There is so much to discover during the four days and nights of the event including the conference, festival, awards shows and much more.

By day, the ESNS conference program will include over 500 industry leading professionals taking part in panel discussions, workshops and keynotes covering a diverse range of thought-provoking and industry-leading topics including; Agents & Promoters, AI, Artist & Management, Diversity & Inclusion, Education & Talent Development, Event Production, Festivals & Venues, Finance & Funding, Focus on Italy, International Exploitation & Export, Labels & Publishers, Legal & Law, Marketing & Communication, Politics & Policy, PR & (Social) Media, Songwriting, Streaming, Safety & Mental Health, Sustainability & Green, Technology & Innovation, Ticketing and many more.

Keynotes at the conference this year include Alex Hardee (Wasserman Music) who will take delegates through his impressive career. Since co-founding CODA Agency in 2002 - which became Paradigm Talent Agency in 2019 and was acquired by Wasserman Music in 2012 - Alex Hardee has nurtured talents into global superstars and his current roster features European headliners such as Bastille, Liam Gallagher, and London Grammar. Singer and songwriter Katie Melua and her manager Sumit Bothra (SB3 Artist Management) will talk about the challenges and strategies for balancing parenthood and music industry career demands and an interview with leading Dutch metal singers Anneke van Giersbergen and Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation) discussing songwriting, career development and touring outside of your own country/touring abroad.

Other featured speakers include: Age Versluis (Friendly Fire), Akos Dominus (Sziget Festival), Alex Bruford (ATC Live), Angela Dorgan (First Music Contact/Music From Ireland), Anikka Walsh (Spotify), Camila Anino (Primavera Sound), Cathy Oates (Big Sound Australia), Claes Olsen (Oyafestivalen), Clementine Bunel (Wasserman Music), Cindy Castillo (Mad Cool Festval), Codruta Vulcu (Artmania Festival), Connie Chow (shesaid.so Amsterdam/FUGA), Christine Osazuwa (Measures of Music), Christof Huber (Gadget Entertainment Group), Claire O’Neill (A Greener Future), Dave Webster (Musicians’ Union), David Weiszfeld (Soundcharts), Deniz Everling (Bandcamp), Dr Charisse Beaumont (Black Lives in Music), Doru Rusanescu (Electric Castle Festival), Eefje de Visser (artist), Elisa Luengo (Dekmantel), Eric Skuncke (Youtube), Eric Van Eerdenburg (Mojo Concerts), Fiona McAuley (BMG), Francesca Trainini (IMPALA), Gee Davy (AIM), Gianfranco Raimondo (Ypsigrock Festival), Hannah Kahlert (MiDIA Research), Helienne Lindvall (European Composers & Songwriters Alliance), Henrik Bondo Neilson (Roskilde Festival), Holger Jan Schmidt (YOUROPE), Huw Stephens (BBC), Indré Boaretto (Deezer) Jen Long (Line of Best Fit), Jess Iszatt (BBC Introducing), Jess Partridge (EMMA), John Phelan (ICMP), Lodovico Benvenuti (IFPI), Michal Kaščák (Pohoda Festival), Neeta Ragoowansi (MMF-US & IMMF), Pascal Viot (Paleo Festival), Patricia Yague (Live Nation), Roberto Medico (Universal Music Group), Roisin O'Connor (The Independent), Rufy Anam Ghazi (AMRA), Ruth Barlow (Beggars Group), Ruth Koleva (Sofia Live Festival/SoAlive Music Conference), Sean Adams (Drowned in Sound), Seth Dodson (Pitchfork), Stephan Thanscheidt (FKP Scorpio), Tom Matthews (UTA) Will Marshall (Primary Talent International) and many more.

View the full conference schedule here: https://esns.nl/en/conference/timetable/?date=2025-01-16

By night, over 300 European acts will perform across 30 locations in the heart of Groningen. The ESNS Festival has proven essential in breaking new European acts into live music scenes throughout Europe and beyond. ESNS25 is the place to discover new breakthrough acts before they make it big. You heard it first at ESNS!

Discover all the acts performing here: https://esns.nl/en/festival/artists/

Every year, ESNS highlights the best-emerging acts from a European country, showcasing the diversity of musical talent across Europe. The Focus on Italy showcases the latest music acts from Italy on the ESNS stage and puts them in front of an audience of industry professionals, media and music lovers.

All the information on Focus on Italy can be found here https://esns.nl/focus-on-italy

ESNS selected sixteen emerging acts from Italy to showcase their talent at Eurosonic: Bassolino (it), BigMama (it), COMRAD (it), Daniela Pes (it, MME Awards Nominee), Ele A (ch/it, RSI Rete3), España Circo Este (it), Evita Polidoro (it), Indian Wells (it), James Jonathan Clancy (it), Justin Adams & Mauro Durante (it), Kharfi (it), Kyoto (it), LA NIÑA (it), okgiorgio (it), One Eat One (it), Post Nebbia (it), and R.Y.F. (it),

The ESNS Conference provides a platform for influential voices in the music industry, featuring numerous program highlights that spotlight Italy. ESNS25 Delegates can explore the Italian music market and network with industry professionals from Italy at ESNS25. Speakers include; Alessandro Ceccarelli (Tridentmusic srl/Bpmconcerti srl), Alexandre Davidson (Nada booking & management), Chiara Gallerani (Italia Music Export), Cristina Fina (Puglia Sounds/Medimex), Damir Ivic (Soundwall), Daniele Citriniti (The Goodness Factory), Erica Romero (Live DMA Rocknrolla Producciones), Federico Rasetti (KeepOn Live), Francesca Trainini (Peer Southern Productions / IMPALA), Gianfranco Raimondo (Ypsigrock Festival), Gianluca Giusti (ATER Fondazione / Emilia-Romagna Music Commission), Katia Giampaolo (Estragon), Nur Al Habash (Italia Music
Export), Veronica Clarizio (SEI Festival / Cool Club),

On 16th January 2025, the winners of the Music Moves Europe Awards will be announced. Fifteen outstanding nominated artists are eligible for this year's MME Awards, including the acclaimed Grand Jury Award, and the Public Choice Award. The 2025 nominees are; Boko Yout (SE), Daniela Pes (IT), Hillari (NO), Joalin(FI), Judeline (ES), Kingfishr (IE), Loverman (BE), Maella (CZ), Mina Okabe (DK), Naomi Sharon (NL), Night Tapes (EE), UCHE YARA (AT), Woomb (BG), Yamê (FR) und Zimmer90 (DE).

Five Music Moves Europe Award winners will receive €10,000 each. The winner of the Grand Jury Award will receive €10.000 and a Green Touring voucher worth €5,000. The winner of the Public Choice Award will receive €5,000. The Music Moves Europe Awards Ceremony will be presented by radio host Shay Kreuger and last year's MME Awards winner Bulgarian Cartrader.

The MME Awards is the annual European Union Prize celebrating the emerging artists who represent the European sound of today and tomorrow. Former winners include; Stromae, Alyona Alyona, Rosalía, Girl in Red, Dua Lipa, Sans Soucis, Hozier, Meskerem Mees, Zaho De Sagazan and Christine and the Queens. More info here: https://mmeawards.eu/en/

Tune in to something fresh at ESNS25: MEET@AIR is our brand-new free-to-access music showcase celebrating the incredible talent brewing in the North of the Netherlands.

Local artists and businesses will take over Groningen's iconic Grote Markt on Thursday and Friday, January 16-17, during ESNS. This two-day musical extravaganza allows them to showcase their talent to an international audience.

More info: Meet@AIR

At ESNS, many experiences are available for everyone, not just ticket holders. Discover what free events you can find at ESNS Extra.

ESNS Extra and free-to-access programme

ESNS delegates have numerous opportunities to build new industry connections. Whether you're looking to pitch projects, conduct business, or gain insights, be sure to attend ESNS's various mixers, drinks, and receptions to meet new people.

Don't forget to say hi to the person standing next to you! They could turn out to be a valuable business connection.

Drinks, mixers, receptions: Meet industry tastemakers at ESNS25

Having recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, the European Talent Exchange Programme formerly known as ETEP, traces its roots back to 2003 when it was established in response to the significant challenges faced by European pop music in the realms of international promotion and distribution. To date, ESNS Exchange has supported 2,292 European artists hailing from 36 countries, enabling them to perform at an impressive tally of 5676 shows across 197 partner festivals in 44 countries and supporting the careers of artists such as AURORA, Stromae, Christine and the Queens, Buraka Som Sistema, Fontaines D.C., Sigrid, Marina Satti & Fonés, Altin Gün, Priya Ragu, The Haunted Youth, The XX, Robyn, Tramhaus, Sam Smith, Hozier, Alyona Alyona, Viagra Boys, Zaho de Sagazan, freekind., Kaleo, Chalk, Fat Dog and many more.

New festivals joining the programme in 2025 include; Sakifo Festival (La Réunion Island, France), India International Music Week (India), Beaches Brew Festival (Italy), Poplar Festival (Italy), SEI Festival (Italy), Gallway International Arts (Ireland)

The European Talent Exchange are also happy to announce that their partners from Switzerland (Pro Helvetia) and the United Kingdom (PRS Foundation), provide sponsorship to the project that allows artists from their countries to participate in the project.

An overview of all the ESNS Exchange results is available at ESNS Radar. This includes a line-up archive of over 130 Exchange partner festivals counting ESNS Exchange alumni and the rest of the bookings.

More info here: https://radar.esns.nl/bookings-artist-chart

Developed by ESNS and Soundcharts, with support of the Creative Innovation Lab - funded by the European Commission, EMERGE seeks to bridge the gap between the audio-visual and music sectors in Europe. The platform will connect European music directly with potential sync customers, such as TV and film producers, marketing agencies, and the gaming industry, showcasing the unique creativity of European artists on a global stage.

The official alpha launch of EMERGE will be on January 16 during a special panel at ESNS: https://esns.nl/en/conference/panels/be-the-first-one-to-use-emerge/

The 14th edition of the European Festival Awards will take place on January 15th 2024 at de Oosterpoort in Groningen. The categories include: Best Major Festival, Best Medium Festival, Best Small Festival, Best Line-Up and the Lifetime Achievement Award. More info here.

Each year ESNS asks international media attending about their favourites on our line-up. This year’s most recommended acts so far are; Daniela Pes (it), Sunna Magaret (is) and Loverman (be).
View this year's top recommended artists here https://esns.nl/en/festival/artists/

The timetables for ESNS are available in the official ESNS app. Visitors can personalise their programme by selecting their favourite artists, speakers, and conference sessions in the timetable. The official ESNS app is an essential tool for industry delegates and music fans who want to get the most out of their festival experience. Download the app from the App Store or Google Play.

To get familiar with the artists you will be able to discover in Groningen, a playlist has been created with all the confirmed acts for ESNS25. Listen here

There are also a variety of playlists highlighting the wide range of different genres of artists performing at ESNS25. Listen here https://open.spotify.com/user/eurosonicnoorderslag

Moi! Yes, we’ve just taught you some Dutch dialect. Groningen has its own dialect, just fyi. Moi means ‘hello’. You can pronounce it like [moːi] . You’re off to a good start! Moi and welcome to ESNS. A kick-start to emerging music careers across the globe. It can be pretty daunting to stay in a new city for a while, so the Dutch festival spirits have conjured up this guide for you. It tells you where to eat, drink, sleep, work, see sights and SNACK. (We love snacks).

Your guide around Groningen