Mixcon Munich 2020, how was it?

Mixcon Munich is one of many yearly DJ-/Producer conventions and conferences. As the name of the event already suggests it takes place in Munich, Germany. Inside Audio writer Niels recently visited Mixcon 2020. In this review you will get our opinion of the convention.

Just like last year, Mixcon took place at the BMW-Welt building in Munich, Germany. However, there were some changes compared to Mixcon 2019. First of all, the gear area was a lot bigger than last year. That, in my opinion, is a huge improvement to the already amazing event mixcon 2019. But not just the gear area, but actually the whole event was a lot bigger than last year. While Mixcon 2019 only had 2 stages for the speakers‘ talks, there where 4 stages in total at Mixcon 2020. In my personal opinion, the talks were also way more interesting than last year. And there were definitely more and bigger world stars at the convention. Among them Boris Brejcha, Hugel, Jemelz & Sparks and many more. But let’s get into the different areas of the event in more detail.

Gear area

Just like last year, the gear area was my personal favorite part of the whole event. And as mentioned above, the equipment area was even way bigger than it was back in 2019. There where way more gear companies, among them all the biggest and most important companies in the industry. Also, while Mixcon Munich 2019 was very DJ focused, which I personally as a primary producer didn’t like too much, Mixcon 2020 had a lot more producer equipment as well. This is a huge plus form last year. To name a few oft he biggest companies Denon DJ, Pioneer DJ, Reloop, Allen & Heath and many more. Above the gear area, there was one of the 4 stages, this one being hosted by ravin.fm, a quite popular Techno radio station. At this stage, several quite well known german techno DJs performed live sets and gave talks. 

Among my favorite booths where Denon DJ who brought a load of their brand new equipment (new Prime series club setup and their new Prime 2 and Prime GO). The new Prime series, which was announced earlier this year, was definitely the highlight oft he whole gear area. Because of this, the setup was used almost all the time as everyone wanted to test it out. However, I got the chance to try it out for a few minutes and I have t say that it’s amazing. Denon DJ did it again and released another innovative setup. Their new Prime 2 and Prime GO are also amazing pieces of equipment, especially for DJs on a budget or mobile DJs. 

However, I have to say that Pioneer DJ’s equipment booth was also really innovative. Just like last year, it was the most used stage by the visitors of the event. While this is mostly to Pioneer DJ being the international standard in the DJ industry for like the last 30 years, their new DJM-V10 and XDJ-XZ where to innovative pieces of gear and I was surprised at how amazing these devices worked. 

But my personal highlight at the gear area was definitely SINEE institute’s tent. Sinee institute is an online music production school that also runs a Youtube channel which gives amazing tips for music producers. They did a lifestream on their Youtube channel from Micxon and upcoming producers could give them their tracks and receive instant professional feedback. Also, they had the offer that every Mixcon visitor who posted a picture of their tent to their Instagram story and tagged SINEE received one month of free Sinee online music school pro for free. This is definitely an amazing offer for every music producer who wants to improve their skills.

Main stage

The main stage was the place where the biggest world stars attempting the event gave their talks and workshops. They had some interesting topics and good tips for beginners but also for experienced DJ/Producers. In the workshops, visitors to the event could see these tips used live. Among the biggest stars at Mixcon 2020 where Boris Brejcha, Hugel and Frank Klein, manager of Robin Schulz, Alle Farben and more. At this stage, you could listen to big names in the industry talking about festivals, women in the business and many more interesting topics. This place was definitely worth a visit for everyone who is into EDM in any way.

Skillz Stage

The SKillz stage where the place where industry professionals such as employees of the biggest equipment companies as well as some famous DJs and Producers. The biggest highlight at this stage was probably Boris Brejcha’s Cubase Masterclass. This was a great way for producers, using Cubase or also other DAWs, to learn some tips, especially those who were into producing Techno. But also seeing all the brand new gear live in use by professional employees was an amazing thing. This way you could first learn some facts about the equipment and what it can do, see it in action and then go to the gear area and test it out yourself. 

Rooftop Stage

The rooftop stage was on top of the whole event. Next to the stage, there was a bar where you could, as this was in Bavaria, Germany, get cool beer but also other, non-alcoholic drinks. This stage had some interesting genre-specific talks with several industry professionals. These genres reached from Hardstyle over Techno to even HipHop. This was perfect to get some insight into the industries. The most attended talk at the Rooftop stage, however, was „Die Klangküche“ – a well-known, german EDM podcast – recording an episode of their podcast live at Mixcon 2020. As it’s a german podcast, this talk was fully german and so only interesting for german visitors of the convention. However, the performance was a really interesting thing as they implemented the visitors of the event into the podcast by asking questions such as „Who of you produces their own music?“ or „How many of the producers here use samples?“. They also talked about many music- and especially EDM related topics of today for a full hour. 

Foyer stage

The Foyer stage was located at the entrance of the event. And also had several interesting talks by famous DJs and Producers, especially Q&As. For example, Jewelz & Sparks, an internationally successful DJ/Producer duo from Germany, did a Q&A where they answered both German and English questions they got from visitors of Mixcon. This was a great place, especially for newcomer DJ/Producers where you could get really helpful tips. 

Additions

The auditions, this year, where hold in several Audition rooms- and lounges. Upcoming producers could present their tracks to well-known professionals of the industry and receive instant high-quality feedback.  Among these professionals where big-name producers as well as label A&Rs. This was the ultimate opportunity for all the new-comer producers at the event who wanted to get tips to improve their productions. And you could get the chance for your upcoming track to get signed by one oft he label A&Rs. This included labels such as Ultra music, one oft he biggest independent EDM labels in the entire world.

Conclusion

In conclusion, you can say that Mixcon was an amazing event for everybody who’s into the EDM or even music scene in general: DJs, producers, label owners and many more. I personally liked Mixcon 2020 even more than Mixcon 2019 because of the focus being on DJing and producing this year as well as the general size oft he event being way bigger than last year. At Mixcon you get everything: talks, auditions, and gear to try out. If you’re one of these people and life in Germany or anywhere near, you should definitely consider visiting Mixcon 2021.