ESNS Conference confirms 74 new speakers - AIM, Bandcamp, BMG, Black Lives in Music, Mad Cool, Roskilde, Spotify and many more

ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag), the key exchange for emerging European music, announces an extensive list of new speakers for its annual music conference. 

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 hosts its annual showcase festival and music conference from January 15-18, 2025, in Groningen, the Netherlands. ESNS Delegate Passes are now available at a Late rate at ESNS.nl - The rates will go up soon.

Speaking at ESNS
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).

All 74 newly announced ESNS Conference speakers: Arash Aazami (Unify Energy BV), Susan Abramovitch (Gowlings WLG), Sean Adams (Drowned in Sound), Camila Anino (Primavera Sound), Ruth Barlow (Beggars Group), Dr. Charisse Beaumont (Black Lives Music), Kelly Betts (BBC Introducing), Henrik Bondo Nielsen (Roskilde Festival), Froukje Bouma (MOTEL Artist Management), Alex Bruford (ATC Live), CHARLOT (artist), Cindy Castillo (Mad Cool Festival), Filip Černy (Radio Wave), Tracy Chai (Mascot Label Group), Tirsa Creusen (MOJO Concerts), Hendrik Czaster (CONTRA), Tijl Couzy (LAB Vlieland), Wilfried Damman (Out of the Boks), Bindu de Knock (Crosslink Legal), Nick De Leu (De Standaard), Melissa d'Engelbronner (FUGA), Wouter de Wilde (Greenhouse Talent), Gee Davy (AIM), Eric van Eerdenburg(Lowlands/MOJO), Zoi Eskitzopoulou (Goto Beat), Deniz Everling(Bandcamp), Brij Gosai (Pollstar), Thomas Glass (FUGA), Joe Hastings (Music Support), Matt Hanner (Runway), Lisa Henderson (IQ Magazine), Dieuwertje Heuvelings (DME), Christof Huber (Gadget Entertainment Group AG), Thomas Sønderby Jepsen (Roskilde Festival), The Jordan (artist), Adam Kiepuszweski (OFF Festival / Franek Warzywa & Młody Budda), Marijn Kingma (Höcker Advocaten), Kees Klomp (Windesheim University of Applied Science), Steijn Koeivoets (3S Management), Ruth Koleva (SoAlive Music Festival/Sofia Live Festival), Margriet Koedooder (De Vos en Partners Advocaten), Rauha Kyyrö (FKP Scorpio), Angel Labrusse (IMPALA), Andrew Lansley (Cheltenham Festivals), Helienne Lindvall (ECSA), John van Luyn(Poppodium 013), Will Marshall (Primary Talent), Gordon Masson (IQ Magazine), Tom Matthews (UTA), Jana Mila (artist), Dick Molenaar (All Arts Tax Advisers), Claire O'Neill (Greener Future), Claes Olsen (Øyafestivalen), Fiona McAuley (BMG), Birgitte Mandelid (Øyafestivalen), Thijs Mantel (UMG NL), Irene Rossi (Ancienne Belgique), Julia Sabaté (artist), Mandy Salem-Aubry (Mandy Salem-Aubry Music Services), Maria Sanchez Garcia(PAARD/Into The Great Wide Open), Holger Jan Schmidt (YOUROPE), Sam Shemtob (FEED), Randall Spann (NPO FunX), Huw Stephens (BBC), Morten Therkildsen (Roskilde Festival), Gerbine Ulehake (Mojo Concerts), Elvin Usidame (Friendly Fire), Hanne Valckenaers (Musickness), Eefje de Visser(artist), Pascal Viot (Paleo Festival), Samuel Vuillermoz (mx3.ch @SRGSSR), Annika Walsh (Spotify), Cils Williams (ATC Live), and Anna Zò(MIH/Linecheck).

Keynote and featured speakers
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.

Discover the full conference program and speaker line-up at ESNS.nl