Australian punk rockers Amyl and the Sniffers have been confirmed as the keynote interview for next week’s ILMC Futures Forum.

The conference for next-generation live music business leaders will return to the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on Friday 28 February 2025 as part of the ILMC.

For the final session of the day, Amyl and the Sniffers frontwoman Amy Taylor will sit down with BBC Introducing’s Abbie McCarthy to discuss the band’s illustrious live career, her take on the business, and the band’s recent album Cartoon Darkness.

Formed in a Melbourne share house in 2016, Taylor, Dec Martens (guitar), Gus Romer (bass) and Bryce Wilson (drums) have enjoyed a rapid rise over their near-decade of existence.

“The band are on the brink of transforming critical acclaim and cult status into something much bigger”

Their explosive live shows have earned them three sold-out shows at London’s Roundhouse, support slots with Foo Fighters, The Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, Fall Out Boy, and Green Day, and festival appearances at Glastonbury, Primavera, Best Kept Secret and Bandland. Meanwhile, their firebrand discography has continued to draw critical acclaim, with CLASH dubbing their most recent LP Cartoon Darkness as “The most important moment for rock music in 2024… album of the year”.

This year, the BRIT-nominated band will embark on what looks to be their biggest 12 months yet, including an extensive world tour and appearances at Coachella, Hurricane/Southside and more. As The Guardian wrote, “The band are on the brink of transforming critical acclaim and cult status into something much bigger”.

Amyl and the Sniffers are represented by ATC Live (EU/Asia/Latam), Arrival Artists (NA) and Supersonic (AUS/NZL).

News of the keynote comes after Futures Forum unveiled the full speaker lineup, which includes Connie Shao (AEG Presents), Jess Kinn (One Fiinix Live), Raven Twigg (ASM Global), Dotun Bolaji (Primary Talent International), Beckie Sugden (CAA), Alice Hogg (ATC Live), Kara Harris (Live Nation) and many more.

Passes include a full day of innovative programming, a five-star lunch, refreshments, drinks, and networking opportunities.

For more information or to purchase passes, click here.

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ILMC Futures Forum, the biggest gathering of young and emerging professionals working in the international live music industry, is returning for a fifth edition in 2025.

The one-day conference will take place at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel on Friday 28 February 2025, the final day of the International Live Music Conference (ILMC).

More than 500 executives, including ILMC delegates, will explore the evolution of the live music business during the biggest-ever edition of Futures Forum.

Attendees can expect non-traditional conference formats, dynamic discussions, immersive workshops, mentoring opportunities, and TED-style ‘Soapbox’ presentations by thought leaders.

The agenda will once again be steered by a council comprising some of the brightest minds in the business, alongside affiliated associations, the ILMC agenda team and the IQ editorial team.

The 2025 flagship will capitalise on the success of Futures Forum’s 2024 satellite events, which included an artist development workshop hosted alongside MMF and a series of Soapbox Sessions curated alongside LIVE.

More than 500 executives will explore the evolution of the live music business during the biggest-ever edition of Futures Forum

Futures Forum has taken place in 2019, 2020, 2023 and 2024 featuring keynote interviews with Dua Lipa and her father Dugi, Team Mumford & Sons (Lucy Dickins, Ben Lovett and Adam Tudhope), Wasserman Music’s Marty Diamond and and Team Kilimanjaro Live (Stuart Galbraith, San Phillips and Alan Day).

The 2024 edition of Futures Forum included speakers such as Connie Shao (AEG Presents), Holly Rowland (Wasserman Music), Marc Saunders (The O2), Beckie Sugden (CAA), Sally Dunstone (Primary Talent), Vlad Yaremchuk (Atlas Festival), Niklas Magedanz (Goodlive Artists) and Kerem Turgut (All Things Live).

Futures Forum takes place as part of ILMC, which runs from 25-28 February 2025 at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel.

The 37th edition will welcome around 2,500 live professionals to explore ‘current’ affairs, plumb the depths of the business, and chart the new waves of headliners, as they navigate the ever-changing seas of the live music industry.

Passes for Futures Forum 2025 start from £149 + VAT. For more information or to buy tickets, click here.

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