Milano Music Week will mark 10th edition with Linus as artistic director

Milano Music Week will return for its 10th edition from Nov. 16 to 22, 2026, with veteran Italian radio executive Linus as artistic director.

The festival will make Fabbrica del Vapore its new central hub. All events there will be free, though most require booking.

The weeklong event is a project of the City of Milan’s culture department, promoted with major Italian music industry organizations. It brings live performances, industry panels and cultural showcases across the city to highlight Milan’s role as a primary engine of the Italian music sector.

Linus, president of Elemedia, editorial director of Radio Gedi and artistic director of Radio Deejay, Radio Capital and OnePodcast, takes on the role as he marks 50 years in the media industry. He outlined a vision focused on connecting musical eras and linking Milan to Italy’s broader culture.

“The first thing I would like to do is put the past and present into dialogue, having today’s Milanese music artists reinterpret the songs that have described this city,” Linus said. “I am fascinated by the idea of creating a bridge between different generations, showing how music knows how to cross time and continuously renew itself. My two souls, the musical one and the sporting one, are fascinated by the concept of Milano-Sanremo: a flow of ideas, talent and energy that starts from our city and reaches all the way to the Festival.”

Tommaso Sacchi, Milan’s councilor for culture, explained the choice of artistic director and venue.

“For this special edition, we chose Linus as artistic director: a figure capable of telling the story of music and its changes like few others, with a perspective that combines experience and contemporaneity,” Sacchi said. “Fabbrica del Vapore will be the new heart of the event, a space that perfectly interprets the spirit of Music Week. And all events at Fabbrica will be free: a precise choice to make music increasingly accessible, open and shared.”

The 2026 program will mark the 50th anniversary of punk and disco, two movements organizers date to 1976. Organizers described both genres as revolutionary forces that reshaped social expression and lifestyles. Other topics include how digital platforms connect listeners around the world and how live venues turn online communities into physical gatherings.

Five industry groups (Assoconcerti, Assomusica, Fimi, Nuovo Imaie and Siae) backed the festival in a joint statement. “The tenth edition of Milano Music Week represents an important milestone for an event that over the years has become a strategic point of reference for music and its entire supply chain,” the organizations said. “Milan confirms itself once again as the place where artists, professionals, businesses and the public can meet, discuss and imagine the future of music together.”

The festival is organized by the social enterprise Butik Srl Impresa Sociale. Formats across Milan include concerts, DJ sets, album and book presentations, workshops, talks, live vodcasts and showcases. The festival also opened a public call for proposals, including concerts, talks, DJ sets, workshops and immersive experiences, for its official calendar.

Quotes have been translated from Italian.