Altin Gün lead first Etep results for 2021
The Netherlands’ Altin Gün are the most popular European Talent Exchange Programme (Etep) act of the year so far, leading the programme’s first selection for 2021.
Etep, the Eurosonic Noorderslag-led initiative to stimulate the circulation of music across European borders, traditionally ranks acts depending on how many bookings they receive from participating festivals. However, for 2020 – with most events not taking place – and into 2021, in addition to bookings the chart counts the promotion of acts across festivals’ channels.
In 2020, this resulted in 124 promotions for 74 acts from 21 countries, by 74 festivals in 26 countries – in addition to 45 shows by 40 acts from 26 countries, playing at 12 festivals in 12 countries. In total there were 102 different emerging artists from 31 countries supported by bookings or promotions by Etep festivals.
According to 25 Etep festivals voting for 136 artists, the top five artists to watch for 2021 are:
- Altin Gün (NL)
- Daði Freyr (IS)
- Holly Humberstone (UK)
- Alyona Alyona (UA)
- Faux Real (FR)
The top five are followed closely by Afrodelic (IT), Donna Blue (NL), Finn Ronsdorf (DE), Katy J Pearson (GB), Lous and the Yakuza (BE), My Ugly Clementine (AT), Nava (IT), Personal Trainer (NL), Playback Maracas (ES), the Goa Express (UK) and Yīn Yīn (NL).
Squid and Black Country, New Road, topped 2020’s initial Etep rankings, with six festival bookings each, before the pandemic put paid to the festival season.
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‘A dire situation’: EU orgs call for urgent investment
In an unprecedented display of European music-biz unity, a total of 36 industry associations – including festival association Yourope, managers’ bodies IMMF and EMMA, venue associations Live DMA and Liveurope and PRO collective Gesac – have written an open letter calling for urgent emergency aid for the entire EU music industry, which they warn is in crisis due to the continent-wide shutdown.
In the letter, addressed to both national governments and the EU Commission, the 36 warn of a “dire situation”, in which “festivals suspend their activities, performances are cancelled, group activity is stopped, shops close and new releases are put on hold”, threatening the European “music ecosystem”.
The signatories – which also include recording industry bodies IFPI and Impala, the European Talent Exchange Programme (Etep), the International Music Publishers Forum (IMPF), Live Performance Europe/Pearle* and showcase festival network INES – name “artists and their management, performers, composers, songwriters, music educators, conductors, booking agents, record shops, labels, publishers, distributors, promoters, manufacturers, technicians, events managers and event staff” as being among those “whose livelihoods are on the line.”
Funding is available at a national level in many European countries, including, in some territories, specialist aid for creative-sector freelancers. However, the associations urge that a coordinated Europe-wide approach is needed to stave off “profound harm” to the industry that will continue into 2021.
“We call for emergency … structural policies at EU, national, regional and local level to consolidate the music ecosystem”
“[W]e see how important the cultural sectors are in promoting solidarity and in providing rallying points,” they continue. “Within the confines of their homes, artists and DJs have been streaming their own live performances to fight isolation by engaging online communities. Drawing upon the example of Italy, citizens from across Europe gather on their balconies to play music and regain a shared sense of common purpose.
“This reminds us that music is a vehicle to recreate a sense of community. In times of containment and pressure, music builds bridges between individuals and cultures irrespective of social, ethnic, cultural backgrounds. […] As decision-makers reflect on how to address the crisis, culture must be recognised as a priority sector.”
The intervention comes as live music industry associations across Europe lobby to be allowed to offer ticket vouchers, or credit, in lieu of cash refunds, to avert a cashflow crisis, amid widespread cancellations.
Read the 36’s letter in full, as well as the list of 36 signatories, below.
Music is one of the first sectors hit by the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. It will also be one of the last.
As borders close, venues as well as festivals suspend their activities, performances are cancelled, group activity is stopped, shops close, and new releases are put on hold, the entire creative value chain is stalling. Artists and their management, performers, composers, songwriters, music educators, conductors, booking agents, record shops, labels, publishers, distributors, promoters, manufacturers, technicians, events managers and event staff count among the many actors of the ecosystem whose livelihoods are on the line.
These risks will persist, even after the public health emergency is solved. The stark reality is that profound harm will be felt long into 2021 due to how the music ecosystem operates.
In light of this dire situation, we call for emergency as well as sustainable public support and structural policies at EU, national, regional and local level to consolidate the music ecosystem, and help it thrive again in all its diversity.
The undersigned music organisations urge Member States and the European Commission to take a stance and significantly increase the national and EU budgets dedicated to culture, and within that to music. Secondly, under the EU Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative, it is imperative that each Member State provides Europe’s creative sector with swift and comprehensive access to Structural Funds in order to offset the harm in the shorter term.
The full magnitude of the current turmoil will build for months and the number of casualties will be high. Even when the complete standstill ends, the crisis will continue due to hyper saturation of events and new releases and audiences will be unpredictable.
All this points to a slow recovery, with less job opportunities, less participation in music and less room for artistic risk-taking. Jobs and diversity are at stake.
At the same time, we see how important the cultural sectors are in promoting solidarity and in providing rallying points. Within the confines of their homes, artists and DJs have been streaming their own live performances to fight isolation by engaging online communities. Drawing upon the example of Italy, citizens from across Europe gather on their balconies to play music and regain a shared sense of common purpose.
This reminds us that music is a vehicle to recreate a sense of community. In times of containment and pressure, music builds bridges between individuals and cultures irrespective of social, ethnic, cultural backgrounds.
Music and culture are essential to offer citizens the renewed social and cultural bond that Europe will sorely need.
As decision makers reflect on how to address the crisis, culture must be recognised as a priority sector.
The undersigned organisations
AEC, Association Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen
CIME/ICEM, International Confederation of Electroacoustic Music
DME, Digital Music Europe
ECA-EC, European Choral Association – Europa Cantat
ECSA, European Composer and Songwriter Alliance
EFNYO, European Federation of National Youth Orchestra
EMC, European Music Council
EMCY, European Union of Music Competitions for Youth
EMEE, European Music Exporters Exchange
EMMA, European Music Managers Alliance
ETEP, European Talent Exchange Programme
Europavox
EJN, Europe Jazz Network
EVTA, European Voice Teachers Association
FIM, International Federation of Musicians
GESAC, the European Authors Societies
IAMIC, International Association of Music Centres
IAO, International Artist Organisation of Music
ICAS, International Cities of Advanced Sound
ICMP, International Confederation of Music Publishers
ICSM, International Society for Contemporary Music
IFPI, International Federation of the Phonographic Industry
IMMF, International Music Managers Forum
IMPF, Independent Music Publishers International Forum
IMPALA, Independent music compagnies associations
INES, Innovation Network of European Showcases
JMI, Jeunesses Musicales International
JUMP, European Music Market Accelerator
Keychange
Live DMA, European network for music venues and festivals
Liveurope, the platform for new European Talent
Pearle*, Live Performance Europe
SHAPE, Sound Heterogenous Art and Performance in Europe
REMA, European Early Music Network
We are Europe
Yourope, the European festival Association
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ATC Live acts dominate first Etep charts of 2020
ATC Live acts are off to a strong start in this year’s European Talent Exchange Programme (Etep), making up half of the top ten most-booked artists so far.
A total of 58 acts from 23 different countries have secured 94 festival slots through the Eurosonic Noorderslag-run programme this year.
Squid and Black Country, New Road – who are both repped by ATC outside of the US – top the charts with six shows a piece, followed by fellow ATC-repped act Georgia with five.
In the US, the acts are represented by Paradigm, Ground Control and Partisan Arts respectively.
A total of 58 acts from 23 different countries have secured 94 festival slots through the Eurosonic Noorderslag-run programme this year
Altin Gün (four shows) and Los Bitchos (two shows) are the other ATC artists to make it into the top ten. Altin Gün are booked by Paradigm in North America.
Italian electronic trio Meduza (Spin Artist Agency in North and South America; CAA in RoW), Greek-Sudanese singer Marina Satti and Fonés (Dionysiac Tour in Europe), Muthoni Drummer Queen, Arlo Parks (UTA) and Inhaler (WME in North America; 13 Artists RoW) make up the remainder of the Etep top ten.
Dublin post-punk band Fontaines DC topped the 2019 Etep charts, with appearances at 14 festivals. The band is represented by ATC in Europe and Paradigm in the US.
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Fontaines DC triumphant as Etep 2019 closes
Dublin post-punk band Fontaines DC are the most-booked act of this year’s European Talent Exchange Programme (Etep), followed by UK acts Black Midi and Flohio.
The ATC Live-repped Dubliners have amassed 14 festival slots in total, five more than their closest competitors, but falling short of the record 19 bookings set by indie pop band Superorganism in 2018.
Since Etep 2019 kicked off at Eurosonic Noorderslag in January, 164 acts have played 361 shows at the 130 participating festivals.
Five of the top ten most-booked acts of the 2019 season are British, with London rock band Black Midi and MC Flohio in joint second place with nine festivals each; songwriter and producer Elderbrook playing eight shows; and indie rock group Sea Girls and Brighton quartet Penelope Isles finishing the year with seven a piece.
The ATC Live-repped Dubliners have amassed 14 festival slots in total, five more than their closest competitors
The Netherlands’ Pip Blom and Austria’s Mavi Phoenix also clocked up eight shows each, with Norwegian singer Girl in Red and Danish act Iris Gold reaching a tally of seven.
Music export offices from Denmark and Latvia will join forces with the programme next year, adding to export offices from Austria, Belgium, Catalonia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Italy, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia and Switzerland.
Etep is also aiming to expand outside of Europe, announcing Playtime festival in Mongolia as the first of 11 non-European participating festivals.
A full list of Etep 2019 results can be found here.
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Etep: Fontaines DC lead way as season end approaches
As the European festival season comes to a close, Fontaines DC are still riding high on the Etep charts, with five more festival appearances than second-placed Black Midi.
The Irish five-piece, who have led Etep (European Talent Exchange Programme) results throughout 2019, head into the close of the summer with 14 shows to their name, with Britain’s Black Midi and Flohio tied for second place on nine each, and Elderbrook (UK), Pip Blom (NL) and Mavi Phoenix (AT) on eight apiece.
Since Etep 2019 kicked off at Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) in January, a total of 159 acts from 27 countries have played 371 festival shows at the programme’s 130 participating festivals.
Etep, funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe scheme, is now in its 17th year.
2019 saw Etep’s first shows in Russia and Hong Kong
Some firsts for the programme, which aims to support the circulation of music across European borders, in 2019 include Fontaines DC, Farveblind, Karpov not Kasparov and Say Yes Dog playing the first Russian Etep shows, at Stereoleto, in July, as well as the first ever Hong Kong Etep booking, Boy Azooga, at at Clockenflap in November.
The top Etep festivals by number of bookings, meanwhile, are the UK’s Great Escape (25), Germany’s Reeperbahn Festival (23) and Iceland Airwaves (16).
Fontaines DC, represented in Europe by Sarah Besnard at ATC Live, hold onto their first place despite a string of cancellations for health reasons earlier in the summer. They were previously on course to break the all-time Etep booking record set by Superorganism in 2018.
With just 17 Etep festivals to go, see the full end-of-summer 2019 Etep charts at etep.nl/etep-results.
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What to expect from Glastonbury Festival 2019
Glastonbury Festival returns tomorrow (Wednesday 26 June) following a year’s hiatus. As hundreds of thousands of fans prepare to descend on Worthy Farm, here’s what to look out for this year.
In a slow year elsewhere for UK festivals, enthusiasm for this Glastonbury remains high. Standard tickets for the 2019 event sold out in 36 minutes, compared to 50 minutes in pre-fallow year 2017.
Stormzy will become the first UK grime act to head up the Glastonbury Pyramid Stage on the Friday night, followed by the Killers and the Cure on the following evenings. Kylie Minogue will play the Sunday afternoon Legends Slot.
Festival organisers recently revealed dancehall star Sean Paul as a late addition to head up the John Peel stage on Saturday.
Elsewhere, European Talent Exchange Programme (Etep) leaders and May’s Radar Station runnersup, Fontaines D.C., will show why they’re one of Europe’s fastest emerging acts on the William’s Green stage.
Other popular Etep acts performing at the festival include Black Midi, Flohio, Pip Blom and Octavian.
Performing arts collective Arcadia will bring a brand-new installation to this year’s festival, in the form of Pangea. The new arena, Arcadia’s “most ambitious yet”, will see performances from the likes of the Black Madonna, Four Tet and Carl Cox.
Standard tickets for the 2019 event sold out in 36 minutes, compared to 50 minutes in pre-fallow year 2017
The weather, a major talking point of any UK festival, is looking to turn around in time for Glastonbury. Some forecasters are predicting the hottest Glastonbury Festival on record, with London’s Met Office indicating temperatures could hit 35°C.
According to Met Office forecaster Grahame Madge, “it will start out overcast and there could be the potential for some showers but going forward it’s going to be much dryer than in recent days.
“There may be some heavy showers in the south west of England, though these are likely to be further west than Glastonbury.”
The Greenpeace-partnered festival is striving to up its eco-friendly policies this year, banning single-use plastic bottles and encouraging attendees to leave no waste behind. National food retailer the Co-op will sell sandwiches in 100% compostable packaging at its pop-up shop at the festival.
A proposed Glastonbury spin-off festival, the Variety Bazaar, appears to be on hold. Organisers had previously claimed that the event would take place instead of Glastonbury Festival in 2021, on a different site.
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The National, Spiritualized to make Ypsigrock debuts
Italian boutique festival Ypsigrock has released its full line-up for 2019, including headliners the National, Spiritualized and David August and a record six European Talent Exchange Programme (Etep) bands.
Ypsigrock 2019 – which takes place in the mountain village of Castelbuono, in Sicily, from 8 to 11 August – is the 23rd edition of the 3,000-capacity festival, and will also feature performances from hotly tipped up-and-comers including Fontaines DC, Pick a Piper, Giant Rocks and Let’s Eat Grandma, several of which are making their Italian debuts.
Almost a quarter of the line-up are Etep participants (Fontaines DC are currently the most-booked Etep act), a record for the event, say co-founders Gianfranco Raimondo and Vincenzo Barreca in a joint statement: “There’s so much terrific talent being presented that this came pretty much naturally. This shows how interesting and diverse the showcasing bands are – it’s really relevant to us and our tastemaker audience.
“Out of a total of 26, with Ireland’s Fontaines DC, Britain’s Free Love, the Netherlands’ Pip Blom, Britain’s Boy Azooga, France’s Lafawndah and Belgium’s Whispering Sons (BE), we have a nice mix of six bands from five nations coming to visit us in this beautiful but somewhat remote piece of Earth.”
All acts performing at this year’s festival are new to Ypsigrock – a deliberate move on organisers’ part, who subscribe to an ‘Ypsi once’ booking philosophy (ie an artist may only play the event once in their career). Among the artists who played Ypsigrock 2018 are the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Horrors, Aurora, And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead and Seun Kuti, while the likes of alt-J and Jon Hopkins made their Italian debuts at the festival in previous years.
Ypsigrock tickets are priced at €99 for a three-day pass.
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Fontaines D.C. close in on ETEP record
The latest European Talent Exchange Programme (Etep) results show swift progress for Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C., with 18 festival slots booked including Glastonbury Festival, INmusic Festival, Trnsmt and Roskilde festival.
The results take into account 37 new confirmations over the past month, welcoming newcomers Penelope Isles and Sea Girls into the top ten most-booked artists. The same artists remain in the coveted top three chart positions, as Fontaines D.C. widen their lead from a three-show to eight-show difference.
With 18 festival slots already under their belt, Fontaines D.C. are shaping up to challenge last year’s top artist, UK eight-piece band Superorganism, who were booked at a record-breaking 19 Etep festivals. The Dublin-based band are represented by ATC Live in Europe and Paradigm in the United States.
Following Fontaines D.C. on the Etep chart are London-based artists Black Midi and Flohio, each with nine festival bookings under their belts. Austrian rapper Mavi Phoenix, Dutch quartet Pip Blom and British songwriter and producer Elderbrook remain hot on the heels with seven bookings each.
“As proven by Etep’s success, support programmes can work for the benefit of all involved parties – and without too much bureaucratic effort”
Now in its 17th year, Etep continues to support the booking of emerging acts at 129 festivals across Europe. Brighton-based showcase festival the Great Escape heads up the Etep festival chart, booking 25 acts through the programme. Iceland Airwaves and Hungary’s Sziget festival also feature a strong Etep representation, with 12 acts booked each.
In an interview with programme organisers, Rembert Stiewe, the director of boutique festival Orange Blossom Special, comments: “As proven by Etep’s success, support programmes can work for the benefit of all involved parties – and without too much bureaucratic effort.”
Etep, a Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS)-led initiative, has supported the early stages of successful careers for artists including Calvin Harris, Franz Ferdinand, the xx, Idles and Dua Lipa.
See the full chart below:
1. Fontaines D.C. (ie) – 18 shows
2. Black Midi (gb) – 9 shows
3. Flohio (gb) – 9 shows
4. Mavi Phoenix (at) – 7 shows
5. Pip Blom (nl) – 7 shows
6. Elderbrook (gb) – 7 shows
7. The Murder Capital (ie) – 6 shows
8. Octavian (gb) – 6 shows
9. Penelope Isles (gb) – 6 shows
10. SEA GIRLS (gb) – 6 shows
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Portugal’s Westway Lab announces artist residencies
Westway Lab, Portugal’s first showcase festival and music conference, has announced the return of its artist residency programme, which welcomes eight artists to work together and showcase material on the 10 and 11 April.
The sixth edition of Westway Lab takes place in Guimarães, Portugal from 10 to 13 April, combining artist residencies, professional conferences and showcases.
This year, the festival hosts Portuguese musicians Beatriz Nunes and João Pascoal of the Happy Mess, Lince (Sofia Ribeiro) and Captain Boy (Pedro Ribeiro). Other residencies are taken by Venezuelan singer Yosune, Italian singer-songwriter Violetta Zironi, indie-pop Austro-Slovakian duo Mickey and the Canadian pop-rock band Tribe Royal.
The festival and conference has also announced Canada as its spotlight country. The Canadian representation will be folk focused with singer-songwriters Sarah MacDougall and Megan Nash, along with folk trio the East Pointers. Music by duo Les Deuxluxes and Tribe Royal will have more of a rock focus.
“[Westway Lab is] a powerful world of possibility on a human scale”
Westway Lab again hosts the Why Portugal event organised by the Portuguese music export office, featuring local artists Neev, Marta Pereira da Costa and Vaarwell. The Portuguese Independent Music Trade Association brings Europe in Synch to the conference, a programme focusing on the training of young music professionals actively involved in sync licensing.
The festival is a member of the the European Talent Exchange Programme (ETEP), which promotes European musicians across the world, and showcase festival association the Innovation Network of European Showcases (INES).
Rui Torrinha, artistic director of the festival describes Westway LAB as “a powerful world of possibility on a human scale”, outlining the consistent “quality” of the artists who have participated in the festival over the years.
A full conference programme and registration for this year’s Westway Lab are available here.
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Irish, British acts top preliminary ETEP results
Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C. and south London group Black Midi lead the way in the first results of Eurosonic Noorderslag’s (ESNS) European Talent Exchange Programme (ETEP), with ten and seven festival slots booked respectively.
ETEP aims to promote European music across the world, supporting the booking of emerging European talent at festivals in 37 countries. Two months on from the 33rd edition of ESNS, promising acts from the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belarus and Belgium have all secured multiple festival shows.
51 out of the 129 Etep festivals have released some line-up information, with 143 ETEP shows already confirmed across festivals including the Great Escape (20 ETEP acts), Ment Ljubljana (6 ETEP acts) and Lollapalooza Berlin (5 ETEP acts).
“ETEP selection results are always a surprise – no-one can predict the ten most booked acts,” says Robert Meijerink, head of programme and programme manager of European talent at ESNS.
“The first results prove that festivals across the world are interested in putting on a wide variety of different styles and genres by European artists”
“I am really pleased to see how ETEP is helping the circulation of European artists in the live sector already so early in the year. The first results also prove that festivals across the world are interested in putting on a wide variety of different styles and genres by European artists,” adds Meijerink.
The initiative enjoyed a record-breaking festival season last year, with ETEP acts playing 457 shows at festivals around the world. British indie band Superorganism finished the summer at the top of the leaderboard, playing 20 gigs in total, beating the record set the previous year by London post-punk band Shame.
Since launching in 2003, ETEP has facilitated 4,144 shows by 1,531 acts in 37 countries. The programme has helped to initiate successful careers for artists including Calvin Harris, Franz Ferdinand, James Blake, the Kooks and the XX. More recently, ETEP has supported the first international shows of acts such as Idles, Aurora and Dua Lipa.
A list of the ten most booked ETEP acts so far can be found below:
1) Fontaines D.C. (Ie) – 10 shows
2) Black Midi (GB) – 7 shows
3) Flohio (GB) – 6 shows
4) Pip Blom (NL) – 5 shows
5) The Murder Capital (Ie) – 4 shows
6) Iris Gold (Dk) – 4 shows
7) Yegor Zabelov (By) – 3 shows
8) Whispering Sons (Be) – 3 shows
9) Lewsberg (NL) – 3 shows
10) Whenyoung (Ie) – 3 shows
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