Large selection of contemporary music from Austria
The Austrian Music Information Center, mica – music austria, is the foremost source of information on all things related to Austrian contemporary music, and provides services to Austrian musicians and composers on many levels. All services of mica – music austria are free of charge for local musicians and range from career and legal advice, lectures, discussions and workshops to numerous online services such as the music database and the popular German-language music magazine.
With the recently launched online sheet music shop, a new service has been initiated to provide a platform where Austrian-based music creators can promote and sell their own compositions. At the same time the online shop serves as an important source of sheet music from Austrian composers for musicians, music teachers and music lovers.
Easy to access and simple to use, the music austria sheet music shop offers digital scores that can be immediately downloaded as a PDF and printed after purchase. Scores from contemporary Austrian composers are often difficult to find and this is where the online sheet music shop comes in: Friedrich Cerha, Gottfried von Einem, Karlheinz Essl, Katharina Klement, Ernst Krenek, Bernhard Lang and Joanna Wozny are only a few of the many composers offering their scores in the online shop.
The scores cost an average of 10 Euros (some are already available for only 99 Cents – the most expensive costs 70 Euros) and are available in the form of downloadable PDF files. For those who prefer the eBook version, the PDF files are also compatible with tablets. Each score can be viewed in a preview – some works even offer prelistening samples.
For Austrian-based composers the online sheet music shop is a free possibility to sell their digital scores on fair terms. The composers can upload their scores directly to the website and determine their own price. The online sheet music shop also collaborates with a rapid growing number of music publishers that use the platform for sales and promotion.
In the field of contemporary music, the services of mica – music austria have experienced a huge boost this year, which also marks the 20th anniversary of the Austrian music information center. In 2014 the online music database, the largest database of contemporary Austrian music, celebrated a significant feat: In May the 1,000th composer was added to the list of composers. The database is the most important international source of comprehensive information on Austrian-based composers, performers and ensembles, with over 42,000 compositions in the directory.
In June mica – music austria went a step further and launched a new internet radio station: micatonal. The online channel presents Austrian contemporary music 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with a focus on contemporary and experimental music from Austria, as well as neighboring genres such as pop, world, jazz, and electronic music. Accessible via the website, micatonal can also be played on any mobile device or easily integrated to any website via an embed code. micatonal is available free of charge, as are all services by mica – music austria.