20 Years Of Work In Progress

WOMEX – as befits a world music gathering – draws its clientele from 90 countries. There were 950 concert and festival bookers, tour promoters and venues, 450 labels, publishers and distributors, 500 booking agents, 400 managers and 250 producers.

“World music is a work-in-progress shaped by all participants,” WOMEX founding director Ben Mandelson wrote in the first conference guide in 1994, launching the music world’s most multilingual networking session. On reaching its 20-year milestone, some of WOMEX’s content looked at the changes that have happened in world music during the last couple of decades.

The trade fair that runs alongside this annual gathering of a rainbow nation enjoyed a bumper anniversary and was bigger than ever with 668 exhibiting companies.

There were 22 conference sessions featured 70 speakers from 26 countries, with themes including crowdfunding, electronic music, cultural diplomacy, new media platforms and more, while the showcases featured more than 60 acts from all around the globe.