The spotlight stays on 18-year-old Ellice, as the singer caresses the audience with her song “Angst Liebe” – a viral hit which has seen her gain thousands of fans worldwide and tens of millions of streams and views online.
She’s singing at the Maison Poème, a tiny venue in the Saint Gilles neighbourhood of Brussels. Her audience this evening is a range of music industry aficionados and EU cultural policy officials, gathered to discuss how to guide artists like Ellice from their initial success to established careers in the music industry.
The event, hosted by Amazon and supported by Euractiv, was entitled “Empowering new voices in the music industry” and included a panel discussion of leading industry figures.
Breaking through
Thomas Duglet, Managing Director for Amazon Music France, launched the conversation with an emphasis on Amazon’s commitment to nurturing local talent.
“We work to make technology not just a challenge, but an opportunity,” he said, citing Amazon’s Breakthrough program.
Ellice is one of the artists to benefit from Breakthrough, which gives six musicians per year a six-month plan of access to creating music videos, paid media, editorial videos, and other opportunities.
In an age of unlimited downloads and limitless playlists, it’s important to see what really works, according to Duglet.
“It’s hard to break through in a world where you have hundreds of millions of tracks available at the tip of your finger,” said Duglet. “So, we really want to have people that are experts within our teams, in multiple places, that are listening to new music, going to gigs, understanding the signals that are available on social media and on streaming platforms.”
Supporting artists
Young artists can benefit greatly from the online world of streaming and social media, but one hit doesn’t always translate into longevity or commercial success.
It’s a situation Illy Korda, artist manager at Bam Bam Music Berlin, knows well.
“I tell every young artist to be authentic in every possible way,” Korda told the event. “Build your community as it’s your fans who will carry you through.”
She explained how viral moments, like her client Ellice’s breakout TikTok demo, can catapult new artists into the spotlight, but sustaining that momentum is a different kind of struggle. “The competition is with yourself as much as other musicians,” said Korda. “Each new track feels like it has to be bigger and faster.”
Policy imperatives
There’s a serious role for EU lawmakers to create the correct environment for European artists to succeed on a global stage, according to Kristina Janušauskaitė. She is the executive director at the European office of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) – the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide.
“We are a little bit at the crossroads in relation to copyright and generative AI, and we need, before moving or looking forward, to clean the house,” Janušauskaitė said.
“Because we know that certain things have happened in the past where we’ve seen copyright infringements happening in the context of generative AI model creation,” Janušauskaitė continued. “More needs to be done in terms of protection of content in the streaming environment, where we face different types of piracy or fraudulent activities such as streaming manipulation, and misuse of AI-generated content.”
The event coincided with the announcement of the European Commission of a proposal for a “New Culture Compass for Europe”. It outlined a new EU Artists Charter for fair working conditions, a European Prize for Performing Arts, plans for an EU cultural data hub, and a Youth Cultural Ambassadors Network to improve young people’s access to culture. It also touches on an AI strategy for the cultural and creative sectors to protect artists’ content.
Keeping it local
Supporting European artists going forward as the online and streaming world progresses will be a major challenge, but staying focused on Europe is possible and even beneficial.
That was the message from Yohann Bénard, Public Policy Director Europe, Digital at Amazon.
“Contrary to maybe some other media, the talents who are most successful, most downloaded on Amazon music, are very often local talents,” said Bénard. “German talents in Germany, French talents in French in France, Spanish talents in Spain.”
(BM)
