Foto: Jacob Hedemann

Networking, networking, networking
The President of the Iceberg Music Group, Manfred Zähringer, travels 100-120 days per year to get new contacts. When asked what expectations he has for the festival, he replies: "Networking, networking, networking."
He is at SPOT to see who people are, getting foreign contacts, while at the same time exporting their own artists. He has approximately ten bands at the festival; among which are The Blue Van and Dúné.

"We like music that’s not straight up pop"
Jeff Owens, the label manager of Ghostly International, says that he is at the festival to meet other labels and to meet some of the artists in the scene. “We like music that’s not straight up pop. Bands that bring something new to the table.” Owens says that he is open to most bands, yet the focus is mostly on the music that fuses an electronic sound with rock.


Very impressed with a lot of bands
The owner and co-founder of Secretly Canadian, Jonathan Cargill’s goal for the festival is to gain a better understanding of how the music industry works, specifically in Denmark. He adds that he has, so far, been very impressed with a lot of bands:

- My ears are wide open. I don’t care what it is. If it’s good music, it’s good music.

Getting new contacts and nurturing existing ones

Manager and agent at Merger, Jim Q. Holm is also present at the SPOT festival for a combination of reasons. He says that he wants to get new contacts, while at the same time nurture existing contacts.

- It’s nice to hear new music, and at the same time, it’s important that people from the music industry get to hear the bands we are representing.

Merger has 10 bands at the festival, and Jim Q. Holm stresses that it is equally important for all bands to be at the festival, no matter the size of their fan base or how many records they have sold.

The music industry praises the festival
- I think it’s excellent. I think it’s incredible. For me personally, it has done its job and introduced me to a lot of Danish music - a lot of bands I knew nothing about, Jonathan Cargill says enthusiastically.

He continues saying that people have been open and friendly, and not tried to be pushy when trying to get their performers signed. He adds:

- It is very well organized. What I like about SPOT – the reason why I’m here – it that it’s focused primarily on Danish music. It has opened my eyes to the Danish scene. The beauty of SPOT, and why it is growing is because it brings international attention to Denmark.

Jim Q. Holm is equally happy with how the festival has turned out:

- It’s fantastic. Amazingly useful.

He contrasts it with other festivals:

- The downside of other festivals and showcases is that they are very big and not that well organized. At SPOT they make it easier for us with events such as speed-meetings.

He says that it is great to have the chance to really get to know people and that the festival is just getting better:

- The great thing about SPOT is that even if it has grown, it is still underground – it’s still new, exciting and different with a mixture of the mainstream and the alternative.

Jeff Owens was impressed by the standard of the venues.

- The SPOT Festival is really nice. There’s the convenience of the venues being close and people are really helpful. I’m impressed by the venues – the sound, the light.

Yet, he adds that he needs to visualize how the bands will perform on the lower standard venues in the States.

SPOT compared to other festivals
- It is concentrated – the right amount of music and meetings, says Owens, while Cargill points out that it is very well organized. Jim Q says that SPOT is “significantly better”. He continues:

- If you ask international people from the music industry, they are very positive about it. It is better organized.

He also stresses that the organizers of the SPOT Festival are working all year around to follow the bands they are promoting. Manfred Zähringer exclaims that he “almost got more out of it than Midem [well-known French Festival for the music industry, ed.]”

Is there a particular Danish sound?
- It’s a distinct thing. I didn’t know that there were that many electronic-meets-rock bands, says Owens.

Adds Jim Q. Holm:

- There are far too many copycats in Denmark. However, there is a handful of talented bands. There is a keynote of melancholia and something dark. Many of our bands have that.

Cargill, on the other hand, looks at music in a more holistic sense, saying that there is no particular Danish sound:

- Music is a human thing. It is translated all over the world.