The Definition of the European Music Ecosystem unveiled: Groundbreaking research to be presented at ESNS 2025

Music Moves Europe: Strengthening the dialogue on music is a series of 10 dialogue sessions under the Music Moves Europe initiative, steered by the European Commission, and taking place at music conferences all over Europe. As part of the 4-year project (2022-2026), a consortium comprised of ESNS (NL), Tallinn Music Week (EE), Reeperbahn Festival (DE), Linecheck (IT), EEMC (RO) and MaMA (FR) created a paper about the structural shift in the European music sector – resulting in the ecosystem approach. It is now time to share this work publicly: making the paper available for the sector as well as discussing this at a conference session.Join us for a panel session on Friday 17 January at ESNS, Groningen, to find out more!

Let’s imagine the music sector as an interconnected ecosystem. This idea was the starting point for two years of research in the MME Music Dialogue project, commissioned by the European Commission. What began as a conceptual framework has now become the basis for understanding how the music sector operates today, and how it can thrive tomorrow.

In this session, we’ll dive into the findings of this groundbreaking research, exploring the dynamic web of actors, environments, and interactions that make up Europe’s music ecosystem. From artists, music companies and algorithms to policymakers and audiences, we’ll uncover how interdependencies are shaping cultural, social, and economic values across the sector.

When the European Commission took the initiative to strengthen dialogue with the music sector and encourage it to speak with one voice, we recognised the value of examining how the sector functions, how it is organised, and the relationships between its diverse actors. This endeavor evolved into a fascinating journey of exploring the music sector as a living ecosystem – a concept that effectively captures its dynamics, relationships, and interlinkages. This work on the music ecosystem has been instrumental in shaping our approach for our MME dialogue. We extend our gratitude to the research team for their excellent work and hope their findings will prove valuable to the ecosystem as a whole.

Georg Häusler, Director for Culture, Creativity and Sport at the European Commission (DG EAC). 

With challenges like platformisation and shifting consumer habits, the research highlights the critical need for innovation, cooperation, and adaptability. But it also reveals Europe’s unique strengths: its co-organised networks and capacity for cross-sector collaboration, that can position it as a counterweight to the investor-driven models of North America and Asia. 

Let’s build a shared vision for a resilient and impactful European music sector, one that not only benefits its own players but connects with wider ecosystems like education, urban development, and health to make a lasting cultural and social impact.

Frank Kimenai, Researcher at Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam and Consultant at KEA Brussels. 

I am pleased to present the paper “The European Music Ecosystem” that we have written with six European music conferences for the European Commission. In it, we emphasise the strength of the European sector, which is emerging from new co-organised ecosystem structures involving a growing number of small and medium-sized players and based on cooperation, innovation and diversity. The paper can therefore also be seen as a call for greater togetherness within the sector.

Detlef Schwarte, Director of Reeperbahn Festival

Presented by: EEMC, ESNS, MaMA Music & Convention, Reeperbahn, Tallinn Music Week and co-hosted by Federation of Music Conferences.

Friday 17 Jan – 10:30 – 11:30 

Oosterpoort – Kunstpunt/CBK

Link to the panel

Welcome greetings by Arnaud Pasquali, on behalf of the European Commission. 

Speakers: 

• Detlef Schwarte, Director, Reeperbahn Festival
• Frank Kimenai, Research / Consultancy, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam / KEA Brussels
• Tamara Kaminska, CEO / Coordinator, Music Export Poland / EMEE / Music Week Poland

Moderated by: 

• Helen Sildna, Founder, Tallinn Music Week / Shiftworks