Next year, EuroSonic Noorderslag will take place on 14, 15 and 16 January. As of May 1st it is possible to register online for next year. Thanks for coming, see you next year!
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Total number of visitors: 18.000
Nationalities present: 34
Professional participants: 2.650
Artists performing: 259
Radio stations present: 22
international festivals present: 123
ETEP participant festivals: 59
Number of stages @ EuroSonic: 32
Number of stages @ Noorderslag: 9
Network Europe members: 38
Number of European journalists present: 140
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Besides his earlier mentioned keynote speech, Moses Avalon will also be hosting two workshops on Saturday. Since seating is, as always, limited; be sure to be on time if you want to be in on this!
Revenue Streams
The key to making big money in music is "passive revenue" . That is money that is made while you're sleeping: royalties form sales of records, licensing to films, publishing. Basically everything but touring. How to create passive revenue from music, so that you don't have to tour till you're 60, will be revealed in a one basic hour Workshop.
Saturday 17 January / 14:00 - 15:00 / D4 (Cons. 1.06)
Digital Distribution
Digital Distribution is the key to making money in the new music business. But, with so many choices, how can anyone know which is the best deal? In an exclusive workshop Moses Avalon will show you the ins and outs of these deals, how to spot a scam and how to negotiate good terms.
Saturday 17 January / 15:30 - 16:30 / D4 (Cons. 1.06)
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The Role of Music as a Part of the Creative Industries in the Boosting of Europe's Creative Potential
The National Member States and the European Commission are both working to boost the creative industries in Europe. What is the role and position of music, and how can European artists and European repertoire benefit from this policy? The discussion will cover new business models in a digital environment, skills, training and how to make the most of the single market and beyond.
Representatives of the European Music sector will discuss this issue with presentations and interventions by mrs. MSc J. van Kranendonk (Director-General of the Dutch Ministry of Education,Culture and Science) and mrs. Odile Quintin (Director-General for Education and Culture, European Commission).
Introduction by: mrs. MCs Judith van Kranendonk (Director-General of the Dutch Ministry of Education,Culture and Science, NL)
Moderator: mrs. Odile Quintin (Director-General for Education and Culture, European Commission, FR)
Marcel Albers (Flow Records, NL)
Tjeerd Bomhof (Voicst, NL)
Bart Hofstede (Professor of Media and Entertainment / Policy Advisor at the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science / The Dutch Representative in the European Expert Group on Creative Industries, NL)
Norbert Plantinga (Managing Director Universal Music the Netherlands, NL)
Dick Rijken
J.F. Michel (Secretary General European Music Office)
Cees Vervoord (CEO of Buma Stemra, NL)
Fruzsina Szép (MXP Hungary / Sziget Festival, HU)
Thursday 15 January / 15.30 - 17.00 / C2 (Kleine Zaal)
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Keynote Interview with Simon Frith
For many years it was assumed that the live music business could not compete effectively for consumer expenditure in the music market place. In the last decade, this picture has been shifting. As the value of CDs has fallen dramatically, the value of live concerts has risen equally dramatically. My research project is concerned to examine these changes and place them in a long historical timeframe. We are concerned equally with the emergence of a new musical power structure and with the reasons why consumers are now prepared to value live performance so highly? What is it that is being valued? The act? The venue? The event? The audience experience itself?
In this talk Simon Frith will introduce some of his initial findings. Simon Frith's presentation will be followed by a Q+A, lead by Paul Rutten.
Thursday 15 January / 13.00 - 14.00 / C10 (Bovenzaal)
Independent Festivals
Is Independence Sexy or Just Plain Economic Suicide?
Our continually developing contemporary pop-culture has few more vivid and fully operative demonstrations than those music festivals with defined histories and ever developing profiles. The authenticity of these internationally recognised events contrast sharply with the steadily growing 'ready-to-wear' and often disposable products manufactured by the entrepreneurship of the fast turn around sectors of the pop-world.
The two very different areas are marked by a complete variance in planning and the necessary economics. This session contemplates the festival approach to finance and poses various questions. How reliant is a festival on it's headliners? Where do we continue to find unadulterated, new and innovative popmusic? How can these requirements be integrated whilst retaining the individual character and the hospitality typical of the different locations?
Saturday 17 January / 14.00 - 15.00 / C3 (Grijze Zaal)
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European Border Breakers Awards
On Thursday 15 January it is time for the European Border Breakers Awards 2009. During this festive award show not only the ten winners will be put in the spotlight, but the audience will be presented with some top notch artists, performing live on stage. There will be performances from a number of winners, amongst which are Kraak & Smaak, Ida Corr and Cinema Bizarre, but there will also be a number of special guests and former winners, like Gabriel Rios. Our host of this evening, Jools Holland, will also appear live on stage with his Blues Orchestra. Conference visitors will have free entrance to this award show. The show takes place at the Oosterpoort and the doors to the hall open at 7.30 PM.
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Keynote: Moses Avalon
Are sales really down? Is the industry truly in decline? Or is this just black PR by those who want to see the music business weakened? What is the future of the music business and how will major labels play a role in it?
Friday 16 January / 13.30 - 14.30 / C3: Grijze Zaal
Keynote Interview: Russel Warby
I have been a concert booking agent for 20 years. Representing many extraordinarily talented and exciting musicians including but not limited to; Nirvana, Foo Fighters, The White Stripes, The Strokes, The Shins, Gillian Welch, Elliott Smith, Ryan Adams, Stereolab, The Libertines, Jet The Vines, The Thrills, Lemonheads, The Kills, Peaches, Be Your Own Pet, Vampire Weekend, White Denim. All of them unique. In 2006 I started a record label which goes by the name of Ark Recordings, with Jamie Davis (who ran Transcopic) - we have/will release records by 747s, Turbo Fruits, Tacks, The Boy Disaster, Alberta Cross and Sparkadia.
So, that's one question Carl Leighton Pope doensn't have to ask him anymore, but that's not a problem, he has many more up his sleeve.
Saturday 17 January / 12.30 - 13.30 / C7: Kelder
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The EuroSonic Noorderslag team would like to wish you all a very happy, musical, successful and healthy 2009 and we hope to welcome you all on Thursday 15 January to the EuroSonic Noorderslag Conference.
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Conference program online!
The day has finally come, we are very proud to present to you the vast majority of the EuroSonic Noorderslag 2009 Conference program. As you are used of us, we have got both Dutch spoken and English spoken panels. The Dutch ones are only listed on the Dutch part of the site, so all panels that are listed on the international pages are English spoken.
Here’s a random pick from the international conference menu, for more details, check the program page here. Be sure to check this Program News page regularly, for it is the place to be if you want to know about any program changes and updates!
Off the Record with a Smile, Booking a Tour: Live on Stage - On Tour with the Hypotheticals, The Future Of Labels, The Showcase Festival & Covention Panel 'export ready or paid holiday', keynote speeches by Moses Avalon and Simon Firth and of course a lot of panels on our focus country Belgium.
Conference registrations still available
Registrations for the EuroSonic Noorderslag Conference are still available, be sure to get them quickly though, sales are going fast. Both the EuroSonic as Noorderslag Festivals are sold-out already, but as always you have free entrance to all shows with your Conference registration.
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update Belgium focus program!
As good neighbours we try to get of their secrets! Here are some updates regarding the Belgium focus!
Live in Belgium – all about Belgian venues and festivals
Belgium has a rich “live-performance” history and its huge variety of clubs, venues and festivals is a testimony to it. Year-round, the concert-goer can make a daily selection from either alternative acts or big international crowd pleasers. In Flanders there is a booming club scene and Wallonia is in the process of developing its own. During the summer months Belgium transforms into the ultimate festival country. How do all these festivals survive? Which club or festival caters to the likes of your act? Which kind of support do these clubs get? Are (inter)national collaborations possible? And how do so many top venues compete in such a small country?
In collaboration with Flanders Music Centre and Wallonie Bruxelles Musiques. With Sophie Chevalier (Pure FM), Kurt Overbergh (Ancienne Belgique), Paul Henri Wauters (Botanique), Marc Steens (Clubcircuit), David Dehard (Club Plasma), Stijn Roggeman (De Kreun) and Chokri Mahassine (Pukkelpop/Polsslag) (tbc).
Doing Business with Belgium – do’s and don’ts
For everyone who needs help launching an artist, a recording or a business in Belgium. Belgium is an ideal test market. Learn all there is to know about the role of the media, who the key players are, access to physical and digital distribution, the main differences between Flanders and Wallonia, the central role of Brussels. Experts explain the structure of the Belgian music industry and how to make the most of it. In collaboration with Flanders Music Centre and Wallonie Bruxelles Musiques
With Dirk Steenhaut (De Morgen), Maarten Quaghebeur (MMaF, Music Managers Federation), Olivier Maeterlinck (BEA, Belgian Entertainment Association), Philippe Decoster (Bang), Didier De Raeck (Rough Trade), Guy Vanhandenhove (Musicpublishers.be).
Rock Werchter, awarded as best music festival in the world
Interview with Herman Schueremans, the man behind Rock Werchter. His festival was awarded the Arthur Award for best festival no fewer than four times by the International Live Music Conference (ILMC). Rock Werchter is valued by artists and public alike for its near perfect combination of quality and quantity. Herman Schueremans talks about the work behind the scenes and the future of music festivals. In collaboration with Flanders Music Centre and Wallonie Bruxelles Musiques.
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Focus on Belgium
After announcing this year's focus, we are kind of obliged to let you know about some of the panel topics for this year's conference;). During the official opening of EuroSonic Noorderslag on 15 January, which will commence at 5 p.m., the Focus on Belgium presentation will also take place. The day after, the big Belgian party will break loose! The Marathonzaal will turn black, yellow and white on Friday and the following topics will be on the menu.
First of all it's up to concert promoter and politician Herman Schueremans to tell his story during an interview. He was one of the men behind the Rock Werchter and Torhout-Werchter festivals in Belgium and nowadays he is working as a promoter for Live Nation. Since 2004 Herman is also to be found on the Flemish Parliament, as a member of the Flemish Liberals & Democrats party. After the Herman Schuermans interview it is time to take a look in the world of clubs & festivals in Belgium. Hof ter Loo, Werchter and Graspop won't be lacking here! Carrying on, the Dos and Don'ts in Belgian business will be out in the open during the 'Doing Business With Belgium-What's Hot And Not' panel to finish of in the end with a true Belgian Party! Off course there will be no shortage of beers and fries here.
If you haven't had enough Belgium during the conference, be sure to check out the various clubs downtown during the EuroSonic festival. Amongst others A Brand, Aeroplane, Amenra, Barbie Bangkok, Malibu Stacy, Novastar, Shameboy, The Black Box Revelation, The Experimental Tropic Blues Band and The Subs will be treating your hearing to a lot of great music from our neighbours from the south.
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Meetings – meetings – meetings
The phrase ‘let’s meet’ will be much relevant for some of you during the upcoming EuroSonic Noorderslag. EuroSonic Noorderslag is proud to host several annual meetings in Groningen of partners like European Broadcast Union (EBU) and Yourope for example. Meetings like Yourope Members Meeting / 7th Health & Safety Seminar / The ETEP festivals Marketing Meeting / ETEP Artist Exchange Meeting for ETEP festivals, EBU radio’s en music export offices / the June, July and August Festivals meeting. So if you are one the attendees of special meetings… we’ll take care of the coffee!!!!
Anyway please check the EUROPEAN TALENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM (ETEP) results of 2008!! ETEP is an initiative of the Noorderslag Foundation to stimulate the circulation of European repertoire on festivals, radio and media in Europe with kind results. Since 2003 ETEP resulted in 400 shows at 50 festivals in 17 countries by 145 artists! Hmm… which artists? Which festivals? Just check www.etep.nl/2007/acts.html to see the impressive results. All acts of course, performed at EuroSonic before. Personally we are already excited to guess which of the upcoming acts during next EuroSonic will be selected by ETEP.
The first confirmed acts performing during EuroSonic in general are: Alain Clark (nl), Automatic Eye (fi), Baustelle (it), Bonaparte (de), Casiokids (no), Declan de Barra (ie), Deichkind (de), Dísa (is), Fight Like Apes (ie), Firefox AK (se), First Aid Kit (se), Gravity Co (bg), Hal Flavin (lu), Heidi Happy (ch), Hindi Zahra (fr), Hjaltalín (is), James Yuill (gb), Jennifer Gentle (it), John & Jehn (fr), Marit Larsen (no), Michachu & the Shapes (gb), The Legendary Tiger Man (pt), Lulu Rouge (dk), The Mojomatics (it), Neimo (fr), Numer482 (ua), Orka (fo), Polarkreis 18 (de), Rita Redshoes (pt), Rolo Tomassi (gb), Soap&Skin (at), The Coronas (ie), The Mondrians (ch), The New Wine (no), Tone (dk), Turbo (hu), Universe 217 (gr), WWW (cz) and You Me At Six (gb). Beside this there will be a WARP showcase consisting of Hudson Mohawke (gb), Jackson & His Computer Band (fr), Jon Hopkins (gb) and Tim Exile (gb). This years focus of EuroSonic 2009 is on Belgium. This means there will be performances by Amenra, Barbie Bangkok, Malibu Stacy, Novastar, The Black Box Revelation en The Experimental Tropic Blues Band and many more. Hopefully we will see some of these acts back on the European festival front!
Keep posted!
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The Value of Live Music
a keynote by Simon Frith
Keynote announced on Thursday 15 January from 12.00 till 13.00!!! (so be on time J )
A first report from a research project
http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/livemusicproject
For many years it was assumed that the live music business could not compete effectively for consumer expenditure in the music market place. Live performers could not benefit from economies of scale nor increase productivity significantly. To keep ticket prices affordable live music promoters were therefore dependent on subsidies—from the state, from record companies, from sponsorship. The live sector thus developed in to two distinct ways: state and state broadcaster supported venues and events; a popular music touring circuit developed as an aspect of record promotion and star building.
In the last decade, this picture has been shifting. As the value of CDs has fallen dramatically, the value of live concerts has risen equally dramatically. At the same time live promoters have achieved both economies of scale (through the use of music festivals) and increases in productivity (through the use of digital technology in ticketing, for example) which has lead to increasing profitability and therefore investment in the live sector and a significant process of international rationalisation (symbolised by the global reach of Clear Channel/Live Nation).
This research project is concerned to examine these changes and place them in a long historical timeframe. We are concerned equally with the emergence of a new musical power structure (last year, for example, the financial returns from live performance in the UK exceeded those from the sales of CDs/downloads) and with the reasons why consumers are now prepared to value live performance so highly—what is it that is being valued. The act? The venue? The event? The audience experience itself?
In this talk Simon Frith will introduce some of his initial findings.
Look what is on Wikepedia!
Simon Frith is a former rock critic and a sociologist who specializes in popular music culture. He read PPE at Oxford and did a doctorate in Sociology at UC Berkeley. He is the author of many books including his first, The Sociology of Rock, ISBN 0-09-460220-4, Sound Effects (Panteon, 1981), Art into Pop ([Methuen, 1987] written with Howard Thorne), Music for Pleasure (Cambridge University Press, 1988), and Performing Rites: On the Value of Popular Music. He also co-edited other key anthologies in the interdisciplinary field of popular music studies including: On Record: Rock, Pop & the Written Word and The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock. Most recently, Frith has edited a four volume set entitled: Popular Music: Critical Concepts in Media & Cultural Studies. He has chaired the judges of the Mercury Music Prize since it began in 1992. His popular music criticism has appeared in a range of popular presses including the Village Voice and The Sunday Times. He taught in the Sociology Department at the University of Warwick and the English Studies Department at Strathclyde University. In 1999 he came to the University of Stirling as Professor of Film and Media. On January 1 2006 he took up the Tovey Chair of Music at Edinburgh University. He is also the brother of guitarist Fred Frith and psychologist Chris Frith.
More info at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Frith
http://www.music.ed.ac.uk/staff/profile/ProfileSimonFrith.html
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More panels and a Keynote by Moses Avalon
Besides he informs you about the costs of the war in Irak on his site, you can definitely say Moses Avalon has some interesting thoughts to share regarding our industry. Published several books and a monthly newsletter Moses Supposes he will tell you in his own style his vision about the music industry. Curious? Check www.mosesavalon.com/introduction_flash.htm .
Off The Record With A Smile
This session is now almost able to call itself an institution as this will be it’s fourth edition! Yet again we invite you to suspend all thoughts of seriousness, to relax, take a beer or two and enter into the spirit of the humour that has always attended the music industry which some forget is all about entertainment! Listen and feel to join in with tales of your own as a couple, perhaps a few, experienced music professionals share true (though sometimes a little embellished and perhaps adapted to protect the guilty!) stories of life in the various tracks that make up the music business highways and byways. Expect to laugh (hopefully) smile (probably) groan (certainly) and perhaps even hold back a tear (perhaps – but we hope it won’t be that bad!).
Soon some names tba on the panel!
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We are always happy when our own Ruud Berends starts coming in with some nice selection of panel topics and the announcement of some expert friends from the field to share their expertise with the EuroSonic Noorderslag audience!
So here we go, happy to announce some of the first topics…
The New European Agent
Many of the Booking Agents that control the international touring business have been around since helping to invent and construct the industry as we know it today, but this is a volatile business and things change. Over the last few years new and younger faces have appeared, both in the UK and throughout Europe to make their mark and to oversee the ways that the recent seismic shifts in the music industry impact on the touring of new and established artists. We invite some key players to comment on and discuss what has changed, what remains constant, how they go about their day-to-day business and how these Agents of today see the future of the live industry.
With Steve Zapp (ITB), Natasha Bent (The Agency), Rense van Kessel (The Alternative), Steven Thomassen (Toutpartout), Matt Bates (Primary) and Kalle Lundgren (Pitch & Smith) as experts on the panel ‘sir’ Allan McGowan will take it through the roof!
Also we will see Allan back on track as moderator on the ..
Booking A Tour - Live On Stage: - On the Road with The Hypotheticals:
Aspiring superstar band The Hypotheticals was introduced to Noorderslag delegates in 2006 - three years later, a long time in today’s fast moving business, and after many highs and lows, with record and touring success in various territories, our favourite imaginary act have had to deal with many problems; musical differences, personal squabbles etc, all of which led to a split (not to mention rehab!)….You’re shocked I know, but don’t despair! With a new line-up they’re back, with new deals and a positive attitude they are setting up a new tour, with a new product to promote! The band's new dedicated, experienced and highly professional team represented by a real-life Manager, Agent, Record Company, Concert Promoter and Financial Advisor will take to the conference platform to re-launch The New Hypotheticals on their journey to the dizzying heights of stardom which their talent so richly deserves!
Panellists to be announced, but this is the one panel where beer is for free!!!!
Probably going after free beer is one, but stay a bit sober for the future with:
The Future Of Labels
The Labels have come off many of the music tins as technologies have provided new ways to access and distribute the contents. But have we really moved on from needing the guidance and control, which they traditionally provided; the lists of ingredients, the instructions for storage and preparation, even the estimated shelf life and particularly the new recipes? Is it possible for the music business to continue, for new talents to be developed and promoted, for their musical offerings to be distributed widely and effectively, without the skills, the risk taking and the commitment developed over many years by the record companies? We ask some representatives of very active labels how they see their role now and in the future.
And even Allan will be involved again as moderator (ever considered a show Allan?!) we already can announce Christof Elinghaus (City Slang) and Roger Dorrestein (Epitaph) as the first experts on the panel.
Stay tuned!
