What is Jazzahead!?
Jazzahead! is one of the world’s largest showcase festivals and industry trade fairs.
It is now one of the most important international professional markets for jazz and improvised music. The three-day event, which takes place every April in Bremen, Germany attracts more than 3,000 industry attendees from over 55 countries, including hundreds of concert and festival bookers, labels, publishers, distributors, managers and the world's media.
At jazzahead! in recent years, IMC represents the Irish jazz scene, sharing a stand with our counterparts from Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Why are we doing it?
Jazzahead! is a fundamental event for Irish cultural export. A professional presence at our industry’s most important event is crucial to attracting buyers to Irish jazz and creative improvised music professionals.
IMC represents the Irish jazz scene, engaging directly with European counterparts to build relationships that raise the international profile of Irish jazz and lead to opportunities for Irish artists.
What it means for you
We showcase Irish artists at jazzahead! in 2 ways; We create a comprehensive Irish Jazz Playlist to share with these with bookers, managers, journalists and other influencers.
We showcase Irish jazz and creative improvised music through innovative VR (Virtual Reality) technology by placing your music directly in front of these influencers.
In recent years we have worked with our export bureau, Culture Ireland, to secure 6 bursaries for Irish jazz industry artists and other professionals to attend as delegates to seek opportunity and make connections with the assistance of the IMC team. We expect to continue this work in 2023.
How to get involved
See what we presented to promoters and programmers at Jazzahead! 2021:
In 2023 we aim to continue our work with Culture Ireland in bringing Irish jazz artists and other industry professionals to attend jazzahead!
as delegates. This is an opportunity to meet with major industry figures, promote your music abroad and connect with other artists across Europe.
Annually, we put direct calls out for both VR and audio playlists through our social media, newsletter and website. We encourage Irish jazz artists to apply directly for these platforms. Listen to our “This Is Irish Jazz” playlist on Spotify.
This is available to all booth attendees. We will update this section with links to the 2023 applications, once they open, and also feature this in our newsletter.
If we don’t have your information such as your latest project details, audio tracks or link to high quality video, we cannot represent your music in any way. We want to present your music. We need you to keep us in the loop through these forms. Then we can make sure it is seen and/or heard at important trade shows like Jazzahead!. International exposure is difficult and the market is very competitive. However, with the right tools and approach we know we can have a lasting impression on bookers at this event.
What you are able to do
Jazzahead! is an important event and one where Ireland needs to work diligently to achieve meaningful results. There is an incredible amount of competition for performances at festivals and we are realistic about how difficult it can be to get a foothold in the European market. With subvention opportunities available through our export bureau Culture Ireland, we are making the best case possible for Irish performances abroad, however we can only encourage and recommend any programmer to present Irish artists at their festival. For these reasons we can’t promise guaranteed export of your work but we will do everything we can to make a compelling case.
Our goals
We believe we will have been successful if, through our own work, and those of our delegates, we have secured international engagements for Irish artists abroad and, more importantly, we have put your music in front of important programmers for consideration in their programmes through our innovative VR showcasing model.