From Hamburg to Athens: connecting music ecosystems, cities and Innovation
- February 27, 2026
From Hamburg to Athens: connecting music ecosystems, cities and Innovation
On February 24 and 25, representatives from six European regions gathered in Hamburg for the SONIC project, a European initiative exploring how public policies can better support innovation and growth in the music and creative industries. MESO team joined the meeting representing the Athens music ecosystem together with Technopolis City of Athens, the policy framework addressed by the project in Greece.
SONIC (Strategic Opportunities for New Innovative Changes in Music Policies), supported by the Interreg Europe programme, brings together policymakers, cultural organisations and music sector stakeholders to exchange experiences and improve public programmes that support music, entrepreneurship and innovation.
The partnership includes Hamburg Music Business (Germany), Municipality of Groningen (Netherlands), City of Tampere (Finland), Centre Val de Loire Region (France), Territorial Collectivity of Martinique (France), Creative Innovative Center Ložionica Belgrade (Serbia) and MESO Events Hub (Greece).
Across these regions, the project also collaborates with a network of associated stakeholders including public authorities, ministries, industry organisations and cultural institutions. In Greece, the project is connected to the Athens ecosystem through Technopolis City of Athens and local music sector stakeholders.
For artists, freelancers, startups and music companies, this dialogue matters because many programmes supporting training, innovation and international mobility are designed at the regional level, and SONIC helps regions learn from each other and develop better tools for the creative industries.
Learning from Hamburg’s music ecosystem
The meeting offered partners the opportunity to explore Hamburg’s dynamic music environment. During the study visits, the group met representatives from the Ministry for Culture and Media Hamburg, Clubkombinat Hamburg which represents the city’s music venues and clubs, and RockCity Hamburg, an organisation supporting artists and music professionals.
The discussions also highlighted the economic importance of music for cities and regions. In Hamburg alone, the music sector generates more than €1 billion in added value, supports over 16,000 jobs, and contributes around €591 million in tax revenues, while music tourism generates over €900 million annually. These figures illustrate how music is not only cultural expression but also a driver of local economies, tourism, employment and innovation.
Connecting European music ecosystems
For Athens Music Week, the SONIC project is also part of a broader European collaboration. Through SONIC and the Federation of Music Conferences (FoMC) network, MESO works closely with key international platforms such as Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg and ESNS – Eurosonic Noorderslag in Groningen, as well as with their respective cities. This creates valuable opportunities to exchange perspectives between different music ecosystems and to better understand how cities, festivals, industry organisations and policymakers can work together. Such collaboration is essential for building a more sustainable, competitive and resilient European music sector, seen from multiple perspectives including artists, venues, companies, technology actors and public authorities.
From Hamburg to Athens
The ideas and experiences shared during the SONIC meeting will continue to feed into discussions within the wider music community. Several of these themes will be further explored during Athens Music Week 2026, where policymakers, artists, entrepreneurs and music professionals will meet to discuss the future of music ecosystems, innovation and cultural entrepreneurship.
Stay tune for more. Next SONIC meeting in Tampere!
More about SONIC