First Speakers For Fully Digital ESNS Announced
Bart Heemskerk – UK agent John Giddings in conversation with ILMC head Greg Parmley at ESNS 2020.
The main auditorium at what is usually the conference hub De Oosterpoort will remain empty next January, when the conference takes place digitally.
In light of new government guidelines, the organizers of Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) in Groningen, Netherlands, scrapped plans of having a live audience at next year’s conference and festival, and went fully digital.
“Given the current situation and government guidelines organizing a physical edition is no longer feasible,” a statement from ESNS reads.
“This means that the program of both the festival and the conference will be presented as a digital platform from 13 to 16 January 2021,” the statement continues.
– This year’s MMETA winners.
The EU award for new talent will return to the digital edition of ESNS in January.
The worldwide shutdown of events will be a main topic at ESNS 2021, it won’t be the only one. January will be a good time to asses where this business is at in terms of reopening.
Medication, a possible vaccine, and quick testing will be on the agenda, as will the music industry’s failure to organize a lobby that is able to exert enough pressure on politics.
A possible restart would allow the business to come back reorganized, drop some old (bad) habits while focussing more on topics like “equality, diversity, mental health and a more fair value chain,” according to the initial program announcement.
Some of the professionals who moved their events online, and/or changed their business model to be able to work during these past eight months, will share their experiences and best practices.
Speakers at ESNS 2021 include music industry veteran Keith Harris, longtime manager of Stevie Wonder and chairman of the Equality and Diversity Taskforce for the Music Industry, who will be talking with Sammy Andrews of Deviate Digital about equality and racism in the music industry.
Australia’s promoter legend Michael Chugg will interview QOTSA, Eminem and Coldplay agent Steve Strange (X-Ray/Paradigm). Tom Windish and Mike Malak, agents with Paradigm for Billie Eilish, Diplo, Alt.J, Pusha T, Black Eyed Peas, among others, will look beyond traditional roles in conversation with award-winning journalist, researcher and entrepreneur Cherie Hu.
Scott Cohen, co-founder of the Orchard and now Chief Innovation Officer at Warner Music will talk to Muki Kulhan about how record companies have dealt with the challenges of this crisis and what their future might look like.
Prof. Dr. Katja Ehrenberg will have a conversation with Holger Jan Schmidt of Go Group about stress and mental health in the live music and festival industry before, during and after Covid.
IQ Magazine’s Gordon Masson will talk to a panel of event promoters, including Michal Kascak (Pohoda Festival), Helen Sildna (Talinn Music Week), Kate Wenster (Base Camp Festival) and Raphael Meyersieck (Electrisize Festval), about Covid compatible event formats.
Other speakers include Raphaella Lima (Music Supervisor at EA Games), Claire O’Neill (co-founder and director at A Greener Festival), Mark Mulligan (CEO and analyst at MIDiA Research) and more.
There’s no news about the showcase program yet, which forms a huge part of the ESNS experience. Usually, more than 350 artists from all over the world perform in 40-plus venues across Groningen.
ESNS head of program Robert Meijerink confirmed that showcases would still be an important part even of the digital edition.
“Although we are sad that the acts, audience and music professionals cannot meet each other live in Groningen we think that’s it’s very important in these challenging times to bring the people of the live music sector, artists, venues & festivals and media together during the digital edition of the ESNS,” he said, adding, “as the key exchange for emerging European music talent, we will work hard to make sure we continue to provide that platform to new artists.”
Aside from the showcase festival and the conference focussing on the “Road to Recovery”, ESNS 2021 will also see “an online edition of the Music Moves Europe Talent Awards,” according to Meijerink.
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