Speaking live on RTL Today Radio, the CEO of SACEM Luxembourg joined the station to discuss the latest edition of The Hangout, an informal gathering designed to bring local music creators together without the weight of bureaucracy.
Marc Nickts is no stranger to RTL Today Radio and with our reach increasing, the relationship between SACEM and the radio station is going from strength to strength. As a platform for promoting Luxembourg-made (and related) music, there are many paperwork corridors to get lost in.
And that’s just when we consider our role as promoters for the Grand Duchy’s talents. Let alone for those new to the industry or finding their away around testy contracts and copyright regulations.
SACEM hold a once a trimester, open house meet, a Hang Out, if you will for folk actively involved, or tiptoeing around the edges of the Luxembourg Music Scene, and Marc once again came to Studio 4 to explain changes in music consumption and the value of metworking.
Now in its fifth edition, The Hangout takes place at Rocas Café and is open not only to SACEM members but to anyone interested in Luxembourg’s music ecosystem. The goal, Nickts explained, is simple: remove barriers.
Luxembourg is home to nearly 2,000 registered composers and authors, yet many have never met. Traditional industry structures can feel intimidating, especially for emerging artists, and The Hangout was designed to counter that.
“Often these people don’t know each other. This is about creating a real community spirit.” Rather than focusing on rights management paperwork or formal panels, the evenings are intentionally loose. Musicians from all genres, classical, metal, indie, electronic: gather over drinks, conversations flow organically, and collaborations sometimes spark unexpectedly.
One of the most striking takeaways from the conversation was how genre boundaries dissolve in person. Marc noted that once creators start talking about the act of making music itself, their differences quickly fade.
“When you have the same passion for music, the genre doesn’t matter.” This cross-pollination, he believes, is essential in a small but vibrant scene like Luxembourg’s, especially at a time when much of music discovery and collaboration happens online.
One of the industry’s biggest challenges, is Artificial intelligence, Marc sai this has been a growing concern for several years, particularly its increasing presence on streaming platforms.
While creators often embrace new technology as part of their process, fully AI-generated music poses a different threat.
“It’s already hard enough to be discovered. Competing with AI tracks makes it even harder.” SACEM, he explained, is focused on protecting human-centric music and ensuring creators don’t lose out on royalties in a landscape increasingly crowded by algorithmic content.
Another shift SACEMLuxembourg has observed is the shrinking length of songs themselves. What was once the classic three-minute pop structure is no longer the norm.
Driven largely by TikTok and streaming behavior, hooks now need to land fast — sometimes within the first 30 seconds — or listeners move on.
The Hangout runs from 6–9pm, with free drinks for SACEM members, and continues into a live jam session later in the evening, offering an alternative for those without tickets to major concerts happening the same night.
For artists interested in joining SACEM, the barrier to entry is low: release one original song and show it’s been played publicly. Details are available via SACEM’s official channels, but Nickts emphasized that events like The Hangout are often the best first step.
“The first contact can be here. After that, we’re always open to deeper conversations.” As the interview wrapped, one thing was clear: in an era of algorithms, AI, and shrinking attention spans, SACEM is betting on something timeless, musicians in a room, talking music.
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