The seventh edition of Waves Vienna Music Festival & Conference is over and it proved to be a sweeping success! 12.800 visitors including 800 from the global music industry enjoyed 100 concerts from upcoming artists from across Europe and beyond.
A total of 32 Austrian artists performed among the amazing international line-up. Mesmerizing shows in the St. Canisius’s Church , i.e. by young Austrian producer Wandl and Black Palms Orchestra, label nights by Seayou Records and Futuresfuture as well as Warner Music Austria, The Gap and GLP, and numerous shows by promising newcomers proved the consistent quality of the local music scene.
XA Export Award
For the first time this year, the XA Export Award was granted to a promising Austrian newcomer during the festival: The duo Cari Cari was awarded 2.500 Euros, a voucher for the music store Klangfarbe and promised support from the award initiators. The XA Export Award is a cooperation of Austrian Music Export, Austro Mechana/SKE Fonds, Radio FM4 and Waves Vienna. Ten nominees performing at the Waves Festival – Naked Cameo, Gospel Dating Service, Little Big Sea, At Pavillon, Ant Antic, Wandl, Tents, Cari Cari, Lea Santee and Nihils – were screened by a jury composed of ten national and international music professionals. Not many bands manage to hit the international stage from the very beginning. But Cari Cari – aptly named the “lovechild of The XX and The Kills“ – have done it their way: first taking on the world and then Austria. Their single “White Line Fever” was licensed for the series “Shameless”, they have done a no-budget tour of Australia (a documentary is in the works) and their songs have been praised in blogs and online magazines. The XA is one more step to an even broader international exposure.
Conference Highlights 2017
Once again labels, managers, bookers, journalists, and promoters came together under one roof at the Waves Vienna Music Conference. Special attention was given to this year´s focus countries Italy and the Czech Republic. Márton Náray from the Czech Music Office, Petr Blažek with his label “DaSka Records” and Daniel Šubrt, bandleader of The Drain, explained the recent transitions of the Czech scene.
Waves Vienna also saw the official launch of the Music Managers Forum Austria (MMF Austria). That makes Austria an official member of the International Association of Music Managers (IMMF), an organization that deals with the issues of the music industry and provides international advocacy and lobbying to the EU Parliament.
Christof Huber, Swiss promoter and curator for well known festivals like OpenAir St. Gallen and General Secretary of the European festival federation Yourope, answered questions about current developments of the festival market in a “Pop Up Session”. A heated debate about “Influencer Marketing & Music” provided key insights and ideas about online marketing trends. A podium discussion about women in the music industry brought inspiring stories and personal experiences as well as international networking opportunities. The Listening Sessions once again offered performing artists a chance to get direct feedback on their productions from industry experts and journalists.
Members of the international music business were treated to the Austrian Heartbeats Delegates Tour, a musical journey through Vienna including pop-up shows from up-and-coming bands. The program included a visit to “Vienna Calling” at the Wien Museum, a tour of the FM4 radio studio and a beer tasting session in the Czech Centre.
Waves Vienna 2018 will take place from 27-29 SEP. 2018!
Link: Waves Vienna