Platform the Underdog: East-West exchanges from the media perspective
Presented by:
ESNS
THU
15 Jan -
12:00 -
13:00 -
Oosterpoort - Grijze zaal
International exploitation & export
English spoken
ESNS turns forty. What started as a one-day shindig to champion Dutch and Belgian bands has evolved into Europe's premier showcase festival, celebrating emerging talent and voices from across the continent. Nearly half of ESNS performers now hail from Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltics, and the Balkans. These artists are smashing it at their regional festivals and airwaves, landing on critics' end-of-year lists – yet breaking into Western European markets can still feel like trying to get a Berlin bouncer to crack a smile.
The invisible borders persist, even as the music transcends them. Success stories exist, but why are these still exceptions? Why does Eastern European talent often get framed as the mysterious "Other", emerging wide-eyed from cultural wilderness, "Poor but Sexy" – or alternately, blessed with raw, "authentic" sounds ripe for Western repackaging?
In this panel, we're gathering eminent music and culture journalists to tackle the question: How can media level the playing field between East and West? How do we combat stereotypes, move beyond exoticizing tropes and ensure brilliant talent gets the same column inches, playlist adds, and festival buzz regardless of their passport? Let's talk about platforming the underdog – because the next big thing might just be coming from somewhere your editor can't quite locate on a map yet.
The invisible borders persist, even as the music transcends them. Success stories exist, but why are these still exceptions? Why does Eastern European talent often get framed as the mysterious "Other", emerging wide-eyed from cultural wilderness, "Poor but Sexy" – or alternately, blessed with raw, "authentic" sounds ripe for Western repackaging?
In this panel, we're gathering eminent music and culture journalists to tackle the question: How can media level the playing field between East and West? How do we combat stereotypes, move beyond exoticizing tropes and ensure brilliant talent gets the same column inches, playlist adds, and festival buzz regardless of their passport? Let's talk about platforming the underdog – because the next big thing might just be coming from somewhere your editor can't quite locate on a map yet.
