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The 18th edition of the world music expo Womex took place on 17-22 October 2012 in Thessaloniki, Greece. With 2,200 delegates this year and 1,200 companies from 90 countries, Womex remains the key specialist event for building an international network for your artist or project. With the support of APEX, Brasil Music Exchange attended to the Brazil stand which hosted 28 companies from all over the country, including managers, producers, labels and artists as well as institutional organisations such as Sebrae/RJ and government bodies, such as SECULT BA, the Bahia Secretariat of Culture.
Sebrae/RJ, which supports development for small businesses from Rio de Janeiro, attended with 12 delegates, all of whom reported that the event was a positive and productive experience for their businesses.
In preparation for Womex, CMJ and future trade-fairs, SECULT BA produced a dedicated guide to the Bahian music industry - Guia MobiArt – a very useful mobile app and online portal mapping out the local music scene and creative industry infrastructure. While CDs, bags and Tshirts are ever popular as promotional items for key contacts, this kind of digital resource, which can be continually updated and marketed, is a welcome (and weightless!) addition to the toolkit. Maybe it’s also a good potential model for a national online guide to the Brazilian music industry, as for many outsiders the immense size and federal nature of Brazil’s music business and institutions can be difficult to navigate.
The state of Minas Gerais was in full-effect, fronted by the collective organisation, the Forum da Musica de Minas, another useful gateway into the independent music scene of an entire state. With a programme of showcases on the OffWomex stage, Minas Gerais presented three artists: Thiago Delegado, Makely Ka andGraveola e o Lixo Polifonico. Graveola have recently signed to London label Mais Um Discos and took advantage of the Womex trip by playing 5 other European shows in October.
Ricardo Herz Trio (represented by Scubidu) performed in the official Womex showcase programme, the only Brazilian show selected this year. The IMZ screens world music films at Womex, and this year selected Mawaca– Songs of the Forest – as part of their programme of 17 films in 2012.
Womex showcases (there were 61 shows this year) give international artists the refreshing opportunity to be themselves. Artists play to audiences of media and industry professionals with decades of experience in all genres and an openness which reflects a global public with an ever increasing enthusiasm for listening to music from all over the world. Nobody on a Womex jury has ever demanded artists “should sing in English” (as one other music trade-fair used to do). That kind of close-minded attitude to international music does not exist at Womex, this is an event celebrating difference and excellence and most of all excellent difference. The variety here is stunning and over-whelming, what counts is quality not category. Brazilian music, in all its diversity, has a natural place here.
Marie Ofinger of EMA Produçoes (representing among others Tiganá and Soraia Drummond) commented on “the openness of the delegates, their easy access. They were interested to listen to my artists description. Also the sensation that we are all part of a global shared interest, of world music with roots and identity within a contemporary vision.” Tigana is now signed to Swedish label Ajabu.
Aline Yasmin of Instituto Quorum, who made positive steps towards 2013 partnerships in Italy and Portugal for the Espirito Mundo project, adds: “Womex is a trade-fair where you can meet professionals who are genuinely interested in doing business.” She also highlights the importance of networking with fellow Brazilians, formalizing a collective approach to international activities would bring mutual benefit to many in the Brazilian music business.
A key new trend, as noted by Geraldinho Magalhaes from Rio production company Diversao e Arte, is that people are increasingly shifting their focus onto the Brazilian market as a place for opportunity. The economic boom in Brazil stands in stark contrast to the recession in the Europe zone (and with Greece as the back-drop to Womex this year, this was never far from anyone’s thoughts). With this rising interest in the possibility of new business opportunities around the World Cup 2014 and Olympics 2016, the dialogue between Brazilian and international companies is taking new directions towards creative and commercial exchange.
Geraldinho Magalhaes: “This could be very positive if it’s managed well. Artists from outside who bring quality and innovation, and promoters and agents from outside who are talented and experienced, can bring their expertise to our internal market as it accelerates.”
Looking ahead, Womex veterans Paulo Andre Pires and Melina Hickson have been busy networking in preparation for the next Portomusical encounter in Recife, Pernambuco (30 January-2 February 2013). A vibrant international forum to continue Womex conversations and begin new ones as we anticipate Womex 2013 in Cardiff, UK.
If you were a Brazilian delegate at Womex 2012 and have further comments to add, please feel free to get in touch.
And if you were an international delegate who made Brazilian contacts let us know your feedback, and if you would like to extend your Brazilian network Brasil Music Exchange is always here to help you make future connections.
Jody Gillett. Brasil Music Exchange, London.
The year is not even over and BrMusicExchange is already planning some early 2013 action. Taking place in New York City, between the 11th and 15th of January, APAP opens the international music events season, proposing, “to break out of the norm and explore what’s possible in our work.”
One of the most anticipated conferences of the official calendar, APAP is said to be expecting around 3500 professionals and representatives from music businesses all across the globe. As announced, “the 2013 conference offers open space formats, interactive dialogue sessions, member-organized forums, and a consultation salon with experts, pre- and post-conference resources to help you sustain your work and ensure the vitality of your organization and the arts in your community. “
And, of course, BMA will be strongly represented by BRMusicExchange attendees, among other recognized names of the Brazilian market; doing their best to present to the international crowd effective and practical information about our music scenario and business options.
Explorative Sessions
Curated by Brazilian musician Pedro Moraes, a showcase of Brazilian contemporary music called Explorative Sessions is scheduled to happen on the 14th of January, at Le Poisson Rouge.
Dirtyloud is one of those groups born to be universal. The electronic duo from Minas Gerais is frequently present on the e-music top charts, and collects important fans all around the world. Names as David Guetta, Skream, Benga Datsik and Excision have publicly admitted their admiration. A.k.a. Marcus and Eduardo, the DJs lead the dubstep and electrohouse charts on Beatport, collect more than 2 million plays on Soundcloud, more than 1,5 million views on Youtube and over 185,000 fans on Facebook.
And these Brazilian DJs have just landed in the United States for their second international tour – with 8 shows scheduled throughout the US and 2 in Canada. Just before they left, BRMusicExchange talked to the duo and got to know a little more about their career and their plans for the future.
Where did the opportunity of playing in the US and Canada come from?
We work together with an agency that books us shows in the United States, Circle Talent Agency. We played for the first time in Los Angeles one year after we released our first EP, that ended up on third place on the American Electro House charts. Our first remix was sent over to the duo Cold Blank, from LA, what ended up catching the attention of local producers. With that exposure, we booked our first American tour, with gigs on 17 different cities across the US, from the end of April until late May, 2012. Now we’re back for 3 more weeks of presentations, 8 in the US and 2 in Canada.
And what do you expect from this second international tour?
Our expectations of the American audiences are always the best. There are electronic parties every day, the clubs are very professional, very nice. Dubstep, a style that we incorporated to our set, is very popular. The audience loves it, people really like electronic music, they go to a show to listen to the music – very different from the energy we have in Brazilian concerts.
How does the international audience react to your music?
We always have a very nice, warm reception from the international audiences, they treat us with a lot of respect. It doesn’t matter if it’s a big festival or a small club, the audience always loves our work, enjoy as much as they can.
What’s the difference between playing in Brazil and abroad?
A few years ago we could say there was a difference, we would pick different tracks to play in Brazil, different from the ones we chose to play abroad. We would always play something different outside our country, different styles. But today we can assure that there is no longer this considerable difference of audiences. Now we play pretty much the same tracks inside and outside our country.
And what are your future projects?
We have a remix ready for an artist that, unfortunately, we cannot say the name yet. We also have 2 new original tracks ready and we’re working on some others, so we can release an album or an EP soon. And we’re also playing a lot across Brazil.
To check out Dirtyloud’s schedule of future shows: http://www.facebook.com/dirtyloud/app_123966167614127
During their stay for the first semester season of UK music festivals, attending highlights as The Great Escape, that took place in Brighton, and Liverpool Sound City, that happened in the city that gives name to the event, Brazilian producers had the opportunity to discuss, together with different British cultural institutions, new ideas to promote Brazilian music on the UK and improve the communication and exchange between both regions.
BME talked Iuri Freiberger, one of the producers that attended festivals and meetings in the UK during the first semester, and he explained what are the future plans to improve the relationship between Brazilian music and the British audience.
Freiberger is a musical producer originally from the South of Brazil, which has dedicated himself for the last few years to projects on the Northeast of the country, concentrating his efforts on the capital city of the state of Pernambuco, Recife – known for its huge cultural production. For the past three years, Iuri was responsible for the implementation of an audiovisual studio, with a program of courses, specialized crew and structure, on a space called Nascedouro de Peixinhos, a poor area, surrounded by favelas, but with a considerable cultural production. He is now studying the possibility of taking the same project to other regions in need, in other states of the country – Rio Grande do Sul and Rio de Janeiro.
When did you decide focusing on the British audience?
It all started with a recommendation of Leo Feijo, one of the main partners of Matriz, a group of theaters and cultural spaces in the city of Rio de Janeiro. He invited me to participate on a mission of Brazilian producers that would head of to The Great Escape Festival, in Brighton, to experience the festival and participate in meetings with producers and directors of British cultural institutions. Their goal was to bring British and Brazilian cultural relations to a closer level, promoting the exchange of artists and cultural agencies, all focused on music.
And how exactly did this group of producers act during the event?
We were there to watch the shows, see the kind of artists that interests the British audience. We also had, during the festival, a few business meetings with British agents and producers. We also headed to London after that, where we met with specific cultural institutes, to propose real possibilities of business, and to get to know more about British programs of incentive to production, distribution and promotion of music in the UK. The British Council is developing a program focused on exchange, not only for artists, but mainly, paying special attention to events and producers that could bring Brazilian artists to the UK.
In your opinion, what’s the importance of these exchange programs and events for the Brazilian music and the British audience?
I guess that the main advantage we take on these programs is the understanding that international ways of promoting music is now more possible than ever. To make music today, in Brazil, requires a bigger effort than it did 10 o 15 years ago. The masses consume bigger events, but do not pay to see new, less known artists. The big groups, musicians, have been the same for the past 20, 30 years. A big amount of Brazilian cultural production survives only by incentives promoted by the government. On the other hand, popular music has never earned so much money and space in the country, in a way that it’s now possible to create massive international promotion. If we analyze these concepts, of more openness of the the paths, and the needs of the international market, we can clearly understand that it is possible to invest on an international promotion, on a larger scale, with better quality of results with a better reception from the international audiences. I believe that the exotic tone of the Brazilian production is not the main lead that draws the attention anymore, that phase is over, of the fascination for caipirinhas and Havaianas – that are now only a drink on menus and a global shoe company, like many others. Thetime has come for Brazilian artists to do the reverse path than what they’re used to doing, to create their work locally and then promote their music on a worldwide level.
Music from Brazil is like a trade mark in the international music scene. People like the unique musical waves from Brazil. People in Berlin, Barcelona or New York love to celebrate Brazilian music.
On the other hand many interesting artists from around the world would like to perform in Brazil. Brazil has many festivals, halls and live clubs. The country is well connected with the other South American countries.
But its always the same problem: For Brazilians its too expensive to have some concerts and showcases in Europe or North America and to get the money for flights and accommodations. For European agencies it’s a high financial risk to bring over new interesting names from Brazil and to start a partnership, and vice versa.
One way to share the interests and risks could be to exchange the artists and projects. For example: When the metal act from Berlin would like to play in Brazil then the Brazilian booking agency can take the band from Berlin as tour support through Brazil. Then a Brazilian metal act from the agency could play as support in Germany. Like a modern barter deal. The Brazilians arrange and pay for the organisation, transport, promotion and hotel while touring in Brazil. The German partners do the same for the Brazilians in Germany. Both sides can use the structures and connections of each other. Its much cheaper and with a real value.
Another example could be a special exchange program between festivals. Brazilian Jazz Festivals can sign the best upcoming act and exchange the act with another Festival in Europe. They can create a kind of contest in cooperation with a sponsorship.
What I will say: We have to find new ways and sometimes the opportunities and interests are closer than we think. Are you ready? Then let’s produce your English EPK and let’s create your promotion material. Let’s go to create new partnerships.
