News

IMC World Forum on Music

The fourth World Forum on Music takes place in Tallinn, Estonia, from 26 September to 1 October 2011.

The event is co-organised by the International Music Council (IMC), the European Music Council (EMC) and the Estonian Music Council , in cooperation with the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. 

The biennial IMC World Forum on Music is conceived as an influential global knowledge-building platform on music and society in the 21st century, which explores a variety of topics from diverse perspectives: cultural, political and economic. Topics go beyond the aesthetic aspects of music production and address those mechanisms and incentives that undermine or foster people’s active participation in cultural experiences.

A non-commercial initiative, the forum provides the opportunity for government officials, private sector executives, music managers, activists, scholars and practitioners to engage in high-level, cross-disciplinary debates and to design the course of action for the future.  

For further information and registration, please visit the conference web site.

Save Music Centre the Netherlands!


Last Friday the Dutch Government announced cutbacks of more than 30% in the budget for the Arts. One of the proposals is to discontinue all financial support for Music Center the Netherlands. In short this means it will cease to exist as of 01-01-2013. 

The consequences will be devastating. All promotion activities of MCN will grind to a halt. No more Dutch Jazz and World Meeting (since 1998) or showcases at trade fairs such as Jazzahead and Womex.

It will also mean the end for the succesfull MusicXport program that enables young jazzmanagers to gain (international) experience and the annual Boy Edgar Prize, the most prestigious jazz-award in The Netherlands.

Also the Music Information Center with the complete Dutch Jazz Archives, over 60,000 scores and 40,000 recordings, a large music library, the brand new online Music Encyclopedia, the production of historic jazzrecordings: all will have to stop or find shelter elsewhere.

Also the publishing house (formerly Donemus) that recently published the first Dutch Real Book will be terminated. 

Not only MCN is under threat, but many other cultural & music organizations too!  The unprecedented cuts also mean that thousands of Dutch musicians will no longer receive any support whatsoever and most likely the funding possibilities for Dutch bands & ensembles that can tour internationally will sharply diminish. 

In order to make itself heard before a parliamentary Hearing Committee on June 20th, the  Music Centre the Netherlands needs your support. Otherwise the final curtain will fall.

Therefore it is now collecting as many support quotes as possible by national and international friends, colleagues, partners, etc.

Please follow this link to sign the petition and leave some remarks or a personal quote about ‘the importance of Music Center the Netherlands or the way it has promoted music  (of course you can use your own phrasing…).

Link to the petition:

http://www.muziekcentrumnederland.nl/en/about-mcn/petition/

Please feel free to forward this message to anyone who might be interested.