Joe GallopESNS Exchange, the talent exchange programme run by music showcase festival and conference ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag), will begin its 20th-anniversary celebrations this week at BIME in Bilbao.
ESNS Exchange, formerly known as ETEP, will host a panel on 25 October at BIME, alongside several events and panels to commemorate the anniversary at ESNS in January.
To date, ESNS Exchange has supported 2,145 European artists hailing from 35 countries, enabling them to perform at 5,288 shows across 187 partner festivals in 44 countries.
So far this year, Exchange has presented 315 shows by 134 acts at 82 festivals. The most booked act remains The Haunted Youth with 13 bookings.
ESNS Exchange traces its roots back to 2003 when it was established in response to the challenges faced by European pop music in the realms of international promotion and distribution. The ESNS Exchange programme is funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Commission and is organised in collaboration with Yourope, the export offices and the media partner EBU.
ESNS head of programe and booker for ESNS Exchange Robert Meijerink said, “With Exchange the role of the ESNS Conference and Festival has been put to the next level. Exchange as a project connects all parts of Europe and helps artists grow beyond local, cross European borders and around the world.
“This is impossible without the strong cooperation with Yourope, our great partner festivals, the export offices, the partners of the European Broadcasting Union, the European Commission and of course all the amazing artists from Europe. We’re looking forward to building the future of the European music scene and ESNS Exchange’s role in it.”