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Hots announces IQ Focus and artist showcase live stream

IQ and Hungarian Oncoming Tunes (Hots) will launch the next phase of the partnership by shining a spotlight on the best of the Hungarian market with a special IQ Focus session and a livestreamed gig showcasing the hottest domestic talent.

The hour-long panel, dubbed ‘Hungarian music: In the Hots seat’, will be broadcast live this Thursday (28 January) at 4 pm GMT featuring an all-star cast cherrypicked from all corners of the Hungarian music industry.

Saya Noé (artist), Szonja Ferenczi (manager), Zoltan Jakab (agent at Doomstar Bookings, The Devil’s Trade), Máté Horváth (promoter at New Beat, Dürer Kert, 3S Music Management) and Lucia Nagyova from Hots will make up this Thursday’s panel.

Set a reminder for Hungarian music: In the Hots seat on Facebook or Youtube.

In the meantime, a slate of Hungary’s most promising rising artists will take to the virtual stage for the showcase, Hots Presents, which will broadcast live this Tuesday (26th January) at 4 pm GMT.

Hots Presents will showcase performances from Saya Noé, Deva, The Devil’s Trade and OIEE

Hots Presents will showcase performances from Saya Noé, Deva, The Devil’s Trade and OIEE. Set a reminder for Hots Presents on Facebook.

The partnership with the Hungarian music export office launched last October with a Spotify playlist presenting some of the most promising domestic artists including Platon Karataev (pictured), The Devil’s Trade, Deva, Mongooz and the Magnet, Fran Palermo and more. Listen to the Hots x IQ playlist below:

The Hots playlist was complemented by a feature on the Hungarian market in IQ94, titled Magyar Choice: What’s hot in Hungary.

Since launching 2016, Hots has brought Hungarian acts to festivals including Eurosonic Noorderslag in the Netherlands, Primavera Sound in Spain, Liverpool Sound City in the UK, Tallinn Music Week in Estonia, Zandari Festa in Seoul, and Reeperbahn Festival in Germany.

 


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VAT cut ‘could save Hungarian live sector’

The Hungarian live music business is calling on the government to support the industry by slashing the sky-high VAT levied on concert and festival tickets.

Currently, value-added tax is charged at 27% on concert and 18% on festival tickets in Hungary. According to a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the Hungarian government could give the industry – whose revenues are 10% what they were in 2019 – a shot in the arm, and make it more “crisis resistant” in future, by cutting VAT to a uniform 5%.

The report – funded by Music Hungary, Sziget festival, promoter InConcert, the Hungarian Festival Association (Magyar Fesztivál Szövetség) and the Association of Music Managers (Zenei Managerek Szövetsége), among others – was presented at Music Hungary’s annual conference, held on 9 and 10 November, days before Hungary went into a second lockdown.

In 2019, the Hungarian live industry was worth an estimated 45 billion Ft (€125 million) by net ticket sales. PwC’s analysis shows that a reduction in VAT to to 5% would provide the Hungarian music industry with an additional 6.7bn Ft annually, the tax cut more than paying for itself by stimulating increased ticket sales.

“A reduction in the VAT rate would have a positive impact on all players in the sector”

According to Dávid Szilágyi, chief analyst of PwC Hungary, the current rate of VAT also makes it difficult for promoters to afford foreign performers.

According to Music Hungary, the Hungarian music industry has received next to no aid throughout the coronavirus crisis, with just €23.5 million finding its way to the sector since March. Of that, €14m went to poorly received government-sponsored ‘warehouse concerts’ (raktár koncertek) held behind closed doors since August.

“Our research highlights the economic and cultural significance of concerts and festivals, and also emphasises that a reduction in the VAT rate would have a positive impact on all players in the sector,” concludes the PwC report.

In October, IQ partnered with Hungarian Oncoming Tunes (Hots), the Hungarian music export office, to showcase the best of Hungary’s resilient live music scene.

 


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IQ announces partnership with Hungarian Oncoming Tunes

IQ today announces a partnership with Hungarian Oncoming Tunes (Hots), the Hungarian music export office, to showcase the best of Hungary’s flourishing live music scene.

Situated in central Europe, Hungary is home to world-renowned festivals including Sziget Festival, Balaton Sound and Volt Festival, as well as key venues and clubs such as Lärm, Dürer Kert, Auróra and Gólya.

The IQ-Hots partnership incorporates a Spotify playlist featuring the most promising Hungarian artists; an hour-long IQ Focus panel spotlighting the best of the Hungarian scene; a livestreamed showcase featuring four Hungarian bands, curated by Hots; and a feature on the Hungarian market in IQ Magazine.

“Even if Hungary might be recognised by its lockdown these days, our artists still have a lot to say, and we’re in the middle of a generational blooming that deserves to be exposed,” says Lucia Nagyová from Hots.

“With Hots we’d like to go against the stereotypes we face about Hungarian contemporary music, but thanks to the diverse palette of our underground genres and the small successes we earned in the past years, we’re proud to provide the long-awaited spotlight on a scene that worked so hard in the past few years to get internationally recognised.”

Listen to the Hots x IQ playlist, which features artists including Platon Karataev (pictured), The Devil’s Trade, Deva, Mongooz and the Magnet, Fran Palermo and more below:

Since launching 2016, Hots has brought Hungarian acts to festivals including Eurosonic Noorderslag in the Netherlands, Primavera Sound in Spain, Liverpool Sound City in the UK, Tallinn Music Week in Estonia, Zandari Festa in Seoul, and Reeperbahn Festival in Germany.

The office’s main aim is to support emerging talents and songwriters to find their own artistic vision and help them break into markets they’d like to enter.

Last year, Hots supported 103 Hungarian artists and 47 professional delegates to learn, earn visibility, and inspire each other in 42 countries around the world.

With the pro-active scheme comprising thematic workshops, showcase appearances, an international mentor & art camp (Outbreakers’ Lab) and a songwriting camp where internationally acclaimed producers are choosing artists to collaborate with (SongLab), Hots was able to participate in the international increase of royalty incomes in the past years.

 


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