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VIP- News premium ›› Vol. 132 ›› January 2011
McGowan’s Musings: Welcome to our first News of 2011 and a belated Happy New Year to you all! All of the team shook themselves out of holiday mode by attending the first industry event of the year in a rain swept Groningen in the North of Holland. This 25th edition of Eurosonic Noorderslag certainly lived up to expectations, and I’ve yet to hear a complaint from anyone who attended about both the Conference and the festival and showcase programmes. I think Dietmar Schwenger, editor of Germany’s MusikWoche, summed it up perfectly when he told me, “Those Dutch people really know how to run a business event – creating an easy-going atmosphere and still giving the delegates good opportunities for business!” We include further comments in our report in this issue. Although we came out of 2010 with some trepidation about the new year, following the release of worrying figures showing a decline in concert tickets, particularly in the US, but also to a lesser extent in Europe and other territories, the overall atmosphere amongst the assembled 2000 plus professionals was generally optimistic. Even in the ‘Future of Record Compa-
Allan McGowan
nies’ panel, despite the early accusation of a self publicising member of the Digital business community that the panel members were, ‘really down, and hanging in their seats’, the label representatives assembled by European independent labels Association, Impala, were not displaying suicidal tendencies and although wary were adamant that independent record companies would not disappear in 2011! In the ‘Less Tours – Less Tickets’ session based on Pollstar’s end of year figures, the reaction from the Live sector panellists, including Dutch based Mojo Concerts, part of Live Nation, which had laid off staff last year, was pretty much ‘business as usual – let’s get on with it!’
In 2010 the weather in Groningen was very cold and the streets were dangerously icy, more than a few music business types took a tumble, this year it was not so cold but it rained, sometimes heavily. The crowds attending the free concerts, a Eurosonic Noorderslag gift to the City that has been the event’s host for 25 years, didn’t seem to mind, the large umbrella like structure over the audience area in the Grote Markt. In return organisers Peter Smidt and Peter Sikkema received the Freedom of the City from Groningen’s Mayor. Talking of weather apparently the South of France has been experiencing colder nights than usually expected by the music business types attending Midem in Cannes, but as referred to in the News this is as nothing compared to the recent floods in Australia and elsewhere in the World, so we should count ourselves lucky! I personally had a very good, though busy time in Groningen, having had the pleasure to present the European Festival Awards. There were many highlights,
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