English acts are leading the way on Eurosonic Noorderslag’s (ESNS) European talent exchange programme in 2025, securing festival slots across the continent this summer.

So far in 2025, Exchange has presented a total of 84 shows featuring 55 artists from 18 countries, booked by 45 festivals across 21 countries.

British band Luvcat are currently the most-booked act on the ESNS Exchange chart, with seven festival bookings outside their home country. Next is Alessi Rose (UK) with six bookings, followed by Judeline (ES) and Big Special (UK) with four apiece.

We Hate You Please Die (FR), Cliffords (IE), Loverman (BE) and Soft Launch (IE) have all secured three bookings through the programme. Lucy Dreams (AT), Kara Delik (DE), Paula Dalla Corte (DE/CH) and Antony Szmierek (UK) have received two.

British band Luvcat are currently the most-booked act on the ESNS Exchange chart

The festivals to have booked the most ESNS artists in 2025, meanwhile, are Slovenia’s Ment Ljubljana (9 bookings), England’s The Great Escape (5), Estonia’s Tallinn Music Week (4), Germany’s Maifeld Derby (4), The Netherlands’ Best Kept Secret (3), Switzerland’s Montreux Jazz Festival (3), Spain’s Mad Cool (3), The Netherlands’ Lowlands (3), Germany’s Orange Blossom (3), Slovakia’s Sharpe Festival (3) and Switzerland’s Zermatt Unplugged (3).

In collaboration with YOUROPE and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the initiative connects artists to a network of around 130 partner festivals and benefits from the support of 31 media partners to amplify their promotion.

Additionally, European Talent Exchange unites 23 members and five associated partners, including 26 export offices, to create a powerful network for talent development.

The platform is coordinated by ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag). European Talent Exchange is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.

ESNS will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2026, which will take place from January 14–17 in Groningen, the Netherlands.

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Organisers of ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) have hailed a “phenomenal” 39th edition of the annual showcase festival and conference, which wrapped up on Saturday (18 January).

The four-day event returned to the Dutch city of Groningen last week with 40,000 professionals and music fans in attendance.

More than 300 European acts from 33 countries demonstrated their talents during the sold-out showcase festival, while 500+ industry professionals took part in panel discussions, workshops and keynotes.

Though the festival programme has traditionally been staged in venues across the city, this year’s edition saw showcases in de Oosterpoort, the main conference centre, for the first time on Wednesday (15 January).

Oosterpoort also hosted the 14th edition of the European Festival Awards, which honoured the likes of Open’er, Hellfest, EXIT and Montreux Jazz.

“The diversity of European music was brilliantly showcased at ESNS25”

Elsewhere, the conference programme focused on topics such as the impact of AI on the music industry, the future of streaming, achieving sustainability goals for festivals by 2030, the fairness of dynamic pricing, tech innovations, the effect of private equity on business, and the devastating impact of rising costs and lack of personnel in the live music industry.

Keynote sessions saw Wasserman Music’s Alex Hardee discuss his illustrious 33-year career and Katie Melua and her manager Sumit Bothra (SB3 Artist Management) tackle parenthood in the music industry.

“ESNS25 has once again proved that music is both our cultural heartbeat and an investment that pays dividends,” says Anna van Nunen, managing director of ESNS.

“Across Groningen this week, from intimate venue showcases to major performances at De Oosterpoort’s main stage, and through inspiring sessions at the ESNS Conference, we’ve seen how our European music ecosystem thrives when properly supported – connecting grassroots venues with international talent agents, major festivals with sustainability experts, and emerging talent with industry professionals. To maintain this momentum, we must support the fundamentals: the rehearsal spaces, the small venues, and the talent development programmes across Europe. ESNS continues to show that when we invest in music’s foundations, we create both cultural and economic prosperity.”

Programme director Robert Meijerink adds: “The diversity of European music was brilliantly showcased at ESNS25. We witnessed outstanding performances from Daniela Pes, Big Mama and Bassolino from our Focus country Italy, MRCY (uk), Sylvie Kreusch (be), Maquina (pt), Meule (fr), CVC (uk), Personal Trainer (nl) and Kosmonauci (pl) among many others. It’s especially exciting to see artists like Music Moves Europe Awards winners YAMÊ (France), Judeline (Spain) Kingfishr (ire), Naomi Sharon (nl), Night Tapes (ee), Uche Yara and nominees like Loverman (be), Woomb (bg) and Zimmer 90 (de) breaking through internationally.”

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Wasserman Music’s Alex Hardee delivered a keynote interview at this week’s ESNS, sharing his insights on global deals, talent development, the agency landscape and more.

Moderated by IQ‘s Lisa Henderson, Inside The Mind of a Special Agent: Alex Hardee also saw the agent look back on his 33-year career, from his beginnings in the comedy business to founding Coda and heading up Wasserman Music in London.

With a roster including Liam Gallagher, Louis Tomlinson, Grace Jones, Cat Burns and Rag’n’Bone Man, Hardee has become one of the most renowned agents in the international live music business.

Here, IQ shares five of the best insights from Inside The Mind of a Special Agent.

Losing acts…
Alex Hardee: You learn a lot more from being sacked than you do from having success. Mistake is just another word for experience. I don’t lose that many acts anymore but I remember that at one point Calvin Harris was the biggest artist in our company and was doing really well and I got sacked. I thought ‘I’m just going to call a company meeting and tell everyone straight away’ and I did. I talked them through the reasons why I got sacked, and one of them was that I didn’t do a good enough job. You need to learn from mistakes and talk about things. If you get pent up about stuff then that’s gonna affect you mentally.

“Big wars are going on between us and the other [major] agencies”

The agency landscape…
AH: I would not want to start up an agency today, it would be impossible to compete with the four or five big agencies. Ninety per cent of signing a new act is about the roster you’ve got so it’s just too hard to start now. There are four massive companies that have 90% of all the acts.

Now, big wars are going on between us and the other [major] agencies. Recently we lost Billie Eilish, but we just took three agents from WME. But that’s part of the business. We don’t have contracts, you could get fired any day.

In the next two to three years, I think the agency landscape will stay pretty much the same; WME, CAA, UTA and Wasserman dominating. I don’t know how independent agencies can survive. It’s hard to retain an A-list act without American partners. I don’t know whether they become cottage industries.

Talent discovery…
AH: It’s very hard to spot where new talent is going to come from now. It used to be an easy thing. We used to have great relationships with the gatekeepers but there aren’t any gatekeepers now because the world’s a massive democracy. No one can do much to influence anything.

It’s a lottery system now. You have to follow the numbers now and listen to the music but be wary that artists can be doing millions of views on TikTok and not sell a ticket. It’s not an exact science. So I’ve gone back to the old ways – seeing if people have star value or not because you can always spot it. So you have to go and meet them and see them perform.

At Wasserman, we’re very into tech and we’ve produced our own CRM [for artists] which I’d say is the best out there. If you want to look at [signing] an act, you have to put it on there and everyone can weigh in. I’m now building model two, which is going to have AI in it.

“I don’t think global deals will remove the need for an agent”

Global touring deals…
AH: Global deals were becoming very common last year – phenomenal amounts of money were being given away. They have their place when your artist needs a big amount of money in advance for something – and you can’t argue with them if they want £5 million upfront. These deals also sometimes work for new acts that are hot when they need a lump sum of money because the record labels aren’t giving it so forthcoming. But crossing every country in the world is not really an advantage and one promoter isn’t always the best promoter in every country in the world.

I’ve done global deals, I will do global deals, but I’m not ever pushing for them because usually, it’s best to have a mixture of promoters that you can lean on for different things. I don’t think these deals will remove the need for an agent. You’re still the agent, you still get commission and the promoter isn’t trying to cut you out – though management might.

Industry challenges for 2025…
AH: Festivals are in for a very tough time. It’s hard for them to get top-tier talent now because they don’t pay the most money. They used to pay more money than you could get for a headline tour. But now, with the platinum ticking, flexing, whatever, you can make a lot more money touring. You almost have to be a stadium act to headline an A-list festival but a stadium act now makes more money at the stadiums than they do at the festivals so there’s a talent drain. Festivals don’t get the Taylor Swifts or the Beyoncés. These guys want their own controlled environment.

ESNS, the annual music showcase festival and conference, returned to Groningen, in the Netherlands, between 15–18 January 2025.

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The great and the good of the continent’s festival scene were honoured at the 2024 European Festival Awards.

Held last night as part of the Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) conference and showcase in Groningen, the Netherlands, the ceremony saw 14 winners crowned, including Poland’s Open’er (Best Major Festival), France’s Hellfest (Line-Up of the Year) and Vlad Yaremchuk & Music Saves Ukraine (Award for Excellence and Passion).

Festivals from over 30 countries took part, with more than 300,000 single votes cast by the public. Recipients included Lifetime Achievement Award winner Juhani Merimaa, who has earned himself the title of the “man who brought rock and roll to Finland” for his work on festivals such as Ankkarock, Ruisrock and Tuska.

Merima was also involved in running Finnish music venue Tavastia Klubi since the 70s up until 2023 when he stepped down as promoter and CEO.

Here are all the winners in the 14 categories of the European Festival Awards 2024

The Take a Stand Award
Presented by: Take a Stand
EXIT Festival, RS

Line-Up of the Year
Presented by: IQ Magazine
Hellfest, FR

The Event Safety Award
Presented by: YES Group
Timișoara – Capital of Culture, RO

Agent of the Year
Anna Bewers, Wasserman Music

Best Small Festival
Gladiolen Festival, BE

Newcomer of the Year
Presented by: ESNS
Benson Boone, US

The Brand Activation Award
Lowlands & IKEA, NL

Best Medium-Sized Festival
Montreux Jazz Festival, CH

The Green Operations Award
Presented by: GO Group
We Love Green, FR

Best Major Festival
Presented by: See Tickets
Open’er Festival, PL

The Award for Excellence and Passion
Vlad Yaremchuk & Music Saves Ukraine, UA

Promoter of the Year
Presented by: Pollstar
Gadget Entertainment Group, CH

New Kid on the Block 2024
Presented by: DIY Magazine
Filip Košťálek, Colours Of Ostrava, CZ

Lifetime Achievement Award
Juhani Merimaa, FI

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ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) has unveiled the first keynote and featured speakers for the 2025 edition, taking place between 15–18 January in Groningen, the Netherlands.

Sumit Bothra (SB3 Artist Management), Seth Dodson (Pitchfork), Jess Iszatt (BBC), Katie Melua (artist) and Victoria Oakley (IFPI) are among the first confirmed speakers for the European showcase festival and conference.

Other confirmed speakers include tastemakers from Dekmantel, EMMA, Wasserman Music, and many more.

In 2025, the programme focuses on topics such as the impact of AI on the music industry, the future of streaming, achieving sustainability goals for festivals by 2030, the fairness of dynamic pricing, activism among artists and festivals, the effect of private equity on business, and the devastating impact of rising costs and lack of personnel in the live music industry.

In her keynote speech at the ESNS Conference, Victoria Oakley (IFPI) will discuss the main challenges the recording industry will face in the upcoming years.

Katie Melua and her manager Sumit Bothra will discuss strategies for balancing parenthood and music industry career demands

Talking about the challenges and strategies for balancing parenthood and music industry career demands, singer and songwriter Katie Melua and her manager Sumit Bothra (SB3 Artist Management) will engage in a conversation with moderator and psychologist Anne Löhr from Music Industry Therapist Collective.

Other featured speakers taking the stage at ESNS 2025 include agent at Wasserman Music Clementine Bunel; Pitchfork’s executive director of festivals and events Seth Dodson; CEO and co-founder of Copyright Delta Daan Archer, who specialises in safeguarding music in new digital, virtual and AI-driven worlds; Radio 1’s flagship BBC Introducing show host Jess Iszatt; music programmer at events company and record label Dekmantel Elisa Luengo; innovator, social change activist, podcast host, and artist Saskhia Menendez.

Also featured on the conference programme is music editor at The Independent Roisin O’Connor; founder and CEO of hybrid virtual conference, bootcamp, and workshop Measures of Music Christine Osazuwa; executive director of the European Music Managers Alliance (EMMA) Jess Partridge; president of Music Managers Forum’s US chapter and International Music Managers Forum advisory board member Neeta Ragoowansi (MMF-US & IMMF); Dave Webster, the head of international at UK’s Musicians’ Union, addressing touring post-Brexit; and Kees van Weijen (Hit4us, IMPALA, STOMP), who will address challenges for the independent music community in creating a level playing field.

The first artists showcasing at ESNS and more panels and speakers will be announced in the coming weeks. ESNS recently announced a new Open Call for ESNS25 and its Focus on Italy.

The full conference programme can be found here and delegate passes can be purchased here.

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