Features
‘Ready For A Complete, Safe Reopening’: ESNS 2022 Takes Stock
Jorrit van de Kolk – Gaidaa performing in the Kleine Zaal of Groningen
The 20 year-old Sudanese-Dutch songwriter is known for her subtle mix of soul, R&B and jazz with a delightful beat and astonishing vocal power.
The 36th edition of ESNS went down, mostly digital, Jan. 19-22, showcasing some of the finest new talent in Europe, and “uniting a hopeful but exhausted music sector via its digital platform,” according to the organizers’ résumé.
This year’s ESNS conference, running under the theme of “Building Back Better Together”, featured 76 panels and 228 speakers, discussing topics including sustainability, inclusiveness, fair pay, and hopes for a reopening of the European live markets in 2022.
ESNS also launched its new analytics platforms ESNS Radar & ESNS Analytics, both funded with funds from the EU’s Creative Europe program, and designed to give professionals insights into the success of European artists based on radio airplay, streaming results, festival bookings and followers on social media.
ESNS Festival featured 214 acts from 24 countries. Performances were recorded throughout Europe with some sets taking place physically in Groningen. Like last year, the team around head of program and booker Robert Meijerink, conference director Ruud Berends and ESNS director Dago Houben has shown that this can be done “safely and that both the organization and the entire industry are ready for a complete, safe opening,” according to the final press release sent out today.
Exact figures weren’t in at press time, but Pollstar was told that 75% of last year’s 4,000 attendees bought a ticket for ESNS 2022.
Ben Houdijk – Meskerem Mees performing during this year’s Music Moves Europe Talent Awards.
The Belgian singer-songwriter won the Grand Jury Prize .
As usual, several award were handed out during ESNS. The Dutch Popprijs went to rock band Di-Rect. The five winners of the EU-funded Music Moves Europe Awards 2022 are Blanks (Netherlands), Denise Chaila (Ireland), ?eva (Hungary), Mezerg (France), and Alina Pash (Ukraine). The Grand Jury Prize went to Belgian singer-songwriter Meskerem Mees, who released her debut album in November. The Public Choice Award went to Ladaniva from France.
ESNS’s talent exchange program, which rebranded to ESNS Exchange last year, has not been put on hold either. Participating festivals are still committing to booking acts performing at ESNS Festival for their upcoming editions.
ESNS director Dago Houben commented, “We have allowed the conference and the showcase festival to continue this year, because we do not want to and cannot drop up-and-coming European artists and we also want to give the sector an opportunity to ‘meet each other’. But again: without an audience and physical networking capabilities. It would [have been] downright irresponsible.
“Despite the fact that there is definitely screen fatigue, we were able to perform our platform function for the national and international music industry. Europe is open, the Netherlands are ready to follow suit.”