In this meantime, some more festivals have been cancelled, others events are still going on. Some parts of the world are on fire, others have been destroyed by floods or by recurring earthquakes, and we are all very scared about the situation in Afghanistan. Sometimes it makes you want to go into the bush and cut yourself off from the world so as not to hear about so much suffering. But it would be too selfish for someone like me who, after all, can decide most of what concerns me.

My Vigüela are right now in France, performing 10 concerts in little and mainly open air venues. I have a concert by Albaluna in FolkPlasencia, Cáceres, next Friday, and I will travel to Greece on day 25th for the Cosmopolis Festival in Kavala. It will be my first international trip since January 2020. I hope to be able to complete a flight with a stopover, after such a long time without practising! ?

New connections continue to be created, chances to reflect, and I hope that the initiatives I share with you here will be as interesting to you as they are to me.

Araceli Tzigane | Mapamundi Música

The Migrants Music Manifesto (MMM) event seems to me to be of such depth that it deserves its own space in this newsletter.

I think the best way to present it is through its own presentation, which you have on the website (that is in German but you can use the automatic translator inside and it works quite well):

As you know, I am in Spain and the situation here, as far as these issues are concerned, is much more backward. And I think the same happens in many other countries. That is why I believe that what happens in Cologne during those days can be very important. I will try to capture the maximum value of all the knowledge and reflection that will take place there, also to share it.

The MMM includes debates, workshops and concerts and a group of 28 musicians will become the MMM Project Orchestra, that “will be dedicated to contemporary music from other perspectives than the European one. The 28 members of the orchestra are young, talented musicians as well as award-winning master musicians with many years of playing experience and international experience, who all understand their artistic work explicitly as part of the current contemporary music creation of European metropolises. These musicians with roots in diverse non-Western musical cultures will present a joint concert programme with new compositions by Bassem Hawar, Hindol Deb, Rebal Alkhodari and Kyriakos Kalaitzidis.”
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MMM is organised by alba Kultur, directed by Birgit Ellinghaus (in the picture, by Johan Morin, from alba Kultur website). By the way, she gave us some very interesting insights in February 2020, in a short interview which you can find here.

Apart from this specific event in Cologne, the MMM, a consortium of several European organizations is working from 2020 to 2022:

SCHEDULE AND TICKETS FOR MIGRANTS MUSIC MANIFESTO (CLICK THE LINKS FOR THE COMPLETE PROGRAM OF EACH SECTION): 13 – 15 of September of 2021 MMM WorkshopLab   15 – 18 of September of 2021 Program support more concerts, MMM MedienLab, network meeting and September 18, 2021         concert MMM Project  Orchestra 17 to 19 of September of 2021 General debate – Int. Conference on the future of musical diversity     All the activities of the project week are public and take place in the old fire station in Cologne. All tickets for the project week online here

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It was a wonderful coincidence that I was contacted this morning by Jane Polubotko, the International Marketing Manager of Kanjian, to tell me about the IMX, just in time to include their fall in this August’s edition. This event is organised by Kanjian and IMCO. 

I think China could be an interesting market for the music we work with in this global community, but, well, what could China not be an interesting market for, with the magnitude it has and how it is transforming itself? The fact is that their presence in the fairs organized in the West has not been very extensive so far, and it seemed very difficult to me to generate connections in the country, so I found this initiative very interesting. I hope you find it interesting too!

The website is in English and is very easy to navigate to find the information you need, so I invite you to visit it and here is a brief summary.

IMX, in this online edition, includes:

• The conferences Music Ally China Digital Summit, three days for talking about topics for the Chinese music industry (7-9 September, in Chinese) and the IMX Sessions, with a series of panels, that will take place from 11 to 31 of October, at the same time as the showcases and the expo. 
• The showcases (pre-recorded): IMX Main Stage, with free application for any artist, and the IMX Primetime, with cost. Check the details here.
• The expo: “The IMX 2021 Expo runs for a first time and is supported by a number of GOs, NGOs, for-profit and not-for-profit organizations from around the world. The event will be streamed online for free across all major platforms internationally and in China.” There are 3 Expo Packages, with a cost from 49 dollars. Check the details here.

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Eduardo Quezada: I believe that the hyper connectivity that we live in today, caused by technological developments, greatly favours the generation of international networks and the building of relationships at a distance, to a certain extent, the pandemic has contributed to accelerate certain processes that have allowed us to connect even more through technological tools and communications, such as the different social networks, etc. I also believe that these phenomena have contributed to the “democratisation” of knowledge in certain areas, which helps people to be more critical (in some cases) and to leave their place of comfort.In relation to the difficulty of sending artists to Latin America from other regions of the world or vice versa, I believe that the difficulty in accessing Latin American markets can be produced by different factors, mainly linked to language, politics, economics or culture (topics that are too extensive to develop in this opportunity). In my opinion, one of the main barriers to penetration and access to Latin America, is not knowing the territory and the markets and industries that inhabit it (which are many and behave very differently), and also, as you mention, the political uncertainties in several Latin American countries, contribute greatly to making it more difficult to enter or leave our countries, this may be due to visa processes and their high costs, among other determining factors.

Undoubtedly we still have some barriers and challenges to overcome that allow us to move forward in a better way. This is why it is important to generate instances of knowledge, information and exchanges that allow us to know and understand each other. We have seen this more frequently in recent years through the creation of different Music Fairs and Markets such as MAPA and BIME, Circulart, IMESUR, among many others, focused on generating instances of business and knowledge between Europe and Latin America and in which I recommend participating frequently.

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EQ: We are well aware that the global music industry has changed enormously over the last 20 years, due to technological change and advances, to a large extent, among other influential factors, such as the pandemic for example, which has accelerated some technological processes and phenomena, among others. This has meant, today more than ever, that artists have to take on different roles or become even more involved in the administrative, organisational and commercial processes of their musical projects.

In post-pandemic times, I believe that the music community in much of Latin America (musicians, agents, etc.) and the world have realised this and have begun to change their habits. It is because of these phenomena that a great number of international initiatives of meetings, markets and training instances have arisen, focused on covering different needs that have arisen and evidenced by the aforementioned.

I personally believe that it is very positive that the artist, in addition to carrying out the creative and compositional processes very well, has knowledge on administrative and organisational issues or in other areas, which allow him to have a broader view of the commercial area, better directing his musical project and managing to maintain a professional team that accompanies him in his growth and allows him to develop the artistic process in a better way.

MM: This question is closely linked to the previous one: How is your training offer received by the artistic community and is its usefulness well understood? 

EQ: Since we launched Emprende Musical LATAM at the beginning of 2020 until today, we have had a great reception and interest from the Latin American community, we believe that this is because the valuable content we have created and offered, have managed to solve, to some extent, the needs and doubts of the different agents who have participated in our courses, seminars and meetings. although we still see resistance to understand the usefulness of some knowledge or areas of the industry from some sectors of musicians, but that has been decreasing over time.

MM: From the time you launched Emprende Música LATAM until you managed to make it financially sustainable, what was the process like? Was there already a demand or did you have to bring the need to light? 

EQ: Emprende Música LATAM (EML), born in 2020, mainly as a result of the difficulties generated by the pandemic in our industry, we try to provide different solutions through access to valuable content by professionals in the field of music from different parts of Latin America. EML arises as an opportunity to provide knowledge and tools towards the professionalization and improvement of conditions of our musical community that are part of different Latin American countries, and also, we try to make known different markets of countries not so well known, such as Paraguay, Bolivia, Guatemala, among others, in order to generate spaces for knowledge, reflection and connection between the different participating agents.

In this process of creation and implementation of the platform, we realised that there was not a very developed demand, we realised that the existing training projects were quite local and developed very similar topics, mainly focused on digital marketing and / or copyright. From EML we try to give a broader and deeper look at the music industry and the different markets, understanding it from a specific territory and the processes and agents that determine it, developing topics ranging from the cultural policies of each of the participating countries to understanding the ecosystem of the industry and making a deep x-ray in each of the countries that make up the region. We do all of this through the participation of leading professionals and experts in different areas, of different nationalities, from both the private and public sectors, in order to obtain quality information from the first source.

Since we started EML we have managed to have interesting Latin American seminars, workshops, training programmes and our most emblematic project which is the Latin American Music Industry Meeting LATMUS, which I will tell you more about later.

 

MM: The third edition of the Encuentro LATMUS took place earlier this year, in May-June. It has been an open-access event with workshops and conversations with professionals from a wide range of backgrounds. How was the result?  

EQ: The LATMUS Meeting (Latin American Music Industry Meeting) was created with the intention of giving access to privileged information, first hand, to the Latin American music community, the event has been completely free access for people, in order to democratize access to information and reduce knowledge gaps.

Through workshops, talks and conferences we have had the opportunity to share knowledge and reflections with representatives of Ministries of Culture from different countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Panama, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Guatemala, among others, We have debated and understood issues related to the importance of correctly implementing cultural policies in each country (mainly in the field of music) and what tools the ministries have at their disposal to support the music sector. Important international organisations, guilds and federations have participated, explaining to us in a better way what their role is within the industry and the music market and how it affects us, we have talked about important issues such as associativity and its importance for the growth of our sector. We can conclude that these have been extensive days of reflection and learning.

We can say that in 3 editions of the LATMUS Meeting, where we have had many representatives of ministries of culture, private sectors of the music industry, among others. We have contributed to raise awareness and reflect on different issues that are necessary for the growth of our sector, achieving a much broader picture of what is happening in Latin America.

In general conclusions we can say that the music industry must be built by all of us, and knowledge is a fundamental part of doing things in the right way and building stronger foundations.

If you want to know more about the Latin American music industry and markets and its actors, we invite you to follow our youtube channel at Encuentro LATMUS or at www.encuentrolatmus.com.

MM: I haven’t found much information about Red Iberfest. I think it’s because it’s quite recent, right? Can you explain briefly what it is and what it does (or what are the ideas to do when the pandemic is over, as it might have affected your plans)? Who are the current members? .

EQ: Red Iberfest is an Iberoamerican Network of Festivals, Theatres and Cultural Agents from different parts of Iberoamerica. We are a group of people with a common goal, to generate international channels at Latin American and Ibero-American level, to facilitate the international circulation of artistic content. We do this by obtaining valuable information from the different countries involved to facilitate circulation. Since 2017 we have created different circuits of tours, where we have simultaneously taken artists from different countries in different regions of Latin America and the world. This is because we have managed to bring together festivals, theatres, clubs, communications agencies and other agents in the music industry value chain.

Due to the effects caused by the pandemic, we have seen a reduction in our activities and live concert circuits in recent years, but we have continued to make progress in the generation of networks and knowledge through our Encuentro LATMUS. We are also reactivating and preparing some projects of intercontinental exchanges with Asia and Europe that we have been advancing at the foot of the pandemics and we hope to start from the second half of 2022.

Credits:

Do you have a call of interest for our community that you want to share? Let me know asap

Right now we are 483 delegates registered for the 2021 edition. Many people may be waiting to see how the pandemic data evolves.

In parallel, Nod Knowles, administrator of the European Folk Network, will lead a networking session. And as you know, Mapamundi Música has the honour of presenting Hudaki Village Band. See you there!

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Some of the calls are close to the deadline. For instance, the networks one. This document is a very good summary. 

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As mentioned above, this fair organised by the Chinese organizations International Music Collaboration Organization (IMCO) and Kanjian Music, will take place from 11 to 31 of October.

Final applications for showcase (for free) and for IMX Primetime (with cost) close on September 8, 2021.
Expo applications close on September 8, too. The price of the Standard registration is 49$ until day August 22 and 59$ from then to September 8.

For applications and more details, visit their website.

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I am almost there! Unbelievable! Two of my collaborating artists are scheduled: the Polish Janusz Prusinowski Kompania and the Spanish Entavía. 

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About this you have more information above and I invite you again to visit the website of Migrants Music Manifesto event in alba Kultur’s website. It is in German but for sure the automatic translation will allow you to understand most of it.

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Another date that thrills me very much. This festival is organised by my much admired Bojan Djordjevic, who is producer and manager of bands and member of the World Music Association Serbia and also radio journalist and member of the World Music Charts Europe.

Feel free to check the little interview that was published in October 2019 with him, here.

• WOMEX, Porto, Portugal (27-31 October)

Araceli Tzigane | Mapamundi Música

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SQRZ is the agency led by Will Villa, the Colombian born, European educated DJ, producer, and entrepreneur. I like the way he introduces his mission: “Will´s mission is to bring great talent together and to connect the many worlds that he is part of. To make this possible, Will founded SQRZ Agency, a creative agency helping Content Creators and Brands during their journey from Ideation to Creation and Release.” 

About SQRZ Talks, according to his website, “In this series, hosted by Will Villa, we invite professionals from the music industry to share their stories and to teach about tomorrows music industry. Our guests are Artists, Agents, Promoter & Producers, from different parts of the planet, who share unique insights about their market. How will the music industry evolve after the pandemic? Will touring become a thing of the past? How should artists monetize their brand?”

Will will publish our talk today at 3 pm EST on his website: https://sqrz.agency/sqrz-talks/ There you will already find a handful of conversations with other professionals.

According to their website, “Canis Major Music is focused on internationally touring artists that perform with heart, enthusiasm, and outstanding talent.” They work with artists like Kiran Ahluwalia, Iberi or Kíla. Their catalogue is here. 

The agency started shortly before the pandemic. But Danielle did not despair and quickly set up their own online event. That experience would feed months later into the showcase organised by AGIMA, for which Danielle was a key player.

Katie Ortman (in the picture, credit: Jason Walsmith), program manager, and Ken Carlson, senior director, are in charge of the international initiatives. For instante, the World Fest. Katie kindly answered the questions below and I am really grateful. 

Mapamundi Música – This is quite concrete. You have had one thematic programming, the Folkefest, dedicated to Nordic artists. Was this just once or are you planning to make it recurrently? 

MM – In previous years’ programmes, I see that it is very common to have artists from Israel and China, and also quite a few from Japan. Also from Mexico and Canada, which is logical since they are your neighbours. I imagine that these countries support the programme financially, is this correct or are there other reasons? 

KO – Yes, there are certain countries with funding available to cover artist travel expenses, which is significant in offsetting some of World Fest’s expenses. So, that’s one reason why you see a higher representation from some countries over others.

MM – In your communication, in what you explain on your website, I really like something that I think is key, which is the use of art as a service to the community, beyond offering a show. I think there is not enough demand for so many shows, for so many artists who want to perform. Therefore, I think we (I mean, the artists and the people like me, that offer artists to organizations and to festivals) have to change the way we approach the work, and not think so much about concerts on stage, but about how to give a real service. There is a sentence on your website, in the “Community Creativity Cohort” part, that I think says it very clearly: “Making art central to problem solving on more issues in more communities all around our region”. What problems do you solve with this kind of project through art?

KO – The first thing I’ll say is that with week-long residencies, we’re able to find multiple ways to bring these artists to community members outside of a standard concert setting. Folks in these communities might see the artists at their coffee shop, or hear they’ve visited their child’s school, or have a workshop at their workplace – and then perhaps they feel compelled to attend the concert, but we’ve at least reached a wide audience through a variety of engagements. We think it’s important to bring the music to the people.

In response to your question about what problem something like World Fest might work to solve – World Fest gives an opportunity for people from different cultures to interact (who might otherwise never cross paths); it gives communities the opportunity to plan wide-reaching residencies in a supportive, low-risk way; and we hope World Fest gives Midwestern communities the chance to learn something about themselves in the process.

(my editorial note here is that Ken and I don’t work on the Community Creativity Cohort program, so that language about making art central to problem solving doesn’t necessarily apply to all Arts Midwest programming – but I think there’s value in that statement as it relates to World Fest too! The program creation itself just wasn’t necessarily driven by this question.)

MM – If you want to add any future plan that is not yet announced on the website or you want to highlight anything, please, feel free.

KO – We’ll be announcing our return to in-person World Fest touring soon, along with plans for our new 2022-2025 cycle! If anyone is interested in hearing more about what’s going on with international programming at Arts Midwest, you can sign up to receive email updates here: https://www.artsmidwest.org/news/email-signup-form 

Credits:

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It is a pleasure to share these words from Peter Rushefsky, Executive Director (in the picture, done by Bob Blacksberg), in this edition of the monthly newsletter with a special focus on the USA, from a world centre of reference for culture, such as that city. Thank you, Mr. Rushefsky! 

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Mapamundi Música – From your website, I understand that the main focus of the organization is to assist New York City’s immigrant communities, with the objective of sustaining their distinctive performing arts traditions and promoting cross-cultural understanding by sharing these art forms with audiences across the city. Do you want to add anything else about the objectives of the organization? 

? You have the already published editions of the Beat of the Boroughs in this Youtube list 

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Still open for some months. This document is a very good summary. 

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For individual musicians. “This year, Making Tracks will select eight Fellows to take part in a UK residency and tour, held over one month from mid-October.” The deadline for applications is 19th July. For more info and applications, here.

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The Arts Midwest’s Online Conference will take place from 17th to 22nd of September and it will be online. Read the interview above with Katie Ortman. 

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• Afro Pepites arts market opens the call for artists until 31st of September (Already present in the previous edition of the newsletter)

This call is open to artists from Africa, the Caribbean, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba or any other artists inspired by Africa. The registration form is here.

I am full of anticipation. Two of my collaborating artists are scheduled: the Polish Janusz Prusinowski Kompania and the Spanish Entavía. 

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Please, learn more about the Migrants Music Manifesto event in alba Kultur’s website. It is in German but for sure the automatic translation will allow you to understand most of it.

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I remember the day this magazine started. Sherezade, my assistant, whom I have lost because of the pandemic (she is alive and well, I spoke to her this morning, but she is working in a fully online company and we miss each other), was here. It was summer, I was coming back from some festival and I thought “why not put together all the calls of interest to our community, in a monthly newsletter? And add some more relevant information”. It would help us to keep up to date and could be useful for our network of colleagues and other professionals in this difficult sector. And a public commitment was born: to keep a monthly communication with the purpuse to provide value… and, I hope, some joy too.

The idea of giving a voice to agents of interest in our community came very soon. Those people who don’t appear in the music magazines, who don’t go on stage, but who pull the strings of this little world.

We are a community, disseminated all over the world. We are very diverse but we share some values. We are a community, possibly disorganised, but a community. In these three years I have seen how initiatives such as European Folk Network (its roots are earlier, but the legal constitution is in January 2019) or AGIMA have emerged. Not to mention countless conferences and fairs that have grown or been born and even strengthened in the context of the pandemic. Little by little, we are becoming more and more organised. And we need it. Our community is very aware of the challenges of the environment, of social integration,… and I believe that a profound reflection on our role towards society and how to provide more and better service, identifying new ways of adding value, new experiences, new frames… will be a key issue from now on.

Incredibly, many of the delicate structures that make up this community have managed to survive a year and 3 months of nightmare. Are we crazy or do we have nothing else to do? No, I think neither. What do you think?

This time I’ve gone a bit longer than usual in this opening and got a little bit transcendental. I think the occasion deserves it. Enjoy the rest of the content. I am very happy to share the words of my friend David Sierra in a little interview. Find also good news and other informations with different protagonists. And feel free to share this.

I’ve known David Sierra for a handful of years. He is one of the people who best knows the reality of my country in terms of booking artists in the styles we work with, and I believe that, to a large extent, our struggles are shared.

It is a pleasure to dedicate this space to a colleague I feel so close to. He is from Castile-La Mancha by birth. I adopted Castile-La Mancha as my business legal place and day by day my ties with this land become strengthened. So not only are we both Spanish, but our professional environment at the regional level also coincides.

I think that in this global community of those of us who work, from one point of view or another, with the music of the people, companionship and generosity stand out, and David is an example of all this.

David has more than 15 years of experience in this sector and I am sure that many of the readers of these letters know him, as he has toured stages on three continents and is in touch with clients in America and Oceania where some of his artists have played.

Apart from his work in booking, David co-produces, together with his artist Ana Alcaide, the World Music Festival of Toledo.

Mapamundi Música – Which is your background, what made you become an agent for world music artists? 

David Sierra – Since I was a child, my interest in Art and Culture was always present in my daily life. Music was no exception, as it always accompanied me in each of these stages. Dance, and especially traditional dances (and therefore contact with traditional music) occupied part of my youth and as the years went by, I knew that in one way or another I was going to be linked to these heritage. After university, where I graduated in Humanities and, later on, I also began to study Art History, I had the opportunity to work for a company focused on artistic management and the production of musical programmes for television. I worked there for about 6 years, until 2011, when I started a solo career in the booking and management of different national and international bands, until today.

MM – From your training, education, previous experiences, which ones of the skills or knowledge you got have been the most useful for your career as an agent of musicians? 

DS – Be constantly learning, never stop training and investigating other areas beyond your work as an agent. Be curious, explore the possibilities offered by the use of technology. In an increasingly globalised and connected world, I think we cannot afford to ignore this reality. Therefore, I would say that continuous training in different skills has been the key over the years.

MM – Apart from that or those skills, which other do you think are essential to succeed in this field of work? 

DS – Without a doubt, perseverance and patience. Knowing how to accept the ‘no’ but also setting goals and objectives. Insisting, betting and believing in the projects that one defends, until the end.

MM – Any particular advice for a fellow newcomer or someone who wants to get started in this field?

DS – Are you sure this is your world? If the answer is yes, put faith and don’t give up. Educate yourself and ask for help and advice from other professionals. If you have the possibility, attend talks and learn from their experience but, above all, be brave and be patient because this is a long-term career. Nothing happens by chance and success comes after a lot of effort.

MM – And now, for the artists. I’m sure you get requests from artists every day to be their manager. I am sure because it happens to me too, and many colleagues tell me the same thing. Do you have any recommendations for the artists, so that they can improve the way they communicate when they do it for this purpose?

DS – My recommendation is: “have you had a look at what I do and seen the profile of the artists on my roster? If not, please do so.” It’s very important so that both parties don’t waste time. It may sound like rude advice, with a certain tinge of haughtiness, but deep down it will be very useful to you. I am sure, dear Araceli, that it has also happened to you to receive proposals for theatre, circus, dance or other musical styles that have little or nothing to do with what you do. Therefore, the most important thing when you want an agent to pay attention to what you do, is to ‘study him/her’ and find out if you are both on the same wavelength. In this case, having good artistic material prepared is the key: bio, press reviews, active social networks, updated rider. In my point of view, without this it is very difficult to get the attention of an agent.

MM – Do you think it makes sense for the artists to try to find an agent? Have you ever started a stable collaboration with a band or artist that approached you in their search of an agent? 

DS – Absolutely. An agent has the necessary resources and knowledge to be able to position your musical project without guaranteeing anything, as there are a series of external factors that don’t depend solely on the agent.

With regard to the second question, there are several artists who didn’t have an agent or manager and found support in me. With many of them I still maintain this working relationship, from the beginning of their careers, if not in their artistic careers, yes in their professional careers.

MM – I think there will be still, at least for many years, a lot of artists and a much smaller number of agents, that is the current situation. This makes me think that we are not in a very interesting business, otherwise there would be many more agents working in world music. Nevertheless, it seems the artists require us. Something seems to be wrong, what is it?

DS – In relation to this question, there are indeed a large number of people trying to make a name for themselves in the music industry. Another very interesting question we could discuss is whether we are really talking about artistic projects, that is, a project with its own entity, serious and of quality. In this case, I think the number would be considerably reduced, as there are fewer proposals that have that different, magical, special touch? In this sense, we could turn the question around and comment that there are also many other people who want to act as bookers or managers of these bands (friends or relatives of these artists, for example), who have little or nothing to do with the cultural industries.

MM – Especially in the last year, many of us, independent agents or micro-companies, have felt a bit alone and misunderstood. I have heard claims from colleagues from different countries arguing they have not been considered in the support for the arts after the ravages of the pandemic. With this in mind, I have a question. We are required by the artists but, at the same time, it seems we are a bit invisible. Do you feel that? 

DS –  In my case in particular, I have not received any financial assistance during the pandemic, mainly because, as you mention in the wording of your question, this has depended very much on political decisions at the regional level. In this line we have also been invisible to them, to the politicians I mean, who have shown that they have cared little or nothing about Culture, which, as we know, has been one of the most affected sectors. I believe that it is a role that we have quite assumed at the moment that we position ourselves on this ‘other side of the stage’. I have sometimes heard that the success of an artist lies largely in the technical staff that accompanies him, in the production that they do in the studio or in the sound of his live performance. And I would add: and in the agent, who for me is 50% of this binomial.

MM – My last question. Explain in one or two sentences, to the wider culture community, the reasons to book musicians from around the world that give a relevant presence to their roots. 

DS – Because we need to reclaim our roots. Because we need to open our eyes to other cultures, sometimes silenced by history and political interests. Because there is life far beyond the mainstream, the charts and the power of massmedia.

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A few days ago I read in Miriam’s Facebook wall that she is the “new Business Director of festival Dias Latinos in #Amersfoort!”. The truth is that I understood her joy and asked her if I could share the news in this bulletin. She agreed and sent me on my request this lovely picture.

In her post she also explained that she is not the programmer (that role will be done by Lucas van Merwijk). She will work on the vision for the next years. She also explained that she will continue working with artists and planning events for Utrech.

Do you have a call of interest for our community that you want to share? Let me know asap

For individual musicians. “This year, Making Tracks will select eight Fellows to take part in a UK residency and tour, held over one month from mid-October.” “Musicians from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply” “Our focus is on young professionals. This typically means that applicants should be between 19 and 35 years old (although we occasionally make exceptions).” Note that: “Due to uncertainties around COVID-19, we are only open to applicants based in the UK and other European countries.” The deadline for applications is 19th July. For more info and applications, here.

“A virtual international showcase opportunity to convey the cultural and aesthetic plurality of American life to domestic and international audiences.”. “Applications are open to music, dance, and theatre artists/ensembles with a demonstrated capacity to tour internationally. PAD encourages artists who self-identify as BIPOC/LGBTQ+ to apply.” For more info and applications, here. Application Close: June 25, 2021, 5:00PM PST. The Arts Midwest’s Online Conference will take place from 17th to 22nd of September and it will be online. 

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• Afro Pepites arts market opens the call for artists until 31st of September (Already present in the previous edition of the newsletter)

• European Folk Network Spring Forward series of three meetings ended

• Check below in the next section of “Meet me at” because those are also relevant events! 

Right now, at Global Toronto. The beginning of the conferences started yesterday, Monday 14th June and it was an intense day. I was able to greet some friends from all over the world and listened to some deep and fresh ideas.

?If you missed it, read the interview with Mercedes Caxaj about Global Toronto 2021, in this previous edition.

I am still waiting for the date for my vaccination. My age group is already being vaccinated so I’m due any day now. I’m checking my mobile phone every 15 minutes to see if I have an SMS! So I have some plans to travel abroad, after so long. My plane is gathering dust in the hangar! ✈️

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How are you? I hope well. I have a variety of emotions today.

I heard this morning about the death of Franco Battiato, the Italian artist who, at least for my generation in Spain, is a reference. From him I first heard concepts such as “dervish tourneur” or “kathakali” and he made me imagine what kind of Balkan music was played on Radio Tirana or played at the summer parties in Ireland.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can listen to the English version of the song I Want to See you as a Dancer, here. This song, sung in Spanish, was on the Spanish public television very often (there was no private television at that time) and on all the radio stations too. I think all Spaniards between 40 and 70 years old can sing it for you. With this song, Battiato planted in the fertile soil of my mind the seed of imagination and curiosity to discover what all those wonders he was telling about would be like. The song is a masterful hymn to the cultural diversity of the peoples of the world. The news of his passing has brought back so many memories.

Apart from that, I am happy to share the very interesting reflections that these people below have so kindly given me and next Thursday I will share an experience of my own at the cultural managers’ conference in Madrid, which I am very excited about. You have more information below.

Thank you very much for your attention. As always, if you have any news of interest for our community, let me know.

Next Sunday, May 23th, it will take place the Belgian World Music Night ? This is a link to the event in Facebook. You can attend it online, from 19:30 CET. The artists that will perform are Kaito Winse, Ana Diaz, Azmari and Les Sheiks Shikhats & B’net Chaabi. The DJs that were selected by the jury are Rrita Jashari and Global Riddims.

This year, I have had the honour to be the international jury, and it made me pay special attention to the organization too: this showcase is organized by the Belgian World Music Network, about which I talked with Piet Maris.

It seems that little by little we are getting organised in this community of the world musics, which for now is still very fragmented. That’s why I think that the example of this organisation, which was born in a country that I always think is very advanced in everything that has to do with our musics, is very interesting and it’s worth going deeper into how and why it started and how they organise themselves.

Piet Maris, who is a member of the Network, as well as a musician himself (in the bands Jaune Toujours, Mec Yek and 3’Ain) and a member of the collective of musicians Choux de Bruxelles, answers my questions on behalf of the Network. On the board are more organisations of old friends whom I will have the pleasure to greet, such as Muziekpublique (hello, Peter!) or Fragan (hello, Frédérique!).

This interview is interesting for anybody that, like me, had an associative spirit. And now I am involved with a bunch of colleagues in the development of AGIMA – Association of Global Independent Music Agents, it is twice as interesting.

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Piet Maris / Belgian World Music Network: We observed with various players in the field (musicians, collectives, agents, promotors, journalists) that world music was being pushed away in our media, more and more, in favour of mainstream musical programming.

At the same time, we felt little organised as a sector for the genre: everyone was a bit isolated in organising activities. So the aim was to bring the sector together and put world music (back) on the agenda.

The first 2 years, the network was organising and active only at the Dutch-Speaking side of the country, but fell silent somehow. Things were not organised in a structural way at at that time. The organisation was still a de facto association, in which dynamics depended mostly on the initiative of a few people.

A few years later, out of the same frustration, a new media campaign was launched towards the Dutch-speaking National Radio, demanding to pay more attention to specific musical genres and world music in particular. In 2017 then, we decided with some key players to take on the network in a broader, more serious set-up, stretching it to the other side of the country as well – to the French-speaking side. From then on we started organising and communicating in and towards the two languages, Dutch and French, seeking to represent the sector for the whole of Belgium.

MM: How did you translate that into more concrete objectives, how did you set the main lines of activity to develop? 

PM: As concrete objectives, we formulated:
– Creating more opportunities, both nationally and internationally, for world music production in Belgium
– Promoting cooperation and reflection in the sector
– Creating more attention for world music in the media, in education and in politics
– Positively portraying the social diversity through music
– Asking attention for the situation of the artists (correct salaries, statute, …)

And to be able to organise all that and guarantee continuity, we “professionalised” the network, making it a “vzw/asbl”, a non-profit association, with a board.

MM: After meetings on a regular basis, the non-profit association was officially established in 2019. So they were 7 years of work to give shape to the network. Why was it so long? Which were the most complicated issues to agree on?  

PM: Cfr. here above: it’s not that we disagreed, but the network activity fell silent for some time. It was only after picking the network up again in 2017 again in a structural way and on a national level, that things indeed got more serious.

MM: You have at least 3 and at most 11 directors in the board of directors. The rules for the elections and re-elections periods are clearly set. And you have 51 active members (organizations) and 30 associate members (individuals). It seems there are a lot of voices and also, in the field in which we operate, there is a very great diversity in all senses of the word. What is the decision-making process like?

PM: Decision-making within the network is based on consensus, themes and goals being initiated by the members of the board. But the sector is also widely consulted to determine whether objectives are correct or should be added, as we’ll do at the upcoming on-line meeting on Friday 21 May, not coincidentally on the World Day for Cultural Diversity.

MM: How do you organise the work? Do you have thematic working groups, with volunteers, or in other ways?

PM: Up till now, the work has been done by the active board members. For one theme, “World Music, what’s in a Name?” (reflection on the term World Music, whether it should be kept or replaced as a term in general but also as part of the network’s name), a working group has been formed with extra players from the sector. On a longer term, on some of our objectives, we want to organise more working groups like this one.

MM: Do you have any secretarial or administrative staff? 

PM: For more than 4 years, we ran everything on a voluntary basis with our board, without a real secretarial or administrative staff. But very recently, we recruited an administrative support: Hélène Spitaels is now working for the BWMN, on a part time basis, since end of March 21.

• Logo, from the Facebook page of the Network
• Portrait of Piet, provided by himself

 

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I have already mentioned AGIMA above. The portrait of Ken Day, here below, is from the video welcoming to the AGIMA Showcase Festival, available here. By the way, that video and all the others for that showcase have been edited by Feliks Volož (Juliana’s son).

I met Ken Day many years ago in Varna, Bulgaria, at the Without Borders meeting, which takes place some years and is organised by Yasen Kazandjiev. Ken is the director of the Urkult Festival, which we talked about in this previous edition. Ken is the founder of AGIMA, he started it when it didn’t even have a name. As with Juliana Volož, who shared her thoughts with us in the edition before this one, I have been in regular contact with Ken during this last fateful year. And now I talk to him from the point of view of an agent for world music artists with his brand D Tours. I think his multifaceted experience is of great interest. I hope you enjoy it.

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• Portrait, from the video of AGIMA’s website, as mentioned above.

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• European Folk Network

Wednesday, June 9th. It will take place the third session of the European Folk Network virtual meeting, “Spring Forward #3”. You can register for the third edition, here. 

The winners of the edition of 2020, that has been postponed until the last weekend, are announced here. Maria Mazzotta has been awarded with the International Critic Award. My partner Juan Antonio Vázquez has been part of the jury, together with Sergio Albertoni, Andrew Cronshaw, Petr Dorůžka, Edyta Łubińska and Piotr Pucyło.

This Award is announced as “the only European contest for World Music artists”, it is addressed to artists coming from all over the world. The registration is free, and the deadline is 31st May 2021. The finals will be held in autumn in Cagliari (Sardinia). Applications must be sent through the format found online on www.fondazioneandreaparodi.it. The prize for the Winner includes concerts and performances in some of the partner music festivals in their 2022 editions, not forgetting the very same Premio Andrea Parodi 2022. In addition to the aforementioned, the winners will be entitled to a € 2,500 scholarship. Whereas the winner of the Critics’ Awards will have a professional videoclip of their competition song produced, offered by the Andrea Parodi Foundation. This is the Facebook cover for the edition of the last weekend (2020’s postponed to 2021):

How are you? I hope well! After February’s edition, I got several suggestions of contents, as well as some feedback and a proposal for collaboration. That is really nice, I am very thankful! And two of the suggestions came from Canada.

By chance, although each contact was completely independent, a father and daughter ended up starring in this March edition. He is known to many of you who will receive this newsletter. He is Alfredo Caxaj. But if you don’t know him yet, I’ll introduce him to you below. He is a true personality, an earthquake. He is the director of the Sunfest festival and this time he tells us about a new initiative: Culturas 360.

And the daughter is Mercedes Caxaj. She has also worked for Sunfest but today she will talk to us about Global Toronto and the organisation from which it was born, Small World Music, which she joined at the beginning of 2021.

Don’t miss the rest of the content, like the open calls. I hope they will be useful and if you have anything to share, just let me know!

Learn more about them, and much more, here below. Happy reading, happy Springtime ?

Click here to listen to this second part.

Alfredo himself chose this photo to illustrate this interview. With the Sunfest stage in the background, his smile and open arms. I think it portrays quite well this person, who arrived in Canada in 1985 as a political refugee, fleeing the civil war taking place in Guatemala. He settled in London, Ontario and began working at London’s Cross Cultural Learner Center, helping New Canadians. In 1995 he founded Sunfest. He has been awarded on several occasions for his work. And you might have seen him dancing tirelessly in front of a stage.

There is a very nice profile and interview with Alfredo on the website of Roots Music Canada, I really recommend you to read it. And here, Alfredo explains to us about a new initiative: CULTURAS 360. Take note and don’t miss it: 27th and 28th March

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Alfredo Caxaj: Absolutely, it is the intention of the festivals’ collective not only to establish this initiative as an annual celebration, but to evolve as an alternative platform to support artists, and to strengthen relationships within our sector. It is the hope that sometime this year we’ll be able to go back to live music performances at festivals and venues, and our vision is to have CULTURAS 360 actively involved at different conferences, markets and festivals. As hard as the pandemic has been for all of us, it has also given us the opportunity to be creative and innovative, and I truly believe that this project is precisely the result of it.

MM – Which or which ones do you think is/are the common element/s between all the festivals involved? 

AC: I think that the fundamental element that has brought us all together, is the commitment to change and social transformation through music. We believe that music is such a powerful vehicle in bringing people together, and through CULTURAS 360, we’ll contribute to nurture cultural diversity and solidarity between peoples

MM – And which are the common elements between the different artists, if there are any? 

AC: CULTURAS 360 is presenting a diverse line up of artists that combines, some well established and recognized groups, and a great number of new and emerging ones. While some share common elements, whether in terms of its musical genre, language or geography, each group is unique and has its own identity.

MM – Which has been the most complicated issue to deal with in this ambitious project? 

AC: For years, some of us have been discussing this kind of initiative. We see each other all the time at different music markets and conferences, and always we were postponing the planning and concrete steps to make this project a reality. Ironically, in one way or another, the pandemic made us reflect on the need of coming together and launching a program like this, so we can continue supporting artists and keeping in touch with our audiences at this difficult time.

I believe that one of the most complicated issues we faced in order to bring this project to light was the pandemic itself, especially for the artists who had to overcome all kinds of safe and health restrictions in their own countries. Initially we had the intention of launching CULTURAS 360 at the beginning of the year, however, due to the limitations the groups were facing, we had no choice but to delay it for several weeks.

AC: As you are aware, when festivals were cancelled last year, it represented the loss of all kinds of revenues for them. In the case of Sunfest, we were not the exception to this and the cancelation affected us tremendously.  We were able to adapt quickly in the transition to a digital format and fortunately, we did a virtual version of the festival.

The level of support from government agencies and private sponsors varies from country to country. In Canada, we have been very fortunate that during this difficult time, government grants and emergency funds for the cultural sector have been available and they have been essential in keeping our operations at a certain level.  We were also very fortunate that our main private sponsor understood the challenges of the current situation, and continued supporting our programming and activities in the digital format.

Unfortunately, this has not been the case for many other festivals in other countries, and that’s why I believe that initiatives like CULTURAS 360, can create spaces for mutual support, collaboration and solidarity within our sector.

MM – Was it easy to convince them to keep the support in this new format? AC: At the beginning of this transition, our main corporate sponsor hesitated a little bit, but I also think it was a natural reaction during this process, since all of us were trying to digest and understand these radical changes in a very short period of time.  At the end, they recognized that this was going to be the new reality at least for some time.

We did lose some other sponsors for which it was going to be challenging to justify their financial support in this new format.

MM – I think there are disadvantages for them, like that this format will provide a reach to a widely geographically distributed audience, which can be bad for brands that work just locally. But also advantages, like a potential presence of their brand for a longer time, in case you plan to keep the contents available after the specific dates of the event. What can you tell us about this negotiation that could be useful for other colleagues? 

AC: What I’ve been learning during the past year is that, sponsors in the private sector, have began slowly to understand and recognize the value of supporting the arts in this new format. Their brands can be seen now instead of several hundred by thousands of people, and in many instances, they stay in the web for some time.
Based on our own experience, I would advise my colleagues to be perseverant and patient at the same time. Corporations are acknowledging now the great number of possibilities for their brands in this new format, and I truly believe that from now on, the proposal of hybrid activities will be essential in the process of negotiating sponsorships.

There is nothing better than the live experience and all of us are eagerly waiting to go back to festivals and venues, but I also believe that the digital component, can tremendously enhance our activities, and help us in reaching out to new and diverse audiences.

? Download a brochure with more information about Global Toronto 2021 and more about Small World Music, here ⬇️ ?

It will be very useful for you to check the brochure before reading the interview.

Mercedes Caxaj: The artists are paid a modest honorarium for their work.  We don’t believe that artists should showcase for free and we wish to engage the artists in a way that our partnership does not just begin and end at Global Toronto. In addition to being paid, the artists are offered various professional development opportunities and are then considered part of the “GT Family” – where we will always suggest them for future professional engagement opportunities.

MM – About “Going Global”, I understand from your brochure that it is like a development support service/guidance, specially focused on the internationalization of the artists. Is that right? What are the concrete future events in this frame?

MC: One of the goals of Going Global is to continue to take artists and professionals from the Global Toronto family out to other industry events. Digitally and in these non-international travel times means producing online showcases and attending virtually. If we receive notice about a conference, where there’s interest in a delegation, programming partnerships, or showcases from the Global Toronto family of artists, we will assist in facilitating a presence to ensure as many voices are included as possible.

MM – And the artists that showcased from your side in Folk Unlocked (the online event by Folk Alliance International in 2021) are the ones included in the first edition of Going Global, is it right? (they are Al Qahwa, Zal Sissokho’s Kora Flamenca, Beny Esguerra and New Tradition Music and G.R. Gritt).

MC: All of the artists have either showcased at Global Toronto in 2018 or in 2020, and/or are co-presented with a Global Toronto partner. G. R. Gritt, for example, was co-presented by the International Indigenous Music Summit, but has not yet showcased at GT. Beny Esguerra showcased in GT18, and Al Qahwa and Zal Sissokho showcased at GT20.

MM – How were they selected, which were the criteria? The deeper you define the criteria, the best!

MC: Global Toronto engages a jury of five dedicated industry professionals – artists, presenters, agents/managers, media, etc – who score each artist based on three categories: artistic quality, market readiness and equity. We are so thankful for our jury members because they can receive up to 250 applications to listen through and have the daunting task of narrowing down the list to about 20 or so. The jury meets to deliberate the final scores and ensure that a range of voices, genres and experience are showcased.

MM – This is all very exciting and seems very ambitious. How is it financed? As you know, the models for such initiatives are quite different in Europe than in the USA and I think also very different between Canada and the USA. You are a team of people working all year round in Global Toronto, but not only, right? GT is a Small World’s initiative, which also has a recording studio, a concert hall that, without pandemic, programmes all year round. How does it normally work in financial terms and how are you overcoming the pandemic crisis?

MC: The team works year-round on all initiatives produced by Small World Music, including the Global Toronto music conference, the eMERGEnce mentorship program, Small World Music Festival and Asian Music Series, as well as managing the Small World Centre which mainly functions now as a broadcast and recording space for virtual presentations. In addition to managing all of these programs, we are continuing to develop our Going Global and international outreach partnership building. On top of all this we are continuously seeking new forms of funding, including government grants, sponsorships and partnerships.  The pandemic period is tough but we are very lucky in Canada to have access to some emergency funding, as well as grantors and corporate sponsors that continue to support even in limited capacities.

MM – About GT again, we are now in the middle of March and the second online edition 2021’s edition, that will be online like in 2020, will take place from 14 to 18 June. What is your schedule for the near future? I think you will announce the artistic selection by the end of the month, won’t you? What else, what other dates shall we write in our calendars for not to miss anything?

MC: The launch of GT21 will take place on March 30th, via the SWM and GT social media channels, where we will be announcing the lineup of showcasing artists, jury and programming committees, partners as well as themes that will be explored during the conference. Registration for the conference will open at the same time. Expect exciting content to be released before June 14th, and exact dates will be confirmed soon!

MM – I have one more question. This is about your strategic vision. The guiding theme of GT21 is “Now What: Making Space, Enacting Change” and you state that it is not a temporary fix to the short term problem of the pandemic. What do you mean with this theme? Making Space and Enacting Change. Please, elaborate a bit more on these ideas.

MC: We are continuing to build upon GT20s theme, which was “Acknowledging Opportunities, Envisioning the Future”. This was framed at the beginning of the pandemic and explored the state of affairs for the industry, how we felt and how we wanted the industry to be rebuilt in a more equitable, sustainable and accessible manner. We created safe spaces to the best of our ability so that participants felt comfortable sharing their lived experiences, as well as aspirations for the future. The need to make spaces for underrepresented voices at all levels and aspects of the music industry – from funding to producing, presenting and programming – as well as how to kick-start these changes. Thus, Making Space and Enacting Change for GT21 is about exploring the pragmatic aspects of these needs and themes explored last year.  We are very excited that we have engaged an amazing programming committee that has actively been participating in the preparation for this year’s conference.

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