Miami Music Week is here, but when did it begin? The history on Miami’s global event for electronic dance music –
- DIG 4552
- Mar 25
- 4 min read
By Angelo Ortega
As the 25th anniversary of Ultra Music Festival (UMF) approaches, Miami’s nightlife and party scene has benefitted from Ultra by promoting events through “Miami Music Week.”
Transforming the city into a paradise for electronic music listeners, the phenomena exists largely due to UMF and Winter Music Conference (WMC).
What is Winter Music Conference?
Kicking off their 35th anniversary at the Miami Beach Convention Center right before UMF, WMC is a staple to the electronic dance music (EDM) scene. Over three days, the event is a networking and panel discussion for artists, music labels, and streaming platforms, such as Afrojack or SoundCloud, fostering a global culture for EDM.
Beginning in 1985, WMC founders Louis Possenti and Bill Kelly figured it would be brilliant to invite driving forces of the EDM scene to escape the cold winter for South Florida. This gave DJs and music companies a space to rave and discuss the trends of electronic music. The International Dance Music Awards (IDMAs) took place during WMC, giving formal recognition to celebrate successful and talented artists or labels of the scene.
At the inaugural WMC 1986, about 80 - 90 people attended the Marriott Hotel in Fort Lauderdale. Despite the small turnout, the event attracted more professionals and fans as electronic music started to popularize, acknowledging that WMC was ideal for professionals to network and forecast what the year had in store.
As WMC grew, they hosted additional events in Miami Beach and Downtown Miami, where DJs debuted new performances or companies premiered the latest audio and visual technology.
In the 90s, as artists and production companies realized EDM slowly became more mainstream due to future legends like Tiesto, WMC solidified and became a critical event for EDM.
The Main Event Arrives
In 1999, Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes launched a 1-Day event during WMC called Ultra Music Festival. The unofficial WMC event threw an 11-hour rave with 7,000 attendees in Miami Beach on 21st Street. Hosting headliners, such as Rabbit in the Moon and Armin Van Helden, Faibisch and Omes saw WMC as an opportunity to bring their vision of a dance music festival on the beach with how active the scene was during this week.
Although the festival saw a loss of up to $20,000 in its first year, the vision meant more than money. In their 2nd year, UMF was such a successful event that the massive turnout outgrew Miami Beach, causing a relocation to Bayfront Park in Downtown Miami. The venue remains the same today.
As UMF grew, WMC declined. This rapidly rising festival appealed to the masses as it expanded with more DJs and better production. Continuously booking the best acts in the world, such as Carl Cox, UMF was en route to reflect the international recognition with WMC.
UMF eventually became an official event under WMC in 2004, where the conference catered to professional and emerging talents while UMF was the grand celebration on top of the smaller parties around Miami. With Ultra’s partnership, WMC was at its peak for driving the scene to a global stage and cultivating a citywide party.
A Blindsided Decision: WMC vs. UMF 2011
In November 2010, WMC announced they would host their event two weeks earlier (March 8 – March 12) than the expected dates at the end of March from previous years. This blindsided decision was met by another when UMF didn’t follow and kept it at the end of March (25-27).
The parting ways revealed more internal struggles with UMF. A battle between UMF directors and founders resulted in removing Omes from the brand, after Omes disputed decisions to remove UMF from WMC and booking artists exclusive to only playing Ultra.
To raise the stakes even higher, UMF expanded from a two-day to a three-day festival in 2011. UMF argued that the Calle Ocho festival dates overlapped and interfered with Ultra’s location despite a contract breach. This definitive breakup split crowds from choosing which weekend artists or visitors should attend.
UMF had a larger pull for bringing in crowds because of its commercial scale now, causing multiple pool parties and clubs to host their events at the end of March. WMC still hosted parties, making the month an exciting time for EDM in Miami. With all these events happening outside of WMC, a new era developed.
Miami Music Week is born
As the parties continued alongside UMF in 2011, this organic occurrence fed into a marketing term for these events under Miami Music Week (MMW).
Under MMW, it became a widely accepted strategy for UMF, WMC, and other venues to label their events under this term because it caters to one culture: electronic music. As WMC's popularity decreased, keeping the tradition of premiering acts in Miami was necessary.
In 2018, UMF acquired WMC (and the IDMAs) as a necessary partnership to foster a positive culture for EDM and strengthen the concept of MMW. With this revival, WMC now occurs days leading up to the start of UMF, removing the obstacles for professionals and visitors to plan their trip to Miami.
As MMW continues to evolve, many venues and hotels, such as Factory Town or the National Hotel, continue to showcase different EDM talents. This year is going to be special with the 35th anniversary of WMC, the 25th anniversary of UMF, and the 25th anniversary of Club Space Miami, hosting world-renowned talents, such as Skrillex's UMF return since 2015.
While spring break in Miami declines, Miami Music Week is here to stay and take on ravers traveling for a jam-packed week with the hottest electronic music in the world.
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