The global eye needs a local body: Music Cities Network continues its co-creation programme for European Hip Hop and R&B artists with the third out of four co-creation events hosted IRL in Aarhus during before and during SPOT Festival 02.-08.05.2022.
The Link Up Euro Connection (LEC) is a 7-month programme of European co-creation & co-production between up to 48 participants, collaborating in 4 co-creation-weeks & performing at festivals in Aarhus, Berlin, Groningen & Manchester. The activities will result in a joint vision: the LEC Manual - On how to facilitate the development & professionalization of emerging artists in Europe. The 12 participants will co-create during the third LEC event hosted in Aarhus (DK) during May 2. till 8. 2022.
Hip Hop and R&B culture is a global movement that encompasses a wide range of expressions from music, theater, dance, art to fashion, politics & business. Municipalities acknowledge that Hip Hop and R&B culture is undeniably intertwined with youth culture, but struggle to adapt and facilitate suitable programs for talent development and professionalization.
LEC’s co-creation and co-production camps are organized by the transnationally acting Music Cities Network in partnership with the Hamburg Music Business Association in collaboration with the following partners:
Noordstaat in Groningen, The Netherlands (January 28-30, 2022, digitally)
Manchester Music City in collaboration with Brighter Sound and Contact, England (7-13 March 2022)
Promus and Institute for X in Aarhus during the SPOT Festival, Denmark (3-8 May 2022)
Musicboard Berlin and Alvozay Collective during Fête de La Musique in Berlin, Germany (18-22 June 2022)
LEC has targets in three different fields:
Cultural: Consolidate the understanding of the new European Urban youth culture and explore common transnational values, similarities and differences.
Economic: Pave the way for new and innovative ways for artists to improve creatively. Professionalize and grow their network in Europe's Music Business.
Policy: Design practicable solutions to bridge the gap between the informal methods of Urban artists and the formal methods of city leaders and music policy makers.
All results will be merged into the LEC Manual - On How to facilitate the Development and Professionalization of young Hip Hop artists in Europe targeted to municipalities, policy makers and project leaders to better understand their local Hip Hop scenes.
In the light of the ongoing pandemic, the existing and emerging challenges of the global music industry have become more vital than ever. A future-proofed music industry needs to become more diverse, fairer and healthier. That is why the Music Cities Network contributes to this mission by intensifying borderless cultural exchange and business opportunities between music cities through enabling platforms empowering innovation.
The member-based network actively designs hands-on solutions to bridge the gaps between all music city stakeholders: artists, music entrepreneurs, city marketing strategists and music policy makers. The actions are aiming towards MCNs vision to get decision makers and politicians to sustainably acknowledge music as an integrated part of city development.
And so, LEC’s aim is to pave the way for new and innovative ways for artists to improve creatively, professionalize and grow their networks in Europe's Music Business. LEC is co-funded by Creative Europe and is after the European Music Business Task Force (EMBTF), the second project by the MCN, which is getting European recognition.
Both projects are realizing MCNs aim to reflect on and create good frames for music in cities in a project format.
MCN states: The global eye needs a local body - the MCN is excited to contribute to sustainable change with these projects in the future.
Please learn more about the exciting 12 artists, which have been selected out of 100 applications below. The participants for the last LECs will be announced soon.
More infos here.
