Great Returns on Brussels Campaign

“… the 3RD edition of SPOT On Denmark was by far the most successful to date boasting a completely full AB Club and ending with a real party… “
– Knack review of SPOT On Denmark

“…What’s fascinating at SPOT is the amount of talent a small country like Denmark can produce”
Pure FM on the eve of Spot ON Denmark

The Quotes above are unmistakable (more quotes to follow below), and now we can begin to add up the objective results of the Danish night in Brussels.

Not only was the concert on 26th November at the AB Club featuring four Danish acts completely sold out and received excellent reviews as well as plenty of media publicity before the event (see below), the success is also beginning to pay off in terms of concrete deals and contracts – for the four acts playing that night as well as for many of the Danish music business people who were present.   

 
For Lucy Love her effort has really yielded great returns: distribution as well as booking deals for the entire Benelux area with N.E.W.S. and Stage Mania respectively. So far it has resulted in gigs in Belgium and Holland now in mid-January. And on top of that there were already requests from Belgian MTV and the other major Brussels club Botanique in connection with the Danish November showcase.  
 
Lucy Love’s Manager Happy
“It all started with the SPOT Festival in May last year”, recalls Lucy Love manager Kettil Myrstrand. “Already back then we felt this huge interest from the music industry in the Benelux countries and it led to several festival gigs last summer. And now after SPOT on Denmark we have landed the deals. I’m very happy with the follow-up strategy. I mean, first SPOT and then the showcase in Brussels. It has really paid off and it is just professional and effective”, says Mystrand.
 
I got You On Tape are also happy about the returns on their Brussels showcase. These days various contracts are being negotiated. Manager of the band Christian Møller (Tigerspring) is 80 per cent sure that the band is going to get a distribution agreement as well as a booking deal for the Benelux countries very soon.  The plan is to get the album out in Benelux this spring and hopefully to follow up with gigs this spring, summer festivals and a minor tour in the fall. In connection with SPOT On Denmark the band also played in Gent and at the Sonic Visions Festival in Luxemburg.

Fagget Fairys already had booking and distribution deals before the campaign, but definitely revived the hype in the wake of the summer hit “Feed the Horse”. There are negotiations concerning various festivals this spring and summer. One-man army Prins Nitram got to play another gig in Liège the day after SPOT On Denmark.  

Danish Music Business Bonus  
Furthermore, many other Danish music business representatives also brought home some important agreements from the get-together with their Belgian colleagues:  

Jim Q. Holm from Merger Management got a deal concerning Cody, with whom Stage Mania has now made a booking-agreement. He is also counting on closing a distribution deal in the not too distant future.  

Jesper Majdall from Volcano Management brought home new deals for Under Byen: a new promotion deal with Gentle and a distribution agreement with N.E.W.S.

Niels Böttcher from Jenka Music closed an agreement with bang!/PIAS concerning the distribution of the new Band Ane release. Furthermore, Stage Mania is going to present Analogik at a festival.   

“Well, it’s certainly great to see that our strategy seems to pay off – both when it comes to inviting the Belgian music business in such numbers and then obviously the SPOT On Denmark follow-up in Brussels”, says Thomas Rohde, head of MXD, which is behind the SPOT On Denmark together with ROSA – The Danish Rock Council. What’s important in this context is that it’s the Belgians who select their favourites at SPOT. They pick the acts they find interesting rather than us forcing some bands down their throats. I think that is one of the key reasons for our success – combined with thorough and serious groundwork. And then obviously our serious networking – over the last many years we have worked on the music business in the Benelux countries”, says Rohde.
 
The Next SPOT On Denmark is scheduled for the fourth of February in Vienna, where When Saints Go Machine, Kiss Kiss Kiss and Ginger Ninja are to play concerts. They have been selected by an Austrian delegation who attended the SPOT Festival last year. Incidentally videos with the first two acts have already made it to GOTV, Austria’s biggest music TV station, where they are in daily rotation.

If you want an impression of all the press exposure generated by the showcase CLICK THIS LINK.