WE (BARELY) SURVIVED MIAMI MUSIC WEEK 2025
Miami Music Week (3/26-30) once again served as a mecca for the global electronic music industry, bringing together label executives, artist managers, DSP folks and more for a packed schedule of panels, networking events and performances.
The week began with the 35th annual Winter Music Conference (WMC) at the Eden Roc Miami Beach Resort, leading into the 25th anniversary of the Ultra Music Festival, which drew 165,000 attendees.
At WMC, industry leaders tackled topics shaping the dance-music landscape. The "Record Label Roundtable," moderated by HITS’ own Nicole Ghapgharan, featured insights from Ben Yi (Ophelia Records), Nina Travers (Night Bass Records) and Miles Shackelton (Toolroom) on artist development, A&R strategies and the evolving role of social media in breaking new acts.
The panel entitled "The Art and Strategy of Streaming and Playlisting" presented Spotify’s Jesse Jacobsen, Rareform’s Jess Page, Labelworx’s Lauren Anderson and Helix Records/Ultra Publishing’s Sonya Okon, who discussed playlist-placement, audience-engagement and revenue opportunities in today’s digital arena.
The "Global Groove: Exploring the Flow of Dance Music Across Borders" showcased the wisdom of Major Recordings’ Sam Mobarek, Wasserman’s Taryn Haight, FUGA’s Connie Chow, the Alegria Agency’s Cristiana Votta and South African DJ and music producer Shimza. Meanwhile, EMPIRE Dance’s Deron Delgado, 2+2 Management’s Lewis Kunstler, artist manager Watse de Jong, FM Artists/Three Six Zero’s Dorothy Caccavale and Red Light Management’s Eric Silver offered invaluable input on guiding talent through touring, branding and long-term career development.
Beyond the panels, mixers were mounted by Warner Music Group, Wasserman, Defected Records, Spotify and Palm Tree Records, among others, setting the stage for the weekend’s performances.
The Ultra Music Festival—founded in 1999 by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes—marked its 25th edition with headlining sets by such acts as Experts Only/Darkroom’s John Summit & Three Six Zero’s Dom Dolla, Atlantic’s Skrillex and Interscope’s Anyma and Zedd.
As Miami Music Week came to its conclusion, the conversations emanating from WMC and the performances at Ultra reinforced the week's continued influence on the electronic-music industry—and left us wondering how to keep up. At this rate, we’ll need a panel next year on how to recover from Miami Music Week.
Palm Tree Records President David Rishty and Spotify Head of Dance and Electronic Development Ronny Ho, Lead of Pop and Dance Music Artists Partnerships Lisa Ritchey and Head of East Coast Artist & Label Partnerships Jesse Jacobsen show the kids how it’s done after three days of no sleep.
Warner Music EVP of Global A&R and Marketing, Dance Music Bart Cools, Atlantic & Big Beat Records Senior Director of Marketing Gavin Ryan and WMG Director of Global Marketing, Dance Music Marco Pantuso are found schmoozing at WMG’s mixer atop Soho Beach House Miami.
Ryan, promo vet Tommy Nappi, Atlantic VP of A&R Mikey Parker and Sony Music/Ultra Records Senior Analyst of Marketing Planning Maegan Muscat