Winter Music Conference
What is Winter Music Conference?
Officially, Winter Music Conference (WMC), founded in 1985, is an electronic music conference held in Miami, Florida and is aimed at industry professionals, producers, artists, promoters, record labels, and enthusiasts. There are various seminars, panels, workshops, parties, DJ spinoffs, and networking events for those in the industry or looking to learn more about the industry. The International Dance Music Awards (IDMA) ceremony is held during WMC. The IMDA ceremony and other official WMC events are arranged by the Winter Music Conference organization.
Winter Music Conference parties
Unofficially, the term “Winter Music Conference” is often used to describe the hundreds of events and parties being held throughout the Miami and South Beach area while Winter Music Conference is taking place. There are pool parties, rooftop parties, beach parties, club parties, concerts, etc.
Parties hosted by the Winter Music Conference organization are considered “official events”. Some of the official WMC events are free while others are exclusively for WMC badge holders (more on this below).
There are many other non-official parties which are organized by independent promoters, artists, and venues to attract the crowd gathered in Miami. Tickets to these various events are made available by the individual organizers of the event and are typically purchased separate from each other. Many tickets are available for purchase online, but their availability varies depending on the event organizer. The WMCInfo.com site has event tickets available on our events page once they are released, which is typically late February and early March.
What is the Winter Music Conference badge?
The Winter Music Conference badge (aka “Conference Registration”) is sold exclusively by the Winter Music Conference organization and includes admission to the official Winter Music Conference seminars, panels, workshops (with the exception of the Remixing and Editing Workshops), Q&A sessions, trade show & exhibits, parties, DJ spinoffs, and networking events sponsored by the WMC organization, including the IDMA ceremony. WMC badge holders are often referred to as “delegates” or “conference delegates”.
The Winter Music Conference badge allows free or reduced entry into some, but not all, of the non-official events and parties. Availability, pricing, and terms of use all vary from one event to another and are established by the individual event organizers. The key is to arrive early and be patient. The bigger, more popular private events will be harder to get into with the WMC badge than the smaller events. A list of events and their corresponding badge acceptance policies are posted on The List site. Admission to Ultra Music Festival is no longer included with the WMC badge.
Generally speaking, if you’re interested in the industry events and official parties, the WMC badge may be right for you. If you’re looking to attend specific parties with big-name artists, you’re probably better off buying the individual event tickets. It all depends on the type of experience you’re looking for. The Winter Music Conference badge is more about being an industry insider than it is about club hopping.
Ultra Music Festival
Ultra Music Festival (UMF) is a 3-day outdoor music concert with multiple stages. Electronic dance artists and DJs from around the world play throughout the day and into the night. If you don’t want to worry about hopping from venue to venue, UMF is a good way to catch many different artists by just moving from one stage area to another inside of the concert. The last couple of years, UMF was held in Bayfront Park, Miami, which is across the bay from South Beach.
More information about UMF and tickets is available through the Ultra Music Festival web site.
Miami Music Week
Miami Music Week (MMW) is a collection of hotel, pool, and club events held around Miami and South Beach during Ultra Music Festival. The dates for Winter Music Conference and Ultra Music Festival traditionally overlap. However, in 2011, a scheduling conflict caused WMC and UMF to be held two weeks apart from each other.
That year Winter Music Conference was held from March 8-12th with one set of events and parties. Then UMF and Miami Music Week were held March 25-27th with a separate set of events and parties. Fans, artists, and event promoters who had already booked travel or events based on the UMF dates wanted the same type of party atmosphere that WMC brought to the area, so Miami Music Week created by the organizers of Ultra Music Festival.
This year, Ultra Music Festival is scheduled for March 23-25, 2018 and Miami Music Week is scheduled for March 20-25, 2018.
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