FIM Conference discussions will provide an opportunity to share international best practice and explore how to create a fairer, more sustainable future for freelancers. Image credit: Alamy.
Members are invited to watch the second FIM (International Federation of Musicians) International Freelance Conference via livestream on 21-22 October 2026.
Hosted in Brighton, the conference will bring together trade union representatives, industry experts and musicians from around the world to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing freelance musicians today.
Following the inaugural conference in Copenhagen in 2019, this year's event will explore issues including pay and conditions, legal protections, collective bargaining, discrimination, portfolio careers and income from recorded music. The discussions will provide an opportunity to share international best practice and explore how unions and musicians can work together to create a fairer, more sustainable future for freelancers.
Watch the livestream
Members who are unable to attend in person can follow the conference online via YouTube.
Whether you're an established freelancer, early in your career or interested in the issues affecting freelance musicians, the conference offers a chance to hear from speakers representing unions and organisations across Europe, North America, South America and Africa.
Watch live
Programme
The programme across the two days is as follows:
Wednesday 21 October
9:15am - 9:45am: Official opening
9:45am - 11:00am: Panel 1: Pay and Conditions, Collective Bargaining and Promulgated Rates
Moderator: Naomi Pohl (UK)
Speakers: Allistair Elliott (Canada), Juho Viljanen (Finland)
11:00am - 11:30am: Coffee break
11:30am - 1:00pm: Panel 2: Legal Rights and Protection for Freelancers
Moderator: Karin Inde (Sweden)
Speakers: Everaldo dos Santos Barbosa (Brazil), Joëlle Coret (Mauritius), Robin von Olshausen (Germany)
1:00pm - 2:15pm: Lunch
2:15pm - 2:30pm: Keynote: Michael Dugher, Music Champion, DCMS
2:30pm - 3:40pm: Panel 3: Union Organising of Freelance Musicians
Moderator: Rochelle Skolnick (United States)
Speakers: Caroline Cartens (The Netherlands), Sinéad McCarney (UK)
3:40pm - 4:00pm: Coffee break
4:00pm - 5:30pm: Panel 4: Overcoming Barriers and Discrimination
Moderator: Irene Monterroso (Costa Rica)
Speakers: Elizabeth Birch (UK), Karine Huet (France), Cathrine Nyheim (Norway), Noriko Tsuzaki (UK)
Thursday 22 October
9:30am - 11:00am: Panel 5: Portfolio Careers
Moderator: Edith Katiji (Zimbabwe)
Speakers: Andi Hopgood (UK), Dinnos Georgountzos (Greece), Thomas Sandberg (Denmark)
11:00am - 11:30am: Coffee break
11:30am - 1:00pm: Panel 6: Making a Living from Live Performance in a Scarcity Economy
Moderator: Beat Santschi (Switzerland)
Speakers: Luis Amador (Costa Rica), Wages Argott (United States), Kelly Wood (UK)
1:00pm - 2:15pm: Lunch
2:15pm - 2:30pm: Keynote: Oliver Liang, Head of the Public and Private Services Unit (ILO-SECTOR)
2:30pm - 4:00pm: Panel 7: Income Streams for Recorded Music
Moderator: Tino Gagliardi (United States)
Speakers: Rachel Bolt (UK), Bertalan Temesi (Hungary), Benjamin Sauzay (France)
4:00pm - 4:30pm: Coffee break
4:30pm - 5:30pm: Wrap-up session
Moderator: John Smith OBE, FIM President