Amsterdam Dance Event – ADE
I’m sure everyone of you out there has heard about ADE. This is one of those trips/conferences that should be on everyone’s agenda that is in the electronic music industry. I myself put off attending it for one reason or another throughout the years but I will never miss another again! The actual conference is held throughout two-three hotels in Amsterdam.
Organization + Delegates & Exposure
Probably one of my favorite things as an ADE delegate is that you have access to the backside of their website. You are able to see all of the delegates that have signed up and will be attending. You can search for managers, agents/agencies, promoters, festival organizers, producers / DJ’s, labels, magazine publications, you name it and they are listed! You can even break down the search by a specific country if you wish. Once you get familiar with the site you can reach out to the people via the site. They will receive an email to which they can reply to you via email. You will be able to set up and coordinate majority of your meetings ahead of time.
Panels & Speakers
There lots of panels and speakers on a hourly / daily basis in all of the ADE hotels. This can vary from big names in the industry giving advice and/or answering questions, label panels and even licensing panels and discussions. This is great for young, up and coming producers, label owners and the like. Some panels include big artists like Richie Hawtin, Martin Garrix, Nina Kravitz and so on. Be sure to give yourself time to get from hotel to hotel to catch your speakers as there is A LOT of walking involved in Amsterdam.
Events & Parties
Last but not least, the parties and events! Gotta have a little fun after all the business right? Plus I’m sure we have all done a deal or ten over a few cocktails. There are lots of smaller invite only parties that are great for networking from Traxsource, to new promotion companies and label events as well. There are a ton of club events throughout the city as well, but the top two I would say you have to check out are Hyte at the Warehouse and Gashouder. The Hyte Warehouse event is amazing with about 5,000 of your closest friends, Funktion One Sound and a massive lineup every night. Awakenings hosts the Gashouder events and this place is a must to attend. Seeing the fireworks shoot across the indoor dome is definitely a unique experience.
In conclusion, it has been one of my favorite conferences/events to attend for sure. Remember that you can’t enter any ADE hotel or panel without the ADE band which is honored pretty much at EVERY ADE event as well. Save a little time to visit some of the amazing museums they have!
Angel Matos
East Coast Director
Meet the rest of the SGM team here!