For the final auxiliary event of the year, ILMC's Futures...
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Discussion & networking event for emerging live music industry leaders
Peer-to-peer networking & non-traditional conference formats
Immersive panels, workshops & presentations by thought leaders
Futures Forum, the one-day discussion and networking event for the next generation of live music industry leaders, returned Friday 1 March 2024.
The fourth instalment of the gathering returned to the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on the final day of its renowned parent event, the International Live Music Conference (ILMC).
The collision of the two events brought together the people that currently define the business with more than 250 emerging execs who are driving its evolution.
As with previous editions, the 2024 edition experimented with non-traditional conference formats, mixing connected discussions with immersive workshops, peer-to-peer networking and TED-style ‘Soapbox’ presentations by thought leaders.
Futures Forum is an event for:
1. Young and early-career professionals working in the live music industry.
2. A registered ILMC delegate (ILMC delegates do NOT need to purchase a separate ticket to attend)
Passes cost £125+VAT, and include a five-star lunch, refreshments throughout the day, and complimentary drinks.
Group discounts are available. Please get in touch for more info.
If you have something to say on the future of the business, we want to hear from you.
So if you’d like to suggest a topic, speaker, presentation or workshop, or simply just want to be involved, please get in touch.
Start your day off right with a warm beverage and an opportunity to meet those you’ve been emailing all year. Get an early start to understand the lay of the land and what’s on tap for our fourth edition.
Never attended Futures Forum and want to get the lowdown? Pop in before the day starts to find out how you can get the most out of Futures Forum from the people who know best…
This stalwart session returns once again with a quartet of emerging execs – all of whom were recognised among IQ’s latest New Bosses List. These young professionals will reflect on their journey so far, including breakthrough moments, career highlights, and invaluable mentors.
This session will also give these next-gen leaders the chance to share their vision of the business and the issues that are important to them. Expect a lively discussion that uncovers the opportunities and challenges facing execs rising through the ranks in today’s live music business.
When the routes to success are less defined than ever, how is the industry breaking acts in 2024? This session will explore how promoters, agents and managers are getting creative with artist development in an era where the cost of touring has peaked and audience behaviours are rapidly changing.
From growing fanbases to securing funding, establishing alternative revenue streams to innovating live strategies, panellists will share top tips to boost burgeoning artists to the next level and ensure their longevity.
All Futures Forum 2024 delegates can get career advice or general tips from some senior figures from the touring and festival worlds.
For more information and to request one-to-one mentoring with any of our participating mentees, click here.
In true Futures Forum style, this session brings together some of the executives who are defining the business with the emerging executives who are driving its evolution. In this lighthearted session, we’ll invite two renowned agents and their assistants to the stage for insightful discussions on the inner workings of their partnerships and the agency business as a whole.
Disrupting the traditional panel format, the conversation will be interspersed with quickfire questions testing the pairs’ knowledge of each other and their roster (think: the Mr and Mrs game show). Heckling is encouraged.
Four 15-minute presentations by innovators, thought leaders and inspiring individuals across the business. The first of two sessions includes…
Taylor Swift & the Rise of the Concert Film
11:30–11:45
Marc Allenby from Trafalgar Releasing, the firm behind multiple record-breaking global releases from artists including BTS, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Coldplay, Metallica and ABBA, gives an introduction to event cinema. Allenby will discuss the release strategies and business structures of this emerging industry via Swift’s Box Office smash The Eras Tour.
Your Future Ticket Buyer
11:45–12:00
Award-winning creative PR and comms agency Full Fat delivers a deep dive into audience festival trends and habits for 2024. The agency shares insights from the 2023 season, advises on campaigns and partnerships for 2024, and the power of TikTok.
Dreamland: It’s all swings & roundabouts
12:00–12:15
Dreamland’s history has seen more twists and turns than a white-knuckle ride, but the value of the UK amusement park has held true for over a century: to entertain and delight. Since the 1950s, the seaside site has hosted gigs from Tom Jones, Status Quo, The Who, Slade and many more. With a mix of indoor and outdoor venues, alongside vintage rides, retro arcades, and a roller disco, Dreamland is a ready-made festival site. Hear how the team hang on for the ride.
Earth Aid Live: Building on a legacy
12:15–12:30
Forty years on from the iconic Live Aid concerts, promoter Harvey Goldsmith is spearheading a new global charity concert series: Earth Aid Live. The “revolutionary” concert series is slated to take place in five continents over a single weekend in 2025 in a bid to combat climate change. Here, the legendary promoter discusses how he is once again leveraging live music on a scale seen only a handful of times and uniting the masses with a shared mission.
All Futures Forum 2024 delegates can get career advice or general tips from some senior figures from the touring and festival worlds.
For more information and to request one-to-one mentoring with any of our participating mentees, click here.
Gone are the meal deals of weekdays past — here we have a two-hour complimentary lunch, featuring an epic spread of mouth-watering dishes. Vegetarian and vegan options are included, of course.
Are you a pub quiz champion? Put your skills to the test against other delegates in our quickfire, thrilling pub quiz during the lunch break. An epic prize is guaranteed, so you won’t want to miss this one…
Promoters, get your chequebooks out – we’ve got the essential compilation of artists set to break in 2024. Back by popular demand, this music-sharing session sees sharp young executives reveal the acts they’ve got their money on.
During the hour, panellists will swap tracks, tips and tales of the artists that are dominating their playlists. Taking notes from old-fashioned A&R sessions, the young pros will play songs and compare notes on ticket sales, streaming numbers and more to determine the hottest ticket in town. Participation from the room is strongly encouraged.
Four 15-minute presentations by innovators, thought leaders and inspiring individuals across the business. The second of two sessions includes…
Petok Productions: A Spotlight on Inclusivity Backstage
14:00–14:15
Multidisciplinary backstage creative Pembe Tokluhan discusses the work of her production company Petok Productions, which paves the way for women, transgender, and non-binary people working behind the scenes. She will outline the impact of Petok Academy, the firm’s training division dedicated to providing shadowing, mentoring, and training opportunities for individuals from marginalised communities.
Unlocking Fan Engagement with Data, Sponsorships and Fan-First Technology
14:15–14:30
Ira Akers, the co-founder of CUE Audio, a leading company in fan engagement, shares his invaluable insights on working with professional sports teams and how to apply that knowledge in the festival space. He will discuss the pivotal role of data and sponsorships in creating assets that can be sponsored and drive fan interaction before, during, and after events. He will also emphasise the importance of incorporating humanity into these activations and creating fan-first technology that offers opportunities that fans want, such as competitions, visibility, or chances to be rewarded.
A New Approach to Event Accessibility, Driven by People with Impairments
14:45-15:00
Step into the future with Different Breed as we share our vision for a more inclusive ticketing world. Through the lens of disabled attendees’ experiences, we’ll discuss the existing barriers in event ticketing and how we’re dismantling them. The session focuses on the transformative impact of empathy-driven innovation, inviting you to be part of a movement that ensures events are enjoyable for all.
Hype Up Your Tour on Social Media
14:45-15:00
Olivia Hobbs and Robyn Elton from Blackstar Agency, a specialist marketing, digital, and creative agency for the music industry, give a social media masterclass for artist teams. The pair will share the tips they’ve gleaned from their work with artists including Arlo Parks, André 3000, Tool, Aurora, Avril Lavigne, Shania Twain, and many more…
What does the music festival of the future look like and who is it for? These questions are frequently posed to senior executives but who better to ask than the generation set to inherit today’s festivals.
This session will invite a quartet of junior executives from across the business to indulge in blue-sky thinking about how festivals should be organised and experienced, in a bid to come up with new and innovative solutions.
Panellists will be encouraged to reimagine everything from ticketing models to green initiatives and accessibility to safety procedures to determine next steps and priorities for the sector.
The last few years have seen enough panels of executives theorising about what can be done to make the industry more sustainable. For this session, we’re calling on professionals who have put theory into practice.
Sustainability pioneers from festivals, venues and tours will share their tried-and-tested practices and innovative solutions with delegates, to ensure the next generation is well-equipped to tackle the industry’s greatest challenge. Case studies coming soon…
The team behind Kilimanjaro Live, one of the most successful live music promoters in the UK, will be the keynote interview for Futures Forum 2024.
Formed in 2008, the London-based firm currently works with everyone from Simply Red, Ed Sheeran, Andrea Bocelli, Hans Zimmer, Stereophonics, to Don Broco. And with the Kilimanjaro Live team now setting the bar in comedy, spoken word, theatre and exhibitions, the company’s growth and development has been seismic.
Three of Kilimanjaro Live’s principals – Stuart Galbraith, San Phillips and Alan Day – take the stage for the final session of Futures Forum to discuss building a modern music company, what they’ve learned on the journey, and how they see both Kilimanjaro Live and the broader business developing.
It’s a Friday evening, there’s free beer, wine, and non-alcoholic options. Need we say more?
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