Currency Crash – A Promoter’s Nightmare
Countries with volatile exchange rates make it extra difficult to have a clear picture on overall costs. The Balkans, Türkiye and some of the Eastern European countries are no strangers to this. With exchange rates and costs vary drastically from the time of booking, ticketing and the show, this can make or break a promoter.
In markets where a weaker currency can collapse overnight, what can promoters do to avoid turning a sold-out show into a financial disaster?
These are countries with huge metal fan bases that shouldn’t be skipped over. However, it’s important for both agents and artists to understand these countries and their potential struggles.
This panel brings together some of the promoters from these regions to discuss how these risks impact touring, ticket pricing, and production planning.
Panellists will also share insights from the production side, highlighting how logistical and technical planning must adapt to these financial realities.
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Mihai ‘Coro’ Caraveteanu (RO)
Bucharest Deathfest
Mihai ‘Coro’ Caraveteanu is one of the few long-time professional freelancers in the metal music industry in Romania, with a solid expertise of more than two decades in touring the Balkans and Europe, from booking and managing underground tours with bands like Sinister or Negura Bunget to organizing big full-house concerts and festivals, inviting bands like Venom, Sodom, Cannibal Corpse, Dismember, Asphyx, Suffocation or Watain to play for the first time ever on Romanian soil, or betting on bands like The Ocean or Misery Index at an early stage of their career.
Coro was working as tour manager and behind the merch booth for many tours made by The Flaming Arts agency and it’s the TM & everything merch in Europe for the US band Incantation.
He was also the backstage manager of the most preeminent Romanian metal open air Rockstadt Extreme Fest.
He is the main promoter and organizer of the small, but charming Bucharest Deathfest that opens the indoor festival season every spring in Romania.
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Boyan Robert Pinter (BG)
Believe Music / Miracle of Bravery
Boyan Robert Pinter is a music industry expert and executive with over two decades of experience in the creative industries. He is a trained musician in guitar and contemporary music composition and holds degrees in French and Spanish from the University of Houston, TX; a master's degree in Arts Management and Administration from IU Bloomington, IN; and a postgraduate diploma in Law from BPP University, London, UK.
Boyan has been working in the field of live music since 2008 and was part of Live Nation Sofia Music Enterprises, a partner company to Live Nation CEE based in Sofia, Bulgaria. Since 2017, he has been an independent promoter as Pan Harmony, later merging with Blue Hills Events, and agent for international artists. He is the creator of SPIKE Showcase, the first conference/showcase event in Bulgaria.
Boyan works as A&R and Label Manager for Believe, and is currently the country manager for Bulgaria. He was recently interviewed for the position of A&R at SharpTone Records.
Boyan is currently the CEO of Miracle of Bravery, a distribution and management company focused on artist development. He is also the co-manager of Swedish band Self-Deception.
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Milan Rakić (RS)
MM Concerts
Milan Rakić has been embedded in the Serbian underground since the early 90s - publishing fanzines, trading tapes, and building connections with extreme music communities across the globe before most people had internet access.
In 1997 he launched Awaken Productions, a cassette label and distro, followed by Grom Records in 2001, which he still runs today across CD, LP, tape and digital. Specializing in extreme metal, the label remains one of Serbia's most consistent underground imprints.
As a musician, Milan spent over a decade performing across Europe with two of Serbia's biggest extreme metal bands: May Result and The Stone. He has also written for Metal Hammer, Terrorizer, Metal Maniacs, Explosive and Metal/Rock Express, and hosted the Extreme Zone radio show on national frequency Radio Novi Sad from 2014 to 2019.
On the live side, his reach is substantial. He has programmed the Exit Festival. He has run MM Concerts Serbia since 2013, organizing metal, punk and hardcore shows, festivals and tours throughout the region. Since 2015 he has been part of the team at Revolution Festival in Timisoara, Romania, and founded Festival srpskog podzemlja, an annual gathering where music, visual art, poetry and performance art converge under one underground roof.
Since 2019 he has served as program editor at the Student Cultural Center in Novi Sad.
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MOD: Taner Oztonbul (TR)
Duality Productions
Taner Oztonbul is the owner of Duality Productions, a well-known company focused on organizing and promoting heavy metal shows across Türkiye. Duality Productions has played an important role in bringing together the country's metal music scene, offering a platform for local and international bands to perform and connect with passionate fans.
In addition to his musical endeavors, Taner holds a Master's degree in Financial Mathematics, showcasing his analytical and business awareness. He is still working for one of the Top Tier Banks, in the area of International Capital Markets, as a trader and product manager. His dual expertise in finance and music has allowed him to navigate both worlds successfully, contributing to the growth of Türkiye’s heavy metal culture.