NASA at Parliament Hotel
November 5 & 6 2026
9:00 – 18:00
Iceland Airwaves is a globally recognised brand with an outstanding reputation for shining light on new music talent.
This year’s conference welcomes music industry delegates and press from all over the world with great speakers and opportunities for networking.
The conference is held in collaboration with Iceland Music, Reykjavík Music City and Business Iceland.
Please note, we reserve the right to make changes in rates and schedule. The industry pass does not guarantee access to potential invite only events, other limited-capacity workshops and networking events or concerts after the capacity is filled. Some of the networking sessions may require enrollment.
Panels & speakers coming soon!
Check our preliminary schedule to get an idea of what could be in store.
curious to see what went on last year? Click here.
The algorithm decides what we hear. The platform decides what we see. And yet, radio is surging across every age group, music content creators are building devoted niche audiences, and the microblog is having its moment. Something is fighting back.
Not all attention is created equal, and the most exciting music communities right now are being built in the margins and on purpose. This session is about authenticity as strategy, gut instinct under financial pressure and why human curation is on the rise.
Moderator
Coming soon
Panelists
Matthías Már Magnússon (RÚV)
More coming soon.
The algorithm decides what we hear. The platform decides what we see. And yet, radio is surging across every age group, music content creators are building devoted niche audiences, and the microblog is having its moment. Something is fighting back.
Not all attention is created equal, and the most exciting music communities right now are being built in the margins and on purpose. This session is about authenticity as strategy, gut instinct under financial pressure and why human curation is on the rise.
Moderator
Josie Anne Gaitens (East of Moon)
Panelists
Matthías Már Magnússon (RÚV)
Paul Bridgewater (The Line of Best Fit)
More coming soon.
The festivals that last have a point of view. Behind every distinctive lineup are programmers willing to take a chance on an act before the consensus catches up. In an era where booking policies increasingly reflect commercial logic over curatorial instinct, this session asks whether discovery is still at the heart of festival programming, and whether a festival’s booking policy is its most important artistic statement.
Moderator
Coming soon.
Panelists
Ariane Mohr (Reeperbahn Festival)
More coming soon.
The festivals that last have a point of view. Behind every distinctive lineup are programmers willing to take a chance on an act before the consensus catches up. In an era where booking policies increasingly reflect commercial logic over curatorial instinct, this session asks whether discovery is still at the heart of festival programming, and whether a festival’s booking policy is its most important artistic statement.
Moderator
Coming soon.
Panelists
Ariane Mohr (Reeperbahn Festival)
More coming soon.
Founded in Reykjavík in 2006 by Valgeir Sigurðsson with Nico Muhly and Ben Frost, Bedroom Community set out to dissolve the borders between classical and electronic, tradition and technology, the concert hall and the recording studio.
Twenty years, a constellation of artists, and sold-out nights at the Barbican, Walt Disney Concert Hall and beyond, founder Valgeir Sigurðsson joins us to talk about the uncompromising nature of the label, the movement born from the studio in Breiðholt, how to keep it all going for 20 years and what the future holds.
Speakers
Valgeir Sigurðsson (Bedroom Community)
More coming soon.
Flying people, artists and gear to an island is not exactly sustainable. But for festivals in remote regions, staying connected to the world is part of the job. This panel digs into the hard truths, practical fixes and uncomfortable compromises behind greener live music: from routing and production to audience travel, accountability, and what meaningful progress actually looks like.
Moderator
Julie Runge Bendsen (Pomona Firma)
Panelists
Alexandra Kjeld (EFLA Consulting Engineers)
Ege Heckmann (Green Producers Club)
Vasil Gjuroski (Tromsø World)
More coming soon.
Just when the live industry thinks it has found its rhythm, the beat changes. Costs are rising, audience habits are shifting, the biggest players are getting bigger, and the gap between blockbuster success and the rest of the market keeps widening. For independent promoters, venues, festivals, and artists, making the numbers add up takes more work than ever. So where does live music go from here? This session looks at the pressures shaping the business today and asks what the live industry might look like by 2030.
Moderator
Gordon Masson (IQ Magazine)
Panelists
James Minor (former SXSW)
Jess Kinn (ROAM)
Jule Konrad (EBB Music)
Nathalie von Rotz (The Great Escape)
Paul McQueen (Primary Talent International)
Behind every showcase festival smile is someone quietly wondering what life might have been like with a normal job and regular sleep. For decades, showcase events have helped artists travel, careers start and industries connect. But in a crowded calendar, a harder economy, and a time where many showcase festivals are shrinking, changing, or disappearing altogether, what value do they still offer? Who are they really serving, and what makes a showcase festival worth the trip today?
Moderator
Coming soon
Panelists
Caitlin-Finn Ballard (ROAM)
Harley Cassidy (AEG)
Jordi Casadesús Coromina (MMVV)
Richy Muirhead (SAMA Events Ltd, SAMA | PITCH SCOTLAND)
Yuka Sato (CUEW)
Across smaller markets and far-flung corners of the world, ambitious music communities are building artists, festivals and cultural movements with an impact that reaches far beyond their borders. How do they overcome the limitations of geography, scale and resources—and turn them into strengths? Is success driven by infrastructure, culture, community, collaboration, timing, mythology, or something harder to explain? This panel explores how people and ideas from the edges of the map can create international relevance, build lasting institutions and make the wider music world take notice.
Moderator
Will Larnach-Jones (London Records)
Panelists
Edmond Lenarth (Electric Castle)
Mia Min Yen (Woozi Studio/Taiwanese Waves)
Rob McGee (One Fiinix Live)
Before Iceland became shorthand for musical weirdness, beauty and impossible exports, there were The Sugarcubes: a Reykjavík art-punk accident that somehow became an international breakthrough. In this live Bandsplain session, host Yasi Salek digs into the band’s strange magic, the scene that made them, the world that discovered them, and why their story still matters far beyond nostalgia. No reunion mythology, no greatest-hits panel: just a deep, funny and affectionate look at how one gloriously unlikely band helped change what people thought Icelandic music could be.
With
Yasi Salek (The Ringer)
Miranda Sawyer (Talk 90s To Me)
Our crystal ball is still buffering…
Yes, still buffering…
In an era defined by shifting royalty models, AI, self managed careers and the looming uncertainty of promotional platforms like TikTok, where do CMOs stand in 2025? Are they outdated gatekeepers, or essential infrastructure for protecting creators in a fragmented digital economy? This panel brings together voices from both sides of the table to ask if collective rights advocacy can still deliver in a world where artists are expected to be their own marketers, managers, and monetizers. What do artists actually need now? Can CMOs evolve with the times? And what’s at stake if they don’t?
Moderator
Pétur Jónsson (Medialux Music)
Panelists
Guðrún Björk Bjarnadóttir (STEF)
Hrefna Helgadóttir (Habbi) (GLITSKÝ Management)
Sandra Perens (Tier Music Publishing)
This is not your regular AI panel, but a session that cuts through the noise with a practical roadmap for how the music industry can actually work with AI today. From personalized fan engagement to smarter A&R, rights management, and smarter business processes, we’ll explore the real-world tools already reshaping how music is marketed, monetized, and managed. This isn’t about replacing people, it’s about unlocking new potential through creative, strategic partnership.
Moderator
Bjarni Biering (OURO)
Panelists
Lilja Dögg Jónsdóttir (Almannaróm)
Saga Úlfarsdóttir (AI Consultant)
Virginie Berger (MUSICx)
A new generation is here, and they are different. As music habits and consumption splinter and youth culture evolves, showcase festivals are struggling to keep up. This conversation goes deeper than outreach, it’s about co-creating with a new generation and sparking something they want to be part of. From inclusive spaces to co-creation and content ownership, we’ll unpack how to build real connections and inspire the next generation to show up, speak up, and take part.
Moderator
Rikke Andersen (SPOT Festival)
Panelists
Isla Mcrobbie (The Great Escape Festival)
Lama-sea Dear (Live event producer/A&R)
Neal Thompson (FOCUS Wales)
Nicholas Douglas (NOTION Magazine/Studio NOTION)
Snorri Ástráðsson (All Things Live Denmark)
While global stars are selling out fast, the rest of the live industry is under pressure. Soaring costs, slower ticket sales, and crowded calendars are squeezing small-to-mid-level events, with festivals folding and buyer behavior shifting. Is this a passing phase or the new normal? This panel brings together agents and promoters to unpack what’s working, what’s not, and how we protect the future of live music beyond the headliners.
Moderator
Gordon Masson (IQ Magazine)
Panelists
Lucia Wade (ITB)
Sara Kordek (Good Taste Productions)
Tor Breon (WME)
As global tensions escalate, the music world is feeling the heat. Recent flashpoints, like a Glastonbury set sparking police investigations and visa bans, or politically charged performances being pulled from broadcast, show just how blurred the lines have become between protest and career risk. This panel brings together professionals from Ukraine, South Korea, Serbia, Iceland, and Palestine to ask: Can music afford to stay neutral? As the fear of cancellation collides with the need for action, we’ll explore whether activism is still a choice—or simply part of the job.
Moderator
Anna Hildur Hildibrandsdóttir (Bifröst University)
Panelists
Alona Dmukhovska (Music Export Ukraine)
bashar murad (Artist)
Cecilia Soojeong Yi (DMZ PEACE TRAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL/ALPS inc.)
The Airwaves Conference welcomes everyone from musicians to music executives, and everything in-between.
Booking Agents, Composers, Culture Funds, DSPs, Export Bureaus, Festival Programmers, Funding Bodies, Media, Music Managers, Music Publishers, Music Supervisors, Musicians, Public Relations companies, Radio stations and programmers, Record Labels, Tour Promoters + more.
ATC Live, ATC Management, AWAL, BBC6 Music News, Big Dipper Management, By:Larm Festival, Brooklyn Vegan, Coda Agency, Disney/Freeform, Domino Music Publishing, Eurosonic Nooderslag, Flow Festival, KEXP, Keychange/PRS, Kobalt Music, Les Inrockuptibles, MIT, Netflix, NME, Paradigm Agency, Pitch and Smith, Reeperbahn Festival, Roskilde Festival, Sony Music, Spotify, Stereogum, The Current, The Line of Best Fit, The Orchard, United Talent Agency, Universal Music, William Morris Endeavour + more.