Alex Maiolo is a musician and journalist based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and San Francisco, California. As a journalist, he has focused on recording and gear history, culture, and tutorials. He has been a regular contributor to Reverb.com, Tape Op Magazine, The Quietus, Louder Than War, Fashion.Music.Style, as well as books on effects pedals and synthesizers. Alex is part of the international music collective, Themes For Great Cities, along with Erki Pärnoja, Jonas Bjerre, and Jonas Kaarnamets. He also tours internationally as a modular synthesist, under the moniker Action Group. He has been an active recordist for 40 years, comfortable with media ranging from DAWs, to 4-Track tape, to fully kitted out studios. He has owned the project recording space Seriously Adequate since 2010, as well as its connected label, Moroderik Musik. Alex is also an advisor to various music festivals, including SXSW, and a voting member of NARAS aka The Grammys.

Alkistis Tsiklou is a leading executive and business consultant in music publishing, currently serving as Director of Copyright & Royalties at Musou Music Group. Her career includes roles as Administrator in Greece of Warner Chappell Music Hellas, Copyright & Royalties Director at Warner Chappell Music Greece and a key member of Virgin Records. Additionally she held significant positions such as General Secretary on the Board of Directors for EDEM C.M.O, Vice-President of the Supervisory Board of EYED, and President of the Hellenic Music Publishers Association.

Angeliki has been in the cultural realm all her life. She started off as a musician, but for the past 15 years, she has worked more as a cultural manager and policy advisor, holding an MA in Cultural Policy & Development. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with both the public and private sectors as an advisor, curator, and project manager, designing and implementing cultural acts, festivals, and programs. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of ESDIAPOK (Association of Cultural Heritage Management Consultants) and the founder of Cultural Reserve Nexus (CReNe), a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and promoting culture, with an emphasis on intercultural dialogue, intangible cultural heritage, oral tradition, and contemporary cultural production. CReNe hosts Greece’s first bottom-up music export office, "Music from Greece."

Anne Jensen is an experienced professional within the fields of sustainability and experience economy. She works as an independant consultant, helping companies with strategy and sustainability, while living abord her 42 foot sailfoot that she is about to cross the Atlantic Ocean in. Before setting sail, Anne Jensen was hired to jumpstart an environmental strategy for the Danish top league football club AGF. In less than a year, the club changed into 100% energy from renewable energy, launched their jersey made of reused materials and among other milestones became signatory of the UN Sports for Climate Action, joining clubs internationally in this ambitious framework . Previously, she was part of the management group at Down the Drain in Denmark, spearheading an award-winning sustainability strategy for NorthSide festival; one of the first European festivals to reach the 100% organic food and beverage mark, and has also worked as Director of international brand development at leading European promoter FKP Scorpio in Hamburg. In 2022, she founded her consultancy company Sustain Matters, preferring a kind of work life that balances work with wanderlust.

Ave Tölpt, Music Estonia’s Director, has previously worked as the Managing Director of Jazz Estonia, being responsible for the daily management of the organisation, team building and both local and international representation. She has also worked in the cultural sector as the Head of the Exhibition Department in the National Library of Estonia, successfully leading various national and international cooperation projects for many years. Amongst other roles, she contributed to the field of music as a guest author and radio host at Estonian Public Broadcasting, Klassikaraadio as well in other media during her times as a journalism volunteer at Jazzkaar festival. She is the first Estonian Ambassador for Keychange, a global network and movement working towards gender equality in the music industry, the Member of the Council of Advisers at the Tallinn School of Music and Ballet (MUBA) and the Member of the Music Endowment committee of Cultural Endowment Estonia. Ave has been building her expertise around cultural leadership and international cooperation.

Becky Young is the Head of Operations & Community at EarthPercent, the music industry's climate foundation co-founded by Brian Eno. She leads "The Earth As Your Co-Writer," an initiative enabling songwriters to share publishing rights with the planet. Previously, Becky co-founded Anti Diet Riot Club, a body-positive activist community featured in the likes of The Guardian, Grazia and The Times, growing a community of over 125k followers and members. She has over a decade of experience in producing and promoting cultural and music events, and is passionate about people, power and protest.

Seeing the need to transform how sustainability is marketed to consumers and the public, Benjamin founded Nayture—a marketing firm dedicated to making green brands more desirable. With years of research into successful brands that prioritize people and the planet, he developed the Green Brand Code, a comprehensive guideline that helps environmentally conscious brands attract more customers.Drawing from his background in political communication and campaigning, Benjamin has worked with the Federal President of Austria and the Green Party on several election campaigns. By combining his expertise in environmental campaigns with his experience in commercial advertising, he focuses on advancing marketing, especially for Green Tech startups.

Knuth has a strategic and creative, super commercial grip on advertising. Knuth’s take on communications is pretty simple. If you can't create the epic win for the consumer, outline his/her path to the glory of meaningfulness and install the right triggers motivating them to go the distance; Don't even bother. Knuth loves neuromarketing :-) He calls himself a philanthropic field-operative and believes in the human capacity to surprise even ourselves and save the planet.

Clement Souchier is a serial entrepreneur in the music industry who operates at the intersection of music and innovation, with expertise in synchronization. After founding the music supervision agency Creaminal (which he sold to Alter K Global Music Services in 2021), he launched Bridge.audio, the Spotify for professionals and creators. Bridge significantly improves workflow and discoverability in music, multiplying business opportunities thanks to an unprecedentedly precise descriptive AI. This is especially notable in music for visual media, with the creation of a dedicated marketplace for sync.

Daryl Bamonte worked for Depeche Mode in multiple roles between 1980 and 1995, includingtouring keyboardist in 1994. He worked with The Cure from 1995 until 2005, which included Executive Producer on ‘The Cure’ album and the ‘Trilogy’ DVD, and formed Bamonte Artist Managementduring this time. In 2014 he became the Managing Director ofSchubert MusicUKand the head of the Atlantic Curve label. He becameactive as a speaker at international music conferencesand formed his new company, Archangelo Music, in 2022. This includes two labels, Archangelo Recordings and Bamala Newtown, as well as Archangelo Songs, which is sub-published worldwide by BMG. Additionally, Darylisan Ambassador for the Europe in Synchorganisation, a consultant for Schubert Music Europe and a co-founder of Connected Rights, a neighbouring rights managementcompany. He is also the keyboard player in Norwegian post-punk band Permafrostand a member of experimental electronic band Hence

Greek born/L.A based Elena Charbila has an established track record as a composer, producer, and recording artist under her moniker “Kid Moxie”. Dubbing her style as “neon-noir”, Kid Moxie has composed music for award-winning films, notable TV series, and high-profile video games. Her collaborations with other artists are equally diverse and genre-bending, including Depeche Mode, Angelo, and Killer.

Hannes Tschürtz is the founder of Ink Music in Vienna, a company that has been a successful label and publishing house for 20+ years and paved the way for many international artist careers since. On the way, Hannes helped creating different educational and training programmes for music professionals(-to-be) at home and abroad. He holds seats on the board of Austrias IFPI chapter and the Advisory Board of the Austrian Music Fund; also leads Communications for Europe in Synch. He always aims to take a look at the bigger picture of things and writes creative culture-related articles for magazines and papers. Besides, he is the co-owner of a ticketing start-up (NTRY Ticketing) and loves dogs.

Hans Peter has been a key player in the content and online music industry for almost two decades and has for the last seven years been Partner at Muserk, the fast0 growing publishing administration services currently managing more than 15 million works. Before joining Muserk, Hans Peter ran the Nordic Societies' licensing hub before he - as he says it - worked his way up into the back and middle office part of the music business, running the Online Services at Network of Music Partners (NMP). His extensive front, middle and back office experience has given Hans Peter an in-depth and unique understanding of the publishing business and society world and their underlying rights flow, repertoire/copyright disputes, and data volumes and value, and how it all impacts the online music value chain. As one of the original people behind the Technical Online Working Group Europe ("TOWGE"), Hans Peter currently serves as the Chair of the Steering Committee for TOWGE. When not buried in the details of copyright and data, Hans Peter enjoys officiating American Football in the Danish National League or soaring on thermals in the skies above Denmark in his glider plane.

Iain Tait is a digital innovator whose work has consistently pushed the boundaries of creativity and technology. As the co-founder of the independent digital agency POKE, Iain’s early career laid the foundation for a series of transformative contributions to the advertising world. At Wieden+Kennedy, he worked directly with Dan Wieden, modernizing the agency’s digital capabilities and eventually becoming a global partner. Iain’s leadership on the iconic Old Spice campaign redefined interactive advertising, setting a benchmark for real-time, multi-platform engagement. His role as Executive Creative Director at Google Creative Lab further demonstrated his ability to integrate cutting-edge technology with compelling storytelling, earning him two patents. Iain’s influence extends beyond his client work. As a board member of the One Club for Creativity, chair of the Digital Jury at Cannes, and a member of the Titanium Jury, he has played a pivotal role in shaping the future of creativity. He has received multiple Webby Awards and is a member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Recognized in Ad Age’s 25 Media Mavens and inducted into the AAF Hall of Achievement, Iain continues to be a visionary force, blending taste and imagination to create impactful, innovative experiences. His notable AI and creative tech projects include “Gillian Wearing: Wearing Masks” at the Guggenheim, an AI recruitment campaign for “Ingress Prime,” a balloon race across the internet for Orange, Racer: a Giorgio Moroder soundtracked multi-phone car racing game, and an AR gallery (built on the Niantic platform) with artist JR.

Jenny Hagblom is an independent C-suite advisor, elastic executive and creative strategist dedicated to helping good brands grow and big brands improve. With over 20 years of transformative leadership she has navigated change across various industries, such as politics, cultural institutions, NGOs and international publicly listed big-corps, both brand and agency side. She pursues a norm-breaking approach to business, brand, people, and culture, paving new paths for companies, organizations, and teams to transform, pushing mindsets, competencies, methods, and work forward. Recognized for her leadership abilities and grit in the areas of implementational innovation, business and brand transformation, she is a recurring “thinkfluencer” and advisor on the global Tigerhall platform, where she emphasizes the courage and vulnerability needed of leaders to take risks, challenge the status quo, and embrace the unknown. Empowering them to advocate for innovative and transformative ideas and to steer their teams through uncertainty, failure and success. She has mentored leaders from across the globe, on how to not only make decisions, but to nurture a community that values empathy and connection, recognizing that true growth comes from collective effort and shared vision. In a chaotic, polarized and rapidly changing world, where problems are becoming more complex, simple solutions are scarce. Digital development has not only solved problems and created new opportunities. It has also decreased human connectivity and led to polarization. This demands courageous leaders to create safe cultures, with the ability to navigate human perspectives on data, tech and innovation to create meaningful change.

With over 39 years as a professional in the Danish music industry, Jesper Mardahl has been around most corners of the music scene. Initially quite literally as a musician, but since then most "behind the scenes" in the role of A&R manager, producer, label manager, and promotion and marketing manager at many of the leading both independent and major music companies in Denmark. Since 2010 he initiated the country's first networking platform for the professional music community, Promus, acting as the Managing Director. Furthermore, Jesper has been the initiator of Music City Aarhus and co-founder of the international, Music Cities Network, now consisting of member cities such as Berlin, Hamburg, Manchester, Reykjavik, Bergen, Gothenburg, Brussels, Düsseldorf, Valencia, Vilnius, Groningen – and Aarhus a.o. Through his work for Promus, Music Cities Network and SPOT+, he has also been a regular panelist and speaker at international industry festivals such as SXSW, Eurosonic, By:Larm, Canadian Music Week, Reeperbahn Festival, Vill Vill Vest, The Great Escape, Athens Music Week and SPOT +, Since 2015, Jesper is also the conference manager for SPOT + - the conference branch of the SPOT Festival, and from 2021 – 2022, Jesper was appointed chief secretary for the Music City Aarhus 2022-project – a year-round project celebrating music in all its forms kickstarting the music post-Covid 19.

Jonathan Fröberg works at Universal Music Publishing Scandinavia as Creative Manager at the Film & TV Department, based in Stockholm. Jonathan primarily works with commercials, film, TV, and games in the Nordics. In 2023 he was awarded with Nordic Music Biz Top 20 Under 30.

Manca is an associate of the Slovenian Music Information Centre SIGIC, which is dedicated to the promotion of Slovenian music at the national and international level (Music Slovenia). Before joining SIGIC, she worked in Prague where she tried her hand at selling music in the film and advertising industries. Before that, she co-curated the programme of the Cankarjada music and theatre festival at Zakon club in Vrhnika and the festival Poletje v bazenu. She is currently working on the project »Digital train for slovenian music« and is a collaborator of the European project Europe in Sync.

Marcel A. Wiebenga (Rotterdam, 1978) made a modest mark in music history as a drummer from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s. He recorded multiple records and embarked on countless tours in Europe, the United States, and Japan with his DC-hardcore-meets-classic-rock band Oil and the Dutch-American Thrash Core group Das Oath. From 2008 to 2018, Marcel worked at Sizzer Amsterdam, where he played a pivotal role as a partner and the company's strategy director and scaled Sizzer to an internationally renowned music-for-advertising agency with offices in Amsterdam and Berlin. During his ten-year tenure, Marcel oversaw over 1000 projects, earned numerous awards, collaborated with revered clients such as Mercedes, Dior, Diesel, and Heineken, and served as a speaker, panelist, and jury member at various music and advertising conferences. In 2021, Marcel and Oil's lead singer and former Sizzer managing director, Nicholas van den Doel, founded Ringo, a B2B music-for-media procurement platform that bridges the information gap between potential buyers and sellers of sync licenses in the advertising space. Funded in 2023, 2024 saw the private beta release of this platform, which provides users with algorithmic sync pricing indication. In addition to his entrepreneurial pursuits, Marcel engages with an audience of about 3500 creatives, founders, and music-industry professionals through his Bi-Weekly-ish newsletter that delves into the realms of music, tech, and culture, and he does extensive kickboxing training (but will never do a match because he's too concerned with his face).

Experienced Urbanist with a passion for cities that we love, cities where we choose to live, cities as affordable, inclusive, sustainable, walkable places for life. Working globally as an advisor to Cities, Corporations and Organizations, devoted to collaborative processes, supporting cities in designing their transformation strategies, managing complex urban transitions with special focus on livability, affordable housing, transformative urban design, climate-neutrality, community activation & citizen-driven action. Founder & CEO Vassilakou Urban Consulting - Vienna Solutions. Since 2019 Member of the EU Experts Board for the EU Mission "100 Climate-neutral & smart Cities by 2030" Vienna's Vice Mayor 2010-2019, responsible for urban development, urban planning, mobility, climate protection, energy planning & citizen involvement.

Markus Linde is a founding member of the Europe in Synch initiative and the head of their Academy, in which professionals from the music side and audio-visual disciplines are brought together, bridging knowledge-gaps, building trust and creating an improved synch-landscape. With a professional history in the record business, publishing and artist management, he has been running his thag’s agent imprint for over 20 years garnering a track record for music placements in national and international advertising campaigns. Markus Linde is an expert in music rights research and clearances, he contributes to films and TV productions and supervises major TV shows. Markus also is a speaker on international conferences and consulting contributor to workshops and seminars.

Martin Nedved is the CEO and co-founder of AIMS, the leading AI search and discovery company that helps people in the music industry find the right music faster and easier through our proprietary natural language, similarity and lyrics searches. Martin has over 15 years of experience in the music industry, especially in sync. Before AIMS, Martin co-founded a neighbouring rights collecting agency and ran one of Europe's leading production music companies. He chairs the International Production Music Group, the Czech Neighbouring Rights Collecting Society Intergram, the Czech Association of Independent Record Labels and co-chairs the Czech Music Publishers Association.

Misia Furtak is an awarded musician, cultural manager and activist. Together with the band Très.B, she has been awarded the prestigious Paszport Polityki for “a skilful combination of strength and delicacy that is both independent and hit”. Her professional path fulfils this prophetic verdict, as Misia combines working with the indie music, jazz, modern classical and Polish rap giants. By critics she is compared to the likes of Cat Power, Pj Harvey and Feist. In 2022, Furtak was selected to Keychange – a pioneering organisation supporting women and gender minorities in the music industry. She also led the Polish chapter of Music Declares Emergency. She has played in Europe and Japan, alongside The National, Arlo Parks, TV On the Radio, and many others.

Nikolina has held various leadership positions in tech spaces for over 20 years. Prior to entering the world of IT and games, she had a successful career in marketing and diplomatic service. For the last 10 years, Nikolina has been working exclusively within the gaming industry, following her childhood dream of creating games that are accessible for all. She has worked in senior roles with some of the most beloved gaming franchises like Angry Birds, The Walking Dead and most recently, Heads Up. Until this date, she worked on over 20 games, mostly on mobile platforms. For the last six year, Nikolina has been a serial entrepreneur, running gaming studios and gaming consultancies. She is a passionate champion for diversity, equity and inclusion in tech and all digital spaces and has been publicly speaking on this topic at more than 15 gaming conferences. Nikolina is proactively working towards bringing more diverse groups of people in the gaming industry by working as a guest lecturer at several Finnish universities and running successful online courses. Today, when she’s not working with her gaming studio start-up Rainbow Unicorns and her consultancy Rebel Studio, she is busy writing her first book about the gaming industry and mentoring diverse founders through European Innovation Council schema. Superpower: Nikolina is a dog (and cats!) whisperer! Beware that any question about animals might end up in a 30 minutes monologue and at least one shared photo album.

Deputy Mayor of Athens for Climate Governance and Social Economy (since 2024) Former Member of the European Parliament (2012-2014), Vice-Chairman of the Regional Development Committee (REGI), and substitute member of the Environment Committee (ENVI). As Greens’ rapporteur, worked on social cohesion, eco-innovation, bio-economy, and marine spatial planning. President of Anemos Ananeosis and project manager of Welcommon Hostel. Active in climate action, green transition, social economy, and sustainable tourism. Former Regional Councillor (South Aegean, 2010-2014) and environmental consultant on various European projects.

With 30 years as a music professional, Nis has worked in all aspects of the music industry. From Multi-Platinum selling Songwriter, Recording and touring Artist (Parlophone) and Record Producer to Head of A&R at EMI Music, Member of EMI’s A&R committee, Executive Producer (DR/Danish National Broadcast) Creative Director & Head of Film and TV at Music Sales Group to Music Supervisor. Nis has synchronized music to more than 150 commercials, TV series and feature filmsand shared his experience and knowledge about the music industry as both a speaker, moderator and education advisor at A&R Worldwide/Musexpo L.A., Midem Cannes, Sync summit Paris, Spot Festival Denmark; Les Arcs European Film Festival, Sync summit Helsinki, MaMA Conference Paris, London Sync Session, Westway lab Portugal, as Artist Mentor at Music Estonia VOLÜÜM mentoring program, Berklee Global Career Summit in Valencia.

With over 20 years music industry experience in Canada, UK, and Portugal, Nuno Saraiva is the founder of SCL Agency and its group of companies. Saraiva is the Executive Director of the WHY Portugal export office and music exchange platform, founded in 2016. Saraiva is also co-founder of Portugal’s first PRO conference and showcase Festival Westway LAB, which started in 2014, and is also the founding President of the AMAEI, the Portuguese Independent Trade Association, founded in 2012. He is a Board Member of IMPALA, the European Music Companies Association in Brussels; and also Board Member of EMEE – European Music Exporters Exchange, in representation of WHY Portugal.

Rebekka Karijord is a Norwegian-born, Stockholm-based musician and composer known for her emotionally resonant work across music and film. Trained at Stockholm University of the Arts, she has released six solo albums and scored over 30 films, including I Am Greta, All the Old Knives, and Songs of Earth with the London Contemporary Orchestra. Her albums, like The Noble Art of Letting Go (2009), Mother Tongue (2017), and Complete Mountain Almanac (2023) with Bryce and Aaron Dessner, showcase her blend of folk and cinematic orchestration. Karijord’s music reflects her Scandinavian roots, exploring themes of nature and identity with a unique, powerful voice.

With over a decade in music supervision and sync licensing, I’ve had the opportunity to work with leading brands, feature films, and TV productions, curating music that enhances storytelling. As the Brand & Innovation Partner at Karanyi Sounds, I focus on empowering music creators with innovative tools that simplify workflows and enhance creativity. Having supported over 60,000 customers, Karanyi Sounds plays a key role in the evolving music creator economy, helping both hobbyists and professionals unlock their potential. As the founder of Eastaste, I also provide customized music solutions, utilizing advanced tools like price prediction software and rights holder integration to streamline the licensing process efficiently. In addition, I’m a partner at Europe in Synch, connecting the audiovisual and music industries across Europe. I also co-lead Act in Synch, an initiative merging music, technology, and sustainability to drive innovation in sync licensing while championing sustainable practices in the industry. I’m regularly invited as a speaker and moderator at global music, film, and gaming conferences, sharing insights on the intersection of music, tech, and innovation. I’m always open to connecting with like-minded professionals who are passionate about music, technology, and innovation.

Born in Saint-Etienne, France, Roman Tayakout has been project manager and artistic director at Paris-based independent label Jeune à Jamais for last 6 years. Working with artists such as Zuukou mayzie, BabySolo33 and Selug, he is specialized in the development of rap artists with alternative aesthetics and mixed musical genres.

CEO, Founding Team and Board Member of WaterBear: a B Corp-certified impact media network using storytelling to drive systems change. WaterBear Network Holding comprises: WaterBear Studios, "Campfire" (WaterBear Learning), WaterBear Mobile App / Web + Channels (FAST, Social) & the Resilient Foundation.

Tianna Amore is a passionate filmmaker and graduate of the University of Portsmouth, dedicated to illuminating the beauty of our natural world. With a vision to foster a more dynamic and inclusive natural documentary film industry, Tianna uses her craft to advocate for climate well-being. Through compelling storytelling, she aims to inspire audiences to connect with and protect our planet, harnessing the power of creativity to drive meaningful environmental change.

Tori Tsui is a climate justice campaigner and author. She is a Senior Advisor for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and Climate Justice Lead for Brian Eno’s Earth Percent. Her debut book ‘It’s Not Just You’ was shortlisted for the Wainwright prize.

Vickie Amiralis is an artist, curator and freelance project manager dedicated to environmental community projects within the arts. Since 2020, Vickie has been part of In Place of War’s Global Music Industry Advisory Board, and now joins as the Label Development Manager. Vickie has over a decade of experience curating music releases and collaborating with artists and musicians on international projects and publications. Holding a focus on A&R, product design, marketing, agreements, accounts, distribution, licensing and a specialist background on manufacturing physical formats and limited-edition artworks. Vickie now works on a freelance basis to product and project manage prints, publications and music releases. Vickie released In Place of War’s Cucusonic [inplaceofwar.net] album (2021) on digital and as a 100% recycled vinyl package. The 19 track compilation explores Colombia’s biodiversity and through collaboration, brought together; Colombian bio-scientists, anthropologists, 19 musicians, University of Manchester’s ‘Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology’ and In Place of War. In 2023 Vickie launched an independent studio that is the home of her multidisciplinary art practice as well as her curatorial projects. The studio aims to be a platform for social-action and skill-sharing with a focus on bringing together artists and communities through accessible events. The Beautiful Blue is the latest project from the studio; The Beautiful Blue is a waterside arts and ecology project in the U.K following a Chiltern Chalk stream and the River Thames. In the form of a 4 mile public sculpture trail, the project includes 12 collaborative artworks that unite creatives, charities and local community groups who advocate for cleaner international waters.