(bron: upbeat-platform)
The mission of UPBEAT, the first ever European platform for world music, supported by Creative Europe, is to provide a lifeline for emerging world music artists, showcase festivals, and to foster a European expert hub around the world music genre.
The genre of the showcase festival is the foundation of the music industry: showcase festivals offer a platform for emerging artists and bands who are often extraordinarily talented and renowned in their home country, and ready to conquer the world.
Discover and Be Discovered
Showcase festivals select the best performers and offer short performance slots, between 30–60 minutes. In this short time the performers have to show off (showcase) their best qualities and their unique offering.
In exchange the showcase festival makes sure that the audience is filled with music industry professionals: buyers, agents, journalists, experts and influencers from various backgrounds. Therefore showcase performances are important stepping stones towards international fame, as successful shows are often fully booked after a showcase performance.
A Lifeline for Emerging Artists
UPBEAT supports up-and-coming artists by making it possible for showcase festivals to book them risk-free, and by offering extra visibility and marketing through the platform project. UPBEAT also adds the platform-supported artists to an exclusive network available for world music professionals, making it easier than ever for other prominent festivals to book them.
Artists in the beginning of their career are best supported through UPBEAT, with a special focus on emerging artists from outside the organiser’s country, music in original language and new cross-border collaborations.
A European Expert Hub
Although music is without boundaries, business meetups aren’t. With UPBEAT, events for industry experts and stakeholders are easier and less costly to organise. World music professionals, such as festival organisers, bookers, promoters, managers, radio DJs and journalists based in Europe have a lot to offer, a lot of knowledge to share between each other.
The people who make the diverse European market go around need more opportunities to get to know each other, to do business and to build alliances. UPBEAT supports professional events at showcase festivals, from networking to in-depth conferences.
Events like this, such as the Budapest Ritmo Conference or expert sessions at Tallinn Music Week connect professionals, and promote the awareness of the world music genre in the music industry as well.
An Alliance of Showcase Festivals
Supported by Creative Europe, the European Commission’s framework programme for the cultural and creative industries, UPBEAT is a platform that unites world music festivals and showcases.
Led by Hangvető, a Budapest-based company specialised in festival organisation, cultural strategies and cultural education, UPBEAT counts 13 showcase festivals among its members.
