Noorderslag’s Record Weekend

It was a record-breaking year for Groningen’s Eurosonic-Noorderslag weekend as the showcase festivals and the January 10-12 seminar both sold out in advance.

The festivals drew 15,500 people across three nights, while the "Sold Out" signs went up a day before the conference as it reached its 2,487 capacity.

This year’s speakers included Ed Bicknell, former manager of Dire Straits and William Morris Agency’s vice president for international music until they parted company four months ago; Carl Leighton-Pope, head of London’s LPO Agency; Leon Ramakers from Holland’s Mojo Concerts and Ticketmaster MD Sean Moriarty.

The Eurosonic and Noorderslag showcases featured 252 acts, and the crowd included representatives from 87 festivals.

At the last reckoning, the U.K.’s Blood Red Shoes and Does It Offend You, Yeah? were doing best out of the European Talent Exchange Programme with eight shows each.

Swedish singer/songwriter Lykke Li, the U.K.’s Lightspeed Champion and France’s Yelle have six each, while Sweden’s I’m From Barcelona and France’s The Do have five.

ETEP has grown substantially over the last five years, although the cutting off of European Union subsidies after a trial three-year period means programme organiser Ruud Berends can’t expand it further at the moment.

The event was covered by 23 European radio stations, 138 journalists and other media representatives.