SME at m4music – Lausanne & Zurich – 14 – 16 April 2016

Spring is in the air – it must be time for m4music! A little later than usual this year at the fabulous Schiffbau-Komplex, such an ideal venue for a multi-facetted festival like this. Switzerland’s most important conference/festival m4music will take place from Thursday, 14 April to Saturday, 16 April. Starting on Thursday in Lausanne with a mix of panel discussions, workshops and concerts, the 19th edition of m4music will then move to Zurich for an intense programme of live music and insider talk on Friday and Saturday.

As ever, Swiss Music Export will make its presence very much and very enthusiastically felt at what is, after all, our home festival. The Swiss Music Export brunch on Saturday morning is a popular tradition that will, of course, continue, and so is our One-to-One Matchmaking event. Additionally and excitingly, this year there will also be a special event to present our plans for the Great Escape 2017 in Brighton where Switzerland will be the featured guest country. SME will also organise several panel discussions and workshops.

The Swiss Music Export Brunch and „Business Mixer”
Saturday 16 April 2016, 11:00 – 13:00
Moods @ Schiffbau

What better way to start the m4music Saturday than with a typically hearty and Swiss brunch of Butterzopf, croissants, all sorts of cheeses and cold meats, plus, of course, the best coffee in town! It is also the ideal environment for a relaxed spot of networking, connecting and reconnecting.

Don’t miss this great opportunity to meet artists, promoters, managers and other professionals. Registration is needed. And please no more than one representative per band!

Reserve your place on the guest list no later than Monday, 11 April, by subscribing here: http://goo.gl/forms/Po8YG6G7po

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The Great Escape 2017 presentation
Friday 15 April 2016, 17:30 – 19:00
Matchbox @ Schiffbau

The Great Escape in Brighton is one of the most important and wide-ranging showcase festivals in Europe. This year, more than 400 bands and solo artists from across the whole of Europe will be playing live in 35 venues, all within easy walking reach of each other. Next year, 2017, Switzerland will be the featured guest country at the Great Escape.

To explain what this means, Swiss Music Export and its partners have invited Kevin Moore, General Manager of the Great Escape, and Martin Elbourne, representing the Great Escape and Glastonbury Festival, to m4music. Together with SME’s very own Jean Zuber, they will describe what this event means for the music scene in Switzerland. Artists and business professionals will find out how they can be part of Switzerland’s presence at the Great Escape 2017, and who SME’s partners are in this exciting venture.

Following the presentation, there will be a reception, offering ample opportunity for networking and asking further questions. And there will be free food and drink, of course – the delicious „Beef & Guinness“ Pies from the Zurich Pie Shop (vegetarian pies available, too), and beer.

The Great Escape 2017 presentation

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Other SME events

The Grill – Swiss music under the critical microscope
Friday 15 April 2016, 14:30 – 15:30
Moods @ Schiffbau

A couple of years ago, the journalist Jens Balzer from Berlin caused quite a commotion in Zurich with his brutally honest comments about the latest batch of young Swiss musicians harbouring hopes of global domination. He will continue his fearless assessment during this panel discussion alongside Petra Husemann-Renner (Motor Music, Berlin) and SME’s Jean Zuber. On the rack are the likes of The Chikitas, 77 Bombay Street, Verveine and Faber. How do the experts view these artists‘ chances of international success?

The Grill – Swiss music under the critical microscope

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Workshop „How to get a Visa for the USA“
Friday 15 April 2016, 11:00 – 12:30
Moods @ Schiffbau

In this SME-sponsored panel discussion, Matthew Covey (Executive Director, Tamizdat, New York) and Jonathan Koehler (US Embassy, Bern) explain what it takes to obtain an artist visa to travel to the United States.

Workshop „How to get a Visa for the USA“

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Panel “USA: Should I Stay or Should I Go?“
Saturday 16 April 2016, 12:45 – 14:00
Moods @ Schiffbau

„I´m so bored with the USA“ sang the Clash. Not everyone agrees. For many artists, cracking the American market remains the ultimate goal. This SME-sponsored panel discusses the question whether it is worth for Swiss artists to try and work in the United States, and if so, how they should go about it. Are showcase festivals a good starting point? The participants are Patrick David (Co-CEO, Two Gentlemen); Adam Lewis (Co-Founder, Planetary Group, Los Angeles); Riku Salomaa (Project Manager, Music Finland); Stefan Schurter (CEO, deepdive music); and Stacey Wilhelm (Programmer, SXSW Festival, Austin, Texas).

Panel „USA: Should I Stay or Should I Go?“

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One-to-One Matchmaking
Saturday 16 April 2016, 15:00 – 16:30
LaSalle Bar @ Schiffbau

SME´s One-to-One Matchmaking event offers an ideal opportunity for business professionals from Switzerland to meet up with colleagues from all over Europe. In a bespoke series of pre-arranged and timed face-to-face encounters they will be able to exchange ideas and strike up new connections without the tiresome and difficult business of finding out who does what in amongst a large throng of festival people.

Participation at the One-to-One Matchmaking event is strictly by SME invitation only!

m4music Website
m4music Professionals Programme
m4music Music Festival Programme
m4music Conference Programme