Richard Zijlma (NL)

Richard Zijlma is a Dutch music industry professional, festival director and talent developer with more than 25 years of experience in the international music and creative industries.
He is best known for his longstanding leadership of Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE). Zijlma was involved with ADE from its early years and served as its director for around two decades, helping transform what began in 1996 as a small industry conference into one of the world's leading platforms for electronic music, bringing together artists, music professionals, businesses and audiences from around the globe.

Before and alongside his work with ADE, Zijlma was involved with the Groningen Eurosonic/Noorderslag festival, contributing to the development of the Dutch and European music ecosystem. His career has consistently focused on connecting artists, creative talent, businesses and international audiences.

Since 2017, Zijlma has also played an important role in music education as the artistic leader of Conservatorium Haarlem, where he has focused on preparing students for the rapidly changing professional music industry, particularly in pop and electronic music. His approach emphasizes collaboration, international connections, creativity and strong links between education and the professional field.

In recent years, Zijlma has continued to work across music, culture and innovation. He is involved as founder/director of Haarlem Vinyl Festival, a festival dedicated to vinyl culture and recorded music, and in 2026 joined Exibeat as an advisor, contributing his experience in partnerships, fundraising and strategy. Also is he involved as consultant for various organizations. For the rest not much going on...