Roya Firoozbakhsh

A 2026 survey of more than 2,000 independent artists and industry professionals found that 86% report significant mental strain or creative burnout. Behind that number sit people expected to keep creating, touring, promoting and staying visible while carrying personal crises, mental health challenges, grief, displacement or the weight of conflict elsewhere in the world.
The question this session asks is what the people around them do about it. Managers, agents and promoters shape an artist’s calendar, workload and exposure, and those decisions are where empathy either exists in practice or does not. It also asks what the dancefloor itself already provides, since community and care have been part of rave culture far longer than the industry has had language for either. As we are heading to an age shaped by AI, emotional intelligence remains one of our most valuable human strengths.

Booking agents in electronic music act as the key link between artists and live performance opportunities. They secure gigs by negotiating contracts, coordinating logistics like travel and technical needs and maintaining strong relationships with promoters, venues, and managers. Beyond booking, agents help build artists’ careers by strategically planning tours and promoting them to the right audiences. Their work allows artists to focus on performing while agents handle the complex organisational and business side of live shows. Learn how booking agents work, what their tasks include, when an artist should apply to join an agency, and what benefits can be gained from this partnership.