ESNS consists of a music conference and a showcase festival. Every year, more than 4000 music professionals flock to Groningen. During daytime they are the first to learn about current topics in tech, live- and the recording industry. Furthermore, ESNS has proven to be fruitful networking grounds for industry connections and new deals. During the night, the conference attendees hit the town to visit the ESNS showcase festival. For the artists, this is a unique opportunity to present themselves to labels, agencies and to bookers. Most of the large European Festivals and clubs are present at ESNS, on the lookout to complement their line-ups with fresh European talent.
ESNS is the key exchange for emerging European music talent, with a proven track record of helping to break new acts on the international music scene, with now well-known names such as Altin Gün, Alina Pash, Arlo Parks, Deki Alem, Dua Lipa, Fontaines D.C., girl in red, Hania Rani, The Haunted Youth, July Jones, Meduza, Priya Ragu, Pip Blom, Pongo, Queralt Lahoz, Sans Soucis, Sigrid,Trupa Trupa and Wet Leg.
The conference side of the event attracts more than 4,000 entertainment industry professionals from all sections of the industry, including representatives of over 400 European festivals. Each year, ESNS stages around 300 showcases all over the city of Groningen as well as offering a comprehensive and focused conference programme of around 150 panels and keynotes, alongside multiple networking opportunities.
European acts wishing to play ESNS 2024 (January 17 – 20, 2024) will be able to submit an online application for a showcase at the festival from May 1 until September 1, 2023, at esns.nl/play-at-esns
Focus on Poland
ESNS is proud to announce Poland as the Focus Country for 2024. In close cooperation with Music Export Poland and partners, the Focus on Poland was announced at NEXT Fest on April 20th. Every year ESNS highlights the very best emerging acts from a different country, showcasing the diversity of musical talent across Europe.
ESNS Exchange
Playing at ESNS not only means playing at the festival in January. Acts that played at the festival also are a part of the ESNS Exchange programme. ESNS Exchange, the European Talent Exchange Programme, was introduced in 2003 to make the ‘exchange’ of European artists across Europe possible on a greater scale than ever before. An initiative of ESNS, ESNS Exchange facilitates the bookings of European acts on festivals outside their home countries and generates extensive media exposure for these artists in cooperation with Euroradio, export offices and local media. This way, ESNS Exchange aims to give a boost to the international careers of European artists.
For more information on ESNS Exchange and its latest results, go to https://esns-exchange.eu/