Tag Archives: News

In Memoriam Jean-Pierre Mathez (1938–2023)

We have received the sad news that our long-standing Foundation Board member and Chairman of the Individual Requests Committee

Jean-Pierre Mathez

has passed away at the age of 85.

Jean-Pierre was elected to the Foundation Board in 1996 and left in 2014. He also chaired the Individual Requests Committee (now Artistic Committee) from 1997-2014. The Foundation owes Jean-Pierre a great deal, and the administrative office also benefited from his knowledge and prudence.

A tribute from our Director is paid to him on The Director’s Blog:

READ MORE: ◼︎ IN GERMAN ◼︎ IN FRENCH


SWISS MUSIC @ Linecheck 2023 – Review

Linecheck 2023⎪22–25 November⎟Milan (IT)

SWISS MUSIC was in the air

Yes, admittedly, so was the aroma of raclette from the Swiss Business Mixer. But also there in the mix were the voices of some 200 international professionals, invitees of Swiss Music Export. The informal networking event at the BASE cultural centre in Milan, held on Thursday, 23 November, offered Swiss industry representatives an ideal opportunity to network and exchange ideas with their Italian and international colleagues. The Swiss Music Export event was supported by FONDATION SUISA and the Swiss Consulate General in Milan.

During the day, the curated conference sessions at Linecheck provided a chance to catch up on the latest trends, thinking and know-how. The evenings saw Linecheck transformed into a festival. The air was also filled with live Swiss sounds on the Wednesday and Thursday – leastways inside La Capsula, the BASE’s immersive sound chamber. Here, industry representatives got up close and personal with the sounds of electro duo HEITH & PRICE, R’n’B vocalist and producer MILYMA, and pop trio MONTE MAI.

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Linecheck 2023 – Showcase Monte Mai – Foto ⓒSME

SWISS LIVE SHOWS AT LINECHECK 2023
The following Swiss artists were part of the official festival programme:

HEITH & PRICE
MILYMA
MONTE MAI



SWISS MUSIC @ LINECHECK 2023IMPRESSIONS:

Demotape Clinic 2024 – Demos wanted

Demotape Clinic 2024Send in your demos now!

Once again this year, FONDATION SUISA and the m4music pop music festival are working together to find the artists of tomorrow in the Pop, Rock, Lyrics & Beats, Electronic and Out of Genre categories. From now until 14 January 2024, send us your demos!

A selection of the 60 most promising tracks in the Pop, Rock, Lyrics & Beats, Electro and Out of Genre categories will be presented on 22 and 23 March 2024 at the m4music festival in Zurich. Music business professionals will give direct feedback to the artists. 

The winners will receive the FONDATION SUISA Awards worth a total of CHF 20’000.-. Their music will be broadcast on various partner radio stations, and above all, they will be the centre of attention on the Swiss music scene. The winners will also benefit from the Migros Culture Percentage’s “Double” coaching programme. 


Demo submission deadline: 14 January 2024

Record Swiss participation at the 29th WOMEX

WOMEX 2023 ⎪ 25–29 October ⎟ A Coruña (ES)

Record Swiss participation at the 29th WOMEX

WOMEX’s attendees – 2,750 international professionals – did not let the rain, which on occasion lashed A Coruña almost horizontally, spoil their mood. Artists, agents, promoters, labels, journalists and others from the global music industry networked at the exhibition stands of Palexco – the convention centre located by the harbour of this northern Spanish coastal city – from 25 to 29 October. 

One of the most eye-catching stands bore – black on yellow – the name SWISS MUSIC and hosted a record 42 Swiss professionals. Switzerland was also represented in the official programme of showcases: on Friday night, producer and DJ Pekodjinn from Geneva got the “WOMEXicans” dancing and garnered a great deal of international attention. 

The anniversary edition of WOMEX – the Worldwide Music Expo – will take place in Manchester, UK from 23 to 27 October 2024.

PEKODJINN LIVE IN SHOWCASE AT WOMEX 2023

Pekodjin ⎪ Photo ⓒ SWISS MUSIC



SWISS MUSIC @ WOMEX 2023IMPRESSIONS:

MaMA 2023: All eyes on Paris Pigalle

MaMA Music & Convention
11–13 October ⎜ Paris (FR)

MaMA: All eyes on Paris Pigalle

SWISS MUSIC was in the thick of the action when the clubs and streets of Pigalle between the 9th and 18th arrondissements of Paris teemed with music professionals. Over 7,000 industry professionals from more than 50 countries – most of them from francophone regions – attended the 14th edition of MaMA Music & Convention from Wednesday, 11 to Friday, 13 October.

During the day, they exchanged news and views in the cafés and at the numerous networking events and took advantage of the conferences to catch up with the latest trends in the music business. In the evenings, they mingled with the 5,200 festival-goers in the clubs and concert halls to hear up-and-coming bands performing short showcases.

Many Swiss music professionals were also present. They benefited from the Swiss Business Mixer networking event held under the SWISS MUSIC banner just behind the Moulin Rouge venue on Thursday afternoon. Here they chatted with international colleagues in a relaxed atmosphere and caught the showcase of Lausanne singer-songwriter DELIA MESHLIR who showcased her forthcoming second album. Alongside her, Neuchâtel-based Italo-disco kings PSYCHO WEAZEL and Vaudois electro-pop rapper SILANCE landed one of the coveted showcase slots at MaMA 2023.

The Swiss Business Mixer was presented by Swiss Music Export and FONDATION SUISA in cooperation with the Swiss Embassy in France.

Showcase Delia Meshlir Swiss Business Mixer @ MaMA 2023 ⎥ Photo ⓒFONDATION SUISA

SWISS LIVE SHOWS AT MAMA 2023
The following Swiss artists could be heard and seen live in the regular festival programme:

PSYCHO WEAZEL
DELIA MESHLIR
SILANCE



SWISS MUSIC @ MaMA 2023IMPRESSIONS:

Reeperbahn Festival 2023 – Review

Reeperbahn Festival ⎪ 20–23 September 2023 ⎟ Hamburg (DE)

A packed Swiss programme leaves deep marks on the 2023 Reeperbahn Festival

In cooperation with FONDATION SUISA, the Swiss Embassy in Germany, the FCMA, the City of Zurich Culture and the Music Offices of Basel and Lucerne, Swiss Music Export organised several showcase and networking events from Thursday evening to Friday night, where Swiss bands could present themselves and management, labels and other industry representatives could network with their international colleagues.

Anyone who carries that much weight leaves a lasting impression. Go SWISS MUSIC!

SWISS LIVE ACTS AT REEPERBAHN FESTIVAL 2023
From spherical electro pop to brass-driven hip-hip beats on to hard punk rock guitars and much more in between: The total of 17 Swiss bands in this year’s Reeperbahn Festival programme was a testament to the uncanny strength and breadth of the helvetic music scene:

ALINA AMURI
Website
ALOIS
Website
A. BOLLINGER
Website
ASBEST
Website
COBEE
Website
DI-MEH
Website
DIRTY S. MAGNET
Website
GRANDBROTHERS
Website
LA COLÈRE
Website
LA NEFERA
Website
MEHMET ASLAN
Website
MISCHGEWEBE
Website
SAM HIMSELF
Website
SIRENS of LESBOS
Website
SOFT LOFT
Website
VERONICA FUSARO
Website
YET NO YOKAI
Website

SWISS MUSIC @ REEPERBAHN FESTIVAL 2023 IMPRESSIONS:

Waves Vienna 2023 – Review

Waves Vienna ⎪ 7–9 September 2023 ⎟ Vienna

SWISS MUSIC was surfing this wave

Switzerland was guest country at the Waves Vienna from 7 to 9 September 2023 and provided quite some treats for the festival’s programme.

Things kicked off on Thursday with a panel on the Swiss music market and the official Waves opening ceremony, not to forget the showcase gigs by Ikan Hyu and Annie Taylor. On Friday, there were the Swiss networking event Swiss Business Mixer with a live performance of Pina Palau as well as the showcase of the Zurich multi-instrumentalist Moira in the evening. After the delegates tour on Saturday with another live performance by Moira, the evening gigs by Barbicop, Soft Loft and Pina Palau provided the crowing finale. 

The Swiss guest country presence was hosted by Swiss Music Export in cooperation with FONDATION SUISA and the Swiss Embassy in Austria.

The next Waves Vienna edition will probably take place at beginning of September 2024.

SWISS LIVE ACTS AT WAVES VIENNA 2023
The following talented swiss artists not to be missed in the regular festival programme:

IKAN HYU
ANNIE TAYLOR
MOIRA
BARBICOP
SOFT LOFT
PINA PALAU


SWISS MUSIC @ WAVES VIENNA 2023IMPRESSIONS:

jazzahead! 2024 – Registration


Register now as co-exhibitor on the SWISS MUSIC collective stand ⎪ 11–13 April, Bremen (DE)

The professional jazz world will be gathering in the halls and around the showcase stages of jazzahead! in Bremen – Europe’s biggest jazz trade fair – from 11 to 13 April 2024. A great opportunity for Swiss music professionals to network – enroll now!

SWISS JOINT STAND


Your benefits as co-exhibitors of the SWISS MUSIC joint stand:

  • Reduced registration fee: EUR 155 instead of EUR 185 (excl. 19% VAT)
  • More visibility at the trade fair
  • Free use of the stand as a meeting- and presentation platform

The SWISS MUSIC stand is a partnership of FONDATION SUISA, Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and SONART – Swiss Musicians Association.

And this is how it goes:
Deadline: 27.03.2024

  1. Create a user profile and log:
    Click on SIGN UP FOR THE SWISS MUSIC STAND (below)
  2. Sign up as co-exhibitor of the SWISS MUSIC stand:
    Please enter the following information:
    – Co-exhibitor of: FONDATION SUISA
    – Stand number: 6B35
    – Discount code: 24R1GEMT (The fee will be reduced to EUR 155)

After having registered, you can access jazzahead!’s
PARTICIPANTS’ PORTAL
SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

For questions regarding your registration, please contact
Malena Drela:
drela@jazzahead.de

For questions regarding the stand, please contact
Marcel Kaufmann:
swissmusic@fondation-suisa.ch

In the event of insufficient registrations, FONDATION SUISA and its partners reserve the right to withdraw their support offer at any time up to the fair.

DEADLINE: 27 March 2024

SHOWCASE FESTIVAL


The deadline for submitting applications for the jazzahead! showcases festival expired on 18 october.

New Foundation Board as of 1 January 2024

Switzerland’s music scene is changing – as is the sector’s foundation culture: following a reworking of its funding regulations and the launch of a new online application tool, FONDATION SUISA has now also reconstituted its Foundation Board. The changes are designed to ensure that FONDATION SUISA continues to keep pace with current music creation and that its mission can be fulfilled effectively.

At its meeting of 22 June 2023, the Executive Board of the SUISA Cooperative, as the competent election body, reconstituted the Foundation Board of FONDATION SUISA. The appointments were preceded by exhaustive research conducted by a selection committee, which held in-depth discussions with numerous potential candidates.

The move to reconstitute the Foundation Board was triggered by a reorganisation of the Foundation Deed and regulations, and the associated decision to reduce the size of the Board from twelve to five members.

This strategic decision was initiated by the current Foundation Board and implemented in collaboration with the management. With the resignation of the entire Board now completed, the way is clear to progress this reorganisation.

In his preamble to the latest activity report, Foundation Board Chair Marc Savary underlines the importance of these structural changes. They are needed to be able to reap the full benefits of both the strategic considerations in the smaller Foundation Board and the artistic decisions in the newly constituted expert committees. Savary concludes with these words: «At the end of my last year as chair, I will be able to hand over to my successor a Foundation that is capable of meeting the challenges of an evolving world and at the same time remain true to the mission entrusted to it by the beneficiaries united in the SUISA Cooperative».

The newly constituted Foundation Board will assume its duties on 1 January 2024, until which time the current members will continue in post.

The Board, as the supreme body, is responsible for the strategic orientation of the Foundation pursuant to the purpose of the Foundation.

From 01.01.2024, the destiny of FONDATION SUISA will be in the eminently capable hands of:

ZENO GABAGLIO (Ticino)
Member of the Foundation Board since 2017

Zeno Gabaglio – Photo ©BAK


Zeno Gabaglio studied music teaching, free improvisation and philosophy (in Lugano, Basel and Florence) and launched himself as a composer and cellist in the field of contemporary music before turning to improvisation and experimental electronica. Also very active in film and theatre music, he has performed throughout Europe, America and Asia, issued five record albums and composed in excess of forty soundtracks.


ANICIA KOHLER (Bern)
New member

Anicia Kohler – Photo ©Anicia Kohler


Anicia Kohler is a composer and writer. Following studies at what is now the Jazzcampus, part of the FHNW School of Music, she trained in scoring for orchestra and film music, most recently graduating from the Music and Social Action course at Yale University (USA) in 2020. As a band leader and pianist, she has issued four record albums and a book. An editor at the Association of Swiss Music Schools and a freelance writer for magazines and companies, she is currently curating the «Jazz Talks» discussion format at the Schaffhausen Jazz Festival. 


DÉSIRÉE MEISER (Basel)
New member

Désirée Meiser – Photo ©Désirée Meiser


Désirée Meiser is the initiator, co-founder and artistic director of Gare du Nord in Basel, a cultural venue that bills itself as a «station for new music». In cooperation with the Lucerne Festival, the FHNW Basel Academy of Music and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, she has staged music theatre productions and successively established Gare du Nord as a destination for contemporary music theatre with the Musiktheaterformen series. She takes a keen interest in promoting young talent.


PHILIPPE SAVOY (Fribourg)
New member

Philippe Savoy – Photo ©Philippe Savoy


Philippe Savoy is a saxophone player, choirmaster and family man. In 2019 he was appointed director of the Fribourg site of the Haute Ecole de Musique Vaud-Valais-Fribourg (HEMU), which is part of the Music and Performing Arts faculty at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts – Western Switzerland (HES-SO). He began his training in Fribourg (Switzerland), followed by studies in Lausanne, Zurich and Sion. Philippe Savoy has graced stages on five continents, experiencing musical thrills at the Tokyo Opera House, the Sydney Opera House, the Sur bar in Buenos Aires, St Anne’s Church in Jerusalem, St Michel’s Church in Fribourg, the Tonhalle in Zurich and the Victoria Hall in Geneva.


ANDREAS WEGELIN (Zurich)
Member of the Foundation Board since 2010

Andreas Wegelin – Photo ©Lisa Burth


Andreas Wegelin studied law, musicology, art history and piano, graduating with a master’s in law (lic.iur.) from the University of Bern. He joined the SUISA Cooperative in 1987 and was appointed its CEO in 2010. Since 2016, he has been the chairman of the board of directors of the subsidiary Mint Digital Services AG. During the course of his professional career, he has served on the management boards of the Swiss Music Council, among other organisations, and on the Board of Trustees of the Schweizerischer Jugendmusikwettbewerb (SJMW).

Next IKF: 20–22 January 2025

In spring 2023, Messe Freiburg decided to redesign the Intern. Kulturbörse (IKF). The aim is to make IKF fit for future within the changing culture sector.

In order to give the organisers the necessary time for the reorientation, the trade fair will be pausing in 2024. The next IKF is going to take place in Freiburg from 20 to 22 January 2025

We will inform you about the new concept and contents of the event in due course.

https://www.kulturboerse-freiburg.de