ESNS Introduces European Music Week

In a year without (showcase) festivals, many artists didn
Knelis – In a year without (showcase) festivals, many artists didn
UK rapper Flohio, who performed at ESNS last year, is one of them.

European Music Week is the name of a new campaign to celebrate European music across the world and introduce new European talent. The week kicks off Jan. 8. 

The campaign is also meant to be a call to support and give artists centre stage, according to the announcement.
“In the past year, due to the current pandemic, festivals have been cancelled and venues had to close their doors and suspend events, with severe consequences for the live music industry, including the artists who were unable to take the spotlight,” the announcement states.
The European Music Week will take place Jan. 8-15 and is an initiative by ESNS and its partners. It leads up to the digital edition of ESNS 2021, which is scheduled Jan. 13-16.
Partners include, amongst others, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) stations across Europe (BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 6 Music, NPO 3FM, BNR, ARD, RAI RADIO 2, RTÉ 2FM, LRT Opus, LUERSL 100.7, SRF, RTS, RADIO BELGRADE ONE, ERR Raadio 2), Spotify, Deezer, KEXP, Vice, many European festivals, venues and other outlets.
It would have been ESNS’s 35th edition this year, but the event’s head of program Robert Meijerink told Pollstar, “it’s not the time to celebrate. Instead, we focused on our goals, we decided to underline our mission, the values of Eurosonic Noorderslag.”
One of those goals has always been to increase the circulation of European talent in Europe, and the European Music Week is right in line with that, but goes a bit further.
“It’s an opportunity to highlight European talent in general, not just emerging new acts. Even outstanding artists from Europe, who are already dead, like David Bowie for example, it’s about creating awareness of the European repertoire in general. We decided to do a soft launch, because it’s a campaign, it’s not a festival,” Meijerink explained.