Primavera Pro to tackle fan culture and mental health for 2024 edition

Tracking trends and issues through the lens of the music industry, this years sessions and talks kick off by looking at the changing dynamic between artists and their audiences. This dynamic has given rise to new forms of connection and participation, from the most basic ones such as the creation of merchandise to the use of new technologies or two-way tools.

The relationship between merchandising and fan culture will be explored with speakers such as Rachael Scarsbrook from BSI Merch and Caroline Westendorp from Within Temptation Entertainment.

Luna Cohen-Solal, audience expert at Atlantic Records, will explore how the likes of Taylor Swift is using tour videos to allow for a more direct relationship between her and her fans.

Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, creators of the TV show La mesías, and Hidrogenesse, responsible for the music of the show’s fictional band Stella Maris, will explore the fan and transmedia phenomenon.

The program will also explore past, present and future technologies and trends in the industry, with a panel highlighting topics such as the exploitation of music catalogues, which goes beyond acquisition, and implies the development of a whole artistic universe around an artist's creations. Three heavyweights of the Latin music industry; Ariel Chichotky CEO of Dale Play Records, Maria Ramirez founder of Queen Street Talent and Bruno Duque of TuneCore – will look at how artists can create without losing sight of their origins but still have international appeal.

Emotional well-being and mental health will feature with a series of sessions that highlight how artists and industry professionals face the same challenges as workers face in any other area of work: burnout, long working hours and financial pressures. To discuss their involvement at different levels, Nitsa Club – which has driven the Barcelona nightlife scene for over 30 years – and speakers such as clinical psychologist Rosana Corbacho, and Toccororo, Spanish-Cuban resident DJ at Nitsa will tell their own stories.

Another new feature this year is the first edition of the #FollowTheSong camp in Barcelona, organised by Sony Music Publishing. A music composition camp that was held last year in Madrid, it brings together international artists, producers and composers in Barcelona, during Primavera Pro 2024, and in Madrid a week later, to participate in music creation sessions.

The event runs from 29 May - 2 June at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona and the Parc del Fòrum. Primavera Pro Conference Pass accreditations are onsale now, with options to access to the whole Primavera Pro and the Primavera Sound programme,