VIP Experience

A2IM Spotlight  / MMF-US Spotlight

The Price is Wrong! In this live game show, audience members face the real numbers behind streaming payouts, platform cuts, and fan data and guess whether they’re too high, too low, or on the money, while panelists break down what each answer means for artists, fans, labels, and platforms. Play along as the Audience takes on the System to find out where the money in music really goes, and why so little of it seems to reach the people making it.

MMF-US Spotlight

The superfan economy is the industry’s favorite buzzword, but selling directly to fans only works if you know who they are before the music drops. This panel brings together a direct-to-fan platform, a pre-release audience intelligence tool, and two artist managers to unpack what fans will actually pay for, who controls that relationship, and how smarter data is reshaping the music release of 2027.

VIP Experience / MMF-US Spotlight

As legacy artists’ names, likenesses, and catalogs become some of the most valuable assets in entertainment, estates and the managers who steward them are no longer just protecting a legacy; they’re actively building it. Top executives from catalog acquisition, artist and estate management, and private equity join a leading music rights attorney to reveal how the biggest deals are structured, how name, image, and likeness rights are being extended into films, experiences, and brand partnerships, and what estates should look for in a partner that will grow their artist’s value for generations.

MMF-US Spotlight

Streaming has lifted the whole industry, but many independent artists and songwriters assume their distributor collects all their streaming money, leaving their publishing royalties behind and contributing to more than a billion dollars that goes uncollected every year. This panel breaks down where the royalty collection gap comes from, which registrations and data self-administered songwriters are missing, and how closing that gap helps the rising tide lift every boat.

A2IM Spotlight

Three music tech startups step into the hotbox to pitch three of the most respected independent labels in music: a legendary tastemaker, a genre-spanning powerhouse, and a hit-making home for Grammy-winning artists. After each five-minute pitch, the labels give live, unfiltered feedback, giving every founder in the room a rare look at how labels think, what they value, and what it takes to turn a label skeptic into a believer.

VIP Experience

Boxed lunches provided so you don't miss a beat. Have a casual lunch meeting, visit the exhibitors around the pool deck, or connect with your posse.

VIP Experience

VIP Experience

A2IM Spotlight

Forget AI-generated songs: the AI conversation music companies actually need is how to plug tools like ChatGPT and Claude into their operations without breaking data integrity, privacy, or security. A music business software leader joins executives from top independent labels and publishers for a fresh, practical look at how to organize your tech stack and data so AI can boost efficiency across touring, product management, and marketing while keeping your artists’ and company’s data safe.

MMF-US Spotlight

Independent artists today have more ways than ever to fund their careers, from data-driven advances to partnership deals that let them keep ownership of their masters and publishing, yet too many still sign away rights for cash before they know what else is out there. This session breaks down the funding options available to artists and their teams, how to weigh selling versus licensing versus advancing against future earnings, and how keeping control of your rights can grow both your career and the music economy.

A2IM Spotlight

Independent artists and labels no longer need major-label budgets to compete, as a new generation of tools lets them create music videos in minutes, manage the details that follow every song across streaming platforms, and turn every release into more ways for fans to engage. Discover how today’s most successful independents use smart tools to punch above their weight, and why growing every artist’s reach grows the market for everyone.

The 7th annual Swimming with Narwhals competition drew its largest pool ever, with startups from five continents reinventing how music is made, owned, marketed and experienced. After two rounds of investor selection, four finalists – Visuals.fm (AI visuals for music catalogs), EquitX (fair-price ticketing), Resolut (royalty conflict resolution) and Cadence IO (release marketing for labels) – pitch live to a third panel of investors, with the official winner announced the next day and the audience voting for its own Audience Choice pick.

Light bites, cash bar, and a silent disco with Crescendo's tactile dance floor.

Bring your swimsuit and jump in the heated pool!

Apply to connect with investors at Music Tectonics! Open to ticket holders only.
Even if you aren’t selected for one of the limited spots, your application and contact information will be shared with all participating investors! 

AWS Presents Founders' Mix: Lessons from the Music Tech Startup Road
We kick off today's AWS music tech startup track with observations of the first two days of conversations at the Music Tectonics Conference combined with what we're hearing from the wider tech and music sectors. This quick overview will put the rest of today's presentations into context, as we continue down the music tech startup road. 

Label/Manager Tech

A song can break in 72 hours, but most creator campaigns still take weeks to launch. Get the playbook for working with social media creators today: finding the voices that actually move streams, why under-the-radar creators often beat big names, and how to tell which campaigns are really paying off.

AWS Presents Founders' Mix: Lessons from the Music Tech Startup Road

AWS Presents Founders' Mix: Lessons from the Music Tech Startup Road

Ten years ago, Songtradr was a bold bet that music licensing could work like a marketplace; today it’s one of the largest B2B music companies in the world, built on a decade of launches, crashes, acquisitions, and reinvention. Hear the inside story of building the technical backbone of a music company at scale, and the hard-won lessons on infrastructure, data, and AI that every music tech founder needs before placing their own big bet.

Conference badge and approved advance RSVP required
Music Tectonics startup attendees are invited to join Universal Music Group's Digital Innovation team in a state-of-the-art studio space and get an insider’s perspective on what it takes to build meaningful partnerships with one of the world’s most iconic music companies. All Swimming with Narwhals competition applicants will be submitted for an additional pitch opportunity with UMG. Three founders will then be invited to present and receive feedback directly from UMG leaders in an intimate studio setting. Other attending startups will also have an opportunity to hop on mic and introduce themselves and their companies to the UMG team. We’ll wrap the session with drinks, light snacks and a networking opportunity with the UMG team and fellow founders. 

Come for the access. Stay for the connections. Leave with a better understanding of how to partner with UMG.
 

Registrants, find the RSVP link in your Attendee Packet or the Event App.

Conference badge and approved advance RSVP required
Music Tectonics startup attendees are invited to join Universal Music Group's Digital Innovation team in a state-of-the-art studio space and get an insider’s perspective on what it takes to build meaningful partnerships with one of the world’s most iconic music companies. All Swimming with Narwhals competition applicants will be submitted for an additional pitch opportunity with UMG. Three founders will then be invited to present and receive feedback directly from UMG leaders in an intimate studio setting. Other attending startups will also have an opportunity to hop on mic and introduce themselves and their companies to the UMG team. We’ll wrap the session with drinks, light snacks and a networking opportunity with the UMG team and fellow founders. 

Come for the access. Stay for the connections. Leave with a better understanding of how to partner with UMG.
 

Registrants, find the RSVP link in your Attendee Packet or the Event App.

Conference badge and approved advance RSVP required
Music Tectonics startup attendees are invited to join Universal Music Group's Digital Innovation team in a state-of-the-art studio space and get an insider’s perspective on what it takes to build meaningful partnerships with one of the world’s most iconic music companies. All Swimming with Narwhals competition applicants will be submitted for an additional pitch opportunity with UMG. Three founders will then be invited to present and receive feedback directly from UMG leaders in an intimate studio setting. Other attending startups will also have an opportunity to hop on mic and introduce themselves and their companies to the UMG team. We’ll wrap the session with drinks, light snacks and a networking opportunity with the UMG team and fellow founders. 

Come for the access. Stay for the connections. Leave with a better understanding of how to partner with UMG.
 

Registrants, find the RSVP link in your Attendee Packet or the Event App.

Conference badge and approved advance RSVP required
Music Tectonics startup attendees are invited to join Universal Music Group's Digital Innovation team in a state-of-the-art studio space and get an insider’s perspective on what it takes to build meaningful partnerships with one of the world’s most iconic music companies. All Swimming with Narwhals competition applicants will be submitted for an additional pitch opportunity with UMG. Three founders will then be invited to present and receive feedback directly from UMG leaders in an intimate studio setting. Other attending startups will also have an opportunity to hop on mic and introduce themselves and their companies to the UMG team. We’ll wrap the session with drinks, light snacks and a networking opportunity with the UMG team and fellow founders. 

Come for the access. Stay for the connections. Leave with a better understanding of how to partner with UMG.
 

Registrants, find the RSVP link in your Attendee Packet or the Event App.