Ruud Berends exits Eurosonic Noorderslag
Ruud Berends, head of conference for Eurosonic Nooderslag (ESNS), has departed from the Dutch showcase festival and conference after a 21-year tenure.
A short statement agreed by both parties reads: “After years of cooperation, ESNS and Ruud Berends have decided, due to a difference of opinion, to end the collaboration earlier than planned.”
Berends joined the Groningen-based event in 2002 where the conference grew under his leadership. Among the projects he led for ESNS was the European band promotion program ETEP (now ESNS Exchange) which facilitates the bookings of European acts on festivals outside their home countries.
The Dutch executive said his exit from ESNS marked the “end of an era” but told IQ he was “looking forward to working on new interesting projects in our great music industry and to continue building the existing ones”.
“ESNS and Ruud Berends have decided, due to a difference of opinion, to end the collaboration earlier than planned”
Berends continues to run his own consultancy agency, Networking Music, which he founded in 2011. He is also currently head of agenda at the International Festival Forum (IFF), which he co-founded in 2015, and a consultant to Portugal’s Westway Lab and Romania’s East European Music Conference (EEMC).
Berends first roles in the live music industry were as co-founder of music venue Debarak in Zutphen (1979–1988) and cultural worker at youth club ‘De Steile Trap’ in Deventer (1984 – 1986) – both in the Netherlands.
In 1981, he co-founded Paperclip Agency, whose clients included Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Tad, Nirvana, The Flaming Lips and more. He left the Nijmegen-based agency in 2001 and set up Networking Music the following year.
Eurosonic Nooderslag 2024 will take place in Groningen, the Netherlands, between 17–20 January with Poland as the lead country.
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European Festival Awards 2022 winners revealed
Denmark’s Roskilde Festival, the Netherlands’ Mojo Concerts and Atlas Ukraine were among the big winners at last night’s European Festival Awards (EFA).
The in-person ceremony, held at De Oosterpoort in Groningen, the Netherlands as part of Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS), returned to celebrate the best of the 2022 season after a forced hiatus due to the pandemic.
Already announced as winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Roskilde also triumphed in two other categories at the EFA’s 12th edition – Best Major Festival and The Impossible without Youth Award.
In their acceptance speech, the team praised the festival’s army of volunteers (“We couldn’t do it without them”), along with the “best audience in the world”. “We are so proud and so honoured,” they added. “Thank you for seeing the ambition and the idea and the community behind this.”
Elsewhere, Atlas Festival & Music Saves UA received a standing ovation when picking up the Take A Stand Award, while Mojo collected Promoter of the Year.
“Two years of corona showed how difficult it is to organise the things we love”
Germany’s Superbloom was named Best New Festival. “Two years of corona showed how difficult it is to organise the things we love,” said Superbloom organiser Fruzsina Szép. “And to start a new brand, even more so.”
X-ray Touring’s Josh Javor dedicated his Agent of the Year gong to his mentor, “the one and only legend”, Steve Strange and recalled the times Strange took him to Eurosonic. “Because of him I didn’t know there were panels for three years because all we did was drink, watch bands and sleep,” he joked.
The Award for Excellence & Passion, meanwhile, went to festival veteran Holger Jan Schmidt. Dubbed a “A true servant for the cause”, Schmidt said: “I can only do something with passion. Burnout goes hand in hand with passion. I think we should all take a look at ourselves. How much can we do. How much passion can we invest?”
Festivals from more than 30 countries participated in the awards process, with 300,000 single votes cast by the public, resulting in 124 shortlisted nominees in 15 categories, not counting the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The full list of winners is as follows:
The Take a Stand Award
Atlas Festival & Music Saves UA (Ukraine)
Best New Festival
Superbloom (Germany)
The Impossible without Youth Award
Roskilde Festival (Denmark)
Best Indoor Festival
Iceland Airwaves (Iceland)
Line-Up of the Year
Hellfest (France)
The Health & Safety Innovation Award
Watt en Schlick Fest (Germany)
Agent of the Year
Josh Javor (X-Ray Touring)
Best Small Festival
Roadburn (The Netherlands)
Newcomer of the Year
Fred Again (UK)
The Brand Activation Award
Wacken Open Air (Germany) & Krombacher
Best Medium-Sized Festival
Best Kept Secret (The Netherlands)
The Green Operations Award
Rock Werchter (Belgium)
Best Major Festival
Roskilde Festival (Denmark)
The Award for Excellence & Passion
Holger Jan Schmidt
Promoter of the Year
Mojo (The Netherlands)
The Lifetime Achievement Award
Roskilde Festival (Denmark)
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Priya Ragu most-booked act on ESNS Exchange 2022
Swiss-Tamil artist Priya Ragu is the most-booked act of 2022 on Eurosonic Noorderslag’s (ESNS) European talent exchange programme.
ESNS Exchange boosts the international careers of European artists and facilitates the bookings of acts on festivals outside their home countries and generates extensive media exposure for these artists in cooperation with Euroradio, export offices and local media.
Last year’s Exchange tallied 357 shows by 149 acts from 30 countries at 86 festivals in 28 countries, with Ragu landing 11 bookings through the programme.
The singer-songwriter was followed closely by Ukrainian rapper Alonya Alonya, Irish singer CMAT and British rock band Yard Act – all of whom secured 10 bookings.
“The results of ESNS Exchange 2022 are in no way inferior to the pre-pandemic figures”
Also in the top 10 was Belfast-based punk band Enola Gay with nine bookings, English singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone (8), Netherlands-based psychedelic band Altin Gün (7), Ukrainian electro-folk band Go_A (7), the Faroe Islands’ Joe & The Shitboys (7) and UK outfit Wet Leg (7).
The five festivals that booked the most ESNS Exchange acts in 2022 were Germany’s Reeperbahn festival (23 bookings), the UK’s The Great Escape (23) Belgium’s Pukkelpop (18), Hungary’s Sziget (11) and Spain’s Primavera Sound (11).
“The results of ESNS Exchange 2022 are in no way inferior to the pre-pandemic figures,” says ESNS in a statement. “This gives us a very positive outlook on the future of ESNS Exchange.”
Since 2003, the programme has helped 1,852 European artists from 35 countries to play 879 shows.
ESNS is due to make its in-person return this month, between 18–21 January in Groningen, Netherlands. Registrations for ESNS23 are available at via https://esns.nl/tickets/.
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Top agents call for action on diversity
Top agents called for a more diverse, inclusive and equitable industry during last week’s ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag).
Hannah Shogbola (UTA), Natasha Gregory (Mother Artists), Sally Dunstone (Primary Talent International) and Whitney Boateng (WME) came together for the all-female Agents Panel – hailed as “a long-overdue milestone” by moderator Maria May (CAA).
“We are representing the change we want to see,” said May during her opening gambit for the digital session. “I believe the music industry has a duty to continue to strive forward post-pandemic be even more progressive, more inclusive, and representative of the world that we live in.”
However, WME’s Boateng says there’s a “lot more work that needs to be done in the industry”. “It is still predominantly old white male and it has been for years,” she added. “Change has to come from the top-down and it has to be more than black squares.”
UTA’s Shogbola agreed: “If you are looking around your office and it does not reflect the society that you live in and the roster that you look after, then there is something categorically wrong.”
Black squares were posted on social media as part of the music industry’s Blackout Tuesday movement, a protest against racism and police brutality in response to the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.
“As a black woman within this industry, it’s frustrating that even 15-20 years into my career, it takes the death of somebody like George Floyd for our industry to finally open its eyes,” said Shogbola.
“The industry has a duty to be even more progressive, more inclusive, and representative of the world that we live in”
Boateng pointed out that it’s not just racial inequalities that the industry needs to fix but also disparities around sexuality and gender, with the panel unanimously agreeing that diversity on line-ups is still “not good enough”.
“It’s so important that when anybody is going to a show, they feel like it’s a safe and inclusive space for them,” said Dunstone.
Elsewhere during the panel, Mother Artists’ Gregory says that flexibility towards employees’ work hours will also be a key feature in a more equitable post-pandemic industry.
“Working 9–5 is not equality because everybody has a different situation, a different experience and different needs,” argued Gregory. “Being an agent is not a 9–5 anyway so just put trust in your team – working hard is a given in this industry.”
Dunstone agreed: “Adaptability and flexibility are massive takeaways from the last two years. Hopefully, we’ll pick and choose the bits of [pandemic life] that worked for us.”
The 36th edition of ESNS took place under the banner ‘Building Back Better, Together’ and focussed on getting the industry back on its feet after two years of the pandemic.
The hybrid conference and festival wrapped on Friday (21 January) and Dago Houben, director of ESNS said that “despite the fact that there is definitely screen fatigue, we were able to perform our platform function for the national and international music industry.
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ESNS: ‘The digital edition will still fulfil our mission’
ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) organisers have promised that the upcoming digital-only edition will still “fulfil our mission to network, connect, inspire and promote”.
For the second consecutive year, the European festival and conference in Groningen, Netherlands, has moved entirely online from 19–22 January 2022 in response to the government’s latest Covid-19 measures.
Conference director Ruud Berends says that, while the biggest challenge was accepting that they could not hold an in-person event again, the team has worked to make this year’s event “the best online edition ever”.
“We learned a lot from our first online conference and festival. It was beyond our expectations – the standard is high,” added head of programme Robert Meijerink. “We would like to service both our audience, artists and delegates even better than last year.”
Confirmed speakers for the conference include Claire O’Neill (A Greener Festival), Fruzsina Szép (Goodlive), Hannah Shogbola (UTA), Henk Schuit (CTS Eventim NL), Lotje Horvers (Backstage Pass), Mia Ternström (Keychange/Musikcentrum Öst), Mikko Niemelä (Ruisrock), Morten Therkildsen (Roskilde Festival/RF Experience),
Natasha Gregory (Mother Artists), Ruben Brouwer (Mojo Concerts), Sally Dunstone (Primary Talent International) and Stuart Galbraith (Kilimanjaro Live) will also be making appearances during the conference.
“I really think the programme is very relevant and diverse and really captures the whole music sector”
The conference last week announced an opening keynote speech from executive VP of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, who is responsible for the Green Deal – aligning with the conference’s ‘Building Back Better Together’ theme.
Also confirmed last week was blockbuster panel ‘Festival Season 2022’ with Marta Pallares (Primavera), Codruta Vulcu (ARTmania), Paul Reed (AIF), Christof Huber (Yourope) and Stephan Thanscheidt (FKP Scorpio).
Delegates can expect a conference programme that spans the metaverse, ticket scalping, cancel culture, mental health, diversity, equity and inclusion, streaming, Brexit, Covid, gender equality, the agency business and more.
“I really think the programme is very relevant and diverse and really captures the whole music sector – focussing on solutions, information and answers we all need to hear so we can move on in the most beautiful industry in the world,” says Berends.
Alongside the conference programme, the digital edition of ESNS 2022 will feature the usual festival programme of Noorderslag, Eurosonic, as well as the Music Moves Europe Awards award ceremony.
Tickets for the digital conference cost €99, and are available via www.esns.nl. The festival will be available – free of charge – with sessions recorded by Dutch broadcaster NTR in collaboration with NPO 3FM, to be broadcast by NPO 3FM, NPO 3 and the digital festival platform, hosted by VPRO 3VOOR12.
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ESNS bolsters 2022 programme
ESNS 2022 is taking shape after organisers confirmed a keynote interview with DreamHaus CEO Matt Schwarz and inked a long-term deal with See Tickets.
Eurosonic Noorderslag, which returns to Groningen, the Netherlands from 19-22 January 2022, will also feature talks from Urgenda director Marjan Minnesma, Dutch music entrepreneur André de Raaf and psychologist Anne Löhr of Mental Health In Music.
See Tickets will handle all ticketing for the conference and festival as part of a new four-year partnership.
“ESNS is always on the lookout for new possibilities to take the customer journey to a higher level,” says Dago Houben, CEO of ESNS. “Especially in this time, smart data interpretation and personal communication with our visitors are key. We’re looking forward to building a strong partnership with See Tickets.”
This partnership fits in perfectly with the experience we have in the dance industry and our ambitions in live music
Under the agreement, all products will be selectable in one single transaction and ESNS will also be one of the first partners to benefit from the new See Tickets CRM-tool Identity.
“The combination of history and heritage of the festival/conference and our scalable e-commerce solutions promises a lot for our joint future,” adds See Tickets Benelux MD Marijke van den Bosch. “This partnership fits in perfectly with the experience we have in the dance industry and our ambitions in live music.”
Meanwhile, 60 up-and-coming European acts have been added to the ESNS line-up, including 10 new Spanish acts (Marta Knight, Marina Herlop, Mundo Prestigio, Pódium, Biznaga, Gabriela Richardson, Santa Salut, Maika Makovski, Derby Motoreta’s Burrito Kachimba and Dora) for Eurosonic, along with five Dutch acts (Don Melody Club, Flemming, Hang Youth, Kuzko, and Son Mieux) for Noorderslag. Spain has already been announced as the focus country.
“[The focus on Spain] will bring a wide palette of young, emerging and talented acts from all over Spain to show how fresh, alive and exportable artists we have in our country,” says César Andión, of The Spanish Wave and Live Nation Madrid.
The 2021 edition of ESNS was held entirely online and welcomed nearly 4,000 people from 124 countries to its digital conference and festival platforms.
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ESNS announces Spain focus for 2022
Spain will be the focus country for Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) 2022, the Dutch conference and showcase event has announced.
Eurosonic typically puts the spotlight on a single European nation each year (Switzerland was the focus country in 2020) but opted instead to focus on Europe as a whole for this year’s virtual edition, which took place in January. In partnership with Live Nation Madrid and export initiative the Spanish Wave, ESNS 2022 will highlight the diversity of musical talent in Spain.
César Andión of the Spanish Wave/Live Nation says: “We are thrilled to bring to ESNS 2022 a great roster of panels and artists that will showcase the strength, quality and diversity of the Spanish music industry and future stars. For years Spain has had artists performing in Groningen, and professionals attending the conference, so it was about time that we became the focus country to show how professional, large and diverse Spain is for touring, releasing music and trade.
“We look forward to getting started on bringing an eclectic selection of new music to Groningen”
“The Spanish focus will join forces and work together with labels, promoters, media, festivals, artists and private and public agencies to make this special spotlight a success in business, networking and talent. The Spanish Wave showcase will bring a wide palette of young, emerging and talented acts from all over Spain to show what fresh, alive and exportable artists we have in our country. Thanks to ESNS for giving us the support and opportunity to do so.”
“The Spanish music scene has a lot to offer for the international market,” comments Robert Meijerink. “While there is a growing interest in music in the Spanish language in Europe and beyond, we’d like to focus on all its different regions and lively scenes, from emerging electronic acts to the new wave of indie bands hailing from the big cities, the islands and everything in between. Together with the Spanish Wave and Live Nation Madrid and their partners, we look forward to getting started on bringing an eclectic selection of new music to Groningen.”
Eurosonic Noorderslag 2022 takes place in Groningen, Netherlands, from 19 to 22 January. Artist applications open on 1 May; registration for delegates will open later this year. To pre-register, sign up here.
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All-digital ESNS 2021 attracts 4,000 visitors
The first edition of Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) to be held entirely online “exceeded all expectations”, say organisers, welcoming nearly 4,000 people from 124 countries to its digital conference and festival platforms.
ESNS 2021 – originally announced as a hybrid event, retaining an in-person component in Groningen, but later forced fully online – took place from 13–16 January, marking the 35th edition of the Dutch conference and showcase festival.
“We are truly overwhelmed by the positive feedback, with many saying a new standard has been set, which is amazing,” says Robert Meijerink, ESNS’s head of programme, “and the digital edition has exceeded our wildest expectations.
“The ESNS platform is focused on new emerging acts from Europe, and to bring together music professionals from all corners of the world to discuss the current and future of the music sector and its industry. Thanks to NPO 3FM and members of the EBU, ESNS was able to reach an even bigger audience in Europe and beyond. We really hope we can organise a physical edition in 2022 and be together once again, but we will also expand our online ventures next year.”
“We really hope we can organise a physical edition in 2022 and be together once again”
Built in partnership with NPO 3FM, the festival platform hosted live sets from 189 acts across 36 European countries, broadcast daily on four channels. All ESNS showcases, many of which saw Dutch acts performing at (empty) venues in Groningen, are still available to watch back at 3fm.nl/esns.
The conference’s 66 panels, meanwhile, featured 274 speakers, with the most viewed including ‘Successful Covid festival formats’, ‘Streaming is here to stay!’ and ‘Platform workshops with Bandcamp & Spotify’. Keynote interviews included Wendy Ong (a manager of Dua Lipa), Scott Cohen (Warner Music) and Neil Warnock (UTA).
On Friday 15 January, the winners of the Music Moves Europe Talent Awards 2021 were revealed on the ESNS digital platform and the NITE Hotel, presented by Melanie C. The eight winners are Inhaler (IE), Julia Bardo (IT), Lous and the Yakuza (BE), Melenas (ES), Rimon (NL), Sassy 009 (NO), Vildá (FI) and Alyona Alyona (UA), with Alyona also winning the Public Choice Award 2021. This was publicly announced by the European commissioner for culture, Mariya Gabriel.
Eurosonic Noorderslag will return next year, with ESNS 2022 taking place 19–22 January 2022 – “preferably as a physical edition” in Groningen, the Netherlands, say organisers.
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ESNS announces keynote with Dua Lipa’s manager
Dutch conference and showcase festival Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) has announced a keynote interview with Wendy Ong, Dua Lipa’s manager and US president of Tap Music and Tap Records.
Ong will be in conversation with artist manager and board member of Music Managers Forum (MMF) Netherlands, Lijne Kreupeling, discussing the evolving profession of modern artist management.
As president of Tap Management and Tap Records US, Ong oversees all US-related management and label activities for a diverse roster of artists including Lana Del Rey, Dua Lipa, Ellie Goulding, Hailee Steinfeld, and more.
The US music manager and executive is the latest addition for the 35th edition of the Groningen-based festival, which will take place digitally between 13 to 16 January.
The digital edition will consist of Eurosonic, the showcase festival for emerging European talent; an online edition of the Music Moves Europe Talent Awards ceremony; the celebration of native talent, Noorderslag; and this year’s conference, titled Road to Recovery.
Ong oversees all US-related management and label activities for artists including Lana Del Rey, Ellie Goulding and Hailee Steinfeld
Highlights of the Road to Recovery programme include:
- Keynote Steve Strange (X-Ray Touring) with Michael Chugg (Michael Chugg Entertainment).
- Successful Covid festival formats, moderated by IQ’s Gordon Masson.
- Stop touting in Europe with Scumeck Sabottka (MCT Agentur).
- Tom Windish and Mike Malak in conversation with Cherie Hu.
- Keynote with Neil Warnock (UTA’s head of global music touring) with Greg Parmley (ILMC, IFF, IQ).
Other confirmed speakers for the conference include: Annabella Coldrick (Music Managers Forum), Beverley Whitrick (Music Venues Trust), Claire O’Neill (A Greener Festival), Eric van Eerdenburg (Lowlands/MOJO), Fruzsina Szep (Goodlive), Hannah Shgbola (Echo Location), Helen Sildna (Tallinn Music Week), Helen Smith (Impala), Henrick Bondo (Roskilde Festival), Jess Partridge (Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing), Keith Harris (Keith Harris Music Ltd), Michal Kascak (Pohoda Festival). See the full conference programme here.
Tickets for Eurosonic Noorderslag 2021 are available at a discounted price of €50, which includes access to the digital environment with live streams, on-demand panels, keynotes, sessions and showcases, access to a networking platform and database. The showcase part of the festival will be completely free.
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ESNS 2021 to go ahead in hybrid format
Dutch conference and showcase festival Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) will go ahead in a part-virtual, part-physical format next January.
Taking place in Groningen from 13 to 16 January, the in-person aspect of ESNS 2021 – the event’s 35th edition – will be “widely supported in a digital form”, including both the conference programming and showcases, say organisers.
All parts of the programme will be “organised with the safety of visitors, delegates and artists as the highest priority”, they add.
Eurosonic creative director Robert Meijerink comments: “There’s all the more reason to get together again in Groningen in January 2021 and to review and anticipate the future. It is precisely these uncertain times that call for an opportunity to open the dialogue, to support and inspire, to learn from each other and, ultimately, to regain trust for hopeful times ahead.
“Last but not least, ESNS wants to organise an event that does justice to its mission: stimulating and promoting the circulation of new European music. The necessity has never been so great.”
“There’s all the more reason to get together again in Groningen in January 2021”
ESNS 2021 will be preceded by European Music Week, a new digital platform showcasing the best new European music. Whereas ESNS has previous chosen focus countries, the 2021 event will focus on Europe as a whole.
“The music sector has been hit hard. But we feel strengthened by the hundreds of music professionals from home and abroad who have still bought a registration for ESNS 2021 in recent months, despite the restrictions imposed by the pandemic,” says ESNS director Dago Houben. “We feel that as a call from the sector”
Tickets for Eurosonic Noorderslag 2021 will go on sale “as soon as possible”, say organisers, and will available at a substantial discount compared to previous years: €195 for a full conference ticket, or €50 for digital only.
“[W]e receive tremendous support from a large number of partners, not to mention the authorities who indirectly supported us to let us do what we are good at: stimulate the circulation of European music. This extra support gives us the opportunity to drastically reduce the price of our event to make it as accessible as possible for everyone,” continues Houben.
“We are developing an accessible digital edition for people who are not yet allowed, or who are otherwise not able, to travel.”
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