Things Go Better With Cokes

Former MTV Europe presenter Ray Cokes will be at next month’s Eurosonic-Noorderslag conference in The Netherlands for three special showcase talks.

Cokes has been selling, buying and presenting music for the past 30 years, beginning his career in the early ’80s in Belgium with the first-ever daily music video show. He’s become something of a cult figure with his daily “talk show with a difference” at Hamburg’s Reeperbahn Festival.

Other speakers already confirmed for Jan. 11-14 include Shawn Michael O’Keefe from SXSW Interactive, Mobilium International and Mobile Entertainment Forum exec Ralph Simon and Matthew Sheret from Last.fm.

The panel schedule already has discussions on health and safety, the economic impact that major events have on the locality, and U.S. visa and tax barriers.

There will also be a press conference for the unveiling of the new plans for the European Talent Exchange Programme and the new Central and Eastern European exchange programme (or CETEP). The central and eastern program will be funded from the euro 2.1 million (then $3 million) grant the program received from the European Union.

Pollstar will present a panel called “Less Tours, Less Tickets,” based on the data it collects from international venues.
So far, more than 200 acts are confirmed for the ETEP showcase slots staged across three days in at least a dozen venues in Groningen, which will be hosting the Creative City Challenge.

The challenge focuses on the promotion of creative sector enterprises in music, literature, art, theatre, dance, film and design, among other areas.

The project analyses challenges and barriers confronting the creative sector in the North Sea Region.