A new Saturday outline
On the Saturday of the event, ESNS Conference moves to a brand new conference centre: Forum Groningen. This allows the Saturday conference to be extended with a couple of hours. The conference is directly followed by Noorderslag Festival, which is taking place in the Oosterpoort as usual.
At the Oosterpoort there's a special early entrance for delegates who are visiting Noorderslag festival, which is giving them the opportunity to enter the venue before doors open for the regular Noorderslag audience. During Noorderslag, there's a special 'networking hub' in the heart of the Oosterpoort, where music professionals can meet up, hang out and network. This is exclusively accessible for conference delegates.
New beercrates: Maria May (CAA) and Sophie Hunger
Maria May's roots in dance and electronic music run deep, with 22 years under her belt representing DJs and producers including David Guetta, Frankie Knuckles, Paul Oakenfold, David Morales and Soulwax. The veteran agent currently sits on the board of advisors of the Association For Electronic Music (AFEM). At CAA, May and her expanding global team have developed her division into a crucial player with a powerful roster including Black Eyed Peas, The Chainsmokers, Nicky Romero, Alle Farben and Paul Kalkbrenner.
Artists in the hip hop genre have chosen their own unique way of communicating with their audiences. They are challenging all the unwritten laws of the pop and rock industry. What can we all learn from the urban approach to music, booking and promoting a show, selling tickets and performing live? WithMaarten van Vugt - Mojo Concerts (NL), Julian Gupta - Melt Bookings, Splash (DE), Anna Brink - Live Nation (DK) moderated by Beckie Sudgen- X-ray Touring (GB).
Consolidation at the top end of the festivals business is placing many of Europe’s best known events in the hands of corporate owners, but just what effect is this having on the smaller, boutique events? With many artists now signing festival tour contracts with specific festival groups, is there a need for boutique event bookers to re-think their programming strategies? And while statistics suggest fans are more willing to visit smaller festivals, is there a danger that the powerful corporates are trying to squeeze out the competition in the boutique sector? With Rui Torrinha - Westway Lab (PT), Christof Huber - OpenAir St.Gallen (CH), Emma Zillmann - Bluedot | Kendall Calling (GB) and Dimitris Voglis - Release Athens (GR), moderated by Gordon Masson - IQ Magazine (GB).
Despite numerous measures to curb ticket scalping, it remains a sticky issue that just won’t go away. Bringing together a spectrum of industry and political figures across Europe, FEAT’s panel will look to debate the effectiveness of different approaches and whether it’s possible to reach a consensus on what a Europe-wide solution might look like. The panel will also look beyond legislation to more contentious issues, such as fans rights to resell their tickets in all circumstances, stock allocation and the role of the primary market. With Neo Sala - FEAT / Dr Music (SE) and Peter Kwint - Socialist Party (NL), moderated by Sam Shemtob - FEAT (GB)
ESNS and shesaid.so Amsterdam are teaming up for an inspirational mini-mentor program for the next generation of female professionals in the music industry at the ESNS 2020. Aspiring female professionals (between 20 - 25 years old) can get linked up with one of the ten mentors, establishing new connections, opportunities and inspiring talks for everyone involved. Sign up here.
The last job Jon Ola Sand will do as the Eurovision Song Contest’s Executive Supervisor is the event's 65th edition in Rotterdam, 2020. Interviewed by Helienne Lindvall, Jon Ola will share his views on the biggest media event in Europe, and share some behind the scene stories. A truly unique insight in the complexity and the immense mediascope for European music.
EPIC offers three full days covering the most current topics and innovations within all that has to do with event production. From volunteers, suppliers and industry association to (technical) producers. From logistics, data analytics to health & safety and sustainability. Simply all that is indispensable to enable high-quality technical event productions within clubs, and festivals.
As the focus country of ESNS 2020, Switzerland are hosting a variety of events in Groningen. Register here to meet the most relevant Swiss labels, managers, promoters, associations and artist representatives during the ‘Meet the Swiss Speedmeetings’ in their exclusive Focus Lounge.
On Thursday evening the Swiss will give you a warm welcome in the Stadsschouwburg with food, drinks and a very special show of Sophie Hunger & Julian Sartorius. On Friday, the panel ‘Diversity Roadmap’ will present good arguments, simple recommendations and potential measures for accommodating diversity and equality in clubs and at festivals, and a Beer Crate Session with Sophie Hunger.
During the SAY HI! Soundwalks on Thursday and Friday morning, groups of 10 to 12 persons will be guided through some very special locations in Groningen where various Swiss artists will offer intimate insights into their musical activities. Sign up here.
The Netherlands and Switzerland – two countries famous for their cheeses – invite you to a sound & flavour experiment: a Gouda vs. Gruyère contest. Open your mouth and your heart, and vote for your favourite cheese! More information here.
New Tech Panels: The (Almost Free) Tech Tools You Can Use to Build a Career & Paying Songwriters Within 24 Hours Rather Than 2 Years
The ceremony for the Music Moves Europe Talent Awards, the EU prize for popular and contemporary music, takes place on January 17 at ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) in the Stadsschouwburg of Groningen, the Netherlands. During the ceremony, eight winners selected by an expert jury plus the Public Choice Winner will be revealed. The ceremony starts at 19:00 hrs.
Central to the ceremony is the celebration of emerging European musical talent. During a lively sixty minutes show designed by Guy Weizman (Noord Nederlands Toneel), the winners will receive an award and an amazing prize package focused at boosting their international careers. After the ceremony, all nominees present in Groningen will perform live across the city as an official part of the ESNS festival.
