Why attending the Eurosonic Noorderslag can benefit your career
Eurosonic Noorderslag is a four-day conference held in Groningen, Netherlands on an annual basis. Offering exciting conferences and performances from rising stars, the festival is a must-see for any budding artist looking to reach the top. With so much taking place during the four days, it can be overwhelming to decide what to see and where to go. In this article, we’ll take a look at how the Eurosonic Noorderslag can help you in your pursuit of success.
Founded in 1986, the festival has expanded rapidly over the years, and now draws an international crowd of fans and budding musicians. Originally, the conference was founded as a battle between Dutch and Belgian pop artists but has grown into a showcase of talent. Eurosonic refers to the first three days of the festival that showcases artists from all over Europe while generally focusing on a specific country. The final day is the Noorderslag aspect, which focuses on Dutch artists alone. Many notable electronic artists have performed including Don Diablo in 2004 and Laidback Luke in 2003. Plus, Sam Feldt is set to perform during this year’s edition.
The event encompasses every genre under the sun, playing host to a wide variety of artists from all over the world. The conference itself focuses on a number of highly-important subjects within the music industry, including: ‘how to survive from touring financially’, ‘how to grasp market trends in Europe’s music sector’, and ‘the European Union’s new policies for music’. All of the subjects discussed are of great importance to artists looking to succeed in the music industry. But how exactly can the event enable you to grow as an artist?
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Inspiration
The event is a great source of inspiration. Check out the performances from some of the artists on the bill, they have all earned their place through innovation and talent. Try and use their performances to inspire your own growth. The panels are also a quality source of inspiration as they focus on a variety of subjects that can aid artists. Even if the panel you are attending is not about music production, it can serve as a source of inspiration and motivation, giving you the boost you need in the studio.
Networking
Perhaps the biggest opportunity provided by the conference is the opportunity to network. You can connect with fellow musicians and pave the way for potential future collaborations, or simply inspire each other in your next venture. You can also reach out to industry professionals from small independent brands or even huge corporations. Make sure to give a great first impression for the best results, and don’t switch to ‘sales-mode’. If you approach somebody and talk about yourself constantly, you will soon find that they will lose interest and the interaction will feel artificial. Instead, look for common interest, talk about what they’re working on and mention your own work briefly. If they want to know more, great, if they don’t, don’t push them.
The truth is that you will never fully know the value of meeting and making a connection with someone in the music industry. Sure, they might be unknown today, but they may go on to become highly influential. For this reason, it is vital to make the right first impression and to keep in touch. A great deal of valuable networking comes from the art of favours. Meaning, if you encounter someone and they are looking for a certain service, try and put them in contact with someone you know who could help them out. Linking people up like this strengthens your networking connections and shines a positive light on you and your brand. If you help somebody out, they may return the favour in future and aid you in your own career. In other words, don’t think about what people can do for you, think about what you can do for them, it will come back in your favour in the long run.
Knowledge
There are a number of aspects of the music industry that aren’t instinctive for artists. For example, law, copyright, marketing and publishing. While all of these aspects don’t traditionally fall under an artist’s responsibility, it is worthwhile to have a general understanding. Plus, if you’re just starting out, you’ll need to manage each of these aspects of your career completely by yourself. You don’t need to be a whiz in any of these categories to succeed, but picking up some rudimentary knowledge can only aid you in your path to success. Not to mention, having a general understanding will be incredibly helpful to you when you look to hire someone to manage any of these aspects externally. For example, when you hire a PR firm, it is helpful to have an understanding of PR to aid you in choosing the right firm. Plus, the more knowledge you have, the more ammunition you have to push the firm to deliver top quality work.
Being up to date
In the modern world, it can be difficult to keep completely up to date on the music industry, including technological advancements. Being at the centre of conferences like the Eurosonic Noorderslag ensures that you will be in the know about current events. At conferences, we often see the emergence of new technology or services that can help artists to further their careers. For this reason, it is important to be in attendance in order to be the first to know about these advances.
Performing at the event
As well as all of the benefits that come from attending the event, there is also a great deal more to be gained by performing at the event. By performing, you reach a lot of talent scouts and industry professionals that could be interested in you and your brand. You never know who might be watching your performance and decide to get in touch with you afterwards. With so many high-profile figures in Groningen during the event, it is likely that all performances will be seen by influential individuals. For this reason, it is important to pull out all the stops and provide the best performance of your career.
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There is an endless number of ways in which the Eurosonic Noorderslag can aid you in furthering your career as an artist. From inspiration to connection, from knowledge to networking, the benefits are well and truly endless for artists at any stage in their career. Attending conferences is a great way to further your career by connecting you with all the means in order to advance up the ladder with much more ease. In order to grasp the level at which the conference can help you advance, it is important to attend.
Eurosonic Noorderslag is set to take place from 16th-19th January 2019 in Groningen, Netherlands. This year’s event will feature performances from Sam Feldt, Elderbrook, B-Complex and many more artists spanning every genre in the music industry. As well as live shows, once again the event will host a number of exciting panels covering subjects of great importance to artists looking to advance their careers. These panels cover everything from publishing to marketing, from law to inspiration. Many of the panels feature notable industry figures who have established themselves as prominent industry leaders, making their knowledge even more valuable to budding artists. Make sure to pick up your ticket to Eurosonic Noorderslag 2019 here.