Value of trade associations and meaning of independence at the heart of WINCON 2025

WINCON 2025 took place in Sofia, Bulgaria, during the third edition of the SoAlive Music Conference (SAMC), celebrating the 10th anniversary of WIN’s flagship event. Hosted at the stunning National Palace of Culture with activities and showcases across multiple venues, the conference brought together the global independent music community for two days of collaboration, community building, and celebration. Trade associations and members from 33 territories joined to connect, share experiences, and address the industry’s most pressing issues.

For WIN’s global community, the event offered an excellent platform support, meet and create business opportunities with professionals from Bulgaria and Eastern Europe. This mutually beneficial exchange was further enhanced by international WINCON delegates participating in SAMC panels on key industry issues, including a pivotal discussion on the threats of consolidation to the essential systems and infrastructures that move music in the market.

WIN held its Annual General Meeting alongside a series of high-level, members-only sessions focused on key priorities, including funding strategies for trade associations, the independent sector’s position on AI licensing, and streaming challenges such as music streaming pricing and models, fraud and artificial stream manipulation, and tools for labels. The independent think-tank ORCA also presented its near-term strategy and priorities, and Merlin held a Q&A with the trade associations.

Across all discussions, participants emphasized restating the meaning and value of independence, advocating for fairer digital markets, stronger protections for independent rights in the age of AI, and the importance of sustainable trade associations in order to effectively support this work on behalf of the global independent music community.

Adding further depth to this year’s program, WIN introduced practical workshops for members, including sessions on building impactful events and strong partnership programs. Meetings of WIN’s streaming and policy working groups, along with the Latin America regional network, provided valuable opportunities to hear directly from members, understand their challenges, and help shape future priorities for the independents’ global network.

The contributions from all sponsors, partners, and participants were instrumental to the success of WINCON 2025. WIN looks forward to continuing collective efforts toward building a stronger, more sustainable music ecosystem that supports the independent community worldwide.

Organized by WIN in cooperation with ANMIP, WINCON 2025 was supported by Merlin and Prophon and co-funded by the EU through IMPALA.