From April 29 to May 2, the largest international jazz fair will take place, Jazzahead, of the stack.
Are you going there?
Keep in mind that:
Today, April 16, is the last chance to apply for a free participant pass at Export Music Sweden!
Notify us that you are going there!
Update artist pages and links!
The fair will not be what it used to be - fewer delegates and a digital program!
Read about key people who are going there!
Check out the program and decide what to participate in!

Today, April 16, is the last chance to apply for a free participant passport at Export Music Sweden. But you can also pay yourself and register yourself via the fair's own website until it starts.
In normal cases own Jazzahead place in German Bremen but now the fair will be held in digital form. What does that mean? Is there any idea to participate? Musikcentrum Riks international coordinator, Ragnar Berthling - who is also the operations manager for Musikcentrum Öst, answers:

Why go to Jazzahead?

- Jazzahead is the internationally largest meeting place for jazz music. But IRL participation requires a fairly extensive effort. I start booking appointments a couple of months in advance and maintain continuous contact with key people on an annual basis.
- In order for a freelance musician to be able to properly use his time there, a lot of preparation is required. It is about defining their long- and short-term goals. I have previously had a voluntary online workshop for all music center members who want and should be in a place where I go through the practicalities. Possibly I will have a similar one this year for the digital. The problem is that the organization of Jazzahead is pretty loose on the edge right now so it needs to clear up a bit more but everyone who is registered and members of any music center will be contacted before the fair and I will support in the way I can.
- In addition to the preparatory work and the work on site, you need to spend additional time on finishing work when the fair is over.

Why should you "go there" this year when the fair is digital?

- I have participated in about fifteen international music fairs during the pandemic and the quality has really varied. WOMEX, which is the world music version of Jazzahead, for example, was rather disorganized and took place on a bad platform - but became an opportunity to keep the network going and I had a series of zoom meetings off the platform.
- Now it is a completely different situation because the live scenes will most likely start to open up this autumn and I will try to get as many meetings, matchmaking (I hope that Export Music Sweden's matchmaking will be off) and other updates of my own contacts and knowledge as possible.

- IF there is an opportunity for more concrete discussions about livegig, I look forward to it. So I have high hopes of getting a lot done during the fair. Right now, there are just over 500 delegates registered, of which about eighty musicians and as many agents, but only about forty "presenters" - festivals, clubs and so on. so It is now a clear predominance for sellers and significantly fewer buyers. I personally think that a lot will happen before the fair starts - but you have to be prepared that it will not be even close to a normal fair. In 2019, there were 3400 delegates.

- I think it is obvious that everyone with international ambitions should apply for ExMS support and if you are selected - make sure you are free on those days! Check out as many seminars and showcase gigs as you can, read on and book appointments! And as before all trade fairs, you should prepare your digital material, think about your elevator pitch when you book appointments and make sure that you can get what you want in a maximum of 5 minutes.
- You who have been there before should think through how you want to transfer that work to digital form and I recommend that you use the slightly smaller amount of participants to try to read about key people. My experience is that they are the most important people who also go to digital fairs.

How can you benefit from being a member of the Music Center if you go there?

- IRL is about me coordinating the mediation work for the three associations and supporting all members. Now I will get in touch with everyone registered and offer some form of kick-off snack with advice and tricks. But this year, Musikcentrum Riks has given the opportunity to all associations to have a representative there - so there is also the opportunity to get support from their regional association. I will support everyone on site, but of course I know the MCÖ artists better and can give a more personal support there. Possibly I will be able to have a "morning meeting" on Thursday and Friday for those who want.
- Whether you take the cost yourself or seek support from ExMS - make sure you register as soon as possible! If there will be a short pre-fair meeting on zoom, it will take place early the same week as Jazzahead begins.

- Then it is always important to see the collective image. What benefit does our entire network have from the Music Center working internationally? Every time a representative of the Music Center participates in an international context, a panel or a trade fair, a new window opens to the Swedish music scene. As a whole, this work, which all members are involved in and support through their membership, will make us much more ready when the wheels start to spin again. All efforts that are made are based on members coming up with input, telling us about things that are happening, informing us about what priorities you want to make, when you plan international initiatives, when you release new music, when you have new collaborations. If we get that kind of information and ideas, we can include them in our meetings with the international music scene.