Joe GallopMusic business conference FastForward has confirmed the full programme of speeches, panels and showcases that will take place from 19-20 September at London’s 21Soho.
Day one of the conference will focus on the key dynamics in recorded music while day two will explore live music trends.
The 11th edition of the event returns with an expanded two-day programme in London for the first time. In a departure from the format of Amsterdam and Sydney events, each day will have individual tickets.
A day two panel on venue innovation will be chaired by Access All Areas content director Christopher Barret, featuring the Royal Albert Hall head of partnership and hospitality Davina Sasha and Co-op Live head of communications Ben Tipple.
Day two will include a focus on the health of the UK’s talent pipeline. Speakers include Chloe Pean of AEG Presents UK, ATC Live’s Cils Williams, THE N3XT UP’s Marley Azu Jones, Lucy Wood, head of music at the Roundhouse and the Music Venue Trust’s Clara Cullen.
The conference will conclude with a debate on two questions surrounding the future of live music: ‘Can we make live music sustainable?’, with Earth Percent’s executive director Cathy Runciman, Jamal Chalabi (Backlash Productions) and Carol Scott (principal sustainability advocate at TAIT).
The recorded music programme on day one will examine industry challenges in 2023 and navigating the complex music landscape. Will Page, former chief economist at Spotify and author of Tarzan Economics, joins the ‘Is Streaming Broken?’ panel while Amy Thomson, former manager of Swedish House Mafia and ex-Chief Catalogue Officer at Hipgnosis, will close the day with an assessment of the rights and wrongs of the modern music industry and how to build a better future.
Other newly announced speakers include War Child Records’ Rich Clarke and Key Production’s Karen Emmanuel. The topical subject of how artists can maximise the utility of ChatGPT will be discussed by David Boyle and Richard Bowman, the former SVP Insight at EMI and Global Insight Director at Universal respectively.
Other speakers at the event include Sarah Jones, general manager of Songkick, Noel Edwards, ticketing director at The Ticket Factory, tour manager Joanne Crockford and Help Musicians’ director of musicians’ services Laurie Oliva.
Concert discovery app Songkick and data analytics platform Music Tomorrow join Tickets for Good, Musiio by Soundcloud and 21Soho in sponsoring the event.
FastForward founder Chris Carey said, “The aim of FastForward is to drive positive change in our industry, with one eye firmly on the future. With that in mind, we have devised a carefully curated programme with some of the foremost voices in the industry to lead conversations around some of the key pillars that the industry needs to focus on over the short to medium term, including economics, environmental sustainability, technology and attracting and retaining talent throughout the business.”