Throughout the program, students will meet with top experts and gain valuable knowledge about the music industry. MEU is thrilled to confirm that César Andión, the mastermind behind Live Nation Madrid‘s success, will be among the experts to participate in the Academy next winter. With over 35 years of experience in managing local artists and distributing records for top labels, César will share his expertise on exporting music, organizing tours, and building a successful career abroad.

Other confirmed experts include  Chris Cooke, co-Founder and MD of CMU, and who also programmes the core conference strands at The Great Escape showcase festival; Thea Zaitsev, acclaimed artist, producer-mixer, and songwriter’s manager, known for managing successful Estonian acts such as NOËP, Mick Pedaja, and Sander Mölder and previously having working at Universal Music London; Tamara Kaminska, a director of Music Export Poland, advisor to the Board of the Society of Authors ZAiKS, and coordinator of the European Music Exporters Exchange network; Guna Zučika, CEO of Every Little Thing, representing artists like Carnival Youth, Tautumeitas, and Bel Tempo, with international collaborations with Sony Music for activities in Latvia; and Corina Vilcu, Head of Promo at Global Records, one of the most powerful independent music labels in Central and Eastern Europe, who will share tips on music marketing and PR. Vlad Yaremchuk, a notable figure featured on IQ Magazine’s ‘The New Bosses 2023‘ list and a key participant from Ukraine’s major Atlas Festival, will deliver an insightful session on networking and business contacts within the music industry.  Dutch independent agent and promoter Koen ter Heegde will focus on the challenges and opportunities of building tours for Eastern European bands on the Western European stages.

The open call for the EEMA Winter 2024 course is out on November 20th, 2023. The number of spots is limited to 50. If you match the following criteria, feel free to apply:

• independent music professionals in Eastern and Central Europe, as well as the Baltic region

• young people between 18 and 30 years old (a 10% quota for candidates in other age groups is available)

• with a strong motivation to advance their career in the music industry and grow their professional network

Deadline to apply: December 15th, 2023. Selected applicants for the autumn iteration of EEMA will receive a notification of acceptance via email shortly after applying.

We cover a significant portion of the costs, including participation in the international event for our TOP-10 scoring students. However, selected applicants will be asked to contribute with a participation fee of 100 EUR as a co-funding measure. Several scholarships are available to cover the participation fee for those who would otherwise not be able to participate.