Winter Music Conference Will Return Next Year for Its 35th Anniversary

Winter Music Conference (WMC), the dance music industry gathering, is set to return next year. The conference will take place March 26-28, 2025, at the Eden Roc Miami Beach, with three days of panels, keynote speakers, and networking opportunities.

WMC will host exclusive events like the WMC Kickoff Networking Mixer, the Official WMC Pool Party, and the inaugural EDMAs/IDMAs Hybrid Awards Show. Also, expect the first official Miami Music Week Hotel Takeover, showcasing the best of the dance music industry.

Badges for WMC 2025 are currently on sale for $99.95, but prices will rise as the date approaches.

Founded by Louis Possenti and Bill Kelly, WMC first took place in 1986 in Fort Lauderdale, moving down to Miami the following year. It quickly became an essential date for anyone and everyone in the dance music scene, peaking around the late '90s and early 2000s. Back then, a WMC badge holder granted access to most parties around town. (One of WMC's most famous parties was when Daft Punk performed at the Cameo Theater in 1999.)

Ultra Music Festival, founded in 1999, took advantage of the DJs and electronic music acts visiting Miami in March for WMC to put together its music festival, eventually eclipsing WMC. That's when the conference started seeing a decline in prestige and attendance. More and more people were coming to party and skipping the conference altogether. It also faced stiff competition from South by Southwest (SXSW) and the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE).

In 2018, Ultra announced it was acquiring WMC, hoping to rebuild it into the prestigious event it once was. It returned in 2018 and 2019. It was scheduled to return in 2020, but the pandemic forced its cancellation, and since then, it has remained dormant.

Winter Music Conference 2025. Wednesday, March 26, through Friday, March 28, at Eden Roc Miami Beach, 4525 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; wintermusicconference.com. Tickets cost $99.95 via posh.vip.