Introduction
Long before the advent of digital music platforms, one of the defining features of popular music industries was their complex relationship with novelty, innovation, and cosmopolitanism, all unfolding amid structural inequalities. Artists from around the world have long blended local and foreign aesthetics to create new forms of expression (Regev Reference Regev2013), while music companies have filtered and marketed these creations to build international successes and careers (Taylor Reference Taylor1997). These dynamics have shaped the ebb and flow of global music trends and the circulation of artists. Today, they are increasingly mediated by technology companies and their platforms, which not only offer new forms of audience access (Negus Reference Negus2019; Spanu Reference Spanu2023) but also dramatically increase the global supply of music (Jansson and Hracs Reference Jansson and Hracs2018), generating what has been termed a ‘dilemma of democratization’ (Hracs et al. Reference Hracs, Jakob and Hauge2013, p. 1148). While any musician can theoretically upload their music and make it accessible worldwide, most of it remains unheard and invisible. For many observers, this is unproblematic: a natural outcome of consumer choice in a free market. However, for others, particularly those in marginalised regions or secondary markets, or for stakeholders concerned with cultural diversity, it represents a form of market failure. This situation has prompted research and initiatives aimed at addressing these issues, such as improving music discoverability on platforms (Martet and Fortant Reference Martet and Fortant2025; Tchehouali and Agbobli Reference Tchehouali and Agbobli2020) or helping emerging artists from around the world access new markets (Chen et al. Reference Chen, Homan, Redhead and Vella2021).
This article focuses on two types of initiatives that aim to offer new pathways for international music development: showcase festivals and music export organisations (MEOs). Although some of these initiatives predate the streaming era, they have gained prominence in recent years and now actively respond – directly or indirectly – to the dilemma of democratisation. On the one hand, showcase festivals have proliferated in recent years, much like art and trade fairs, providing new avenues for cross-border music circulation (Galuszka Reference Galuszka, Anderton and Pisfil2022, Reference Galuszka2026a; Thorkildsen and Rykkja Reference Thorkildsen and Rykkja2022). On the other hand, MEOs have been established in many countries, regions, and sometimes cities, typically as hybrid instruments bridging cultural policy and the music industry, with the explicit goal of supporting international music development (Chen et al. Reference Chen, Homan, Redhead and Vella2021; Spanu and Sillamaa Reference Spanu and Sillamaa2025). MEOs often participate in showcase festivals or even organise them, and in some cases, their creation was directly linked to the organisation of a showcase festival.
As we argue, they both reflect the emergence of a new ecosystem dedicated to international music circulation that warrants critical assessment. Their co-existence has developed into a symbiotic relationship, pointing toward a novel form of institutionalisation within popular music (Holt Reference Holt2020). With this in mind, the aim of this article is to examine how these institutions operate, explore the tensions and synergies that emerge from their cooperation, and situate both within the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem of music (Rogers Reference Rogers, Sparviero, Peil and Balbi2017; Schippers and Grant Reference Schippers, Grant, Schippers and Grant2016a). Based on qualitative research conducted in Europe, we show that these two types of institutions have evolved into central and interdependent actors. Despite persistent tensions around fairness, representation, and value creation, the collaboration between MEOs and showcase festivals demonstrates how in-person, curated events continue to matter in an era of digital overabundance and global competition.
Theory and context
Music export organisations
In European regions and countries, there is a growing interest in seeing artists and creative industries thrive abroad, given their potential symbolic and economic impact. Public and private investments are made to support coordinated export strategies at different levels, from the European Union to countries, regions, and cities. Such efforts are often presented as a way to foster cultural diversity and counterbalance the Anglo-American dominance in global music flows, by supporting local artists and professionals (Barna Reference Barna and Galuszka2021; Galuszka Reference Galuszka, Anderton, James, Nordgård and Pisfil2026b; Spanu Reference Spanu2024).
Music export organisation is the common name for public, private, or public-private initiatives aiming at enhancing the presence of artists and music companies outside of their territory (Chen et al. Reference Chen, Homan, Redhead and Vella2021). They became relevant in secondary music markets such as France, Sweden, and Spain, in the 1990s and 2000s, when music stakeholders (e.g. labels, collective management organisations, arts councils, or ministries of culture) realised they needed cooperation to have a significant impact abroad. Notable examples of established export offices include the Centre National de la Musique in France (ex-Bureau Export) and Export Music Sweden since 1993, Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals (ICEC) since 2000, and more recently Music Estonia, Music Export Poland, or Music Export Ukraine. They can refer to three models: the Public Cultural Agency, the Independent Industry-Led Export Hub, and the Grassroots Facilitator (Spanu and Sillamaa Reference Spanu and Sillamaa2025).Footnote 1
Although the notion of export strongly relates to economic matters, most European MEOs operate from or in relation to cultural policy, as they commonly receive public funding and prioritise artist development rather than return on investment (Spanu and Sillamaa Reference Spanu and Sillamaa2025). In this sense, MEOs introduce a business mindset into cultural policy frameworks, but remain focused on emerging artists rather than manufacturing pop stars like in the case of K-pop (Kim Reference Kim2019). They also differ from cultural institutes abroad, as they focus on building sustainable businesses and careers abroad rather than just spreading and circulating music, although some bridges exist. In a way, music exports have become key elements of certain cultural policy frameworks, while coexisting and even competing with or replacing cultural diplomacy efforts (Marc Reference Marc2020). Many MEOs include nation-branding tools and sometimes rely on stereotypical aspects of their national culture for marketing purposes, reflecting the growing trend of economic and political instrumentalisation of country image (Rius Ulldemolins and Zamorano Reference Rius Ulldemolins and Martín Zamorano2015).
MEOs target either artists, music professionals, or music businesses, and sometimes all of the above, reflecting an ecosystemic understanding of music (Schippers and Grant Reference Schippers and Grant2016b). The links to different policy areas have a direct impact on the scope of European MEOs, for instance, in prioritising certain music genres (classical, traditional, or popular), activities (consulting, training, networking, promoting, and financial support), and target markets. Some MEOs do not distribute funds directly, instead serving as advisory hubs that redirect artists to grant-making institutions. In this article, we focus on their role supporting music professionals and artists attending showcase festivals. A crucial issue for MEOs is to define the selection criteria, usually called ‘export readiness’ (Chen et al. Reference Chen, Homan, Redhead and Vella2021), that garners their support. This criteria typically involves a combination of music talent potential for a foreign audience and eventually a professional team around the artist willing to invest in the export strategy. This is where the relationship with showcase festivals becomes crucial, as this flexible criteria tends to fit showcase festivals’ expectations.
Given the numerous challenges involved in making an impact in the global music industries, MEOs have increasingly concentrated their efforts on participating in showcase festivals. Indeed, these festivals offer an apparently suitable environment for MEOs to achieve their objectives. It could be argued that, in some cases, participating in a showcase festival has even become one of the most visible actions of MEOs.
Showcase festivals
A showcase festival is a cyclical event taking place in urban locations, mostly nightclubs, concert halls, and conference venues, that combines multiple short performances by emerging artists (see Figures 1 and 2), with conferences for music industry professionals (see Figure 3) and networking sessions (see Figure 4). Attendees are called ‘delegates’ in festival parlance. Although the showcase-festival format started in the 1980s, it has become particularly popular in recent years (Brzozowska and Galuszka Reference Brzozowska and Galuszka2023). Similarly to art fairs (e.g., Basel, Cologne, Bologna), showcase festivals were developed outside of the most established cultural places. ESNS, Reeperbahn, The Great Escape, and SXSW were developed in Groningen (Netherlands), Hamburg (Germany), Brighton (UK), and Austin (US), respectively. This shows the specific aim and role fulfilled by many of these events: to offer alternatives to mainstream music industry hubs and business-as-usual practices. In addition, there are medium-sized or smaller events that hold regional significance, for instance: Waves Vienna, Tallinn Music Week, MENT Ljubljana, BIME Bilbao and Bogota, and Budapest Ritmo. However, it is worth noting that the geography of these events, as per the country where they happen, still reflects, to some extent, the global economic and cultural flows and imbalances that privilege Europe and the US.
Artist performing at Reeperbahn (Germany), September 2022.
Figure 1. Long description
At the center foreground, a band with a guitarist and drummer performs on a stage illuminated by yellow and purple spotlights. The stage backdrop displays the text ‘Reeperbahn Festival.’ To the left and right of the stage are amplifiers and equipment. Directly in front of the stage, a dense crowd of attendees faces the performers. Above the audience, an ornate balcony with decorative railings runs along the left and right sides, with additional spectators visible. Overhead, a large disco ball hangs from the ceiling, reflecting light. The venue features exposed brick walls and classical columns, with lighting fixtures mounted above the stage and along the balcony.
Artist performing at Budapest Showcase Hub (Hungary), October 2022.
Panel at Eurosonic (The Netherlands), January 2023.
Figure 3. Long description
At the center foreground, five people are seated in a semicircle on stage, each with a microphone. The leftmost person holds a microphone and faces the others. The stage is decorated with potted plants and a patterned rug. Behind the panelists, a large projection screen displays ‘13:30 - 14:30 The Festival Panel’ in large text, with ‘Moderator Greg Parmley I Q Magazine’ and a list of speakers: Thomas Sønderg Jepsen, Rune S, Kemi Lijani, Pavla Slivova. Two smaller monitors on either side of the stage repeat the panel title. The lighting is dim except for spotlights on the panelists.
Networking area at Eurosonic (The Netherlands), January 2023.
Figure 4. Long description
In the foreground, groups of people are seated at rectangular tables, some with green foliage centerpieces and large green letters. Overhead, decorative lamp fixtures with vines hang above the tables. The middle ground shows more attendees standing and interacting. At the back, a large stage is lit with blue and purple lights, featuring vertical light columns, circular numbered signs reading 1, 2, 3, and 4, and a blank central screen. The ceiling is covered with a geometric patterned panel and a grid of stage rigging and spotlights. The left wall has a textured surface illuminated in blue. The overall atmosphere is lively and social.
Large events reach tens of thousands of attendees (e.g., ESNS, SXSW, Reeperbahn Festival, The Great Escape), while smaller festivals, such as MENT, held in Ljubljana, are visited by 1,500–2,000 people a day (Ahlers Reference Ahlers2021). For instance, WOMEX attendance in 2022 comprised 2750 professionals (including 220 performing artists) from 105 countries representing 1385 companies: 1010 event promoters; 570 labels, publishers, and distributors; 460 governmental, educational, and other institutions; 770 individual booking agents; 700 managers; 320 producers; and 260 national and international journalists.Footnote 2 Although showcase festivals’ expansion is a multi-factorial phenomenon, for instance related to urban development strategies,Footnote 3 our hypothesis is that MEOs have played a major role in it, creating a new path for international artist development.
Showcase festivals, unlike large, open-air summer events, are not primarily oriented towards attracting regular music listeners.Footnote 4 The main participants are music industry professionals who network, take part in the conferences, and watch performances, and artists who perform live, arouse media interest, and try to find business partners (labels, bookers, PR agencies). Therefore, their line-ups consist not of star performers but mostly little-known emerging artists, although not amateurs or absolute beginners.
Similar to art fairs (Single Reference Single, Glauser, Holder, Mazzurana, Moeschler, Rolle and Schultheis2020; Morgnier Reference Morgner2014) and industry events (Madhavan et al. Reference Madhavan, Koka and Prescott1998), the initial goal of showcase festivals is to stimulate existing networks and create new ones, gathering music professionals at a specific location for a defined period.Footnote 5 This combination makes showcase festivals attractive not only to isolated professionals but also to MEOs who support groups of professionals and artists. Both large and small festivals try to build a distinguishable profile: for example, ESNS concentrates exclusively on European artists, while AMERICANAFEST and Jazzahead – as their names suggest – focus on specific genres. A significant number of festivals receive support from outside the private sector: from local governments, state budgets, or the EU. For example, the Aarhus-based SPOT festival has a budget of ‘approximately 1.5 million euros. One third of that money is public funding, another third is ticket sales, and the last third is based on different forms of sponsorship branding’ (Ahlers Reference Ahlers2021, p. 173). A significant share of their budget can be directly or indirectly covered by MEOs, as they might support showcased artists and incoming delegations of music professionals, or buy space to be represented during the event in one way or another.
Showcase festivals can operate in for-profit (e.g., SXSW, Reeperbahn Festival) and non-profit formats (ESNS), organised as companies (SXSW, MaMa) or foundations (by:Larm). Often, a festival is the result of cooperation between several institutions, including MEOs, with an interest in developing international cooperation, also reflecting the entrepreneurial ecosystem in which they interact.
The music export ecosystem
The concept of an ecosystem, derived from biology, has been increasingly used in the social sciences and humanities (Waltner-Toews et al. Reference Waltner-Toews, Kay and Lister2008; Zhao et al. Reference Zhao, Li and Lin2023). It is also employed to analyse music cultures (Schippers and Grant Reference Schippers and Grant2016b). Adopting this perspective allows one to perceive dependencies and connections that are not necessarily immediately apparent with a more linear approach, such as value chain analysis. The ecosystem approach urges researchers to ask:
Exactly what components and entities are linked to one another? Which ones are only indirectly connected? What parts of a system are tightly coupled, and which are only weakly coupled? Is there a hierarchical structure of functional components in a system based on the strength of coupling? (Pickett and Cadenasso Reference Pickett and Cadenasso2002, p. 4).
The focus on the relationship between the various elements makes this perspective particularly useful for analysing the connection between relatively recent institutions in the cultural sector, such as showcase festivals and MEOs.
More specifically, the environment in which showcase festivals and MEOs evolve can be described as an ‘entrepreneurial ecosystem’ (Audretsch et al. Reference Audretsch, Cunningham, Kuratko, Lehmann and Menter2019). This notion refers to the attempts to build business environments that favour the emergence and growth of new ‘products’ (mainly artists) and firms. MEOs and showcase festivals embody this notion of ecosystem quite well, as their primary purpose is centred around fostering the emergence, support, and growth of artists and music companies on a global scale. They both reflect the multiplicity of public and private stakeholders involved in export organisations and showcase festivals: collective management organisations, ministries and arts councils, trade associations, and foundations, but also booking and talent agencies, festival and venue programmers, music PR firms, music labels, music supervisors, publishers, music media, and artists and their managers.
The concept of ecosystem suggests that music enterprises go beyond competing solely with their individual resources, knowledge, and capabilities. According to Audretsch et al. (Reference Audretsch, Cunningham, Kuratko, Lehmann and Menter2019), strategic and competitive advantages in most business environments stem from shared resources, network externalities, knowledge spillovers, local endowments, and governmental support. This is particularly the case for MEOs and showcase festivals that are very much invested in sharing resources through reports or conferences; linked to different music networks, advocacy groups, and organisations from the live sector, the music publishing sector, etc.; and supported by different governmental entities (cities, regions, national agencies/ministries).
The notion of ecosystem is different from the notion of market as it extends beyond traditional value chain or competitive advantage approaches. It is based on seeing the process of music popularisation in a less linear way, where a complex web of gatekeepers and facilitators interact. The linear approach to studying dissemination of popular music correctly characterised how music recorded on LPs and CDs reached listeners. For example, in a seminal article, Hirsch (Reference Hirsch1972) argued that before music reaches the ultimate consumer, it must pass through a series of gatekeepers making selections. Gatekeepers exist, in this view, both at the level of the music label (which chooses which artists to invest in), distributors and retailers (who favour certain titles), and the mass media (which promote some of the released recordings). As Hirsch put it:
This model assumes a surplus of available ‘raw material’ at the outset (e.g., writers, singers, politicians) and pinpoints a number of strategic check points at which the oversupply is filtered out. It is ‘value added’ in the sense that no product can enter the societal subsystem (e.g., retail outlets) until it has been processed favorably through each of the preceding levels of organization, respectively. (Hirsch Reference Hirsch1972, p. 649)
Today’s music industries, with numerous stakeholders operating at various stages of an artists’ career, do not entirely reflect such a linear approach. While showcase festivals and MEOs make selections and could be seen as gatekeepers (Thorkildsen and Rykkja Reference Thorkildsen and Rykkja2022), their decisions should be seen not as a veto, but rather as giving the artist a chance for exposure in the music ecosystem. After all, the fact that someone got into a showcase festival should not be compared to the passing of another stage in Hirsch’s ‘production line’ but rather treated like the creation of a certain window of opportunity that can be used in various ways.
Finally, the ecosystem metaphor echoes the research body on the agglomeration/convergence effects of geography and business sectors. These effects are usually demonstrated through the example of creative clusters or cultural scenes (Emin and Schieb-Bienfait 2019), but they also work in the music export ecosystem. Indeed, showcase festivals and MEOs embody this phenomenon very well, as their interactions are limited in time and space, governed by one or various entities, and subjected to reputational dynamics. However, they only reflect one part of a larger business ecosystem. It should be emphasised that in this study, we are not analysing the entire music ecosystem, a task beyond the scope of a single text. The ecosystem we are interested in, which can be called the ‘music export ecosystem’, functions alongside local and global music industries. It interacts with them in different ways, sometimes acting as a niche within the global flow of music. Such ecosystems automatically raise questions about their boundaries, their governance, and their efficiency. In the next sections, we not only delineate the relationship between MEOs and showcase festivals but also analyse the power balance between them and explore the type of value created through their interaction.
Methods and data
We conducted a series of semi-structured interviews with staff from MEOs and showcase festivals in Europe. Given that MEOs support artists and/or music professionals, such as managers, booking agents, and label representatives, we also included them in the sample of interviewees. Contacts were gathered directly at showcase festivals, through spontaneous and informal encounters, and through recommendations. Internal division of work was as follows: The first author conducted thirteen interviews (ten in-person, three through online-conferencing software, in English, French, and Spanish) between October 2022 and November 2023, while the second author conducted eleven interviews (four in-person and seven through online-conferencing software, all in English) between December 2022 and July 2023 (see Table 1 for more detailed information). In addition, both authors visited several showcase festivals, such as ESNS (Groningen), MaMa (Paris), Womex (Lisbon, La Coruña), BIME (Bilbao), Reeperbahn (Hamburg), BUSH (Budapest), and Great September (Łódź), to conduct participant observation, which resulted in empirical material composed of notes, pictures, and recordings. When selecting interviewees and deciding about the festivals to visit, the goal was to include a broad spectrum of respondents and events: from relatively small undertakings to industry leaders.
List of respondents
Table 1. Long description
The header row contains four columns: Interview date, Type of respondent, Form, and Author. The first entry is 21.12.2022, Showcase festival, Online, Author A. The second is 09.03.2023, Showcase festival/manager, Online, Author A. The third is 14.03.2023, Manager/booker/artist, Online, Author A. The fourth is 15.03.2023, Booker, Online, Author A. The fifth is 03.04.2023, Music export office/producer, Online, Author A. The sixth is 04.04.2023, Showcase festival/manager, Online, Author A. The seventh is 05.04.2023, Manager, Online, Author A. The eighth is 18.04.2023, Music export office, In-person, Author A. The ninth is 24.04.2023, Music export office, Online, Author A. The tenth is 04.07.2023, 360 degrees label, In-person, Author A. The eleventh is 11.07.2023, 360 degrees label, In-person, Author A. The twelfth is 05.04.2022, label/booker, Online, Author B. The thirteenth is 20.09.2022, Music export office, In-person, Author B. The fourteenth is 20.09.2022, Manager/booker, Online, Author B. The fifteenth is 10.11.2022, Music export office, In-person, Author B. The sixteenth is 13.12.2022, Booker, Online, Author B. The seventeenth is 17.11.2022, Manager/booker/label, Online, Author B. The eighteenth is 14.03.2022, Music export office, Online, Author B. The nineteenth is 14.03.2022, Music export office, Online, Author B. The twentieth is 14.11.2022, Booker, In-person, Author B. The twenty-first is 14.11.2023, Booker, In-person, Author B. The twenty-second is 14.11.2023, Booker, In-person, Author B. The twenty-third is 14.11.2023, Booker, In-person, Author B. The twenty-fourth is 14.11.2023, Music export, In-person, Author B. All interviews are either Online or In-person, and respondents include showcase festivals, managers, bookers, artists, producers, music export offices, and labels. Author is either A or B.
In the following sections, we have decided to unpack the relationship between MEOs and showcase festivals by separating how they impact 1) music professionals and 2) artists.
Results
A constructed marketplace
Despite the centrality of live performances in their concept, showcase festivals are primarily perceived by our interviewees as marketplaces and networking events. However, this perception is nothing but natural and has been jointly built in a way that shows the challenges of exporting music. The type of business partner that can be found depends on each industry profile, e.g., artist managers may desire to attract interest from foreign concert bookers for their artists, while a record label representative may look for foreign labels to license their catalogue abroad or artists to sign. An important distinction with regards to showcase delegates is the role they play at the event: they could be either ‘buyers’, ‘sellers’, or both. Sellers include artists and their business teams that go to a showcase festival with a desire to sign deals that will bring them money or advance their careers in some way. Buyers eventually go to a showcase festival to find additions to their rosters (i.e., concert agencies, record labels, artist management firms) or line-ups (festival and venue programmers). Depending on their profile, the objectives may vary:
Some professionals just want their artist to be signed by British companies like UTA who have a global reach or eventually Germans or Dutch who can do the job at least all over Europe. This way they don’t have to export themselves and they avoid going through the hassle of dealing 200-euro fees with foreign bookers and applying for complex subsidies to tour abroad. (MEO manager interviewed in November 2023)
This is the reason why showcase festival organisers work at attracting a large number of quality delegates that represent a well-balanced spectrum of various music industry professionals, especially for conferences. ‘Quality delegates’ should be interpreted as people who represent significant clout in the global or regional music industries, or are potential business partners for a more narrowly defined market segment (e.g., a small showcase festival may be valued because all the representatives of a local music industries are there, so visiting it would be key to entering that market). Delegates can be managers, label representatives, live music promoters, booking agents, festival and venue programmers, PR agencies representatives, journalists, and artists. They are the main target of showcase festivals, as many spaces are dedicated to them: networking areas and, in some cases, an exhibition area with stands. Apart from providing spaces for networking, the festival organisers work on a conference program that is interesting for a large group of professionals, including MEOs (e.g., panels about ‘how to enter X market’, ‘how to meet music supervisors’).
MEOs try to facilitate deals depending on their objectives and experience. While some MEOs heavily rely on national branding, especially in the exhibition areas of certain showcase festivals to give some visibility to their delegates and a working space (see Figures 5, 6, and 7),Footnote 6 others opt for a more discreet, behind-the-curtains presence.Footnote 7 Many MEOs arrange formal networking spaces and activities for their delegates, such as branded stands, speed meetings, and other carefully curated matchmaking setups, such as lunches and dinners. These activities are designed to be beneficial, with MEOs inviting a well-selected list of participants that align with the specific needs of the group of professionals they represent. In some cases, MEOs collaborate with showcase festivals to invite the most indicated ‘buyers’, contributing to the perceived notion of an export marketplace.
Spanish booth at WOMEX (Spain), October 2023.
Figure 5. Long description
Starting at the bottom, several white tables with red accents and matching chairs are arranged in rows, each with a small sign and some personal items. Warm hanging light bulbs are suspended above the tables. In the middle distance, a group of people stands facing a large yellow and red booth labeled ‘Sounds from Spain’ with additional text ‘Spanish music industry within your reach.’ The booth features circular graphics and informational panels. To the left, glass walls reveal an exterior view, while the right side shows a mezzanine with windows and a yellow banner. The ceiling is high with blue columns and recessed lighting. Additional booths and attendees are visible in the background.
Swiss booth at WOMEX (Spain), October 2023.
Figure 6. Long description
In the foreground, numerous people are gathered, many facing the central booth and holding drinks or brochures. The central structure is a rectangular booth with a yellow banner reading ‘SWISS MUSIC’ on all visible sides. Along the booth’s walls are large yellow posters listing co-exhibitors, smaller photos, and informational displays. A string of instant photos is hung across the booth’s front. People are engaged in conversation and examining materials on tables inside the booth. The background shows more attendees and other booths, with a ceiling featuring recessed lights and ventilation panels.
Bulgarian booth at WOMEX (Spain), October 2023.
Figure 7. Long description
Starting at the far left is a booth with a red sign labeled ‘THE BRIDGE FOR BALKAN MUSIC’ and the number 29. The booth features a red panel reading ‘WE ARE MOST THE BRIDGE FOR BALKAN MUSIC’ with logos for various organizations below. In front of the booth is a counter with the word ‘MOST’ and promotional materials. Adjacent to this is a booth with a yellow, orange, and pink striped background displaying ‘BULGARIAN MUSIC WORLDWIDE’ in large black letters with a heart symbol. Several people are seated at a small white table, some with suitcases and coats. To the right, additional booths with white signage and tables are visible, labeled ‘Bulgarian Music Association’ and other organizations. The corridor ceiling has recessed lighting, and a column on the far right is covered with event posters.
A niche ecosystem
While showcase festivals may provide significant business opportunities, they are not obvious for many players within local music industries: ‘On paper, everyone wants to export, but when you have to invest from your own pocket, speak in a language that is not your first one, find new arguments for your music projects, get out of your comfort zone, there’s no one left’. (MEO manager, interviewed in November 2023). Indeed, beyond mainstream music industry players that already have their international network or only focus on their domestic market, exporting music is a rather niche activity in non-hegemonic markets. This niche is reflected in the repeated presence of certain players during showcase festivals:
Even in a big market like France, if you look at the WOMEX database, French delegates who pitch for real and have an impact abroad are very few: Zamora, Dyonisiaque, Mad Minute and so on. It’s always the same guys. It’s a question of expertise, means and willingness. In most countries, there are only a handful of companies that know how to export, they pick up artists once they are mature or bankable. (MEO manager, interviewed in November 2023)
In other words, showcase festivals’ attendance reflects, to some extent, a broader trend, where only a few players can afford to be consistently involved in export activities. Indeed, exporting is a risky endeavour that necessitates not only participation in a showcase festival but also significant investment and a wide range of other activities, before eventually bringing revenue: ‘Generating income from exports takes at least a 3-year period of losses, unless you’re a solo artist’ (Booking agent, interviewed in November 2023). This challenges the prevailing notion that expanding internationally has become easy and accessible to anyone.
Because of these challenges, MEOs sometimes have to insist strongly that professionals attend showcase festivals to become part of that niche. In a way, MEOs participate in the promotion of these festivals, arguing for their value as networking spaces and marketplaces, as shown by this presentation by the Catalan MEO:
A showcase festival is an excellent opportunity to consolidate foreign markets and learn about new ones. Its great differentiating factor is the personal contact, the direct contact with customers, suppliers, partners, and other professionals. Meeting potential buyers and competitors in person is still very important, despite the development of virtual tools. Attending trade fairs is therefore an essential tool in any company’s internationalisation strategy.Footnote 8
This shows that in-person encounters are perceived as decisive for the music export business, while also creating a more tangible terrain for MEOs trying to make an impact on export activities. MEOs eventually purchase accreditation for a number of delegates and fixed presentation spaces (if a festival has adopted a trade show format), incentivising them to attend. In some cases, they cover delegates from their country/region for a portion of their participation costs, or directly by taking on the organisation of a conference panel, reception, or part of the line-up (see the next section). In this sense, they significantly contribute to festivals’ objectives and success. This situation has created a symbiotic relationship between most MEOs and showcase festivals, where they both promote the opportunities for internationalisation.
In Estonia and Poland, the local MEO is in charge of the main showcase festival and invites international delegates, creating a unique platform for local acts and professionals to get attention. Elsewhere, MEOs and showcase festivals differ and may have competing views on how delegates should be handled.
According to Sillama (Reference Sillama2023), some key events have emerged as necessary destinations each year for European MEOs. Among these, Eurosonic Noordeslag (ESNS) is universally acknowledged as a must-attend event where delegates are well treated, with favourable conditions for business activities in the European market, as shown in this presentation of ESNS by the Catalan MEO:
Although in recent editions, the fair has reached its maximum capacity with a stable number of registered visitors and professionals, this limitation favors and facilitates contact, professional meetings, and networking. Simultaneously, the active participation of European music radios, the presence of the 130 festivals (…), the constant and natural possibility of meeting professionals at the fair, the well-organised schedule without excessive overlaps, and the not overcrowded line-up grid, along with the proximity of spaces and good technical and logistical facilities, make ESNS one of the best meeting points in Europe for modern music in all its facets (pop, rock, indie, urban, r&b, hip-hop, electronic, contemporary, funk, fusion, etc.).Footnote 9
If ESNS is often regarded as an excellent case for networking, their prominent and regularly attended events include the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg (particularly suitable for artists and businesses planning to enter markets in German-speaking countries), The Great Escape in Brighton (for the UK market), and SXSW in Austin (for the American market). Some of these festivals are perceived by MEOs and delegates as more exploitative, primarily due to the cost of the delegate pass and their competitive nature, as they fail to provide relevant opportunities to newcomers.
Additionally, some European trade fairs focus on specific music genres, for example: WOMEX for traditional and ‘world music’, Jazzahead! and Classical:NEXT, allowing MEOs to incentivise export activities in different music genres and respond to their cultural policy or diversity agenda. Small and mid-size showcase festivals, as they collaborate more actively with MEOs, offer more tailored opportunities:
For instance, Tallinn Music Week asks the different export offices to make recommendations for professional invitations and panels. In the end, it works because you can’t export well unless you import well too, by showing your market prospects, and even by working together at a regional level. (MEO manager, November 2023)
The case of Tallinn Music Week, organised in collaboration with Music Estonia, is one example mentioned by interviewees, where the capacity for any delegate to reach a potential business partner is more realistic, although these delegates are not necessarily the top players in the global music market. In other words, the bigger and more commercial the showcase festival, the more likely it is that its collaboration with music export offices will become difficult. Indeed, major showcase festivals like SXSW tend to see themselves as self-sufficient platforms for international career development, and, therefore, consider MEOs as clients rather than partners.
Unbalanced outcomes
A certain number of delegates attend showcase festivals to make business deals and find partners at the international level, responding to the idea that these events function primarily as marketplaces. Some interviewed booking agents (i.e. those who sell shows) acknowledged that a large part of their annual income – more than 40% in some cases – is associated with their participation in one or more of these festivals. For some, this share of income usually corresponds to their annual export income, as showcase festivals are the main occasion to engage with their international partners and handle the export aspect of their business. Throughout the rest of the year, their attention is concentrated on the domestic market. This underscores the significance of showcase festivals as marketplaces for music export, particularly for experienced participants. A more quantitative approach to showcase festivals showed the gap between a few delegates making exceptional sales, while most participants only achieve modest outcomes and are exposed to high financial risk.Footnote 10 In other words, in financial terms, showcase festivals act more as an accelerator for established players than a direct springboard for smaller ones.
These unbalanced outcomes reflect a common dynamic within the creative economy. This is why both MEOs and showcase festivals insist on the networking and social value of these events. Interviewees see these events as an occasion to develop their international contacts, learn about recent developments in the music industries, and get to know the social practices of the music export ecosystem. As one of the respondents put it:
For me, it’s important to get to know the scene, the other professionals, have a chat with them, share experiences. I learned quite a lot at the conferences, and also that’s how I build connections for my artists, for my [projects]… For me it’s important to be there, be seen on the scene so people will remember me easier, to get in touch with other people. (Artist manager interviewed in April 2023)
Showcase events are complex networking environments, with many different players interacting in a more informal way than usual business practices. These interactions are marked by density, contributing to a slightly chaotic atmosphere that can trigger unexpected encounters. Formal networking spaces are usually open during the day (morning and afternoon), contrasting with more informal interactions during showcases or elsewhere at night. When supporting delegates, MEOs value the quality of the networking spaces and opportunities offered by showcase festivals. At the most elementary level, MEOs are also delegates themselves and help their own delegates to navigate this environment.
Informal networking as a response to market failure
Although showcase festivals provide an official platform for export business, their informal dimension is by no means an obvious and natural environment for most delegates accustomed to their local market. For a start, these are cosmopolitan environments where cultural and linguistic differences are particularly apparent:
‘At BIME, the Spanish professionals are very informal, they like to drink in the bars of Bilbao to do business, while the Germans are much more formal. If you don’t understand that, you’ve missed your investment in going there’. (MEO Manager interviewed in November 2023)
In particular, not everyone in the music industry is fluent in English, the lingua franca of these events. Unevenly distributed among international delegates, proficiency in English serves as a marker of professionalisation, according to some interviewees. Certain industry professionals with limited proficiency certainly miss business or networking opportunities, as they primarily engage with delegates from their own country or who speak the same language.
MEOs take advantage of the entertaining dimension of showcase festivals by organising branded cocktails to further foster an environment conducive to informal networking. These events create an occasion for different industry stakeholders to interact in a more relaxed setting, allowing for organic conversations and relationship-building, while contributing to the festive atmosphere of the event. The ambiguous outcomes of these initiatives allow MEOs to avoid cost-benefit evaluations of their actions, while also making them vulnerable to criticism for the lack of evidence demonstrating their impact.
Despite MEOs’ efforts, the imbalance between buyers and the many sellers remains a structural barrier. This is particularly noticeable when sought-after festival programmers deliberately hide their badges and avoid common areas during the day in favour of conducting meetings elsewhere:
Programmers of big festivals do not go shopping at Great Escape or Reeperbahn, but they do meet with agents to negotiate headliners and other artists. Some programmers will certainly discover new things, but they also take advantage of the opportunity to negotiate something other than emerging artists. They kill two birds with one stone. That is the reason that a showcase sometimes bears fruit a year or two later. (MEO manager interviewed in November 2023)
In this sense, the marketplace and networking dimensions of these events appear to democratise the access to the music export business, showing their relevance and explaining why they continue to generate interest year after year. However, their impact should be understood in a nuanced way, as they rearticulate common gatekeeping practices and structural imbalances within the music industry.
Showcases and the narratives of artist career acceleration
The second key stakeholder that structures the relationship between MEOs and showcase festivals is the performing artist. The most important reason for artists to perform at showcase festivals is exposure, which is also why MEOs assist and support them. These events apparently offer the opportunity to get noticed by music professionals, to expand their career, eventually create a ‘buzz’, and find new business partners (Everts et al. Reference Everts, Berkers and Hitters2022; Galuszka Reference Galuszka, Anderton and Pisfil2022, Reference Galuszka2026a). Although showcase festivals are not the sole factor contributing to an artist’s success, they are perceived as a means to ‘cut through the noise’ and facilitate more qualitative interactions between artists and music professionals, beyond standard online metrics.
While anyone can have their music on YouTube or Spotify, attending a showcase festival is perceived as another way to make a difference for an artist. Some festivals have managed to build a strong narrative around the importance of participating in their event to enhance an artist’s career:
The Great Escape welcomes artists from every genre across the globe to apply for a chance to play at the world’s most renowned festival for breaking new talent. You will be performing with the beautiful seaside backdrop of Brighton, where 450+ acts will be filling over 30 venues, making 15th-18th May 2024 one hell of a weekend and a great opportunity to meet key music industries figures who come to TGE looking for the next big thing. Previous artists who have performed at The Great Escape include Adele, Stormzy, Ed Sheeran, Phoebe Bridgers, HAIM, AJ Tracey, Skepta, Charli XCX, Wolf Alice, Sam Fender, Dave, Lewis Capaldi and many more!Footnote 11
Many European artists played their first international show in Groningen or were discovered through ESNS by their label, talent agency, or a large summer festival. ESNS alumni include AURORA, Stromae, Christine and the Queens, Buraka Som Sistema, Fontaines D.C., Sigrid, Marina Satti & Fonés, Altin Gün, Priya Ragu, The Haunted Youth, The XX, Robyn, Tramhaus, Sam Smith, Hozier, Alyona Alyona, Viagra Boys, Zaho de Sagazan, freekind., Kaleo, Chalk, Fat Dog, and many more.Footnote 12
Taking place annually in Hamburg, Reeperbahn Festival is one of Europe’s premier events for the discovery of new music from around the globe (…). Australian artists who have played Reeperbahn Festival include Ainslie Wills, Alex Lahey, Alex The Astronaut, Amyl And The Sniffers, Angie McMahon, Ball Park Music, Client Liaison, Hatchie, Jagwar Ma, Jarryd James, Jen Cloher, Kim Churchill, Lisa Mitchell, Megan Washington, Methyl Ethel, Ocean Alley, The Paper Kites, Parcels, RUFUS DU SOL, and Seth Sentry.Footnote 13
Such lists of artists serve to point out successful cases of international development involving a showcase festival, although they never detail the role that the festival played in their career. Based on our observations, what really distinguishes these festivals from other marketing tools is the apparent opportunity they offer artists to showcase their talent in front of a significant pool of music professionals who truly value the live experience. MEOs tend to view this as a more sustainable path for career development, since live performance often provides a better source of income for emerging artists than streaming. This perception, however, carries a certain irony, as many showcase festivals do not compensate artists for their performances, citing exposure as justification. MEOs supporting artists thus face a dilemma: they risk endorsing exploitative practices (‘pay to play’) but they also might miss significant opportunities.
The narratives about the importance of showcase festivals are also developed by music professionals themselves. According to interviewees, in an optimal situation, a showcase has the potential to considerably accelerate an artist’s career, enabling them to leap from a modest number of streams to performing at prestigious events like the Roskilde festival or being featured on influential media like KEXP live sessions, effectively saving them years of career development. While having a showcase does not guarantee success,Footnote 14 excelling at a showcase festival can, according to certain interviewees, pave the way for up to 2–3 years of international touring opportunities for an artist. This was the case for Troker from Mexico and Super Parquet from France after performing at WOMEX. Therefore, artists and their teams increasingly perceive playing at a showcase festival as ‘a license of ability’ (Ahlers Reference Ahlers2021, p. 135).
Selection, gatekeeping, and diversity
To play at a showcase festival, artists usually need to apply and be accepted, which means being evaluated by a selection committee or individual programmer. Although there is no list of specific criteria attached to submission sites or calls for artists, according to interviewees, an act has to be ‘export ready’ to be eligible, meaning that it has some local achievements, a well-functioning team behind (or at least a manager), high level of professionalism, high quality live and recorded music material, and obviously, appealing music to an international audience. This process contrasts with the traditional gatekeeping practices of the music industry, typically driven by potential return on investment or personal taste. This dynamic reflects a variation of what Rogers (Reference Rogers, Sparviero, Peil and Balbi2017) calls the logics of intermediation: a system where access is mediated by curators, gatekeepers, and infrastructures that reflect broader inequalities within the global music industry. The combination of objective and subjective requisites to participate in a showcase festival and receive support from an MEO is only possible at a certain stage of an artist’s career, significantly filtering the number of suitable candidates.
In particular, the music’s appeal for an international audience is a complex and elusive concept, oscillating between exotic and authentic representations of music cultures, where the use of language plays an ambivalent role (Spanu Reference Spanu2019). Showcase festivals seek to appear inclusive and diverse, while looking for ‘the next big thing’, reflecting largely conventional tastes:
Yes, there is a certain diversity of artists playing at showcase festivals. It’s a matter of fashions and crazes, so things are bound to change, that’s the nature of capitalism. However, there are standards of good taste. These days, if you’re a female artist who mixes tradition and modernity, at a festival like Womex you’ve got a good chance of being accepted. You tick the boxes. (Booking agent interviewed in November 2023)
For instance, during our fieldwork at WOMEX, we observed strong interest in Duo Ruut, a female Estonian duo that composes original songs on a traditional instrument (the kannel). At the same time, there are also undeniable trends toward the English language and pop, rock, and electronic genres within the European music export ecosystem, particularly at festivals such as Reeperbahn and The Great Escape. These tendencies can be explained by the fact that such events are closely aligned with market structures that operate in a similar way. In this sense, each festival tends to mirror its own niche or industry segment, with only a limited margin for innovation.
MEOs can intervene in the selection process to help ensure a diversity of artist nationalities, while still respecting the boundaries of each festival’s market segment. First, they can assist applicants from their country in preparing strong and credible proposals. More importantly, they can collaborate with festivals to secure performance slots for artists from different countries or offer guidance in curating line-ups that reflect both cultural diversity and the artistic expertise of their home country:
MEOs are the experts in their territory. We don’t know who’s the next hot shit in Canada… Ukraine, Latvia or whatever. So, we rely on the partner that they present us with bands that are worth the money, because they have the best international potential. And they do this in different setups. Some MEOs just say, ‘okay, we want to present these four artists’ and that’s it. Or others say ‘okay, please select from these ten’ or others say ‘okay, we cannot interfere at all’. (Large showcase festival employee interviewed in December 2022)
However, not all showcase festivals are willing to relinquish part of their curatorial power unless MEOs provide financial compensation. This practice, commonly referred to as ‘pay to play’, resembles a form of payola (Galuszka Reference Galuszka2011) within the music export ecosystem. Some festivals offer country-specific showcases at a cost to MEOs that can amount to several thousand dollars in the case of big festivals like SXSW. This situation is problematic in two ways. First, it grants MEOs a curatorial role that extends beyond their original mandate:
What’s complicated for me as a publicly sponsored MEO is that it shouldn’t be up to me to decide what’s export ready and who gets to play at a showcase festival. I’m ok to write a check to support any artist, but on the other hand, a programmer has to commit, or tell me: ‘in the list you gave me, there are things that will work’. As a public institution, we want to develop artists, not just our brand. (MEO manager interviewed in November 2023)
This situation is particularly complex, as most MEOs do not support a specific music genre but instead assist artists based in their country/region of any genre and nationality, or, in some cases, local companies that represent a wide range of artists, including non-residents.
On the other hand, pay-to-play also exempts showcase festivals from their responsibility to promote all the artists from their line-up:
The most ‘commercial’ showcase festivals are complacent, they do pay-to-play but fail when it comes to promoting foreign artists. For example, the showcase festival [anonymised] charges the cultural institute or export office from Taiwan or elsewhere for their artists to play. However, the festival does not support the artists or offer real networking opportunities to their team, which then leads to nothing. Both the festival and the Taiwanese export office will be happy and will be able to say they’ve done their job, at least on paper. But the impact will be zero. The music industries are way too complex to be really impacted by a simple showcase at a festival. If it’s pay-to-play, the service has to be up to the task. M for Montreal is very ‘à la carte’ for instance, the more you pay the better the production quality, with adapted slots. Basically, the problem arises when an export office operates on a general-interest model and a showcase festival on a commercial model, or vice versa. (MEO manager interviewed in November 2023)
In certain cases, artists perform in an empty venue, significantly impacting their finances and chances of international exposure. This dynamic illustrates the sometimes superficial, even exploitative nature of the connection between showcase festivals and MEOs, prompting certain MEOs to partially or entirely disengage from specific festivals. To compensate for this, some festivals opt for a more collaborative relationship with MEOs. In this case, the festival remains responsible for building an audience and compensating for artists, while MEOs provide guidance and expertise on their territory.
The most integrated example of this is the partnership between ESNS and European MEOs. Through a unique program funded by the European Commission, ESNS has become an ecosystemic partner more than a client for MEOs. This program, named ESNS Exchange, brings together European export organisations, festivals, and media partners to promote European emerging artists. All stakeholders receive financial support to promote artists programmed at ESNS, as part of the support for European cultural mobility. For instance, the festival chooses one or various artists from a list provided by an MEO, and if a festival member books a foreign artist who performed at ESNS, they will receive compensation for taking that risk. In 2023, the program supported over 140 emerging artists at over 90 festivals across 36 countries, with over 340 shows facilitated.Footnote 15 Since 2003, ESNS Exchange has facilitated 5,336 performances for 2,159 European artists across 192 partner festivals in 44 countries, representing a diverse range of talent from 37 different countries.Footnote 16 Although it is difficult to determine whether these artists would have crossed borders without the program, ESNS Exchange represents a unique example of a balanced relationship within the European music export ecosystem.
Banal nationalism and behind-the-scenes networks
Established showcase festivals (e.g., Reeperbahn, SXSW, the Great Escape) are perceived as overwhelming due to the sheer number of showcases. Artists and music professionals attending these events for the first time learn that ‘the romanticized notion of getting discovered [during the festival] is illusory’ (Ahlers Reference Ahlers2021, p. 135). Clearly, if the festival’s line-up is composed of over a hundred acts, then only a few will be getting the most attention from commentators and potential business partners. These conditions intensify the competition for attention and limit the impact of many showcases, reproducing the dilemma of democratisation (Hracs et al. Reference Hracs, Jakob and Hauge2013). The main challenge for artists and their team is to convert a showcase into real business opportunities:
Showcases have a vicious side: you could spend your whole year playing at showcase festivals without getting paid, because it’s seen as promotion in front of people likely to buy from you. In fact, some festivals have called themselves into question, because for some artists, the result from playing at a showcase festival was sometimes getting booked at another showcase, which creates a vicious circle. It’s not real booking results. (Booking agent, interviewed in November 2023)
Showcase festivals reflect, to some extent, the competitive and entrepreneurial dynamics of the creative economy in relation to creators (Hesmondhalgh Reference Hesmondhalgh and Maxwell2015). Although MEOs are connected to cultural policy and express concern for sustainable artist development, they are ultimately required to engage in the prevailing practices of the creative economy, where short formats (i.e., showcases) are used to rationalise business transactions. Once an artist is scheduled, the objective of MEOs is to help their artists make the most of their performance at a showcase festival:
We would organise receptions, we would consider that as a support as well because it really provides a venue for them to network. And so, we have the means and the capacity to pay for that promotion. We would support them with the promotion, for instance, we would have partners for radio plugging or we would have partners for PR companies that are trustworthy. (Representative of an MEO, interviewed in April 2023)
MEOs strive to enhance the promotion of their showcasing artists by creating additional value, such as distributing leaflets, sending out mailers, doing extra public relations, and extending direct invitations to delegates:
Because when you play [live show during showcase], you need to know what you want to achieve. It needs to be realistic and then you need to work towards it. You need to find the right people that you want to work with. You need to reach out. You need to reach out again because they will not reply. … you need to be working towards your goal by knowing exactly the market that you want to break into, you need to know what your niche [is], and reason that you would be more interesting than any other bands that are already on that market or moving towards that market. And you need to somehow stick out. That is the hardest part. It is easy for me to say, but to do that is difficult. (Head of a small/medium showcase festival, interviewed in March 2023)
MEOs here play a crucial role, as they also provide necessary training and know-how to newcomers. MEO’s job in this context is to make sure that artists and their business partners (managers, labels, and agents) come to showcase festivals with clearly defined business and networking goals. Such goals may include booking shows in a certain territory (e.g., the UK market in the case of the Great Escape) and finding a label, publisher, or a PR company that would represent an artist abroad. This approach may yield results if an artist’s visit to a festival is well prepared, and the live show they deliver is exceptionally good (Galuszka Reference Galuszka, Anderton and Pisfil2022).Footnote 17 However, for MEOs, the profound uncertainty regarding a showcase’s success poses a major challenge inherent to cultural policy: should priority be given to the artists capable of generating high returns, or should the most fragile be supported in order to reduce disparities?
To address this challenge, country-specific showcases can be seen as not only the result of pay-to-play but also a marketing strategy used by MEOs to support their lesser-known artists and build a reputation around their own brand. One example is the Aussie BBQ Reeperbahn Showcase that took place on Friday, 22 September 2023, in Hamburg.Footnote 18 By resorting to a certain form of nation branding, this type of event simultaneously makes visible MEOs’ brand and counterbalances the fact that most performing artists are quite unknown:
The further away you are from home, the more you need nation branding or headliners, because nobody expects you or knows you. In Korea, for example, we have a ‘French Night’, which disrupts our support model which is normally dedicated to French companies, not French artists. But in Korea, people expect typically French artists, even if it is not necessarily Air or Zaz. So, if you do not use the flag, you miss the point. For us it’s also an opportunity to work with the embassy and activate the cultural diplomacy network. (French MEO manager, interviewed in November 2023)
In other words, these events offer special performance slots for artists, making them recognisable in a way that resonates with the concept of ‘banal nationalism’ (Billig Reference Billig1995).Footnote 19 In this context, ‘banal’ may refer to a minimal connection with the artist’s home country, as some acts do not perform in their native language but may still retain certain local aesthetic elements. While MEOs often draw on nation branding to promote their artists, the artists themselves rarely emphasise their national culture in such terms. Their work is more commonly shaped by cosmopolitan influences, even within genres like folk. As a result, national references may serve as an initial marker of identity but do not play a central role in generating interest or making an impact at showcase festivals. Aesthetic judgments and word-of-mouth recommendations tend to be far more influential, particularly given the limited time and attention of key delegates. This is why effective MEOs not only focus on building a recognisable brand but also work behind the scenes to persuade influential industry professionals to attend their artists’ performances. In this context, their role involves cultivating strong relationships with buyers and positioning themselves as reliable intermediaries, similar to trusted journalists, bookers, or producers.
By collaborating with MEOs, showcase festivals can only offer slightly better conditions for export development, especially by putting the live performance at the centre of it. In this sense, they partly respond to the challenge of export democratisation, but remain limited by market saturation and gatekeeping practices. Even with the support of MEOs, only a small number of export professionals are able to turn a showcase performance into concrete business opportunities.
Conclusion
Given the challenging nature of entering foreign markets, coupled with the political and institutional interests related to global recognition, there is a clear opportunity for initiatives aimed at supporting musicians and professionals internationally. Showcase festivals and MEOs have emerged as central pillars of this effort. MEOs now play a highly visible role in the European music export ecosystem, helping artists and professionals navigate international markets through training, funding, and coordinated participation in showcase festivals. While often rooted in cultural policy, these organisations mainly operate according to entrepreneurial logics, and their growth has been closely tied to the rise of showcase festivals: industry-facing events that mix live performance, professional networking, and curated programming. In this evolving landscape, MEOs and showcase festivals have become deeply interdependent actors, shaping what counts as exportable and how artistic value is translated across borders. Drawing on the ecosystem metaphor highlights how success within this field depends on navigating not only artistic, institutional, and commercial expectations, but also informal networks, symbolic capital, and curatorial norms.
Showcase festivals serve, to some extent, as marketplaces for discovery and export, particularly for professionals from non-dominant markets such as those outside the US and UK. Even small or peripheral countries can get a chance to showcase their talent, increase their export capacity, and achieve some success. Likewise, genre-specific festivals such as WOMEX and Jazzahead, despite their limitations, create avenues for less commercially dominant genres to engage in export. At the same time, these events tend to privilege certain formats and aesthetics, for instance English-language, pop, rock, and electronic genres, and increasingly function as a normative template of what international success should look like. As with art fairs (Morgnier Reference Morgner2014), participation is conditioned by curatorial preferences and institutional definitions of artistic value. Genres or artists that do not fit this mould often remain unsupported or invisible. Even where efforts exist to broaden inclusion, they are often constrained by the embedded expectations of what constitutes a viable export product. In this sense, showcase festivals function as a kind of trade-off platform for export: to open new international avenues, they impose a certain conception of value, pressuring music scenes to adapt their standardised showcase practices.
These platforms are mediated by hybrid institutional logics, where public and private interests intersect. Indeed, MEOs engage with showcase festivals by covering participation costs for artists or music professionals, promoting national identity and their own brand, offering targeted training, facilitating industry connections, and even organising festivals themselves. In this sense, they reinforce the role of showcase festivals as valuable marketplaces, where in-person interactions and live performances are put at the centre of international music trade. But these forms of participation remain uneven across the field. Some MEOs are highly institutionalised, with strong public funding, international networks, and established cultural identity, while others, particularly in underfunded or culturally peripheral regions, struggle to secure results for their artists.
In this sense, the question of whether the export ecosystem functions as just another gatekeeper is not easily answered with a simple yes or no. As a creative ecosystem, it represents an attempt to offer an alternative to both mainstream music industry and institutional gatekeeping, and to the overwhelming volume of music released daily. This is achieved through public support mechanisms, including nation branding, and open application processes that integrate cultural diversity, artistic excellence, and business criteria, emphasising in-person interactions at showcase festivals rather than relying solely on digital metrics. Crucially, the relationship between MEOs and showcase festivals sometimes addresses the dilemmas of inclusion only at a surface level. In some cases, it has even taken on an exploitative character, especially when MEOs focus on their own institutional branding rather than artist development, or when festivals offer only the illusion of access in exchange for financial contributions. More generally, the promise of opportunity is unevenly distributed as artists and professionals who already possess the knowledge, resources, and networks required to succeed are privileged. Despite the rhetoric of openness, the system remains selective, even opaque in some cases, and shaped by long-standing hierarchies of genre, geography, and symbolic capital. Besides, showcase festivals rarely pay artists, and the promise of exposure often masks a precarious cycle of unpaid labour, financial risk, and short-term visibility.
Still, alternative models suggest more equitable forms of music mobility are possible. Certain festivals, such as ESNS, in collaboration with MEOs, provide opportunities for emerging voices, particularly from smaller European countries. Programs like ESNS Exchange offer a glimpse into a different kind of export ecosystem, one that distributes responsibility across festivals, MEOs, and media outlets, and that backs up visibility with funding, follow-up, and strategy. Alongside similar initiatives like HEMIFootnote 20 and UPBEAT,Footnote 21 these approaches remain scarce, but they point to how the export ecosystem could evolve into a fairer and more sustainable structure. For this to happen, stakeholders must confront not only the limits of access to the music export ecosystem but also the assumptions built into the music sector as a whole.
Perhaps most importantly, while this ecosystem may not deliver all the benefits it promises, it nonetheless offers a space for debate, reflection, and the pursuit of a more inclusive model of global music circulation. Indeed, while international careers cannot be engineered through MEO support or showcase participation alone, the music export ecosystem remains a relevant, if imperfect, instrument for enabling mobility, professional development, and artistic circulation. Its value lies not in guaranteeing outcomes, but in providing a structured, visible, and adaptive platform through which careers can be imagined, negotiated, and occasionally realised. But to fulfil its democratic potential, this system must go beyond simply expanding participation. It must constantly reimagine the terms of inclusion by reassessing institutional norms, redistributing support, and actively questioning who gets to be visible, who defines artistic value, and under what conditions international opportunity is made possible.
Open access
