Four venues joint forces to re-think their roles in the music ecosystem
4 European music venues from 4 countries (two — from Eastern Europe and other two — from Western Europe) over 2021 will develop a project, which will help them to highlight and contrast different music scenes around Europe, their invaluable influence on the development of creative communities, test new business models and promote local music talents. Their idea got the support of the European Union under the Music Moves Europe action.
This year four music venues (Mezzanine from Ukraine, Firlej from Poland, Podium Asteriks from the Netherlands, and the Belvedere Namur from Belgium) will organize a project “How soon is now”, a digital exchange program aimed to test the differences in venues’ business models, share the experience, learn the opportunities to cooperate in such a long distance between them and work together on the capacity building of staff and its local music community. Along with that, the organizers will support local talents in the times of uncertainty and ban of live music events with the series of streams aired in all 4 countries. This will help artists to promote their music abroad and reach a potential new audience. As part of the project, organizers will test new business models on how to improve the communication and cooperation in the business triangle promoter — venue — artist.
As a consequence of the pandemic, music venues have closed their doors, making it hard for their stuff to make ends meet and for artists to take the spotlight and reach potential new audiences. Venues have long ago became the ideas hubs and the instrument of creative progress around them. With this in mind project organizers would like to compare and re-think their business strategies with the help of technology, and help themselves stay afloat and their local music communities to grow.
Stay tuned on social media in the next months for exciting news and open call for the bands from Ukraine, Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands to become part of the project.
The project is implemented by:
MEZZANINE (Ukraine), a cult music venue with a capacity of 250 people, which has become home to the best local upcoming bands from Kyiv and all over Ukraine. It is also a multi-functional place where guests enjoy chamber concerts, atmospheric parties of well-known Ukrainian and foreign musicians, discussions, workshops, presentations, cinema evenings, performances, lectures on art, design and travelling, barbecue parties on the balcony and many others.
Firlej (Ośrodek Działań Artystycznych "Firlej, Poland), a Wrocław cultural institution founded in 1992. Its mission is to create and discover modern trends in culture in Poland and abroad. They are open to all the neighbors — children from the neighborhood, youth, pensioners. In their activities on the stage and in the backyard, honesty is the main value that guides them. They want to promote open-mindedness and readiness for change, both through concerts and international music projects, as well as activities aimed at developing the local community. They support bands and music projects that are driven by passion for music and the discovery of new sounds. In their local activities they focus on promoting an attitude of sharing — by creating a space for sharing skills, knowledge and ideas.
Podium Asteriks (the Netherlands) has a special concept and a team. It is fully run by volunteers and all money flows are set up to get exciting acts on their stage. Each of the so-called “friends of Asteriks’ work one night a week to make the live scene in Leeuwarden brighter and more interesting. They consciously keep the entrance price low, so that the threshold for discovering new music remains affordable. That purely on the voluntary commitment of enthusiasts make Asteriks a strange duck in the Dutch stages. The winner of the “Best stage” awards in 2019 by Popgala Noord, the award show for the pop culture of the Northern part of the Netherlands.
THE BELVEDERE NAMUR (Belgium), which is situated in the City of Namur, this almost abandoned building, saw the second birth of a project at the end of 2007 oriented towards different means of artistic expression: first and foremost concerts every weekend, but also exhibitions, installations, workshops, artists' residence, etc. Supported by the French Community via a network of halls called Club Plasma, the Belvédère is managed by several actors in Namur grouped in NPO Panama (Platform of associations in Namur active in the field of contemporary music).
The project idea reflects only the organizers’ views. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
