Joe GallopOrganisers of Tallinn Music Week (TMW) said a record number of close to 2,000 artists have applied to play at the next edition of the international music industry conference and festival.
The artist application call for the festival resulted in 1,974 submissions from 85 countries, following last year’s 1,413 applications from 74 countries. The highest numbers of applications this year were submitted from the UK with 325 and Germany with 201, followed by 158 from host country Estonia.
The number of applications from the United States and Italy has also increased and there is continued attention towards the festival among artists from countries such as Taiwan, Senegal, Zambia, Mozambique, Kyrgyzstan, Philippines and Ecuador.
The 15th edition of TMW is scheduled to take place in various clubs and concert venues across the Estonian capital Tallinn from 10-14 May 2023.
“It is a pleasure to see that the message of TMW as a positive connector has spread around the world,“ said TMW Head of Music Taavi Esperk. “Besides getting such great results from the leading music markets like the UK, Germany, Italy and even the US, we are very glad that nearly 40 Ukrainian artists are wishing to perform at TMW. Additionally, we will take a closer look at the evolving scenes of Baltics and Poland and will once again highlight the trendsetting sounds of Africa and its diasporas.”
TMW 2023 artist application top 10 by countries:
1. The UK: 325
2. Germany: 201
3. Estonia: 158
4. Italy: 134
5. Finland: 129
6. Canada: 75
7. Poland: 65
8. The US: 62
9. Spain: 53
10. Latvia: 50
All applications will be reviewed by TMW’s team of music curators, which includes representatives of both Estonian and international music organisations and experts. A confirmed line-up of around 150 artists will be announced from February to March 2023.