PROGRAMME

WORLD PITCH is a one-year training programme for young world music professionals under Music Moves Europe

WHAT WE OFFER

• unique one-semester long training course for 10 young professionals already active in the field of world music
• the training offers a profound insight in all relevant aspects of the world music scene (management, agency work, programming, organization, PR, journalism, academic work, policies) with personal one-to-one trainings with Europe’s most recognised professionals
• possibility to build capacity in cooperation with the main actors of the European – and in fact the world’s – leading world-music organizations as well as gain important background knowledge in a wider cultural leadership from well-known experts
• great networking possibilities for participants, providing opportunities to enter the job market and fostering their job opportunities
• Participation at the WOMEX – World Music Expo in Tampere, a gathering of over 2000 professionals from all over the world under the guidance of the organizers will help their understanding of the current market and help again their internationalization
• Paid fellowships placements for 5 candidates, market-leading organizations in the world music scene from different areas (festivals, showcases, press, academy and venue) 

FELLOWSHIP HOSTS

• BOZAR is a well-known venue for the world music genre with a strong focus on policymaking too
• Earth Beat is an Amsterdam based promoter representing artists from all the continents
• Maetka – a Finnish agency representing Finnish artists abroad and bringing foreign artists to Finland
• Glitterbeat – independent record label of “vibrant global sounds”, headed by Chris Eckman
• DEX – international songwriting expo held in Budapest, 2-3 March 2020

COURSE SCHEDULE

Please see the detailed schedule* of each training module below:

* The schedule may be subject to change and will be updated regularly with names and information.

MODULE I

A two-day workshop focusing on world music, applied ethnomusicology, cultural and project management, networking, artist marketing and communication. You will be paired with your mentor, and asked to set your own project’s goal. A 1-day visit at the Showcase of WOMEX19 will give you insight and networking opportunities.

The workshop takes place in Finland, Tampere, at WOMEX19.

Schedule:

WOMEX Academy 22-23 October 2019
		Trainer	Subject	Location
Tuesday 22nd October	9:00 – 9:45	Team of Organizer	Orientation	Lobby of Sokos Hotel Torni, Ratapihankatu 43, Tampere
	10:00 – 11:30	Ben Mandelson, UK WOMEX	Welcome to WOMEX by Ben Mandelson, WOMEX founding director, musician, record producer: his very personal view on the event, the scene, and more…	WOMEX ACADEMY Conference room 4 – Riffi Tampere Hall, Yliopistonkatu 55, 33100 Tampere
	11:45 – 13:15	Chris Eckman, USA/Slovenia Glitterbeat Record Label	The Idea of Wolrd Music	WOMEX ACADEMY Conference room 4 – Riffi Tampere Hall, Yliopistonkatu 55, 33100 Tampere
	Lunch Break			Tuhto Restaurant, Tampere Hall
	14:45 – 16:15	Gergő Salamon, Hungary Eastaste	The Art of Production	WOMEX ACADEMY Conference room 4 – Riffi Tampere Hall, Yliopistonkatu 55, 33100 Tampere
	16:30 – 18:00	Christine Semba, France/Germany WOMEX / Piranha Arts	Efficient Networking	WOMEX ACADEMY Conference room 4 – Riffi Tampere Hall, Yliopistonkatu 55, 33100 Tampere
Wednesday, 23 October	10:00 – 11:30	Jerome Williams, NL Earth Beat	Definition and Branding of an Artist Profile	WOMEX ACADEMY Conference room 3 Opus 3 Tampere Hall, Yliopistonkatu 55, 33100 Tampere
	11:45 – 13:15	Jerome Williams, NL Earth Beat	Marketing of your Artist	WOMEX ACADEMY Conference room 3 Opus 3 Tampere Hall, Yliopistonkatu 55, 33100 Tampere
	Lunch Break			Tuhto Restaurant, Tampere Hall
	14:45 – 16:15	Riitaa Huttunen, Gergő Salamon, Chris Eckman, Tony van der Eecken, Jerome Williams	Own Projects	Nordic Lounge, 3 rd floor, Tampere Hall.
	16:30 – 18:00		Own Projects	Nordic Lounge, 3 rd floor, Tampere Hall.

MODULE II

Module II consists of three main phases:

1. Fellowship – for five selected trainees
2. Mentoring
3. Online discussion forum

1. Fellowships are selected based on application: participants apply through sending letters of motivation to the hosting organizations. Based on the letter of motivation and the participant’s professional background, the organization selects one participant for placement and mentoring and one only for mentoring. The programme offers a financial support for those selected for fellowships; a sum of 2000 EUR to cover participants’ accommodation and travel expenses during the placement.

• • • Applications deadline: 29 October
    • Announcement of placements: 5 November
    • Fellowship timeline: November 2019 – May 2020
    • Application: sending a motivation letter to mentor

2. Mentoring – every trainee is paired with a mentor at the first workshop according to the field and goal of their own project. They will work on the project throughout the programme with the guidance of the mentor.

3. Online discussion forums channel individual learning paths into a shared discussion under the broad subject of Music Cosmopolitanism. Two separate sessions will provide a platform for participants to exchange their views and check their progress in a small professional community. Forums I and II take place December 2019 and January 2020 respectively, dates to be fixed later.

MODULE III

The third module is dedicated to finalizing the trainees’ own project with the help of their mentors. Workshops and the module’s location, Veszprém will serve as inspiration; the county sea located north of Lake Balaton is a European Capital of culture awardee for the year 2023. Participants will get a peek behind the scene and cooperate with the team of ECoC 2023.

Schedule:

VESZPRÉM 11-12 February, 2020
		Trainer	Subject
Tuesday, 11 February	9:00 – 10:00	Team of Organizer	Feedback on 1st workshop, online courses // mentor meeting
	10:00 – 11:30	Chris Eckman	Label Management
	11:45 – 13:15	Sue Kay	Building Partnerships and Collaboration
	Lunch Break
	14:15 – 15:45	Riitaa Huttunen Gergő Salamon Chris Eckman Tony van der Eecken Jerome Williams	Development of case studies, preparation for presentations
	16:00 – 17:30		Development of case studies, preparation for presentations
Wednesday, 12 February	10:00 – 11:30	Sue Kay	Negotiation techniques
	11:45 – 13:15	Zsuzsanna Bende	Art and Business: Friends or Foes
	Lunch Break
	14:15 – 15:45	Riitaa Huttunen Gergő Salamon Chris Eckman Tony van der Eecken Jerome Williams	Development of case studies, preparation for presentations
	16:00 – 17:30		Development of case studies, preparation for presentations
		All	Networking

 

MODULE IV

In the final module, participants:

1. prepare a max. 10 pages paper on their case study by 1 April – this will be the basis of the final pitch
2. receive a short training on presenting techniques
3. present their pitch and get feedback.

ONLINE CLOSING EVENT

Nobody needs to be reminded how much replanning this year meant for all of us – and for the World Pitch project. We were supposed to meet in the spring of 2020 for the closing session and pitches, which instead got postponed to the autumn, with hopes to see everyone at WOMEX20. However, the autumn did not turn out to be easier to plan either, and WOMEX20 went hybrid. To turn all this upheaval to our advantage, we offered a video-making training to the World Pitch fellows, equipping them with skills and knowledge to best represent themselves in the current, almost exclusively online landscape of the music industry.  

We asked trainees to film their final pitches and to show us on video what they work and stand for – with an opportunity to have their videos presented at the Virtual WOMEX platform.

Group and personal video training by Barna Szőke

• 1 recorded tutorial video made by our video expert 
• 1 online webinar based on the experiences (16 October)
• 1-1 personal sessions with every trainee  – personal help with their video  (17-20 October)

The desired outcome was a 10-minute-long video, which:

• Shows how the project developed during the course of the World Pitch Programme
• Answers the question, what was the most helpful from the Programme?
• Answers the question, what were the main obstacles and how did the trainee overcome them?
• Answers the question, is the trainee happy with the development of their project?

In December we organised our final workshop with participation of trainees and mentors via Zoom. During this session every trainee got a chance to pitch the final version of their project.