcation: the Presidential Debate
