Long-Term Moves, Not Short-Term Metrics: Rethinking Distribution Beyond the Algorithm — Physical, Global, Artist-First

Streaming may have globalized music — but it also flattened the map. For most artists, “getting heard” now means surrendering to the chase of speed and numbers. But what if your music doesn't fit the feed?

This panel is a reality check and a reset. A conversation about building meaningful, financially viable careers by thinking outside the usual boxes — and outside the usual borders.

This panel explores smarter, stranger, and more sustainable distribution paths — for those tired of playing by someone else’s algorithm. From Bandcamp’s artist-first model to YouTube’s global scale, from Korea’s hyper-strategic rollout pipelines to the resurrection of vinyl in Germany, we’ll ask:

• Why are artists still distributing like it’s 2015?
• How to build your own value chain instead of chasing someone else’s?
• What Germany’s physical market can teach us about niche, loyalty, and longevity?
• What it takes to move music across borders — and who’s doing it right?
• And why, sometimes, 500 dedicated fans are worth more than 5 million casual plays?

A panel for anyone sick of chasing numbers — and ready to start building something that lasts.