Second Bridge Conference in Istria Connects Music, Tech, and Tourism Professionals

The second edition of Bridge Conference took place in Umag, Croatia, May 27-29, bringing together 200 delegates from across the music, technology, startup, tourism and creative industries for three days of discussions, networking sessions and sunset gatherings overlooking the Adriatic Sea.

Pollstar was on site to host a couple of conversations, including the opening session of Bridge Conference 2026, From Best Major Festival to Promoter of the Year: The Power of Standing for Your Values , featuring Dušan Kovačević (Founder and CEO, EXIT Festival Group), and Ivan Milivojev (Co-Founder, EXIT).

Both men took the audience through EXIT’s turbulent, moving, and incredibly successful history, which has been characterized an unwavering commitment to core values like freedom, including freedom of speech.

One of the core takeaways from the session, in the words of Kovačević: “Sometimes it may feel like it was more convenient not to do the right thing. Every time you do the right thing, it may push you to the edge, but if you persevere, the universe will reward you.”

Case in point: the EXIT World Tour , which took a dire situation and turned it into opportunity. It was a session reminding everyone of the role festivals can play in promoting freedom, community and positive social change.

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The program of Bridge Conference embraces technology for all its incredibly beneficial applications, but always with the caveat of not letting it take over and rule human life.

During a session dubbed The Human Edge: Why Belonging Beats Engagement in the Age of AI , for instance, Indiana Matthews (Marketing Director, Jukebox), Matthew Hoag (Founder & CEO, Interstellar Plus), Scott Halliday-Dillon (Founder, FourFour Digi-tal, Your Culture) and Josh Karpf (Managing Director, Jukebox) discussed how community-building, authenticity and emotional connection are becoming increasingly valuable in an AI-driven world.

Another session highlight came on day two, when electronic music veterans Maria May (Head of Electronic, Creative Artists Agency) and Steve Hogan (Agent & Partner, WME) , both Pollstar Impact International Honorees, explored the evolution of electronic music from underground scenes to global stadium stages, the changing role of agents and managers, and the challenges facing the next generation of artists as club culture continues to evolve.

One core difference between the electronic and the rock and pop worlds is the touring cycle, as May explained. “Our business is probably 52 weeks a year. Lots of bands now tour all the time, but for the most part DJs want their diaries filled every single weekend of the year. It’s relentless, 24-hours-a-day volume business.”

Hogan added, that “even in January when everyone’s taking a bit of downtime, you’ve still got events in Asia, Australia, South America, who are still really busy by that point. You can tour all year, you just got to chase the sun.”

May criticized the EDM industry for not placing enough importance on the next generation of talent. She also criticized the practice of agents using their headliners to get the rest of their rosters higher up on bills, essentially taking control of the programming of events.

Hogan said the art of a good warm-up set had gotten lost. Nowadays, many new DJs who are given opening slots, and whose job it should be to warm up the room and hand over a packed dancefloor to the main act, just played all the bangers as if it was already peak time, taking the energy out of the crowd prematurely.

The ongoing challenge was future proofing the electronic industry. “If we don’t get the kids into the clubs because ticket prices or the whole experience has become too expensive, if we don’t address this as an industry, in ten years time we’re going to have less of an audience,” said May.

Hogan talked about the importance of big-name DJs supporting the grassroots clubs, and the danger of the gap between clubbers and VIPs widening too much, leading to dancefloors that are empty in the front.

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The business realities behind the live music industry got addressed during Running the Numbers: The Financial Reality of Building Music Events , where Chris Carter (CEO & Co-founder, Eventwise), David Zarmalwal (Group CFO, We Group), Stoyan Angelov (Founder, Evedo Ecosystem) and moderator Matthias Strobel (President, Musictech Germany) examined the economic challenges facing festivals, tours and events.

The second session moderated by Pollstar , From Screen to Stage: Building the Modern Artist Ecosystem , featured Duško Justić (SVP International Artist Strategy & Development, Sony Music Latin-Iberia), who talked about long-term artist development, authenticity, market understanding and the unique power of live performance in building careers.

Many more topics got addressed throughout the sessions, including ticketing, sustainability, music tourism, and the role of women in music. The panel Women Across the Music Industry: Progress, Power & What’s Next featured Layla Benitez (DJ and Producer), Lanna (DJ and Producer), their agent Maria May, and moderator Jennifer Cochrane (CEO, Getahead / Booker, EXIT Festival Group). The panel explored leadership, representation and the evolving role of women across all sectors of the music business.

May has been walking the walk for decades, championing women before it had become a thing. When she received the IMS Legends Award in 2025, she listed all the women who should have won the award before her during her acceptance speech.

The artists on stage, both clients of May’s, emphasized the advantage of working with a female agent. “Maria just understands what it’s like to be a woman, and that’s extremely valuable,” said Benitez.

The panel agreed that it was often still a hard sell to get female artists higher up on the bill. And while May acknowledged that this wasn’t always a gender thing, especially when the competition for slots was so intense, the gap was still glaring.

Bridge Conference is relatively small in terms of its carefully crated delegate size, but that in turns opens up vast opportunities to have meaningful conversations. The feedback Pollstar has been gathering from those attending this year suggests this was the way to go. Delegates loved the intimacy of the event, which allowed everybody to speak with everyone in a non-rushed manner.

Alongside the conference program, delegates were able to experience a range of activations, including learning about and trying out a Tesla Healing Machine, reinforcing Bridge’s commitment to exploring the intersection of technology, wellbeing and immersive experiences.

This year’s edition was held in partnership with Jukebox Ventures, a music-focused startup accelerator and investment platform dedicated to supporting the next generation of companies, technologies and ideas transforming the global music ecosystem. Through funding, mentorship and growth strategies, the program offers up to £1 million in investment opportunities for early-stage companies.

Reflecting on this year’s edition, Jennifer Cochrane, founder & CEO at Getahead, booker at EXIT Festival Group, and one of the head organizers of Bridge, highlighted the unique atmosphere that de-fined Bridge Conference: “This year’s event was nothing short of outstanding. The energy in the room, the calibre of conversations, and the spirit of collaboration made it a truly special experience. It was inspiring to see founders, innovators, and industry leaders come together to share ideas, celebrate progress, and forge meaningful connections that will continue long after the event.

“I was especially excited to have Jukebox Ventures’ accelerator program involved as a partner, allowing Bridge to support ambitious startups and play a role in shaping this ecosystem from the very beginning. The program created an incredible platform for founders to connect, learn, and showcase their innovation, bringing fresh energy and momentum to the entire Bridge experience.

“A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to making this event such a success. We’re grateful to be part of a community that’s building the future together, and we’re already looking for-ward to what next year will bring.”

Dušan Kovačević, Founder and CEO of EXIT Festival Group, added, “When we launched Bridge, we hoped to create a place where the future of the industry could be shaped through real human connections. This year, seeing startups pitch their ideas, investors discover new opportunities and industry leaders begin new conversations showed us that the future is already being built here.”

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_Originally reported by [Pollstar](https://news.pollstar.com/2026/06/16/the-future-is-being-built-here-impressions-from-second-bridge-conference-istria/)._