WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH SHOWCASE FESTIVALS IN THE POST-COVID TIMES?
Christoph Ralph, director of c/o pop Convention, shares his thoughts about the future of showcase festivals and conferences in the post-COVID times.
The c/o pop Convention in Cologne is the industry gathering for the music industry and cooperating sectors such as digital business, film, TV, games and advertising. It takes place parallel to the c/o pop Festival and sees itself as a platform for networking and interaction for bands, artists and the entire associated ecosystem.
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF RUNNING A RECORD LABEL ON A SMALLER MARKET?
Hannes Tschürtz, founder and CEO of Austrian record label Ink Music, explains main challenges (and opportunities) of running a record label on a smaller market like Austria. Ink Music has been a key player in the Austrian music landscape since 2001. Today it is primarily active as a record label and publisher for artists and is dedicated to supporting and developing artistic careers. They work(ed) with artists like Bilderbuch, GARISH, Clara Luzia, Leyya, My Ugly Clementine,Oehl, Mira Lu Kovacs, Sharktank, Farewell Dear Ghost, Ezra Furman and many more.
IS PROGRESSIVE ELECTRONIC MUSIC MORE POLITICAL THAN PUNK?
Nina Hudej, Slovenian musician, promoter and activist, shares her thoughts on the political aspect of progressive electronic (club) music.
Nina is the co-founder of Grounded Festival and a musician – half of electronic project Warrego Valles. They are also promoters and curators of niche electronic music events in Ljubljana, active as an inexhaustible safer spaces maintenance engine, critical to misogyny, cis- and heteronormativity. She’s the programme coordinator of the Monokel lesbian club, a co-shaper of the Pritličje cultural centre and since recently also Bar Cukrarna.
HOW TO TRANSFORM A FACTORY INTO A SOCIAL CULTURAL CENTRE?
Hannes Cistota, head of music program at WUK, presents the (hi)story and challenges of running such a big cultural institution in the city centre of Vienna, Austria.
WUK is one of Europe’s largest socio-cultural centers. It hosts a packed program of events spanning dance and theater, exhibitions and kids’ events as well as many live gigs, DJ acts and regular club happenings.
WUK is an acronym and stands for “Werkstätten- und Kulturhaus”, roughly meaning “House for Workshops and Culture”. The building is laid out on 12,000 square metres and includes a stage, a concert hall, an exhibition hall and photo gallery, workshops and studios, work spaces for socio-political groups, a place for education and counselling, a senior citizens’ centre and school, rehearsal studios for music and dance, an intercultural centre, work stations and a party space.
HOW TO RUN A FESTIVAL FOR 30 YEARS?
Bogdan Benigar, who is behind the wheels of international music festival Druga Godba since 1993, explains how it is to run a festival for almost 30 years and where he finds energy and motivation to continue.
Festival Druga Godba is one of the most prominent music festivals in Central Europe. For more than three decades, their mission has been to rediscover and introduce less well-known musical styles and traditions, alongside big-name acts on the world and indigenous music scenes, and to explore the intersection between old and new. Druga Godba celebrates its 38th edition this year.
WHAT’S HOT ON THE ALTERNATIVE MUSIC SCENE IN SLOVAKIA?
Tatiana Lehocka, booker at Sharpe Festival and founder of Real Something agency, offers bunch of useful information and tips about the alternative music scene in Slovakia.
Sharpe music festival & conference combines public performances of promising Slovak and international artists of various genres with a conference, where the music professionals from all over Europe meet, learn from each other and discuss the latest topics from the music industry.
WHY DO DJS NEED BOOKING AGENTS?
Marjan Lopuh, booking agent at Analog Agency for Eastern European markets, explains why the DJs need agents and what are the benefits of having a proactive booking agent.
Analog is the house and techno agency founded by Ian Hindmarsh in October 2016 with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, Punta Del Este, Mexico City, Madrid and Barcelona. The roster includes global booking for Nic Fanciulli, Monika Kruse, Carl Cox, Davide Squillace, Guy Mantzur, John Digweed, Guy J and more.
HOW WILL MUSIC PROMOTION WORK IN A POST-PANDEMIC FUTURE?
Jan Clausen, managing partner and co-founder of FACTORY 92, shares his thoughts on how will music promotion work in a post-pandemic future.
FACTORY 92 is a passionately-run, competitively-driven and synergistically-diversified music PR, marketing and consulting agency, with its own record label and artist management division (Massive 92), based in Hamburg, Germany. They are working for European festivals like Roskilde or Sziget, bands like Kraftwerk or Massive Attack and labels like Secretly Canadian, Sub Pop or Morr Music.
HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE CZECH DIY MUSIC SCENE?
Antonin, guitarist and singer from the Czech noise rock band sinks reveals bunch of useful information and tips about Czech DIY music scene.
sinks, noise rock three-piece from Brno, is characterized by a raw, straightforward musical approach and unforgettably energetic live performances. The band’s music calls back on the roots of British post-punk as well as contemporary noise and punk acts. Check them out.
WHY DO YOU NEED A RECORD LABEL?
Anne Haffmans, label manager of Domino Deutschland, reveals the main benefits of releasing your music through a record label.
Domino is an independent record label based in London, which also has its divisions in US, Germany and France. Domino is now one of the longest running and most successful independent record labels in the UK, releasing music by artists like Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Animal Collective, My Bloody Valentine, Tricky, Anna Calvi, The Kills etc.
HOW TO START A MULTI-FESTIVAL SITE DURING COVID TIMES?
Vedran Meniga, director of Pozitivan ritam explains the story of Martinska Šibenik and how it was to start the new multi-festival site during covid times.
Martinska near Šibenik, Croatia, is a new multi-festival site that hosts six festivals (Regius, Seasplash, Membrain, Slurp!, Kanal and Blast Fest) run by local promoters. Martinska as a festival site is coordinated by Pozivitan Ritam in cooperation with the City of Šibenik. In 2020 and 2021 most of the festivals in Martinska managed to happen despite the pandemic of covid-19.
HOW TO MAKE A FESTIVAL GREENER?
Teresa Moore, the director of A Greener Festival, explains how you can make a festival greener.
A Greener Festival is a not-for-profit company, committed to helping events, festivals and venues around the world to become more sustainable and to reduce environmental impacts.
WHAT IS IT LIKE TO WORK WITH A MAJOR LABEL?
Gašper Šantl, half of Slovenian music duo zalagasper, explains on their own case what it is like to be working with a major label.
WHY DO WE NEED A MUSIC EXPORT OFFICE?
Tatjana Domany explains the role of music export offices in developing international careers on the case of their own Austrian Music Export.
HOW TO BRING NEW LIFE TO ABANDONED PLACES?
Paula Poštolková explains the story of Nová Cvernovka – a cultural and creative center located in a former chemical school in Bratislava–Nové Mesto, Slovakia.
WHY DO YOU NEED A GOOD STORY TO PROMOTE YOUR MUSIC?
Freelance journalist Richard Foster explains why do you need a good story to attract attention of influential music press – especially if you are an emerging band coming from non Anglo-American territories. Richard Foster is a journalist who writes for reputable music magazines such as The Quietus, LouderThanWar, Gigwise and others. He is also a booker at venue WORM in Rotterdam.
HOW TO BOOK THE BIGGEST FESTIVAL IN UKRAINE?
Vlad Yaremchuck, booker of Atlas Weekend Festival, explains how it is to book the biggest music festival in Ukraine. Atlas Weekend festival is based in Kiev, Ukraine. It has been attracting more than 500.000 visitors a year since 2019.
WHY DO WE NEED A NIGHT MAYOR?
As one of the first night mayors in the world Milan Mirik has played an instrumental role in the reshaping of Amsterdam’s nightlife scene into one of the most vibrant and economically robust in the world and his innovative position has been replicated in more than 65 cities around the world.
DID STREAMING KILL THE RADIO STAR?
Answered by Susi Ondrusova, music editor at radio FM4.
HOW TO MAKE A BIG FESTIVAL FEEL LIKE HOME?
Michal Kaščak is the founder and CEO of Pohoda Festival, the biggest music festival in Slovakia. Pohoda is a music and arts festival with international acclaim, where alternative, indie, electronica, world music & punk meet classical; alongside literature, dance, visual art, film and theatre.
WHAT DOES A BOOKING AGENT DO?
Beckie Sugden, booking agent at ICM Partners / Primary Talent International explains the role of a booking agent in an artist’s career. Her current roster includes artists such as Anderson.Paak, Noname, Ghostemane, Suicide Silence, Mick Jenkins and many others.
HOW TO GET SIGNED TO SUB POP?
First question is: “How To Get Signed To Sub Pop?”
Peter Dijkstra, artist manager of the Dutch noise pop trio The Homesick, explains how the band got signed to the legendary record label Sub Pop.