Features
What Europe’s Fests Need To Do For A Piece Of The Multibillion-Dollar Pie
Lukasz Kobus – EU Culture
Representatives from Europe’s culture industries take part in the official launch of the Preparatory Action “Music Moves Europe: Boosting European Music Diversity and Talent” in February.
Government support for arts and culture is a thing in Europe, which many Americans find astounding. That said, not all countries receive support and it can be a huge hassle to get politicians to listen and, more importantly, act.
Obtaining funding can be a challenge with local politicians, even more difficult since the EU was created, moving the heart of decision making for all 28 member states to Brussels.
While it’s the classical genres that traditionally received the bulk of funding, the attitude of politicians toward what constitutes “serious music” is changing.
In the Netherlands, more than 90 percent of concert venues receive regular funding by local municipalities, according to the country’s venue and festival association VNPF. In addition, venue operators can apply for government subsidies for concerts by domestic artists.
Similar structures exist in Belgium and Luxembourg, which support regional funding for music venues, and funding schemes also exist for festivals in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Spain and Sweden, according to an exposé penned by the EU Commission.
The Commission recently came up with a first draft for the upcoming EU budget. It intends to double the budget allocated for culture, which from 2014-20 has been a massive 1.46 billion euros ($1.7 billion).
Only part of that money goes to the music sector, which, in turn, includes the live and recorded industries of all 28 EU member states. If Europe’s festival promoters want to see any of it, they will have to step up their lobbying efforts, as the EU Parliament has launched so-called preparatory action proceedings for what it has dubbed the Music Moves Europe program.
As part of this formal process, which will last until 2020, the EU Commission undertakes consultations with various organizations from the music sector.
“Those who have an office in Brussels certainly do have an advantage, they are closer to some of the decision makers,” Fruzsina Szep, festival director of Lollapalooza Berlin and board member of festival association Yourope, told Pollstar. “The record industry and the classical music sector are much more present in Brussels than the live music sector.”
Eric van Eerdenburg, festival director of Dutch festival Lowlands, confirmed: “I find it hard to get my head around this subject. We are, as an industry, not used to dealing with long-term lobbying. We all operate very individually and give all our hearts. That’s what we like most.”
Brussels is a bureaucratic stronghold, “a hotspot for formalities,” according to Szép, who added, that “the EU-Commissions is not familiar with the music sector. On top of it, the live music sector in particular is not investing into lobbying to raise awareness and understanding for this part of the music industry.”
Said Eerdenburg: “We should take an example of how the film and other creative industries have successfully created bodies that represent their industry. We have to formulate what our issues, weaknesses, strengths and needs are, and then have to find the people that can translate our ‘language’ into the more bureaucratic speak of the policymakers that have an impact on our industry.”