Music Moves Europe Talent Awards winners revealed
The first winners of the new Music Moves Europe Talent Awards, presented at Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) in January, have been revealed.
Following the announcement of the 24 nominees at Reeperbahn Festival in September, an international jury have selected 12 winners – two apiece in six genre-based categories.
The winners are:
Pop: Bishop Briggs (UK) and Lxandra (FI)
Rock: Pale Waves (UK) and Pip Blom (NL)
Electronic: Smerz (NO) Stelartronic (AT)
R&B/urban: Rosalía (ES) and Aya Nakamura (FR)
Hip hop/rap: Blackwave (BE), Reykjavíkurdætur (IS)
Singer-songwriter: Avec (AT) and Albin Lee Meldau (SE)
The Music Moves Europe Talent Awards, part of the Music Moves Europe initiative, were announced in August as a replacement for the long-running European Border Breakers Awards (EBBAs). They are co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Commission, with the additional support of the Municipality of Groningen, Province of Groningen and the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
The winners were selected by a jury comprising Huw Stephens (presenter, BBC Radio 1), Julia Gudzent (festival programmer, Melt!), Katia Giampaolo (CEO, Estragon Club Italy), Kristian Kostov (winner of the EBBA public choice award 2018) and Wilbert Mutsaers (head of content, Spotify Benelux).
The awards – plus an additional prize, the public choice award, voted for online by the general public – will be awarded at ESNS in Groningen, Netherlands, on 16 January 2019.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
ESNS introduces Music Moves Europe Talent Awards
Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) has announced the launch of the Music Moves Europe Talent Awards, an EU-backed prize recognising the most promising up-and-coming European artists.
Replacing the European Border Breakers Awards (EBBAs), the new prize aims to “celebrate new and upcoming artists from Europe and support them in order to help them develop and accelerate their international careers”, according to an announcement from the Groningen conference. Nominees are selected through monitoring the former European Border Breakers Charts, artists’ streaming figures, results from the European Talent Exchange Programme (ETEP) and recommendations from music export offices and partners involved in the prize.
Winners will be rewarded with a chance to play live at ESNS, a tailor-made training programme and financial support for touring and promotion.
The Music Moves Europe Talent Awards, part of the Music Moves Europe initiative, are co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Commission, with the additional support of the Municipality of Groningen, Province of Groningen and the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The awards are presented by ESNS and Reeperbahn Festival, in cooperation with Yourope, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA), International Music Managers Forum (IMMF), Liveurope, Live DMA, European Music Exporters Exchange (EMEE) and Digital Music Europe (DME).
The nominees will be presented at Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg in September. The 12 winners will then be announced in November, with the awards handed over during a ceremony at ESNS on Wednesday 16 January 2019.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
ESNS 2018: Groningen prepares for annual industry invasion
Barely had the festive parties started when agents began talking up some of the acts they will be showcasing at Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) in the Netherlands in mid-January.
Combining daytime panels and keynotes with a packed programme of evening gigs, ESNS will welcome Denmark as its focus nation for 2018, with a number of Danish acts rubbing shoulders with musicians from around Europe, vying for success in the European Talent Exchange Programme (ETEP), which continues to go from strength to strength.
Last year’s big ETEP winners were British punk band Shame, who achieved a record number of 17 ETEP festival bookings throughout 2017, while the scheme as a whole secured a total of 424 festival slots, involving 164 acts from 24 countries.
Elsewhere, ESNS will kick off with the EBBA Awards, which recognise ten European acts who have been successful in developing their careers outside their own country. The current crop include Skott (SE), Off Bloom (DK), Blanche (BE), Alice Merton (DE), Alma (FI), Kristian Kostov (BG), Sigrid (NO), The Blaze (FR), Youngr (UK) and Salvador Sobral (PT).
More than 400 acts from 30 countries will showcase their talent during ESNS, in the hope of catching the attention of some of the hundreds of festival bookers who will be in Groningen for the 17– 20 January event, which also hosts the European Festival Awards on the opening night.
Among the European Festival Awards 2017 nominees are Sziget and Lowlands (both best major festival and line-up of the year), Pohoda (best medium-sized festival and promoter of the year), Sea Star and Labyrinth Open Croatia (best new festival), festival drug testing service the Loop (health and safety innovation award), Rolling Stone Weekender, MENT Ljubljana (both best indoor festival) and late Primary agent Dave Chumbley (award for excellence and passion).
A full shortlist is available from the European Festival Awards website.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.