October started with a week in Bulgaria, right at the heart of the Balkans region, to attend So Alive Music Conference (SAMC 2024) in Sofia, Bulgaria. Exploring Sofia and connecting with its wonderful people was an unexpected highlight, making this trip one of the memorable events of our Fall.

Let us tell you all about this new comer in the music conferences field.

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First things first, despite being only in its second year, the event was very well attended, drawing support from both the political and cultural sectors.

The conference was inaugurated by the EU Commissioner for Culture. Notably, Mariya Gabriel, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria and EU Commissioner for Culture, remarked: “Cultural diplomacy stands central to Bulgaria's foreign policy, acting as a linchpin that consolidates the connections between nations while deepening mutual understanding.”

Same goes from the main players of the industry with Warner Music Balkans being launched back in July 2024, right at the time of the conference and presenting their artist Victoria we had the pleasure to see Live! SAMC did serve as a platform for collaboration and knowledge-sharing across the Balkans music scene. It’s clear that support for the Balkans’ music scene is gaining momentum, with artists benefitting from this effort.

We’re getting used to talk about AI in music gatherings, but this time we decided to create a real debate with the audience. With more than 40 panels and 20 presentations from global music industry leaders, we hosted two sessions on Innovation, AI, and the future of the music industry, sparking a real engagement from attendees.

Our first panel introduced our project IMEMS - The state of AI in the European Music Sector with a special emphasis on Music Export and Live Music. Meaning we  included discussions on AI-powered dynamic pricing in ticketing, as well as logistics and marketing applications. Feedback from the audience reflected a mix of curiosity and caution around AI’s role in the industry. AI still seems to worry more than it attracts curious minds in Music. We found that while the music industry is increasingly embracing MusicTech, there is still some hesitation and concern around the impact of AI.

Our second session was about the future of the music industry. We explored the cutting-edge innovations shaping music creation, distribution, consumption, and covered topics like blockchain and immersive sound experiences Interestingly, we reminded everyone that technologies (such as AI, of course) remain tools to be leveraged by human creativity.

Overall, the So Alive Music Conference 2024 was a strong event that brought together an impressive network of music industry professionals from around the world. The closing keynote by Dr. Martin Clancy, founder of AI:OK, focused on AI’s short-term impact on the music industry, providing an inspiring wrap-up to a compelling event.

All in all, So Alive Music Conference was a strong event, gathering a pretty impressive network of music professionals and including a bit of MusicTech to the mix. The closing keynote was done by Dr Martin Clancy, founder of AI:OK, about AI and its short-term evolution in the music field.