amg – audience music growth
digital circulation and engagement
abstract
The “AUDIENCE MUSIC GROWTH” project aims at joining opportunities and gaps (new technologies to reach new markets) taking advantage of e-tools and digital services powered by smart data and artificial intelligence. The project will be developed in three different phases:
ARTIST SELECTION AND PREPARATION (3 months).
We will select a minimum of 40 emerging artists in at least ES, PT, IT and IR, providing an average of ten musicians per country with different ages, music genres and gender.
IMPLEMENTATION, TESTING & MONITORING OF DATA (6 months).
Artists will connect their streaming and social platforms to start the Data Analysis and implement their customized marketing plan to increase their audience in specific regions. We will use tools to analyze contents and actions and Generative AI to create content (text, pictures) to execute an optimized marketing plan to release their music, increasing their audience and converting listeners into active followers, ticket buyers and superfans.
KNOWLEDGE GENERATION AND TRANSFER (3 months). During the last part, the project will focus on creating, publishing and sharing a Whitepaper with the most important findings and recommendations obtained from the dataset of the selected artists. The Whitepaper will include the best practices and specific strategies and tasks to grow the audience and be able to increase the royalties and ticket sales in new markets.
With this project, we intend to provide clarity and practical advice to creators using all the available digital channels in a dynamic industry where technology is changing quickly the landscape and now is more relevant than ever to be updated.
The project pretends to be a laboratory to test and develop solutions to increase the competitiveness and the economic potential of musicians, in line with LIVEMX objectives.
bridging balkan borders
music export
abstract
“Bridging Balkan Borders” by Flat Line Collective, under the SoAlive Music Conference, is a visionary project dedicated to enhancing music export in South East Europe. This ambitious initiative leverages the power of songwriting camps led by European experts, complemented by showcases and listening sessions at regional and international partner events. These listening events are designed to provide artists with the exposure to new audiences and industry professionals, fostering opportunities for networking, collaboration, and feedback. They act as interactive platforms where artists can also engage with listeners, gather insights, and build a fanbase. The goal is to transform passive listeners into active supporters and ambassadors of Balkan created music, thereby enhancing the export capacity of the region’s artists on a global scale.
Integral to the project is a focus on capacity building and learning. We will conduct targeted trainings and workshops during the SoAlive Music Conference, equipping artists and industry professionals with essential skills and knowledge. These sessions are designed to enhance participants’ expertise in various aspects of the music industry, fostering a well-rounded development.
An additional component of our project is the development of a new platform and database, inspired by the model of Indie on the Move. This platform aims to facilitate seamless exchange and collaboration within the music community. It will serve as a dynamic resource for artists and professionals to connect, access opportunities, and share information, mirroring Indie on the Move’s comprehensive approach to providing valuable resources to independent artists. This multifaceted approach is aimed at building a vibrant, interconnected Balkan music scene with a strong international presence.
The SoAlive Music Conference platform aims to create a comprehensive and in-depth map of the music industry in the Balkan region on a dedicated innovative SoAlive (BBB “Bridging Balkan Borders”) platform.
Creating a regional digital platform with a database for music industry professionals and artists to help improve networking/exchange and create opportunities for a better environment, collaboration and interaction between musicians/professionals from the Balkan region.
For musicians/bands and agents
• Securing more concerts and better tours with the most complete and up-to-date Balkan music venue database and reverse index on the web, including contact information for hundreds of agents and program directors of music venues and instant personalized alerts for available performance opportunities.
For music venues and promoters
• Never an empty stage with our geo-targeted artist availability system and email alerts for music venues, independent promoters, club agents and bands. Post available dates and cancelled gigs, search and find music artists of all genres to fill available gig dates. Database of music and links to help the music venue choose the right band for the right event.
For record labels and music managers
• Access to information and resources for expanding, maintaining, marketing and promoting artists.
Resources for press, radio and media contacts. Weekly updated blog with best practical information, free resources on music business topics and a network of music companies and managers.
By interlinking these elements – songwriting camps, listening sessions, capacity building, and a dedicated platform – “Bridging Balkan Borders” seeks to create a robust ecosystem that supports and amplifies the talents of South East European artists, propelling them onto the international stage. Our goal is to transform the regional music landscape into a vibrant, interconnected community, thriving on collaboration, innovation, and shared growth.
enhancing gender equality in the european musictech sector through technology and digital skills development
digital circulation and engagement
abstract
This project seeks to harness the power of technology and digital skills to enhance gender equality within the music industry. This initiative not only aims to elevate the presence and success of underrepresented groups in MusicTech but also strives to influence industry-wide standards and practices, making them more inclusive and equitabl
Purpose and Goals:
The main purpose of this project is double:
1. Enhancing the visibility and participation of female and non-binary artists and pros in the music digital and tech landscape, and empower them with digital skills and tools necessary for success in the digital and tech music landscape
.2. Address the underrepresentation of women and non-binary individuals in the MusicTech sector by embedding gender data into music metadata, advocating for and implementing changes in music metadata standards to include gender data, thus promoting equity and diversity.
Key Features:
– Workshops and seminars focused on digital skills and the use of AI in music, in collaboration with music venues and tech hubs across Europe to host live music events showcasing female and non-binary artists.
– Development of a framework for including gender data in music metadata, in partnership with key industry players and stakeholders.
Focus
live music venues
abstract
The FOCUS project, initiated by the Association Mink Tolmin, is a pioneering effort addressing the challenges faced by small live music venues in the Alps-Adriatic region, spanning Slovenia, Austria, Italy, and Croatia. The project is driven by the rich experience of the association, which has played a pivotal role in cultural, educational, and creative spheres in a rural setting marked by poor infrastructure and conservative social beliefs.
FOCUS aims to prevent the decline of small live music venues through intensive mentoring support, networking for mutual fundraising and collaboration, and increased community collaborations and advocacy awareness. The project strives to empower venue staff with tailored skills training, foster regional and international collaboration, and tackle challenges such as funding constraints, precariousness, and audience engagement.
The project introduces innovative elements by harnessing new technologies for hybrid capacity-building events, overcoming financial constraints typical for small organizations. Emphasizing prevention, community building, and solidarity within the live music ecosystem, FOCUS stands out as a unique initiative that showcases the potential of regional collaboration. The project aspires to be a role model for other organizations, emphasizing micro-networking practices for the collective strengthening of the music world through rural-based collaboration.
FOCUS stands as a model for cross-border collaboration, involving organizations from Slovenia, Austria, Italy, and Croatia, highlighting the added value of EU cooperation. The project contributes to sustainable outputs: workshops with mentoring, FOCUS on tour, staff exchange, case studies by forging new synergies and networks, fostering collaborations between venues, promoters, and artists.
The success of the project will be measured through quantitative benchmarks, including the number of mentors, venue staff participation, and audience engagement. Qualitative indicators include participant skill enhancement, venue development, and the emergence of offshoot projects inspired by FOCUS. Regular monitoring, documentation, and project evaluation contribute to measuring and assessing progress.
FOCUS emerges as a collaborative, innovative, and impactful initiative that addresses the pressing challenges faced by small live music venues in the Alps-Adriatic region. Through its strategic objectives, measurement strategies, and a well-structured timeline, FOCUS seeks to empower, unite, and ensure the sustained growth of small venues, thereby contributing to the vibrancy and diversity of the live music ecosystem in the region.
g.l.o.r.i.a.
live music venues
abstract
G.L.O.R.I.A. is a unique 12-month initiative to enrich the cultural and community fabric of Haldern, a small rural town near the Dutch border with a notable live music scene. Orchestrated by Haldern Pop, an organisation with a long history in live music and cultural exchange, the project aims to integrate the culinary arts into the live music experience at the Haldern Pop Bar, a well-established venue that hosts over 30 concerts a year by European bands.
Green Touring Tool
digital circulation and engagement
abstract
jazzahead! – the world’s biggest jazz convention in Germany and Zone Franche, the World Music Network, as part of a French consortium (FNC, CNM, ONDA) are joining forces in finding solutions to the big challenge of sustainability in the music sector by using digital technology. Our aim is to make national and international touring more sustainable and at the same time easier for programmers and more beneficial for artists. The general idea is to use the already existing platform CooProg (https://cooprog.eu/) and adapt it to the needs and particularities of the live music sector.
Cooprog is a software developed by the Office National de Diffusion Artistique (https://www.onda.fr/en) with the aim of creating coherent tours through cooperation between programmers. The tool is already in use in the live performance sector and needs to be adapted and further developed to better fit the realities in the music field.
Zone Franche and jazzahead! will define some selected pilot partners from both countries (12-15 in each country) to carry out a review and test phase of the existing software. This whole investigation phase of the project will be spread over a period of seven to nine months (end of 2024).
In a later phase the “Green Touring Tool” will be deployed on a broader European scale in the music field, engaging not only festivals and clubs but also other smaller venues. To prepare the dissemination phase, jazzahead! and Zone Franche will host round tables and workshops also during the investigation and test phase at strategic networking moments in the music sector at jazzahead!, the European Jazz Conference, the WOMEX and at the Rencontres Transmusicales. This application only covers the first phase of the “Green Touring Tool” project.
By joining forces, different types of programmers can be mobilized (in terms of genre, size and type of venues) with a regional / national / international dimension. The overall goal is to reduce the environmental impact of touring in the music sector through cooperation between programmers.
The “Green Touring Tool” can be one of the most convincing responses to the need for a paradigm shift in the cultural and music sector. It is an online platform designed to coordinate artistic programming in the context of the new Climate Regime. It is a digital tool designed as a free, open-source commons to enable programmers to share and identify converging projects, and thus to create geographically and temporally coherent tours with the aim of limiting the ecological footprint of live performances.
So far, the tool CooProg is used in the branch of theater and performing arts and has to be adapted to the needs of the music sector. What kind of adaptation is needed to successfully get introduced in the music sector internationally? What foundations need to be laid for the tool to become established, accepted and widely used in the music market – cross-genre? What is necessary and what are the criteria to reach out for as many programmers and bookers as possible to create a space of benevolence and solidarity for a more sustainable music sector?
These and other questions will be investigated during the test phase by the selected participants.
The development of the “Green Touring Tool” is an international approach for more sustainability in the music sector. jazzahead! and Zone Franche have the ambition to take the next step, and focus on actions connected to the development of a digital tool, that makes it possible to develop sustainable touring in the music sector on a regional/national and international scale in a way that is easy in access for promoters/bookers and more beneficial for the artists.
As part of the proposed project, jazzahead! and Zone Franche would like to adapt and test an existing digital instrument to make it usable for the music sector.
Innovation Mapping for the European Music Sector – IMEMS
digital circulation and engagement
abstract
Music Tech France will build the first European mapping of AI musictech solutions, dedicated to the (live) music industry with a focus on music export.
For this project, we are partnering with MusicTech Germany, the Federal Association for music technology in Germany, and WISE, the Future Festival and Think Tank (whose 2024 edition will focus on AI).
In the ever-evolving landscape of the music export and live music sector, we recognize the multifaceted challenges faced by the industry. We will curate a comprehensive directory of European musictech companies that have successfully addressed these challenges through innovative AI solutions.
Our project not only aspires to unravel the immense potential of AI within the music sector but also aims to provide tangible solutions to the intricacies faced by musicians, live music professionals, and music export offices.
Our project aims to present a mapping of present solutions that leverage the transformative potential of AI. The first step in mapping the musictech ecosystem therefore has to represent all aspects of its impact along the value chain. Several European hubs have started studying their ecosystem to better serve their members. The main obstacle: Each of them has followed their own individual approach, resulting in very heterogeneous results and formats. We’ll harmonize these efforts by creating the first standard of mapping for the music industry on a European level.
Music Tech France and MusicTech Germany are also involved in the imminent creation of Music Tech Europe, the trans-European umbrella organization for all EU-MusicTech networks. Therefore, we are able to gather data about organisations which provide AI tools for music export and the live music sector from several other musictech hubs to be added to this project (Belgium, Spain, Finland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Netherlands, Austria, Greece).
For the Live Music sector, our initiative directly addresses the challenges of developing artists’ circulation in Europe, ecological sustainability, and new audience strategies. The proposed mapping of AI companies will serve as a valuable resource for live music companies seeking solutions to these challenges (collaboratively book artists, implement eco-friendly strategies, enhance community building initiatives, etc.). For the Export of European Artists, our mapping of AI tools can significantly contribute to the challenge of promoting new music and artists abroad in innovative ways by cataloging AI companies specializing in cross-border co-creation and business development opportunities.
Additionally, we propose to enhance networking formats within the AI mapping project, creating inclusive and accessible opportunities for artists and professionals to connect, share insights, and build meaningful collaborations at conferences and beyond.
We’ll follow three steps:
• Building a mapping of the European Music Tech ecosystem: AI-powered solutions for the music industry, focusing on the needs of European (Live) Music, Music Export and their impact now and in the near future.
• Gathering feedback from music industry professionals, working with- and in collaboration with the Live Music sector. Our goal is to put existing solutions and the music industry’s needs facing each other to draw the right conclusions, helping both.
• Presenting and contextualizing the results of this research work at conferences to address the music industry itself and to educate professionals about the innovation taking place. To make sure to reach artists, music professionals from different verticals and live industry stakeholders, we are planning roundtables / panels at WISE Conference (May, Germany), SoAlive (Oct, Bulgaria) and MaMA Music & Convention (Oct, France).
At the end of the project, we’ll publish a report with the findings we have gathered during research, the results of discussions with professionals and panels/workshops we have organized through the year.
jazzchange 2024
live music venues
abstract
Jazzchange is a collaborative project boasting a proven history of a possible solution in redefining promotion through a circular music exchange. This was tested by exchanging and promoting artists between SI and the CZ, with a vision to extend this model to new countries. It connects not only venues and promoters but also artists from different countries and so challenges the individualistic approach in touring. The initiative is underscored with the commitment to environmental responsibility and social connections.
Jazzchange emerged in 2022 from the initiative of two renowned jazz promoters, one in SI, at Ljubljana Castle Jazz club, and one from Prague, CZ at Mladi Ladi Jazz. Both promoters are visible actors in their local scene, curating programs that attract jazz music lovers to their events, to see previously known artists as well as to discover new artists.
The opportunity to create such an exchange arose in the last months of the pandemic in 2022, when the first shows started to take place again in both Slovenia and Czechia. Planning the season ahead, both promoters invited Wckd Nation, an emerging and upcoming talent from Slovenia, to perform at their event. In order to realise both bookings, Wckd Nation created a discourse between the promoters who recognised their overlapping music taste and role in recovery after two years of pandemic shut down.
Both promoters recognised the success of the pilot year and added additional venues in 2023, when Pantaloons (SI) and Tygroo (CZ) performed. The second edition was an immense success with all venues sold out and both bands reporting exceptional experience from this project. The project also had a really good media coverage.
The project creates a positive beacon and strong sign for the jazz musicians who are in the process of launching their careers. By seeing the possibility of live artists exchange, not only the artists participating, but also others who see the project moving ahead would be inspired to continue working on their project and see participating in the future years as an opportunity.
For the year 2024 we have decided to expand the project to an additional Czech city to Jazz Tibet club in Olomouc and to add another country to introduce this project in more of a western part of Europe. The LiveMX open call seems like a perfect opportunity to expand this project since it has been heavily underfunded in previous years. We can expand the network and build up the established solid base. This will also help venues, not only centralised but also decentralised to adopt circular exchange and green touring practices.
With the goal of strengthening the international position, the project has until now (22-23 editions), gained support from the local music export offices (SI – SIGIC’s Music Slovenia, CZ – Arts and Theater Institute’s department, SoundCzech). While their recognition of the project’s substance is symbolically very important, their financial support was scarce. The project, while severely underfunded, ran on the belief of unpaid coordinators in its significance, demonstrating a confidence in the resilience possibilities of the proposed method and its value to the general music scene. This grassroots commitment, combined with success, highlights the project’s potential and underscores the need for expanded financial backing to fully realise its ambitions.
Another goals for this project would be to add capacity building sessions with music professionals (promoters, venue staff, band management, etc.) from each country to secure peer-to-peer learning and development. Also to make this project more sustainable and ecological by implementing the measures described below and focus on the audience development.
Our main long-term goal is to keep this project running every year (circular music exchange) and to expand to other countries and make sure that the results are transferable. We are already working on our ties to Croatia, HU, AT, etc.
Name of the Entity: Nerudný fest.cz z.s.
Country: Czech Republic
Strand: Strand B – 40k €
social media
keepon Touring
live music venues
abstract
The interaction among different stakeholders in the Italian (and European) live music ecosystem has undergone significant changes in the post-COVID era: the increase in costs, and consequently, artist fees has resulted in greater inconsistency between the expenses incurred by Live Music Venues to book bands, with particular regards to emerging talents, and the actual earnings from events. The increasingly challenging search for projects that allow for cost recovery has made booking strategies less diverse. The concentration of tours in few dates in major cities has made it more difficult for emerging artists to connect with their audience. These elements create a vicious circle that risks making live events less effective.
KeepOn Touring aims to break this vicious circle through easy adjustments and tools: as a network association, KeepOn LIVE wants to provide a platform for live music venues and festival associates through which, without additional costs, artistic directors can exchange dates and program music at competitive prices.
The process, which is straightforward and immediate, involves:
• Creating a dedicated platform through which artistic directors can communicate to all the members of KeepOn LIVE’s network the intention to program an artist and inquire if others are interested. This platform can thus become a negotiation hub and a calendar management to ease the coordination process.
• In particular, when several artistic directors agree on the desire to have an artist perform in their spaces, they proceed to contact the booking agency to purchase multiple dates “in bulk,” reducing costs and optimizing work.
This tool, highly replicable in different contexts, countries, and territories, can also serve as a launching pad for the careers of emerging musicians, thanks to the widespread dissemination of information about the musical projects sought by artistic directors, moving beyond existing trajectories linked to bookings agencies’ newsletters and sales.
Another tool for launching emerging projects will be provided by the platform: KeepOn LIVE intends to finance the production of tours directly promoted by the associated Live Music Venues and Festivals. It is common for some Live Music Venues and Festivals to promote local artists outside their territory; it has also been possible to verify that this practice has allowed artists to establish themselves significantly in the Italian music scene. Through the project, the aim is to support this dynamic, offering financial support for the production of three tours proposed by KeepOn LIVE’s members. Projects will be selected through an open call managed directly on the platform through a form to ensure maximum transparency towards the associate base. Thus, the selection of the projects to be financed will be shared between all the members of the association, who will have the possibility to vote for their favorite project. This dynamic allows KeepOn LIVE to not interfere with the artistic choices and to be partial in the selection of the projects to be funded.
The economic support will be provided to live music venues and emerging artists to cover material costs incurred in the organization of a tour. By way of example and not exhaustive, these include: costs for renting live venues or rehearsal rooms for show production; costs for renting backline equipment; costs for renting vans or transportation; costs for travel or accommodation not covered by other sources. Each selected project will have the opportunity to specify the type of costs that need to be covered and it is the intention of KeepOn LIVE to offer a flexible and tailor-made service that responds to real needs.
La benéfica de la piloña
live music venues
abstract
La Benéfica’s overarching objective is to breathe new life into and reevaluate rural territories through a groundbreaking fusion of culture and active citizen participation. The project seeks to reinvigorate the social and economic fabric of the rural territory of Piloña and the Asturias region by establishing a live music venue and cultural centre. This initiative aspires to establish an innovative and participatory model for cultural co-creation, production, and intervention, strongly emphasising sustainability and social inclusion. What sets La Benéfica apart is its multifaceted approach, intertwining artistic and cultural expression, community engagement, addressing rural abandonment, depopulation, and knowledge transmission.
linx club
music export
abstract
In Europe and around the world, the music industry shows a web of gender-based and sexual violence that persists widely. Our field experience leads us to draw up a radical assessment: in all music genres, artists who identify as FLINTA pile up problems linked to power relations with white cisgender men who often ‘decide’ on their careers. FLINTA artists are at the forefront of injustices and have no ‘peer-to-peer’ network, unlike cis men who have been evolving for a long time via well identified channels. They benefit very little from the experience of other female and gender expansive representatives who could help build a coherent and ‘safe’ career development.
In response, D·I·V·A· created Linx Club, which is an alternative template to train the artists of tomorrow. It’s a tool for all FLINTA artists at the start of their careers, seeking to become professionals. Linx Club is a capacity booster that enables upstream, peer-to-peer dialogue – free from the diktats of marketing – to promote one’s music outside one’s native country and an understanding of markets without straying from one’s original goals. Beyond the teaching of music, the transmission from artists to artists is inspiring, creates empathy, and helps them find the resources to thrive in unbalanced industry dynamics.
Linx Club is a format that aims to address the specific needs of the music sector in Europe by offering a ‘peer-to-peer’ professional capacity building that integrates the values of equality and inclusion, diversity and representativeness – as well as the consideration of artists’ working conditions and mental health. Through creating an alternative to the hegemonic ‘boys’ club’, Linx Club aims to produce a balance that has never existed: not only in terms of gender, but also in terms of relations between artists and industry leaders.
Name of the Entity: D·I·V·A·
Country: France
Strand: Strand A – 60k €
social media
madame talk europe
music export
abstract
Produced by Madame Rap, the first and only media dedicated to women and LGBTQIA+ in hip hop, Madame Talk Europe is a podcast which promotes and raise the visibility of European female and LGBTQIA+ rappers. It is available in 6 languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Polish and Arabic.
In the popular perception, rap is a hostile space for women and LGBTQIA+ people. However, rap has always been an inclusive music genre, accessible by numerous and diverse parts of the population. The main issue is that women, as well as LGBTQIA+ artists are largely underrepresented and struggling to survive from their music, in an industry largely dominated by cisgender males.
The podcast series featuring six episodes is dedicated to the music scenes in six countries (France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Serbia, Iceland). In each episode, we bring together a European female or LGBTQIA+ rapper and a European professional of the music sector or expert.
The objective is to:
• enable European female and LGBTQIA+ artists to expand their visibility and audiences,
• increase the circulation and export of their music,
• connect them with professionals of the music sector,
• raise awareness among the European audiences and professionals from the music industry about the importance of women and queer artists in rap music,
• and understand the obstacles encountered by female and LGBTQIA+ artists and offer tools and solutions.
mentoring for finta in live music venues
live music venues
abstract
This project addresses immediate challenges faced by FINTA professionals in live music venues, laying the groundwork for a more vibrant, sustainable, and inclusive future. Empowering individuals, promoting diversity, and initiating cultural change align with providing peer learning, capacity building, ecological solutions, and new audience strategies within the live music.
The project innovates by addressing challenges through a tailored mentoring approach, fostering peer learning, promoting soft skills development, creating networking opportunities, and envisioning long-term cultural change within the live culture sector. Its creativity lies in its holistic and inclusive approach, experimenting with new paradigms for mentorship and networking to drive sustainable industry change.
The measurement of project objectives involves pre-program assessments, ongoing monitoring, participant feedback, and long-term impact assessments. Success will be demonstrated through tangible improvements in experiences, increased networking, enhanced soft skills, and sustained efforts towards diversity in the live culture sector.
The project design ensures a phased approach, allowing for iterative improvements based on ongoing evaluations. The timeline encompasses the full project cycle, from preparation and launch to program implementation, evaluation, and the final reporting phase.
These outputs collectively demonstrate the project’s effectiveness in empowering FINTA professionals, serving as measurable indicators of progress toward fostering diversity, inclusion, and empowerment in the industry.
Inclusivity and gender balance are woven into every stage, from initial needs assessment to long-term impact evaluation. Through intentional outreach, diverse stakeholder engagement, and a commitment to addressing systemic barriers, the project aims to catalyze a cultural shift towards a more equitable live music industry.
The project team’s professional and administrative capacity is demonstrated through leadership, expertise, and institutional support, forming a well-rounded and capable team poised for successful implementation.
The workflow and quality assurance mechanisms emphasize proactive planning, transparent communication, stakeholder engagement, and continuous improvement, ensuring high-quality implementation of the project and success in fostering diversity in the live music sector.
Results are strategically aligned with general aims of peer learning, capacity building, ecological solutions, and audience strategy development, setting the stage for a more vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable future for the live music sector in Europe. The comprehensive communication strategy aims to create a vibrant and engaged community, amplify impact, and contribute to the discourse on diversity, sustainability, and innovation within the live music sector.
Music: Connecting people
music export
abstract
The project involves building a network of contacts for professionals involved in the promotion of European artists and music with today’s opinion leaders and key music promoters, including playlist editors of streaming services, as well as independent playlist curators, bloggers, podcasters, and radio promoters (radio music directors).
The opportunity to build this network will be through the organization of a showcase featuring 6-8 European artists for music promoters. The showcase will be preceded by panel discussions and presentations on the promotion and export of European music through new media, with the participation of invited promoters from key services as well as with the presentations on European music markets. The event will be accessible to approximately 75-100 professionals and about 35-50 of the mentioned music promoters, creating favorable conditions and space to build a lasting network between professionals and music promoters.
The showcase will take place in November/December in Warsaw, where some of the CEE hubs of the world’s largest streaming service and social platform are located such as TIDAL, YouTube/Google, Meta, etc. The organization of the first edition of the event in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, the largest music market in the CEE region, aims to draw attention to both the musical export potential of the entire CEE region and the challenges faced by artists and professionals in the region. These challenges include a lack of access to promotional and export tools readily available in all major and mature european markets, such as dedicated playlist editors on major streaming platforms and access to local playlists. The project – both the events and the network – will be open to artists and professionals from all EU and Creative Europe countries. However, the event’s location in the CEE region is also intended to facilitate greater participation in the project by professionals from CEE countries who may find it challenging or financially burdensome to participate in major showcase festivals and industry conferences in Europe.
In addition to organizing the showcase event and creating a networking platform for professionals and music promoters, as organizers, we will ensure that information about the artists performing at the showcase and interesting new European music with export potential is regularly provided to the promoter group formed within the project.
Furthermore, to ensure the project can be developed in subsequent editions and its results can be consumed in the long term even after the project’s conclusion, a dedicated playlist for the event will be created and made available on major streaming services. This playlist will be inaugurated during the event in Warsaw. The project will be implemented with the assumption that it will be scaled and expanded in the future to other European locations, so that as the project develops over time, the playlist’s reach will grow as a tool for promoting European artists and maintaining relationships with music promoters within the established project network.
In addition to the playlist, video recordings of individual artists’ performances will be promoted through social media created for the project and through participating music promoters.
In the future (in the next edition of the project), there are plans to organize a similar showcase in metaverses. This will allow, through the already established network of promoters, to reach fans and superfans worldwide in an even more innovative way.
new communities
live music venues
abstract
New Communities addresses LIVE MUSIC VENUES’ topic to develop new audiences strategies. In particular, drawn on the expertise brought by Barcelona Events Musicals in the organization of live music festivals -namely Cruïlla Festival, the project pursues community building initiatives at the intersection of cultural tourism, CCI, rural development and digital transformation.
BARCELONA EVENTS MUSICALS, S.L. is a company whose purpose is the organization, management, financing and production of the Cruïlla Barcelona Festival, the Cicles Cruïlla concert series (including Cruïlla Primavera and Cruïlla Tardor) and other musical performances in Spain, as well as the management of the intellectual and industrial property rights derived therefrom.
Cruïlla is a music promoter focused on offering its audience a rewarding and quality experience, with a great diversity of genres and activities, able to adapt to new formats and develop specific services for each segment. Cruïlla wants to maintain a constant and close communication creating a community that allows it to evolve favorably and maintain loyalty. It wants to focus on the local audience and interact long before the day of the concert.
Since the first edition in 2010, the festival has experienced a strong growth in demand as well as a process of internationalization, a fact that has led the organization to increase the number of days, stages and performances. The Festival is a meeting point for diverse musical styles, cultures and sensations where the 25,000 daily attendees are a very important part. The key to Cruïlla’s success is focused on knowing, working and taking care of its audience to offer them novelties and new experiences.
On the other hand, the tourism sector also mobilizes a highly diversified economic activity in the territory, which includes, along with a strong productive fabric, a very delicate and artisanal one that is key to enriching and giving meaning to tourist experiences: cultural, sporting, food and wine, learning, information and support activities… Cultural tourism contributes to diversifying the tourist offer in order to maintain the competitiveness and development of inland, rural or less touristy destinations by offering a structured process of converting natural, cultural, gastronomic, artistic, etc. resources into tourist products.
Within this context, New communities explores live music festivals as an instrument for community building through new audience strategies. Live music festivals shall help to diversify the tourist offer by creating new products that can be enjoyed outside the summer season as well as in different non-pioneering tourist destinations, such as rural or inland destinations.
Through 6 Activities: (A1) Analysis of Cruïlla Audience Development Plan to gain a clear segmented understanding of needs / drivers / barriers of different audiences based on evidence (A2) Strategy co-creation to address new audiences (A3) Implementation of pilots to build at least one new community outside Barcelona (A4) Capacity building activities both reinforcing Barcelona Events Musicals’ human resources and providing peer learning and capacity building among live music venues (A5) Communication and dissemination (A6) Project Management;
New Communities will produce 6 outputs:
• Project’s mission statement to address new rural community building initiatives through live music festivals.
• Collection of tools and research methods performed within the Analysis activity.
• Segmentation report for the new audience strategy.
• Executive paper for the new audience strategy
• Case study on the co-creative training process of Barcelona Events Musicals staff to develop strategies to reach new audiences, using methodologies to encourage the participation of local communities and stakeholders throughout the process.
• Toolkit for the replicability and transferability of project results among peers from the live music industry
Nordic Music Exchange
music export
abstract
Nordic Music Exchange addresses the challenges of developing professional networks and promoting new music and artists within contemporary classical music and sound art through cross-border co-creation. The project focuses on the Nordics and Scotland as the target markets both for exchange between and among these regions and for promoting a ‘Nordic’ brand to the rest of Europe and the UK. Nordic Music Exchange (NME) is a new initiative from Nordic Music Days (NMD); a festival presenting Nordic contemporary music and sound. NMD is a travelling festival, usually hosted in the Nordics. The next edition of NMD will take place in Glasgow, Scotland from 30 October to 3 November 2024.
The NME project is a new collaboration between the composer associations and music export offices/ centres in Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Scotland and Sweden.
The partners would like to use the opportunity provided by the festival platform to
• develop a new, four-day industry focussed programme providing relevant networking and skills development opportunities and nurturing networks at a range of levels
• provide three developmental projects that address challenges for young composers, disabled composers and geographically isolated composers
• focus on sustainability through deep-touring and deep participation
• introduce new audiences to Nordic contemporary music and sound
Within the contemporary music and sound sector Classical: NEXT is the only other industry event with the similar export aims, however, the Nordic Music Exchange project is taking inspiration from the rock and jazz worlds where industry events often run alongside festivals and performances. Whilst this format is not new in rock and jazz circles, it is uncommon within contemporary classical and sound.
Nordic Music Exchange is targeted at:
• the composers and artists featured in the Nordic Music Days 2024 programme,
• additional composers from across the Nordics, invited by the composer associations and Nordic Film Music Days (to include film composers),
• young, disabled, and Greenlandic (geographically isolated) composers and musicians targeted through special actions,
• a range of invited delegates from across Europe, the Nordics and the UK including festival, event and venue directors and programmers, critics, media practitioners and cultural policy makers.
For the participants, we expect that the short term outcome of increasing their knowledge about, contacts in and skills for sustainable international music exchange, will lead to the longer term impact of increased commissions and bookings of Nordic contemporary music and sound by other Nordic and European countries and the UK.
pilot project for audience diversification in contemporary jazz
live music venues
abstract
Our project consists of the creation of a European programme for the exchange of jazz proposals through collaboration with 3 spaces/associations similar to Assejazz, dedicated to the dissemination and internationalisation of this musical genre.
These three entities will visit Assejazz with the aim of exposing and exchange practices and work tools that will deepen the challenges between jazz venues and the new audience profiles. Understanding that jazz venues are not simply physical spaces, but crucial nodes for the interaction between artists and audiences, the project works in cooperation between these four entities that will experimentally formulate and test specific solutions to overcome the main barriers between this discipline and its interaction with the public.
12 meetings/concerts will be held (4 for each entity) spread over 12 months, which will serve as inspiration and practice to develop a tool that will help us to reflect on issues such as the reduction of the environmental impact of venues and the interaction with audiences that are not very integrated among current audiences (young people, women and citizens not professionally linked to musical disciplines) and practical tools to include audiences in the reflection and transformation of music venues.
Propulsion#3
music export
abstract
PROPULSION#3 is a support programme for jazz and improvised music band leaders. PROPUSION#3 is led by La Compagnie Tangram (based in Strasbourg) and takes place in 3 different countries: the Grand Est region (in France), Luxembourg and French-speaking Belgium. Selected through a call for application, laureates beneficiate from courses to lead their jazz project at a professional level. The program’s curriculum focuses on vital areas such as administration, production, networking, booking and communication specific to jazz endeavors. Professional musicians join as mentors offering artistic guidance and supporting the laureates through the various stages of their journey from pre-recording to the release of a promotional EP.
PROPULSION#3 aims to fast-track the careers of jazz and improvisation laureate artists and foster the exchange of knowledge, skills, and experiences between seasoned professionals and emerging talents. The program leverages the unique cross-border regional geography, promoting international exposure and cultural collaboration.
Since its inception, the network of partners has expanded, and the support offered has evolved.
PROPULSION#3 introduces two distinct pathways: PropulsionWOMEN and PropulsionBANDS, each tailored to address specific needs. Six musicians are chosen through a rigorous selection process to partake in free workshops, residencies, recording sessions, and networking events. In order to fast-track the career of these artists, each of them will be assigned with a mentor (6 mentors, 1 per country per pathway) in order to ensure connections and transfer of knowledge.
PropulsionWOMEN supports 3 female artists who want to develop their project leadership skills and fully endorse the role of a band leader. Following a call for applications, 3 women are selected by a professional jury (1 selected in each country: Région Grand Est in France, Luxembourg, and Belgium). As well as taking part in the joint course with the PropulsionBANDS pathways, the objective for three laureates from each region is to produce an artistic work by the end of the programme. This creation will be presented live in professional conditions. They will benefit from mentoring by a fellow female jazz musician. The mentor, which is also a well-known musician, will be able to introduce the 3 laureates in the network.
PropulsionBANDS is dedicated to 3 bands up to quintet size (one per region) who have a repertoire ready to be recorded. This programme, which the leader of the group is for its part designed around the common thread of producing a promotional EP. PropulsionBANDS: following a call for applications, 3 groups are selected by a professional jury: 1 in the Grand Est region, 1 in Luxembourg and 1 in Belgium. The three groups will be supported in their professional development through training sessions (face-to-face and distance learning), residencies and studio recording support. Numerous networking initiatives, meetings and experience-sharing are an integral part of the support programme, which combines formal and informal transmission activities.
In summary, PROPULSION#3 is an international co-creation initiative designed to enhance the export capabilities of jazz talent. It aims to create efficient and effective cross-border co-creation and business development opportunities for artists, producers, and industry professionals from Creative Europe Participating Countries. Through comprehensive training, mentorship, and broad industry networking, the program equips music laureates with the necessary skills and connections to amplify their projects and engage with the European music community innovatively.
Serbia Creates: The Spotlight
music export
abstract
“Serbia Creates: The Spotlight” is an innovative project initiated by Serbia Creates Music platform (legally part of the Republic of Serbia – Office for Information Technologies and e-Government) of the Serbian government, addressing the challenges emerging Serbian musicians face. Struggling to connect with international audiences due to a set of music industry gaps (the previous non-existence of the Serbian music export office being the most prominent one), young talents need more opportunities for exposure. Supported by Music Moves Europe, the initiative addresses specific challenges within the Serbian music landscape, focusing on music export, networking, and fostering capacity-building within the industry.
The project introduces a groundbreaking approach to music export through a transparent, open call for musicians, facilitated by an expert panel formed of 12 music professionals, each representing a different genre and background. The project aims to redefine how music export is approached and executed by creating a platform for artists to showcase their talents internationally. The transparent and inclusive competition process provides an opportunity for 15 emerging music artists to gain exposure and participate in 120 performances at 60 events and festivals across nine European countries – Serbia, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Romania, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria. The project also includes professional training and engagement of two music industry professionals who will handle the logistics and organisation of the above-mentioned performances.
A key aspect of the project is capacity building, offering free resources, training, and experience to enhance the skills of both artists and music professionals. This inclusive educational component ensures participants are well-prepared for the competitive music landscape.
The project’s impact goes beyond Serbia, contributing to the broader European music scene. With lessons learned and experiences gained, it serves as a valuable case study for innovative and scalable approaches to music export. Building on the success of its first edition executed in 2023, “Serbia Creates: The Spotlight” envisions a larger-scale competition in 2024, solidifying its position in the music scene and elevating the profile of Serbian music internationally.
set sail to music export (sesame)
music export
abstract
There are several needs that emerging artists have. Most important are: more knowledge of music production, of copyrights & publishing, online music distribution and international touring.
This project aims to address all these needs by organising 5 rounds of co-creation camps in Bucharest, Romania. Each camp allows two bands from different countries to co-write songs and rehearse together and at the end of the camp they will hold a joint concert in a small or medium venue/club in Bucharest.
Artists will stay in Bucharest for a total of 7 days (6 nights) for each camp.
Training the artists on those subjects will enhance their export potential and help them jumpstart their international careers.
During the co-creation songwriting camps the artists will be guided by experienced music producers and will attend workshops on copyrights & music publishing, online distribution & promotion and international touring.
Workshops will be provided by a mix of Romanian and international experts. Workshops provided by Romanian experts will be in person, the rest will be online. Music producers will always be present in person.
Presentation of Romanian and French markets will also be provided, for bands to find out relevant details about how show business works in those two countries, about music venues and agencies that can help in setting club tours locally.
There will be a call for applications for artists/bands and the selection will be made by an international jury of 5 members (one member will be from France). Eligible artists must be 18 years and above and residents of the eligible countries.
The project is aimed at artists/bands from France and the countries around the Black Sea: Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Turkey, Ukraine and Georgia, thus making a connection between these countries and one of the top 3 music markets in Europe.
Even if it does not have direct access to the Black Sea, we have included Moldova as Romani’s sister country with many talented artists (many of them are currently Romania´s most successful artists, with some of them relocated to Romania). The most relevant examples are the bands Carla´s Dreams, The Motans and singer Irina Rimes.
In the end, one of the participating artists/bands will be selected to perform at MMB Showcase Festival 2025, which is connected with MMB – the biggest international music business event in Romania, which is traditionally taking place during the first week of September. Selection will be made by the curators of the festival.
The project will be implemented in partnership with the French Institute in Romania, Mastering The Music Business (MMB) Conference & Showcase Festival and RAW Music (Romania´s music export initiative).
sofia live: alive and digital
live music venues
abstract
Sofia Live: Alive and Digital encompasses two integral components, targeting different yet conected aspects of the live music sector:
EU Emerging Artists Concert Series:
• This initiative, offering a concert series two times a month, focuses on showcasing emerging European talent.
It addresses our objective of enhancing artist circulation, providing a vibrant stage for artists and contributing to cultural diversity. This would also create opportunities for our local artists to support/meet/collaborate with other emerging European artists.
• Located in Sofia, the project leverages the city’s strategic position in South East Europe (travel time being less than < 4h by van/bus/car/train), connecting Istanbul, Bucharest, Belgrade, Skopje, and Thessaloniki, thus serving as a regional hub for music tours.
• The funding will enable robust artist promotion, covering essential expenses like staff, utilities, artist travel, and accommodation, while ensuring audience accessibility through low ticket fees.
• This series will play a critical role in nurturing young talent and providing them with opportunities to perform across the region.
Sofia Live Digital Concert Club:
• In response to the rapidly evolving digital landscape in the music industry, this component aims to create an online platform for on-demand concerts and live streaming.
• The platform will feature a rich archive of concerts, attracting a diverse audience by offering free access initially, followed by a subscription model.
• A significant portion (70%) of the revenue from subscriptions will directly benefit the musicians, fostering an ecosystem that supports artists financially.
• This digital initiative emphasizes on digitalization, innovation, and sustainability, addressing the contemporary needs of the music industry.
• We aim to record over 30 concerts in 2024, with plans to expand the archive to more than 300 live recordings by 2026.
• The platform will prioritize showcasing young talent and artists from marginalized groups, which is a major commitment to inclusivity and diversity we have been working on for years.
These two components synergistically work towards enhancing the live music scene in Bulgaria and the broader region. By focusing on artist circulation and digital innovation, Sofia Live: Alive and Digital project underlines its commitment to cultural development, technological advancement, and sustainability in the music sector. This comprehensive approach ensures that the project not only supports the current landscape of live music but also paves the way for future growth and evolution.
sync about it
music export
abstract
In recent years, the European community of music professionals has grown and managed to connect in ways that seemed hard to achieve 30 years ago, for instance. Thanks to the work and dedication of professionals who appreciate the importance of networking and sharing knowledge, we have been exposed to numerous possibilities of expanding our expertise and keeping in touch with the dynamics of the music industry. Events such as Eurosonic, Nouvelle Prague, Live at Heart and others have created the perfect context for more connected and better informed professionals.
However, in this landscape there are still several needs to fulfill. Hence, the Sync About It music conference and songwriting camp, a new entity that focuses on music sync opportunities and best practices in the field and that targets to build a bridge across European music professionals. Even better, there seems like right now is a great moment to do more about sync, since, according to the IFPI report, 2022 has been the second year in a row that showed an increase of 20% in sync revenues’ compared to the previous year.
The Covid-19 pandemic was a harsh lesson for artists and music rights owners, demonstrating the need of exploring as many revenue sources as possible. One of these sources can be music synchronisation which means placing your music in movies, TV series, video games, ads and so on – music serves as a storytelling tool, complementing and reinforcing the narrative of a film, TV show, or advertisement. Moreover, sync enhances the visual and emotional impact of media projects by pairing music with visuals, creating a powerful and immersive experience, amplifying the emotional resonance of a scene and making it more memorable. Coming from both music and advertising backgrounds we truly understand the power they can hold together.
Sync can get artists a fixed licensing fee for the usage and it can also generate extra revenues/royalties from collective management organisations, as well as gaining popularity and visibility which can translate into streams, views, increase in social media numbers and ticket buyers.
Sync About It’ capacity building goals are structured on 3 layers: gaining know-how, networking and putting talent to work (sync writing camp).
In order to make the most out of music sync, artists and right owners need to know how the system works.
They need to make sure they have their music properly registered to the collective management organisations, to have control over their music (meaning master and publishing rights), to have their music filled in with the correct metadata, to organise their catalogue and to explore useful digital platforms, to know how to do their research and how to pitch properly. These are some of the educational aspects that the Sync About It wants to address.
In this business networking is also a key element in order for artists and music to thrive. Our goal is to bring together independent artists, songwriters, record labels, publishers and music supervisors, production companies, directors, advertisement agencies, video developers. Bref, its goal is to connect the people who make or own the music with the people who need it and thus opening the door to possible cooperation in the future. It would contribute to the circulation of the artists’ work, it would open the doors for artists to have their music placed in a context that can help their overall development.
Sync About It will also provide an opportunity for independent songwriters and producers to apply and to take part in a songwriting camp where they can make music together, building new bridges and exploring new creative processes, will work on actual briefs from music supervisors and also have the chance to live pitch their works.
The 3 day event is designed to create a new community of people who need music and of people who create or own music, thus encouraging international cooperation through the circulation of music and good practice.
t!lt
live music venues
abstract
T!LT (Turin Is Louder Today) is an initiative started in January 2023 that is not not just another concert series but a social project aiming to bring different communities together “to fly beyond the boundaries of conformism, to evade conventions and enrich existence thanks to power of expression and curiosity”. In the last 12 months, it brought together hundreds of artists and musicians from around the world at sPAZIO211, a live music venue and cultural hub, located in the first periphery of one of the most important cities in Italy.
sPAZIO211 is one of the most active and innovative live music venues on the Italian and European scene located in the city of Turin – a strategic hub at a geographical and cultural level.
The artistic direction of T!LT creates an innovative offer of alternative sounds and artistic languages with the goal of: discovering and promoting innovation of global alternative music; stimulating European circulation of artists; promoting artistic diversity and career development; generating new audiences.
T!LT comes to life in sPAZIO211, a place of culture and social activism, in which anyone can find participation and hospitality – pursuing a coherent and constant resistant action of relocation of human, cultural, artistic, experimental approaches. A space fueled by the reckless desire to grow and take root despite all adversities and congenital anomalies, in a socially and aesthetically complex suburb.
For the year 2024, T!LT wants to make a step forward and enrich its action plan with the goal to respond to a widespread and necessary need now recognized by professionals and artists in the live music sector:
• developing and facilitating the circulation of artists and live performances within the European region;
• implementing concrete and systematic actions that can be scalable, innovative and experimental with a long-term vision embraced by the partners whom will choose to join the network.
For 2024, our action plan will implement the artistic program with activities dedicated to artists and young professionals within the European live music industry that will include professional training, networking, discussion and roundtable actions of work to provide strategies, methodologies and opportunities for live music venues to anticipate and plan the future in the field of artist’s circulation, put concrete actions and ecological solutions into practice and stimulate good practices and effective measures for audience development.
For 2024, we will focus on nurturing relationships and opportunities to artists and professionals to access the markets of the so-called alternative music (not mainstream, not classical, not commercial) within Italy, Spain, and Portugal thanks to our partners in the project: JAZZ AO CENTRO CLUBE, COIMBRA (PT) and LA PARCERIA, MADRID (SP).
Actions will be categorized under the following labels:
• T!LT ON STAGE – live music concerts and showcases
• T!LT ONLINE TRAINING – on line meeting sessions, panels of discussion,
• T!LT IN-PERSON TRAINING – roundtable of discussion, workshops, in-person meetings, experience on the field with free sessions, open to artists and professionals and guided by experts and influencers of the Live Music Industry to provide high value training about professional networking opportunities, insights on the market of the alternative music, theoric sessions about specific topics that will prepare artists and other music professionals to access international circuits and markets.
Delegates attending T!LT on stage event of November – that will commit to program one of the bands in showcase they attend by the following season – and speakers will be members of leading booking agencies, labels and live music venues, that will take part into the project – will be selected within our network of contacts and will commit to work with sPAZIO211 to create this network of exchange and support the bands in program providing opportunities within their circuits.
THE CHAIN OF MUSIC (VENUES) PLURALISM
live music venues
abstract
The Chain Of Music (Venues) Pluralism is a partnership project of two organizations, the Autonomous Cultural Center from Croatia and Crna kuća 13 from Serbia, with the main goal of developing conditions for the self-sustainability of the small music venues by strengthening organizations’ human and program capacities, while encouraging international program cooperation and networking of small music venues. Both organization’s working philosophies are based on DIY poetics, and were created and organized bottom up for the needs of the cultural and artistic scene with strong social and community engagement. The biggest visibility for both on the music scene came from managing music venues – ACC club Attack, and Crna Kuća club CK13. Both come from two city centers – Zagreb – the capital of Croatia and Novi Sad, the center of the province of Vojvodina, but there are no such models of small music venues on the local level. Independent music venues in Southeast Europe and the Western Balkans face numerous challenges in their efforts to achieve self-sustainability. They are important points for the development of the music scene, but there is no systematic support from local and national authorities, which threatens their long-term stability. The main challenges that this project refers to are financial self-sustainability, (un)competitiveness against the commercial and mainstream venues, insufficient education of young staff who are involved in work in creative industries, little opportunities for the development of human capacities of small music venues. The project will also strengthen the program and human capacities of the organization through education for employees in the music industry, a handbook, live performances by musicians/bands of various genres, an Artist in residence program, audio broadcasts of concerts on community radio, a music compilation, and will create the base for small music venues network and expanding, program cooperation and the inclusion of other organizations in the area of Southeast Europe and the Balkans. ACC operates in the former squat situated in old factory, which has been revitalized and adapted to the needs for various artistic, cultural and social programs, and which provides a unique venue for work, where the musicians participating in the project will be directly connected with the local community, and the creative work on AIR’s will have site specific characteristics. On the other hand, CK13, apart from the classical music club, includes various venues for other artistic or social programs and thus creates a synergy between artists and the local community which uses the venue for the realization of various needs and programs.
The project is also based on inclusive politics and gender equality, and will take care of the equal representation of women in the creation of the program, for example in the AIR program women make up 70%, while in the selection of the music program the ratio will be 50:50. Project will also promote inclusive policies by increasing the visibility of migrant artists, including them in the program, which achieves the audience development and engagement methods for music venues. The creation of the music program will be focused on fusions of different unconventional styles that challenge mainstream commercial music genres, and thus will achieve richness in the diversity of musical expression that contributes to attracting a new audience. Last but not least, the project will emphasize the importance of green policy and sustainability by using innovative models of communication with beneficiaries of this project.
xjazz! international
music export
abstract
Since its debut in 2014, XJAZZ! has established itself as Berlin’s largest Jazz festival and has become a permanent fixture in the Berlin cultural scene. For this, it was awarded the German Jazz Prize in 2022. The most recent edition of XJAZZ! in 2023 was the most successful festival to date. A total of 20,000 visitors attended the concerts featuring over 70 acts. The line-up brought together big international names such as Alfa Mist, Kokoroko and Louis Cole with up-and-coming Berlin acts such as Dumama, Aka Kelzz, Sera Kalos “eXante”, Move78 and Moses Yoofee in a carefully curated program. In addition, a curated program of lectures and workshops that explored the roots of Jazz and put them into perspective with current movements was an integral part of the festival.
XJAZZ! was conceived internationally from the outset and collaborations have already taken place with networks and partners from Reykjavík, Tel Aviv, Istanbul, Minsk, Barcelona, Wroclaw, Odessa, Kiev, Budapest and Lisbon. These collaborations always consisted of several concert evenings at which Berlin acts performed alongside local acts. The idea for XJAZZ! as a festival format based in Berlin, but represented internationally, arose from the impulse to present Berlin as a melting pot and meeting place for the national and international Jazz scene on the one hand, and on the other hand to connect international audiences with Jazz as a constantly evolving genre with influences from and into many other musical genres, with culturally and locally specific roots. In addition to opening up new international audiences, these formats have been an excellent opportunity for musicians living in Berlin to present themselves internationally.
With this application, we seek funding to support and further establish the international activities of XJAZZ!, in order to be able to give Berlin-based artists a platform in our partnering countries, to enable cross-border co-creation, and to help establish lasting networks of international collaboration within the diverse genre of contemporary Jazz. Situating our application within the topic “Music Export” as proposed by LIVEMX, we are planning the preparation and execution of the following international editions of the XJAZZ! Festival within a timeframe of 12 months:
• XJAZZ! at “Jazz Refound” in Casanuego, IT (August 2024)
• XJAZZ! at “Bozcaada Jazz Festival” at the Ayazma Monastery in Bozcaada, TR (September 2024)
• XJAZZ! at Arrozestudios in Lisbon, PT (November 2024)
• XJAZZ! Weekender with “Jazz I Am” (amongst other partners) in Barcelona, ES (February 2025)
The proposed formats will present live acts and DJs living in Germany alongside local artists, ranging from concert evenings with several acts, the curation of a stage at existing local festivals, to entire weekender formats co-created with partners from the respective city.
In addition to benefitting from the opportunity of a live performance abroad and being introduced to international audiences, the artists will be presented locally to professional representatives of the music industry (bookers, curators, labels, promoters) as well as journalists, in order to establish long-term connections. Furthermore, audiovisual content will be produced in connection with this collaboration in order to reach potential fans in the respective countries digitally and to provide the artists with high-quality material.
The overall aim of the project is to promote artistic quality and diversity within the genre of contemporary Jazz abroad, to support especially newcomer artists by introducing them to an international audience, and to foster lasting relationships between creatives and professionals. XJAZZ! is proud to have had these goals at the core of its activities for a decade, and as a team we are highly motivated to further strengthen these international collaborations in order to continuously contribute to exchange and co-creation within the European music ecosystem.