With exactly two weeks until the Iceland Airwaves conference kicks off, it’s high time to announce the final event to join the programme. Heard, but Understood? – Small Languages on Global Platforms opens the conference at 9:30 on Thursday 5 November.

The panel, organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Innovation and Higher Education, explores the position of micro-markets and small languages on global streaming platforms. Rather than approaching the issue from a cultural preservation perspective, we posit that the invisibility of small languages in streaming algorithms represents an untapped opportunity. How can platforms, legislators and the music industry make better use of it, and who should take the lead?

Tackling the topic are María Rut Reynisdóttir, Managing Director of Iceland Music; Arna Kristín Einarsdóttir, Director of Culture and the Creative Industries at the Ministry; Emma Vikström, Spotify’s Head of Editorial for the Nordics; Sölvi Blöndal, Managing Director of Alda Music; and Þórhallur Jónsson, COO of Danish label Crunchy Frog. The discussion will be moderated by Christiana Sudano, founder of Do Less Management.

More speakers join the line-up

Ahmed Saqer, The Managing Director of Palestinian music export office PMX, has confirmed his participation in The Big Talk where he will join Jón Gnarr and Yulia Vasileva to discuss the cultural value that refugees bring to the places they settle after being forced to flee their homes because of war or other threats.

Lewis Warrily, manager of Filipino-Icelandic star Yaelokre, and Tori West, editor and founder of cultural magazine BRICKS, have confirmed their participation in the panel Anybody in There? Human Curation in the Age of the Algorithm.

Henrik Posner, booker at Norwegian showcase festival by:Larm, joins the speaker line-up for Discovery at Heart: Festival Programming with Purpose, while George Clift, label manager at Bedroom Community, closes Thursday’s programme with a fireside chat alongside his colleague Valgeir Sigurðsson and Emily Bick, editor of The Wire, taking a close look at the label’s 20-year history.

Last but not least, the latest addition to this star-studded line-up is Ryan Rathjen, founder and booker of Purple City Music Festival, who joins the panel Flights, Freight & Festivals: It’s Not Easy Being Green.

Presented by Iceland Airwaves, Iceland Music, Business Iceland and Reykjavík Music City, the conference has established itself as Iceland’s most important music industry conference, and the organising team is committed to making the programme as diverse and forward-thinking as possible. That makes it essential for Icelandic and international music professionals alike, as a place to learn, shape policy and have a good time.

Tickets and more info on the Iceland Airwaves website >>

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