Eurosonic Noorderslag 2010: Looking to Norway
Eurosonic Noorderslag in Holland is one of Europe’s most important launch pads for putting new music into cross continental trajectories. For the upcoming festival in January the Dutch hosts have chosen Norway as the event’s country of focus.
-Naturally we take it as a sign that there is a lot of faith right now in Norwegian music and the way our music industry is developing, says Pål Dimmen of Music Export Norway.
-The people behind Eurosonic are very professional and updated. Their huge network allows them to follow the music scene in every country very closely. They pay a lot of attention to all the auxiliary aspects that need to be in place for a county’s music industry to be vital and competitive, and when they select a country of focus the choice is founded on a broad picture where all the different elements are taken into consideration.
No less than 21 Norwegian acts have been selected for the festival, which entails a unique opportunity to showcase their music and performances to the top cadre of European bookers. In turn this implies the chance to play the most important festivals and venues across the continent and hopefully create sustainable artistic careers outside of Norway. Hailing from a small country with a very limited domestic marked this is the only way to go for many artists. That is why Norwegian acts must be especially honed in on events such as Eurosonic, and the Norwegian industry apparatus must be professional in its foreign policy.
-I believe that the European music industry has really opened its eyes to the level of professionalism that we have reached in Norway. One thing is the quality and diversity of the music itself, but the strategic aspect is just as important. The feedback we have been getting over the past years from people that we have invited to Norway -to Øya and by:Larm e.g.- is that they are very impressed by the way we work. They recognize that the Norwegian music industry is now fully adapted and operatively tuned to the reality that there is a European and global market for Norwegian music, and conversely, that Norway is a vibrant and attractive destination for international acts.
The focus on Norway will also manifest in the conference part of Eurosonic, which includes seminars, panel debates and different forums for networking and exchanging information among the industry representatives.
-We still haven’t received the final plan for the conference, says Dimmen. But there will be two Norwegian panel debates, one on Norwegian metal and one entitled Destination Norway.
To read more visit MIC.
