Eurosonic delegates Q&A
February 28, 2017 2:00 pmDániel Sándor // Launching Gagarin Records
What were your previous expectations before attending Eurosonic?
Based on last year and the fact that Vera Jonas Experiment, the band we work with had the chance to play at Eurosonic this year, I had very high expectations. I wanted everything to go smooth for the band. Also, I managed to organize a great number of meetings in hope of future collaborations, and I was really looking forward to them.
What is the most important thing that you learned/received from the event?
I learned that year after year a ton of great bands are invited and only by very committed hard work can a band stand out and live with the chance. The invitation to Eurosonic is just the beginning of the road. It was a great chance for Vera Jonas Experiment and now we are working hard to live with it.
What was the most memorable program/concert you saw?
It might sound biased, but witnessing the professionalism of the crew and the musicians of the band was inspirational. I also had the chance to see the other two Hungarian bands, Bohemian Betyars and Fran Palermo, and they were great. Also, we watched Shame play and it was exceptionally entertaining, just like Yuma Sun. The whole event was a lot of work, lots of meetings, great concerts and a lot of fun too.
Tamás Szabó // Central Publishing
What were your previous expectations before attending Eurosonic?
I wanted to get a general idea about the state of the continental music scene and about the industry also. I wanted to meet the people I already know from the industry and mainly through them and through arranging new meetings, I wanted to get new contacts I/we could work with. I was also expecting interesting panel talks where I can get get acquainted with the current issues and trends in the industry.
What is the most important thing that you learned/received from the event?
The most important thing to me was that I could meet all the people from the industry who I usually only see at industry events and I also met new people who I might cooperate with in the future. Some of the panel talks were also very interesting to me so I could learn new approaches and ideas about issues that I’m interested in.
What was the most memorable programme/concert you saw?
Most memorable concert was the show of Tommy Cash. The most exciting panel talk to me was THE ROLE OF AN EXPORT OFFICE
Áron Lukács // Bánkitó Festival
What were your previous expectations before attending Eurosonic?
All my expectations were almost the same what I experienced at the festival. I did my homework and asked a few people about the format, checked the lineup & conference schedule. Though, it was a lot more professional than I thought.
What is the most important thing that you learned/received from the event?
That every real deal starts with a personal meeting and a handshake. I luckily managed to meet with a few important agents, with whom I can build my relationship in the future.
What was the most memorable programme/concert you saw?
I was amazed by the Swedish Death Candy, loved how Throes+The Shine entertains the crowd and I was happy to get to know 4 amazing festivals on the Great Small Festivals – Smaller is Great! conference panel.
András Bodrogi // Google Ground Budapest
What were your previous expectations before attending Eurosonic?
My expectations were to extend my professional network, to continue the conversation with possible music business and artist management lecturers who I have already met. Also to follow hot topics related to music and technology. And of course exploring new talents in music even if I am not working on the live music scene.
What is the most important thing that you learned/received from the event?
You have to meet people in real as simply virtual (online) networking is not enough to built trust and professional collaborative projects.
What was the most memorable programme/concert you saw?
The workshop called „The Data made me do it” was really impressive. Regarding concerts I really liked the UK based duo called ’Let’s Eat Grandma’ and it was a great experience to watch our band ’Bohemian Betyárs’ to steal the show.
Szabolcs Czeglédi // RH Event Management
What were your previous expectations before attending Eurosonic?
You have to know I’m quite new in the business as a booking agent, this was my first time attending Eurosonic, and basically the first time attending a showcase festival for more than a couple of hours. Of course I heard many success-stories from collegues in the previous years and it really is a place where you have the chance to accidantally bump into someone who could help your band to be the next Rolling Stones. But for this you really need to improve your luck before the festival or even better to arrange some effective meetings on your level. So far I’m a small fish in the ocean so I expected not too many star promoters, or agents to contact me…of course I had to take the initiative. This time my expectations were to arrange meetings with cool, open-minded agents and promoters from the same scene as I’m in (also the ones I already know), have a great chat and let them introduce me to their collegues who’re around.
What is the most important thing that you learned/received from the event?
I saw and met a lot of professionals from all around Europe mostly at the conference programs. I feel like sometimes we Hungarians are inclined to think we’re getting very close to the Western European / UK professionals in knowledge but after a couple of conferences it’s getting clear that we have to learn and experience a lot more. I mean we’re really on the right way, working hard, having very cool bands but they have at least 45 years advantage in exporting music.
What was the most memorable programme/concert you saw?
For me it was very important to attend ‘The Agents Panel’ with Allan McGowan, Beckie Sugden, David Bradley, Dave Chumbley and Natasha Bent. The most exciting part for me was the contrast between Dave Chumbley and Natasha Bent. We know both of them are brilliant agents but it was funny and really useful to see their different opinions cause of the period they started to work in the music business, so as they talked you could see how the business changed from the 70’s to today. Plus the whole conference room was full of well experienced agents so the questions and the debates were also very exciting.