Professional section – conference 10-16
The programme
Keynote: The autopsy of festival goers.
Mika Christoffersen (Roskilde Festival)
Mika Christoffersen is Head of DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) and behaviour at the Roskilde Festival group, working closely with safety to ensure that a more diverse group of people can participate and thrive at live events and festivals. Mika is the lead on Roskilde’s social sustainability work focused diversity leadership and equal access, as well as doing consultancy work with other festivals, venues and live-events to ensure the inclusion and well-being of young people in the cultural industries. Mika Christoffersen has a background in behavioural design, event management and teaching leadership and communications.
Interviewed by: Maiju Talvisto (Executive director, Our Festival / Co-director shesaid.so Finland)
Maiju Talvisto is a seasoned Finnish live-music executive, writer, and DEI advocate with over 15 years of experience. She has shaped artist operations at leading events like Flow Festival and Pori Jazz, co-directs shesaid.so Finland, and authored Backstage – Artist Liaison’s Handbook (2022). Currently she runs Our Festival (Meidän Festivaali), an award-winning chamber music event near lake Tuusula. She’s been honored as Professional of the Year in Arts (TAKU, 2019) and Production Manager of the Year by Women in Live Music (2019) and Music x Media (2022).
Speaker: Tallin Music Week – Eva Lepikov
TMW builds a great line-up year after year, takes risks but also always relies on its own sure choices. What kind of values, things and facts are taken into account when building a line-up. What kind of work is it? In Finland, we have Music X Media in Tampere and the MARS event in Seinäjoki. They are quite strongly linked to the genre. Do we need to learn from TMW about building a line-up for a professional event? But with what risks?
Eva Johanna Lepikov is the Executive Producer of Tallinn Music Week (TMW), the Festival of Tomorrow’s Music, Arts and Ideas. TMW, a platform for showcasing new and emerging talent from Estonia and across the world, is a key meeting point for the Nordic-Baltic and wider European music industry. Growing within TMW from assistant to Head of Marketing to now Executive Producer, Eva has been with the festival for over 5 years. Alongside TMW, she oversees marketing for its sister festival Station Narva, and for projects by the organising company Shiftworks.
The lifeblood of live music – what should be fixed?
The Finnish live music industry is a form of culture based on passion and entrepreneurship that has been severely affected by rising costs in recent years. Higher technical costs, venue rents, the share of ticketing services and an increase in VAT have all eroded the sector’s profitability.
Yet what the sector needs is not subsidies but a more reasonable and predictable operating environment. Concrete measures such as lowering age limits, harmonising licensing practices, reducing ticketing costs and introducing flexibility in the Teosto fees could significantly improve the situation. Live music is a socially important sector that needs opportunities – not barriers – to flourish.
Panelists: Panu Hattunen, Katja Vauhkonen, Emilia Mikkola, Janne Laurila
Moderator: Stuba Nikula (Helsinki Events Foundation)
Brand, budget and bands – festivals’ choices
Many festivals rely on big stars to attract audiences, but this strategy entails financial risks and can lead to a one-sided programme. Other events focus instead on personality and alternative, creating a strong identity without expensive performers. Balancing between these two approaches raises important questions about audience aspirations, programme relevance and value choices in event production. What kind of culture do we want to create – and for whom?
Panelists: Simo Heino, Foto Järvinen, Marianne Haapoja and Mato Valtonen
Moderator: Jari Väyliö
Artism and activism
What happens when an artist takes to the stage – not to promote his art, but to defend life?
This debate asks directly what it costs to combine art and activism. What are the risks for an artist who uses the visibility that comes with their art to make a statement about social ills?
And on the other hand – what happens if no one dares to say anything at all?
The panelists are artists who make active choices: they take a visible stand for human dignity, peace and the environment – even though they know that such visibility can also close doors.
The panel will discuss the role of the artist in society, but also the responsibility of the music industry. The choices made by promoters have a direct impact on the conditions under which activist voices can be heard. How are decisions made in a situation where the opinion of sponsors or audiences can drive programming policy more than the content of the art? And where is the line between courage and risk?
Panelists: Elsi Sloan, Eeva Rajakangas and Pessi Jouste
Moderator: Mikko Meriläinen
The night continues with the awesome gigs from 16 to 01.