FAQ: Wavelengths Summit

We are so excited to announce a major community initiative we’ve been planning for the last several months.

In fall 2022, we launched our IRL event series Wavelengths, featuring dynamic community conversations at the forefront of music and tech. To date, over 200 community members have attended our Wavelengths events across New York, Miami, London, and Washington, D.C., breaking down topics from superfandom and community design to Web3 curation and creative AI. We’re so excited to continue hosting these local events as an ongoing educational resource for our community around the world.

As the next expansion of our events platform, we are thrilled to introduce our inaugural Wavelengths Summit — our flagship conference on what’s next in music and tech, which will take place on May 6, 2023 in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Tickets are on sale now — secure your spot today!


Our thesis

Our mission as an organization is to make the music industry more innovative, cooperative, and transparent. We accomplish this through a social, peer-to-peer approach to sharing knowledge and best practices for industry innovation — whether through conversations in our vibrant Discord server of 2,000+ members, or through our sprawling research sprints that have involved hundreds of contributors to date.

The Wavelengths Summit will be an IRL extension of this mission — fostering community among the next generation of music-tech leaders, creators, and innovators through culture, conversation, and collaboration.

In a noisy tech landscape, we see more demand from music-industry professionals for a more focused environment to build community, exchange ideas, and bring new products to life. With emerging tech trends in particular, there’s a critical need for a forum that bridges the early-adopter perspective with a clear pulse on traditional industry needs, to establish a shared understanding of the issues at stake.


The experience

WHO: The inaugural Wavelengths Summit is for artists, founders, dealmakers, and innovators — within the Water & Music Community, or yet to be a part of it.

WHERE: Our inaugural summit will call Brooklyn home — more specifically, Bushwick. Not only was this neighborhood the location of our first Wavelengths, but it has been and continues to be a growing center for culture, music, and technology for New York City, and in turn for the world. It is home to iconic venues like Elsewhere, Brooklyn Mirage, Nowadays, House of Yes, and more.

WHAT: TheWavelengths Summit will focus on what we feel we do best at Water & Music: Creating space for thoughtful discussion, community-building and experimental collaboration. Instead of panels, we will design the summit around more interactive, multi-way programming that showcases the experience and ingenuity of our members — with a focus on ROUNDTABLES, WORKSHOPS, DEBATES, and THOUGHTFUL RANTS.

We are honing in on three overarching themes and topics for the Summit. We see each of these broader topics as important interests and priorities for our community, and for the broader music-tech industry at large. Programming will be distributed evenly among these topics.

We are also excited to be partnering with Refraction for Cultural Programming – stay tuned for more details!


FAQ

Q: When is the Wavelengths Summit taking place, and where is it located?

A: The summit is happening on May 6, 2023, in Brooklyn at 99 Scott Ave (in Bushwick).

Q: What format will the Wavelengths Summit take?

A: Unlike traditional music industry conferences, the Wavelengths Summit won’t follow a panel-based format. Instead, we’ll be hosting a series of intimate, roundtable-style conversations, curated by our community of music/tech experts, and focused on existential issues facing the music industry today.

Q: How do I register for the Wavelengths Summit?

A: If you are a member of Water & Music, tickets will go on sale at 12pm ET on Tuesday, Mar 14, accessible only by membership code. If you are not a member of Water & Music, tickets will go on sale at 12pm ET on Wednesday, Mar 15.

To be notified when tickets are available, you can sign up here until 10am ET on March 14. To explore membership options, please sign up here.

Q: Does signing up to be notified when tickets are available guarantee me a ticket?

A: No, signing up to be notified does not guarantee a ticket. Please be ready to purchase, as inventory is limited.

Q: What is the cost of registration for the Wavelengths Summit?

A: The below costs are not inclusive of ticketing fees and sales tax. Water & Music members, be sure to check member communications to access discount codes for member ticketing prices. Tiered prices are inventory based, with prices increasing as each tier sells out its allotment of tickets. Make sure to grab your tickets early!

For members:

For non-members:

Q: Is there a refund policy for registration fees?

A: Yes. If you are no longer able to attend, please contact summit@waterandmusic.com, and we will arrange a refund up until April 28, 2023. Please note, ticketing fees are not refundable.

Q: What is the schedule for the day?

A: The summit schedule will be posted on our website closer to the event date. You can also expect frequent updates through our social media channels.

Q: Is there a hotel or accommodation near the conference venue?

A: While there is no shortage of accommodation in New York City, we currently do not have any arranged discounts for Wavelengths attendees (though we will keep you notified if this changes). For those unfamiliar with the area, we suggest checking out hotels in Williamsburg, or somewhere off the L train.

Q: Are there volunteer opportunities available?

A: Yes! We are accepting applications for volunteers – please find more details here. We have limited slots, so priority will be given to current Water & Music members.

Q: Are there any opportunities for exhibitors or sponsors at the music technology conference?

A: Yes! There are a number of different sponsorship tiers available. Please contact summit@waterandmusic.com to learn more about our sponsorship opportunities.

Q: Will Wavelengths Summit be live-streamed or recorded for later viewing?

A: We are currently exploring options for live-streaming and/or recording the conference. Please stay tuned.

Q: Are discounted tickets available?

Yes, we have discounts for current W&M members and students. Reach out to summit@waterandmusic.com to learn more.

Q: Are there media passes available?

A: Yes, we have a number of media passes available. Please reach out to summit@waterandmusic.com, and we will do our best to accommodate.

Q: How are you involving community members?

A: Water & Music community members  will contribute to programming through a formal process for sharing ideas and desires, and directly selecting topics for several Summit sessions. Those members who would like to contribute to this process can find more details via our normal lines of communication (email + Discord!)

For any additional questions, please reach out to summit@waterandmusic.com.

Thank you!