Giddings added as keynote interviewee

CONFERENCE AND music festival Eurosonic Noorderslag has revealed another wave of panelists for the 15-18 January event, which takes place in Groningen.

Isle of Wight Festival (cap. 50,000) founder and Solo Agency boss John Giddings, whose clients include the Rolling Stones, Madonna and U2, will do a keynote interview.

IN another session, Paradigm Talent Agency’s Paul Buck, ATC Live’s Alex Bruford, X-ray Touring’s Beckie Sugden and CAA’s Maria May will be quizzed about the state of the agency business.

The conference will feature 150 panels and keynotes presentations, and the festival will host around 350 showcases. Organisers expect 4,500 delegates to attend conference events and the multi-venue music festival to attract more than 40,000 attendees.

The festivals special focus is on Switzerland, while the last day of the event devoted to Dutch artistes.

Other conference sessions feature veteran agent Barry Dickins from ITB, Mojo Concerts head promoter Rob Tommelen and Sub Pop founder Jonathan Poneman.

Day tickets coat €70 ($75).

Eurosonic Noorderslag also hosts the 11th edition of the European Festival Awards, set for 15 January at De Oosterpoort.

Shortlists have been announced for 14 of the ceremony’s categories including Promoter of the Year, for which nominees include FKP Scorpio, MCT Berlin and Festival Republic, as well as Agent of the Year (nominees include ATC Live’s Alex Bruford, 13 Artists’ Angus Baskerville and WME’s Lucy Dickins).

Among the other categories is Best Major Festival, with nominees including Germany’s Lollapalooza Berlin (cap. 80,000), Belgium’s Pukkelpop (60,000) and Hungary’s Sziget (90,000).

Tickets for the awards ceremony range between €30-100 ($33-109).

“AIF is a growing community now representing almost 20 per cent of festivals over 5,000-capacity in the UK, and the independent sector is in a strong place despite the encroaching and unrelenting dominance of the major companies and the restrictions that can arise from this.

“However, we repeat our warning: Allowing a single company to dominate festivals, and the live music sector in general through vertical integration, results in a stranglehold that stifles competition throughout the sector,” says Reed.

AIF’s report is based on a survey of 210 festivals, with an overall combined capacity of more than 4,370,000.