We’d like to explain how we work. The Music Meeting program is carefully curated throughout the year and is finalized betweenSeptemberandNovemberof the year preceding the festival.
When putting together the annual festival lineup, the Music Meeting programmers strive to create a program of thehighest quality, with a strong focus ondiversityand thelive experiencethe musicians provide. Because we are part of Keychange, our program features anequal gender balance, and we strive for a balance betweeninternational actsandartists based in the Netherlands. Each year, a central part of the festival program is reserved for afocus on a specific country or a particular thematic strand, and we collaborate withguest curators.
Music Meeting celebrates connection by fostering encounters and nurturing the future. We actively collaborate withregional, national, and international festivals, organizations, and venues, and participate ininternational networks. In addition, we offer varioustalent development programsand facilitate unique musical encounters through ourresidency programand thecommissioning of compositions.
Do you think your program would be a good fit for Music Meeting? If so, please send an email to seeyou@musicmeeting.nl. We will definitely read your email. Music Meeting receives more than 2,000 concert proposals each year, but we only have 30 slots to fill. Unfortunately, we are unable to respond to every email containing a program proposal.
Music Meeting pays artists in accordance with the Sena standard. In 2026, this will amount to €340 per performing musician, per performance, and €240 if the group has more than six musicians. If Music Meeting makes recordings at the festival, it is contractually stipulated that the artist owns 50% of the material and has control over the recording.
For freelancers on the core team, our minimum hourly rate in 2026 will be €40, excluding VAT, and for support work, the minimum hourly rate will be €30, excluding VAT.
The Dutch Performing Arts Collective Bargaining Agreement serves as a guideline in this regard. This also applies to the executive director employed by Music Meeting.
Every year, we work with dozens of volunteers. We offer internships to students at vocational schools, community colleges, and universities, as well as introductory internships for high school students. Volunteers receive free admission to the festival, backstage catering, and a T-shirt. If a volunteer works a full festival day, they are offered a volunteer stipend. Interns receive an internship stipend equal to the maximum monthly volunteer stipend, for an internship of up to 20 hours per week, for a maximum of five months.
Music Meeting places great importance on the well-being of its staff, volunteers, and artists. We strive to provide a safe and pleasant working environment. An external confidential advisor has been appointed, whom staff, volunteers, and the board can contact.
Music Meeting believes it is fair for the public to pay for art and culture. Our ticket prices take into account different budget levels. We offer a discount to children and young people aged 4 through 29. Children under 4 years old may sit on a lap and do not pay admission. We also offer program components at free (outdoor) venues, such as the “Mini Meeting,” intended for children and families. More information on this will follow in the run-up to the festival.
On our online music channel Music Meeting All Ears, we offer free accessible content: from concert recordings to interviews, from podcasts to behind-the-scenes peeks. In this way, we want to bring our artists and their stories to the attention of the widest possible audience.
At Music Meeting we have long presented a diverse, international and adventurous program. The festival is for all ages and for anyone curious about new music. Music Meeting connects people with diverse cultural, social and economic backgrounds and aims to be a reflection of society: in front of and behind the scenes. We make an effort to reach and welcome un- or under-represented audience groups to Music Meeting. This also applies to the organization and in our partnerships. Music Meeting is affiliated with Keychange, a global network working toward gender equality in the music industry.
We want to make the festival even more accessible and actively communicate this. For people with physical disabilities and those who are sensitive to stimuli, we offer the necessary facilities.
Music Meeting is committed to creating an open, inclusive and safe working environment, where everyone feels welcome and where everyone works (together) in a pleasant and respectful way within a safe working environment. A safe working environment means that everyone's physical and mental boundaries are heard, seen and respected.
We want to be a safe working environment so that at Music Meeting everyone can do their job, that everyone feels free to be themselves and share their thoughts and ideas with respect for others and without fear of negative consequences.
Undesired manners
In the way people treat each other, undesirable behavior can occur, either consciously or unconsciously: behavior in which someone oversteps someone's personal boundaries and thus makes them feel uncomfortable or even unsafe. To prevent this undesirable behavior, we have listed a number of agreements in the Code of Conduct so that expectations from Music Meeting are clear to all involved. The Code of Conduct also contains a protocol that explains who you can contact in case of undesirable behavior.
Code of Conduct
The purpose of the Code of Conduct is to ensure a working environment where everyone can work with pleasure. Every (freelance) employee, intern, volunteer and board member is expected to abide by the agreements below. The Code of Conduct is attached to the employment, assignment, internship and volunteer agreements, and is also published on the website under Fair Practice.
Artists and employees (of suppliers), who are working during the festival and/or on the festival grounds, will be informed about the Code of Conduct via contract or agreement, and in the festival and crew rider.
Download the code of conduct here.
Music Meeting has been working for years to make the festival more sustainable, step by step. When it comes to international artists, we align ourselves as much as possible with green touring practices and encourage musicians to travel by train whenever possible. We also encourage our audience, staff, and volunteers to do the same. Meals both on and off stage are vegetarian or vegan, we sort our waste, and we use recyclable PET cups. For promotional materials and merchandise, we opt for sustainable options, reuse, or recycling whenever possible.
Mores provides a safety net for workers and students in the cultural, creative and media sectors. By including the Mores logo on our website and in other expressions, we show that Music Meeting supports the activities of Mores. Contact details and more information: Mores.online