Strong business insights, creative convergences, and classic beachside networking will unite an increasingly diverse, innovative music business on October 22-24, 2024 in Santa Monica.

With the first tickets dropping now, Music Tectonics returns this October for its sixth edition, adding fresh tracks to its popular greatest hits. The conference creates a relaxed but productive atmosphere that mixes informal networking, a startup pitch competition, and insightful panels that dive into data and vision, not platitudes. Events happen in locations designed to spark creativity and business connections, from a playful carousel on the pier to a beachside pool house with water views from every conference space.

“Our mission from the start has been to create an environment that really encourages business through community, that helps people find one another and discover commonalities that lead to friendship and partnerships,” notes Dmitri Vietze, founder of Music Tectonics and CEO of PR agency Rock Paper Scissors. “We’ve discovered that a pool party and a ride on a carousel, alongside serious industry conversations, do just that.” The conference has grown to embrace label execs, publishers, live music pros, tech founders in and outside of music, investors, creators, and researchers—anyone and everyone with a serious business perspective on music, fandom, tech, and media.

Music Tectonics kicks off ticket sales on April 23 with a limited number at the Super Early Bird rate of $199. They’ll be available until May 21 (unless they sell out first!), then the Early Bird rate of $249 goes into effect until August 20.

Tickets can be purchased at musictectonics.com/conference.

Music Tectonics 2024 Conference Schedule

• Tuesday, October 22: Santa Monica Pier Carousel

  • Startup Carousel Demo Day, Opening Party

• Wednesday, October 23: Annenberg Beach House

  • High-Energy Panels, Exhibitors around the Pool, Creative Activations, and Startup Pitch Competition Finals

• Thursday, October 24: Expert DOJO and Universal Music Group offices

  • Keynote, Networking, UMG’s Ever-Popular Startup Bootcamp

Music futurist and revered research analyst Mark Mulligan of MIDiA Research will set the tone for this year’s edition, with a keynote that will challenge and inspire. This is the latest moment in a long-running conversation between the industry-leading minds at MIDiA and Music Tectonics. “Mark and his colleagues bring data and big ideas to every edition of the conference, shaping the forward-thinking vibe of Music Tectonics,” explains Shayli Ankenbruck, Head of Events at Music Tectonics. “We can’t wait to hear what Mark sees emerging as major industry trends this year, as the traditional music industry and the creator economy converge.”

The conference continues to expand its international reach, with companies like LyricFind and initiatives like Korea’s MU:CON already signed on for October’s event.

The sixth edition will also see the return of the Swimming with Narwhals startup competition, focused on finding promising early-stage music innovation companies and giving them the mic. The competition’s approach is friendly and community focused. “Sharks are mean, unicorns are myths,” Vietze says. “Narwhals are real and they swim among us.” Applications will open in July 2024 and finalists will be invited to give their pitches in person on the second day of the conference.

Along with these favorites, Music Tectonics will be bringing a few new twists and surprises to the beach this year, elements that will set the gathering apart from other industry conferences. These offerings will unfold at the edge where the industry meets the creator economy, at a moment when media of all kinds are merging into a new generation of art and entertainment, with music at its heart.

“We’ve got some plans that will really tear down the walls between the legacy business and all the wild, new ways music and audio are popping up,” Vietze hints. “It will be a real ear opening experience, as well as a new window on an entirely new music ecosystem we’re watching form right now.”

About Music Tectonics

The Music Tectonics Conference unites music tech innovators across industry boundaries to share insights and get business done. The sixth annual conference returns to Santa Monica, CA, October 22-24, 2024, for three days devoted to the future of music and the seismic shifts that shake up music and technology the way the earth’s tectonic plates cause quakes and make mountains. Throughout the year, Music Tectonics builds community and tracks trends through their weekly podcast and monthly online events.