Meeting Program: some highlights from this year’s edition

The Synch Summit, co-curated with Europe in Synch, explores the intersections of music, cinema, video games and visual media. 

“Overcoming Nostalgia: Contemporary Film Music Production in Europe” celebrates how Italian legendary film composers shaped global cinema, tracing the roots of their creative genius and, ultimately, looking ahead to the future of European music scoring. 

Talking about today, Ian Neil, one of the most influential music supervisors, sits down for a career-spanning keynote on working with visionary directors like Guy Ritchie and Matthew Vaughn. 

“Music in Games – The Human Factor” investigates the dynamics of interactive audio with Mona Mur, pioneering German artist and composer of cult soundtracks for video games and cinema. Joost Vervoort takes the conversation further in his keynote, examining how music and games can create pathways for new futures, drawing from his work developing All Will Ride, a game about taking corporations to court. 

Friday morning features sessions focused on music and brands and how their relationship evolves across generations and visual cultures.

The Social Change Summit – Act in Synch Edition  analyzes the emotional infrastructure of music and its social commitment, serving as the environment to collectively create new fairer visions for the music industry.

“Takkuuk – The Talk: Indigenous Voices in Focus” brings together artists and activists from Takkuuk’s project by EarthSonic, In Place of War and from the Northern Irish electronic duo Bicep for a conversation about indigenous cultures, knowledge transmission and sound as a tool for resistance and alliance.

Then there’s “Re-Oceaning: A Sound That Unites Us All” with the Ibizan sound artist and composer Coco Francavilla, an immersive performance-talk that reconnects us with the ocean’s rhythms and, by extension, our own. 

“Harnessing Music for Urban Climate Action Social Change Summit” discusses how music and arts can foster climate-conscious behaviors, strengthening social bonds and local identity within urban communities.

Around these sessions, you’ll find a whole ecosystem of panels and workshops to explore practices of care, sustainability and regenerative culture, questioning how we can rethink the music industry’s economic models and create a positive impact on our society.

The Music Tech Summit tackles the challenges of innovating the music industry. The panel “Capital Meets Creativity: Building the Next Generation of Music Tech” features Hazel Savage, investor and founder of Musiio (now part of SoundCloud), alongside other experts dissecting the relationship between finance, innovation and cultural impact. 

“From Stream to Stage: When Digital Listening Turns Into Live Performance” asks different questions: how do our digital listening habits shape live performances? South African artist Msaki – also performing on Thursday night – joins the conversation about what happens when data-driven platforms translate into real world connections. 

The summit also includes Music Tech Europe Academy kick-off, where startups, mentors, partners and innovators from across Europe gather to envision new horizons for the European music tech ecosystem.

This year, Linecheck intertwines with FAROUT Live Arts Festival, turning BASE Milano into a laboratory for cross-disciplinary experimentation.

Besides the performances, two panels to further explore the relationship between music, body and space: “Cross-disciplinary Curation” invites curators, artists and artistic directors to reflect on interdisciplinary practice, while “Art in Public Space” discusses how art functions as language and a tool for fostering closeness.

This year, Linecheck intertwines with FAROUT Live Arts Festival, turning BASE Milano into a laboratory for cross-disciplinary experimentation.

Besides the performances, two panels to further explore the relationship between music, body and space: “Cross-disciplinary Curation” invites curators, artists and artistic directors to reflect on interdisciplinary practice, while “Art in Public Space” discusses how art functions as language and a tool for fostering closeness.

Beyond the Summits

Beyond the summits, other talks and keynotes dig into the transformations in the music industry: from “The Political Power of Music” by Dave Randall, Faithless guitarist stressing how music is never neutral, to “Safeguarding Independence in the Festival Scene: Regulating Market Concentration?” to share strategies to resist the ownership concentration of European festivals.

Africa’s music market is one of the world’s fastest growing, driven by talent, innovative approaches, global rise of urban and electronic genres capturing world’s attention. With the roundtable “Tuning in, Enhancing Connections” the conversation focuses on building bridges between Europe and Afriaca’s music ecosystems through fair cooperation and mutual understanding. 

As alcohol consumption declines among younger audiences, festivals and clubs face shrinking revenues and reluctant sponsors. The session “What if… the kids don’t drink anymore?” explores how 0%, mocktails and food innovation can redefine sustainability and profit in live events.

From oversized travel crews to escalating stage demands, touring has become anything but sustainable, despite the best intentions post-pandemic. “A traveling Party Gone Wild on Props?” exposes the contradictions between green pledges and real actions, asking how the music industry can balance artistic ambitions with environmental responsibility. 

Discover decentralized sounds with our Listening Sessions: Ascolto presents “Sounds from Alternative Marrakech” and “Sounds of Borgo Mezzanone”, while Emilia-Romagna Music Commission proposes a selection of local new-generation producers and artists.

Raffaele Costantino’s “CLAN ACUSTICO: Coordinate Sonore” guides us through a listening journey among communities and sound resistances.