Host: Ivan Cepanec (teacher, artist, SI)

Speakers: Anja Paternoster (student, 20, Domžale), Lovro Voglar (student, 24, Ljubljana/Brežice), Miha Berglez (student, 26, Ljubljana), Melissa Cerić (graphic designer, 33, Koper), Jure Novak (theatre director, musician, 38, Ljubljana)

At music conferences, much is said about the artists, agents, managers, festivals, technological platforms etc. But rarely is the focus on the people that the music is primarily intended for – the end users, the LISTENERS! At the opening debate, we’ll therefore pass the mic to listeners from various generations. Who are they, how do they listen to music, where do they find information on new music, who do they trust the most, what’s their vision for music in the future? Their answers might help us find solutions to the current challenges facing the music industry.

Participating festivals: MENT Ljubljana (SI), Westway Lab (PT), Liverpool Sound City (UK), Sonic Visions (LU), Live at Heart (SE), Spring Break (PL), Monkey Week (ES).

INES, the Innovation Network of European Showcases, is a European cooperation project initiated by eight international showcase festivals and gigmit, the European digital platform for artist booking. Don’t miss your chance to meet the representatives of the INES festivals and introduce them to your artist(s).

https://www.ines-festivals.eu/

To participate in the speed networking sessions, you need to register in advance (until 25 January 2019) at: https://bit.ly/2QnzfUp.

The number of participants is limited. Speed networking participants will be selected by the MENT organizers and notified by 28 January 2019.

Supported by: INES – Innovation Network of European Showcases.

Host: Matjaž Manček (Kino Šiška, MENT Ljubljana, SI)
Speaker: Natasha Padabed (More Zvukov Agency, DE)

Whereas Orlando Figes symbolically projected his research of Russia’s cultural history in the influential essay “Natasha’s Dance” through Tolstoy’s Natasha, we can largely project the intertwining and exchange of contemporary music between Russia and Europe through the activities and experience of the contemporary Natasha. With her agency More Zvukov and its ports in Rotterdam and Berlin, Natasha Padabed has helped bring some of the most interesting Russian and Ukrainian acts to Europe (Messer Chups, DakhaBrakha, Onuka, Oligarkh, Shortparis, Lucidvox…). As the curator of important Russian international contemporary music festivals (SKIF, Electro-Mechanica, Ethnomechanica), she brings unique international acts to Saint Petersburg every year, from Felix Kubin, The Ex and Ben Frost to the Slovenian band Širom. In the interview, she’ll share interesting stories from her rich experience, as well as an outline and forecast of what will happen in the sea of sound between the two cultural poles in the current cultural and political reality.

Supported by: INES – Innovation Network of European Showcases.

Host: Polona Torkar (Radio Študent, SI)
Speakers: Laura Hofman (King Sepi, Roodkapje, NL), Eva van Netten (Welcome to the Village Festival, NL), Cesar Guisado (Monkey Week, ES), Dom Gourlay (Drowned In Sound, UK), TBA

A group of international music professionals will go on a blind date with songs by selected MENT artists, who will receive immediate, direct and honest feedback. We bet you don’t often get a chance to hear an honest analysis of individual songs by internationally renowned music experts – so don’t miss this one!

After last year’s screening, people clamored the return of this show. More than a hundred beehype contributors spend their lives seeking the best local music – and the best local videos. Sit down and travel around the world in 80… er, 60 minutes.

Slovenia is small but incredibly varied – in the same day, you can jump in the sea in the morning and go skiing in the Alps in the afternoon. Likewise, the festival offer is colourful and diverse, as nearly every small town is said to have its own festival. Meet some of the most interesting Slovenian festivals, from Murska Sobota to Sežana and Tolmin, and with a little luck, you might play some of them in the coming months.

To participate in the speed networking sessions, you need to register in advance (until 25 January 2019) at: https://bit.ly/2QnzfUp.
The number of participants is limited. Speed networking participants will be selected by the MENT organizers and notified by 28 January 2019.

Host: Tisa Frelih (Department of neurology, UMC Ljubljana, SI)
Speakers: Rod Jones (Idlewild, The Fruit Tree Foundation, UK), Lina Ugrinovska (Password, MK)

The music industry is a highly intensive branch, where the curtains of glitter and stardom conceal an everyday suffused in night shifts, long working hours, availability 24/7, numerous stressful situations and various pressures. Nonetheless, it’s only recently that we’ve started speaking about the consequences for all those involved openly – not just for the musicians, but also the managers, agents, organizers and tour crews, who face burnout, depression, panic attacks, addictions etc. Research shows that in Great Britain, nearly two thirds (!) of all musicians and music professionals have experienced at least one of the above-stated issues. How can we protect that which is most precious – our health?

Supported by: INES – Innovation Network of European Showcases.

Host: Anuša Pisanec (Druga Godba, SI)
Speaker: Bob van Heur (Le Guess Who?, NL)

Can you guess the name of one of Europe’s most innovative and hyped music festivals? It takes place in Utrecht and it’s called, no kidding, Le Guess Who?. MENT will host its co-founder and artistic director Bob van Heur. As a music enthusiast, Bob has gained a lot of experience in organizing concerts and festivals (Beaches Brew in Italy, 24HourDrone in New York). Over the last 15 years, he has served as the booking agent for artists such as Suuns, Ariel Pink, Julia Holter, Black Mountain and Sudan Archives. He’ll present the circumstances of the rapid growth of Le Guess Who?, unveil the secrets of a successful booking agent, and explain why he’s stepping down as an agent and focusing on festivals, new projects and representing a select group of artists. Thorough know-how from one of the experts of the European festival circuit!

Host: Peter Åstedt (Live at Heart, Musichelp, SE)

Every artist is looking for more streams or numbers on various music platforms. How do you improve your statistics, reach new audiences and increase your revenue? What makes Spotify tick? How are Apple and YouTube going to attract more paid subscribers? How can you better promote your own releases and land them on popular playlists? Peter Åstedt, who has worked with some of the top ten streamed tracks in the world, will present his understanding of the developments in the streaming world in the past ten years and offer a prediction of what will happen during 2019.

Supported by: INES – Innovation Network of European Showcases.

Host: Nuno Saraiva (Lusitanian, Europe in Synch, PT)
Speaker: Marcus Linde (Thag’s Agent, DE)

At a time when placing your music in a commercial or a movie is often considered the holy grail of music marketing, let’s take a moment to look at it from your perspective. Who does what, where do you take your music, are there any hidden tricks? An open dialogue panel will introduce you to the system, the procedures and the players.

Supported by: INES – Innovation Network of European Showcases.

Host: Wesley T. A’Harrah (Music Ally, UK)

It’s time for an experiMENT! During the panel, a selected artist performing at MENT will release a single under the guidance and mentorship of a Music Ally expert to maximize the single’s reach, effect and distribution online and on social media. With the help of video projections, the audience will be able to follow what’s going on various platforms in real-time and learn what can be done while releasing a single, how to optimize one’s social media presence, which traps to avoid and how to organize one’s time. And last but not least, in the end, there will be a concrete result of the entire experiment – the artist’s single will be released and spread around!

Supported by: INES – Innovation Network of European Showcases.

Host: Laura Kriefman (Hellion Trace, Keychange, UK)
Speakers: Maja Starčević (EXIT Festival, RS), Nina Dragičević (City of Women/Musica Femina, SI), Katarina Cvetkovska (Password Production, Taksirat, MK), Adriana Šnajder (fakat., HR)

The music industry buzzword in 2018? Keychange! The representation of women in the music industry is still very low in all European countries, which is why this pioneering international initiative has set greater gender balance and empowering women as its goals, thereby  working towards a different future for the music industry. MENT Ljubljana joined the campaign as the first festival in the region. Aware that the representation of women in the music industry is undoubtedly even more alarming in the Balkans than in Western European countries, and that other regional festivals have yet to join the initiative, we wish to encourage additional discussion of the issue. That’s why we’ll review the actual situation regarding the role and position of women in the music and festival industry with a representative of Keychange and participants from various ex-Yugoslav countries, as well as go over potential future developments and the possibilities for change.

After a day-long think tank workshop with a select group of different music professionals, it’s time to present the results. Listen to the public presentation on which think tank participants will present the whole process and also concrete proposals for possible advancements and improvements for music conferences. We hope this will be the first step towards livening up conference programmes in the coming years.

Supported by: INES – Innovation Network of European Showcases.

Participating festivals: Sea Star (Umag), Dimensions/Outlook/Seasplash (Pula), Ferragosto Jam (Orahovica), Hoomstock (Hum na Sutli), Impulse Festival (Rijeka), Indirekt (Umag), Fibra Fest (Split), Brijačnica/Zagreb Beer Festival (Zagreb), Rocklive (Koprivnica), Regius (Šibenik)

Croatia is not only famous for its rocky stretch of the Adriatic Coast, but also for its wide network of music festivals, which, as a matter of fact, mostly gravitate towards the coast. Nevertheless, there are festivals in the heart of the continent as well. Don’t miss the chance to meet the representatives of some of the most important Croatian festivals of contemporary urban music.

To participate in the speed networking sessions, you need to register in advance (until 25 January 2019) at: https://bit.ly/2QnzfUp.    
The number of participants is limited. Speed networking participants will be selected by the MENT organizers and notified by 28 January 2019.

Host: Aliki Evangelinou (artist manager, GR)
Speaker: Tomek Waśko (Go Ahead, Spring Break, PL)

The Go Ahead music agency is one of the most important concert organizers and promoters in Poland. It specializes in promoting shows by popular artists, but it also focuses on upcoming artists. The agency has hosted an impressive list of musicians, such as George Ezra, Mac DeMarco, Nils Frahm, Editors and Sevdaliza. Plans for 2019 include shows by artists such as Florence + The Machine, Twenty One Pilots and Bastille, among many others. In addition, Go Ahead is responsible for the organization of Enea Spring Break, the biggest showcase festival in Poland. Without a doubt they’re the right people to tell us about the developments and rising opportunities on the Polish concert market.

Host: Andries van Wieren (3S Music Management, NL)

Do you have a terrific young band full of potential, determination and enthusiasm? Do you already have a local following and feel it’s high time to conquer the world? What do you have to consider when making this much harder step than it may seem at first? A transparent and elaborate PLAN on how to conquer foreign music markets, of course! Andries, an experienced artist manager (My Baby, Dope D.O.D.), will teach us how to devise a short- and long-term plan for the strategic conquest of foreign concert markets, how to organize and optimize your activities and how to preserve financial stability along the way. Key ingredients: a valid and clear plan, good organization, a transparent financial scheme of the whole project, and readiness to go all in. Are you ready?

Supported by: INES – Innovation Network of European Showcases.

Host: Magda Chołyst (Artist in Bloom, PL)

Outbreakers’ Lab (OBL), run by HOTS, is a mentoring camp for artists from all over Europe, dedicated to those who seek knowledge and inspiration on how to break out from the borders of their own domestic markets. From an experimental project dedicated to Hungarian artists and taking place in the village of Martely, OBL grew into an international event with the ambition to become one of the most important regional events for developing an artist’s potential. In 2018, OBL hosted 49 people from 15 countries with the support of several European partners. The artists had a chance to take part in workshops, panels and individual sessions run by international experts. Join the OBL presentation to get the idea behind the event, discover the hot names of the 2019 mentoring team, and get an update on how to become a participant and join the adventure in August 2019.

Participants: Dávid Bali (Hungarian Oncoming Tunes, OBL, HU), Magda Chołyst (Artist in Bloom, OBL, PL), Máté Horváth (DDW Music Hungary, OBL, PL), Andries van Wieren (3S Music, NL), Julia Scherz (Ink Music, AT),  Rod Jones (Idlewild, Post Electric Studio, UK), Katia Giampaolo (Europavox, Joycut, IT).

The Outbreakers’ Lab (OBL) presentation will be followed by a networking session, offering the unique opportunity to talk personally with OBL organizers, partners, mentors and artists who took part in the camp and experienced the results firsthand. The public event is dedicated especially to artists, managers, export offices and institutions looking for opportunities to upgrade their talents’ careers. Open networking session – no application needed.

Hosts: Kerstin Saathoff (Google, DE), Mariusz Herma (Beehype, Polityka, PL)
Participants: Elif Tähtinen (Music & Media, Lost in Music, FI), Hannes Tschürtz (Ink Music, AT), Barbora Šubrtová (Metronome Festival, CZ), Peter Baroš (SIGIC, SI), Ingrid Kohtla (Tallinn Music Week, EE),Renato Horvath (Eastaste, Budapest Showcase Hub, HU), Marko Maršičević (Marsh Production, Kontakt, RS), Tony Duckworth ([PIAS] Poland & Eastern Europe, PL), Magdalena Jensen (Chimes, PL), Márton Náray (SoundCzech, Nouvelle Prague, CZ), Paula Poštolková (Nova Cvernovka, Sharpe, SK), Janika Reuter (FACTORY 92, DE)

Each year, new music conferences and festivals pop up, more or less successfully copying their older “idols”. Consequently, all too often the topics discussed are already familiar many times over, with the same speakers showing up again and again. The responses of those who often attend music conferences show fatigue and weariness with such repetition. MENT Ljubljana wants to offer something more than just the routine of attending such events, which is why we’ll seek possible improvements and advancements for music conferences in a day-long think tank session with a select group of different music professionals, from the standpoint of different audiences – musicians and their managers, organizers, journalists and other delegates. The think tank will conclude with a public summary and a presentation of concrete proposals, which we hope will liven up conference programmes in the coming years.

Closed session. By invitation only.

Public presentation of the results is scheduled at 17:00 @ M Hotel AB.

Supported by: INES – Innovation Network of European Showcases.

Participants: Hannes Tschürtz (Ink Music, AT), Hannes Cistota (WUK, AT), Jeroen Siebens (European Radio Plugging, AT), Theresa Langner (Seayou Records, AT), Andrina Dolinsek (Acoustic Lakeside, AT), Valentin Geiseder (Spoon Agency, AT), Michel Attia (FM4 Events, AT), Ruth Ranacher (MICA, AT)

Austria isn’t only the Alps, Sachertorte, Wienerschnitzel and Mozart, but also a rich and colourful music landscape. Seize your chance to meet some of the key people in various roles (often interwoven) who are the movers of the Austrian music industry.

To participate in the speed networking sessions, you need to register in advance (until 25 January 2019) at: https://bit.ly/2QnzfUp.
The number of participants is limited. Speed networking participants will be selected by the MENT organizers and notified by 28 January 2019.

Host: Gordon Masson (IQ Magazine, UK)
Speaker: Claire O’Neill (A Greener Festival, UK)

Music festivals and their rowdy crowds inevitably have a negative impact on the environment. Luckily, numerous organizers are increasingly aware of this issue and are attempting to lessen the undesirable consequences. One of the main protagonists in this field is Claire O’Neill, whose fascination with rave culture led her to focus on this topic more seriously. Later, she (co-)founded the A Greener Festival non-profit, which bestows the award for the most environmentally conscious festival, among other things. In addition, she has organised the Green Events & Innovations Conference in London for ten years running, and gets her adrenaline boost by being an aerial trapeze acrobat at Arcadia Spectacular.

Supported by: INES – Innovation Network of European Showcases.

Host: Andraž Kajzer (MENT Ljubljana, SI)
Speakers: Thomas Heher (Waves Vienna, AT), Maša Pavoković (Mashupmash, SI), Michal Hajduk (Adam Mickiewicz Institute, PL), Mira Lu Kovacs (Schmieds Puls, 5K HD, AT)

It’s hard to be a noob in the industry. This seems to be changing with all the showcase festivals and similar music industry events popping up all over the world. Agents, managers and promoters have many new places to meet and connect. Young blood gets the chance to learn and network, and artists have the chance to show what they’re made of. The European showcase circuit is up and running at full speed, and never before in the history of popular music have so many young bands played abroad so frequently. It seems the “showcase every weekend” recipe sucks the energy out of the new and inexperienced bands who haven’t even decided what they want next week. It seems the showcase platform is the new disease. It’s YouTube in live action – so many artists putting their music out there, with only a few of them actually being heard. Is the showcase a new oasis? An illusion? Is it distorting the real picture or making a new one? Is showcasing a solution or a tool? And what’s next?

Supported by: INES – Innovation Network of European Showcases.

Host: Urszula Andruszko (Radio Wrocław Kultura, PL)
Speakers: Stefan Reichmann (Haldern Pop, DE), Szabolcs Czeglédi (Bankito Festival, HU), Raphael Pleschounig (Acoustic Lakeside Festival, AT), Julio Gómez (Sinsal, ES)

The present-day flood of music festivals, combined with more affordable travel around Europe, presents an increasingly difficult decision – where to go and which festivals to visit? The so-called boutique festivals are a special category – festivals that consciously limit the number of visitors, usually take place at carefully selected locations, and generally offer a more boldly curated programme, all with the aim of providing visitors with a different, unique, more genuine and delectable music festival experience. Let’s listen to the stories of four boutique festivals from different parts of Europe and learn about the motives and secrets of organising such events first-hand.

Supported by: INES – Innovation Network of European Showcases.

Host: Tanya Makarova (RUSH, RU)
Speakers: Ross Miles (Scorched Asia, CN), Xiaodong Shen (Mentha & Partners, FR)

Over the past few years, our conference has focused a lot on how up-and-coming bands can break through on Western markets. If we take the 360º concept literally and take a look around, we can find new, different and unfamiliar music markets on the other side of the world. And among them – China! An increasingly open country with 1.4 billion inhabitants and a quickly developing music market, where Western acts head to more and more often. Let’s figure out the many unknowns of the Chinese live market. How developed is the club infrastructure? What about music festivals, especially the more alternatively-minded ones? Which political and/or bureaucratic obstacles can musicians expect? The technical and logistical challenges of touring China? How high are the fees? Concert and tour promotion, social media and “The Great Firewall of China”? Ni Hao.

*Hello!

Participating clubs, festivals and concert organizers: Michal Pařízek (Scrape Sounds, Full Moon Magazine), Dušan Svíba (Earth Music, Colour Meeting Festival), David Nguyen (Rock For People Festival, Ameba Production), Barbora Šubrtová (Metronome Festival, United Islands of Prague), Nicole Strungova (Roxy Prague), Václav Klíma (Heartnoize Promotion), Anna Mašátová (Czech Music Crossroads, SoundCzech), Adam Kaňa (Mladí ladí jazz), Jan Bičák (Prague music festival), Jiří Pospíšil (Kabinet Múz), Márton Náray (SoundCzech, Nouvelle Prague), Dominika Kruchová (Fly High Booking)

The Czech Republic is geographically located in the very heart of the European continent, which both touring musicians and festival and concert organizers are happy to take advantage of, resulting in a rich and varied live music landscape. MENT offers a great opportunity to connect with selected referential festivals, clubs and concert organizers. Czech it!

To participate in the speed networking sessions, you need to register in advance (until 25th January 2019) at: https://bit.ly/2QnzfUp.
The number of participants is limited. Speed network participants will be selected by MENT organisers and notified by 28 January 2019.

Speakers: Nikola Jovanović (Kontra, RUNDA, RS), Didier Gosset (IMPALA, BE)

RUNDA is the newly established Regional Association of Independent Discographers from the area of the former Yugoslavia and Albania, which will join forces (assisted by the IMPALA association) to seek solutions and answers to the numerous challenges of music publishing in the region (for example, the arrival of Spotify). We’ll learn about who the association is intended for, why its existence is not only sensible, but also necessary, and, above all, how the mountains in the hilly Balkan music scene will move.

Supported by: RUNDA/IMPALA

Host: Nina Hudej (Pritličje, Warrego Valles, SI)
Speaker: Sergey Saburov (Hyperboloid Records, RU)

Even though Russia is home to nearly 145 million pairs of ears, the Western music hemisphere is only slowly starting to discover its varied music market. One of the more prominent names resonating among those in the know in recent years is undoubtedly Hyperboloid Records, established in 2004 by Sergey Saburov, Dmitry Garin (Acid Mafia) and Alexey Devyanin (Pixelord). Saburov – music manager, DJ, A&R and booking agent and promoter, recently also featured in Boiler Room’s documentary “Future Shift” – will tell us about the genesis of their platform for publishing electronic bass music, speak about the phenomenon of (post-)internet music, and provide us with an insider’s view of the bubbling Russian electronic scene.

Hosts: Marcus Linde (Thag’s Agent, DE), Nis Bøgvad (Copenhagen Picture Music, DK), Viva Videnović (URGH!, Strup, SI), Žiga Drofenik (Universal Publishing Slovenia, SonicTribe, SI)

Music in commercials and music in movies – we all agree that one hardly can do without the other. However, the professional process of joining the elements is characterized by misunderstandings and reservations. The workshop will bring professionals from both the music world and the world of advertising and film to the table in order to address the deficiencies, voice the mutual lack of understanding and establish a common ground in the interest of improved cooperation, expanding the creative spectrum and increasing business opportunities.

Morning and afternoon session.

Host: Jeff Stempeck (Spotify, US)

Spotify will present a look at how it’s evolving – from new formats and playlists to tools artists and their teams can use to understand and engage their fans. Publishers and label owners of all shapes and sizes, come learn the strategies for growing your fanbase. Spotify will share tips for using its label tools, including Spotify for Artists and Spotify Analytics.

Supported by: RUNDA/IMPALA.

Host: Jeff Stempeck (Spotify, US)

Spotify will present a look at how it’s evolving – from new formats and playlists to tools artists and their teams can use to understand and engage their fans. Whether you’re an artist, manager or songwriter, come learn the strategies for growing your fanbase. Spotify will share tips for using its label tools, including Spotify for Artists and Spotify Analytics.