Ultra Music Festival's Russell Faibisch on WMC: There Was Never a Rift With Conference

Via Ultra Music Festival's Flickr

​Almost exactly one year ago, Ultra Music Festival and Winter Music Conference suffered a "deeply complicated and very public breakup" after 13 years of peaceful, symbiotic coexistence.

A few months later, just before Ultra 2011, we asked the fest's cofounder and CEO Russell Faibisch whether "there [is] a possibility we could see WMC and Ultra back on the same week in 2012?"

At the time, it seemed impossible. But the Ultra honcho replied, "Always a possibility. It would be really great if we can make it happen together next year."

And as we reported last month, it has actually happened: Winter Music Conference had expanded "to 10 days" for 2012 and "realigned with Ultra Music Festival ... Sort of."

Now, while Crossfade has continued to make the assumption that WMC and UMF are engaged in a still-roiling, semi-silent feud stemming from last year's split, we recently spoke with Faibisch, seeking a status update on the relationship between the two parties. And he insists that it's all kosher.

"Like I've always said, things may have been perceived differently last year," Faibisch says. "But the reality is there was no issue."

"For 2011, we wanted to be on the same dates," he explains. "But we couldn't for reasons they had on their end.

"This year, they were able to get the dates that coincide with ours and we're very happy about that," Faibisch insists. "It's a win-win for everybody. And at the end of the day, it enhances the experience for the fans and the people that love electronic music.

"It's great for everyone all around."

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