The Hamburg festival and conference has completed its showcase programme for 2016, featuring up-and-coming artists from Germany, the UK, Poland, Hungary, Spain and more
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INES showcase fest network to launch at Reeperbahn
The Innovation Network of European Showcases, backed by Gigmit and Creative Europe, aims to "empower existing ties" between eight European showcase festivals
By IQ on 14 Sep 2017
image © Aleš Rosa
The Innovation Network of European Showcases (INES), a new association of showcase festivals backed by €2 million in EU funding, is set to launch at Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg later this month.
According to Marcus Rüssel, INES project manager and CEO of German booking start-up Gigmit, which is supporting the initiative, INES will “sustainably link the European music market through digital innovations and human relationships and strengthen them for the future. The aim is to empower the existing ties between showcase festivals in Europe and to establish new connections between musicians, music professionals and institutions in the industry.”
In addition to providing a funding and exchange programme for artists and industry professionals, the four-year project hopes to also contribute to the “digitalisation of the music industry” by recording and cataloguing all showcase performances in an online library.
Member festivals are Liverpool Sound City, Waves Vienna, Sonic Visions, Live at Heart, Spring Break, Monkey Week, Westway LAB and MENT Ljubljana (pictured), along with Gigmit.
“Working together in this way is only going to become more important in years to come”
Rebecca Ayres of Liverpool Sound City – the sole UK event – comments: “Sound City has always been about giving local artists and businesses more opportunities, both at home and abroad. Industry executives have gathered under the Sound City banner across the globe to see the best in upcoming talent, and we’ve taken artists to showcases all over the world.
“As a result, we have great relationships with our international colleagues – but this initiative will help bolster our efforts and create even more cooperation between music markets in different territories. Working together in this way is only going to become more important in years to come.”
Reeperbahn last month finalised its festival and conference agendas for 2017, announcing the dates, times and venues for all events, as well as a special conference strand – Raise Your Voice – focusing on music and political engagement ahead of the German general election on 24 September.
Reeperbahn 2017 takes place in Hamburg from 20 to 23 September.
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