the rocking factory

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NEW SITE ONLINE @ www.therockingfactory.eu

"...Read more about our 2012 plans and new business concept on the new company site..."

"NORDIC MUSIC EXPORT"

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Since 2007 the rocking factory has been working on Nordic music export in Central Europe. The rocking factory has been working with organisations such as The Mission of the Faroes in Brussels, ROSA - The Danish Rock Council, MXD - Music Export Denmark, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Faroes, the Faroese Trade Council - SAMVIT, The Danish Embassy in Brussels, DUP - Danish Independent Record Labels, the Danish Cultural Institute in Brussels, the Nordic House in Tórshavn, the SPOT festival, etc... For the remainder of 2008 the rocking factory is 100% focused on export projects involving music from the Faroe Islands and Denmark.

For more details please consult the sections in the menu bar to your right.

Music & Culture Project Supervisor for THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE FAROES

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”With the aim of increasing the international awareness of and interest for the Faroes the rocking factory will carry out public diplomacy projects for The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Faroes, focused on Faroese music and culture export in Central Europe via showcases in France and Holland”

On 3 May 2008, Atlantic Soundscapes, the first Faroese music/culture showcase of its sort on the European continent, took place in Brussels. The showcase has thus far generated several significant deals for Faroese artists in Germany, France, BENELUX and Switzerland. Furthermore Atlantic Soundscapes has generated significant new Faroese showcase opportunities in Holland (Nordic Blizzard) and France (Transmusicales). These facts highlight the potential business results, which could be generated by continuing the public diplomacy processes surrounding the promising Faroese music/culture export product. Therefore the rocking factory and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Faroes/the Mission of the Faroes in Brussels , have set-up a 6-month cooperation plan, which includes developing new export opportunities for the Faroese music economy and related culture sectors, in the same vein as Atlantic Soundscapes did, and furthermore focuses on continuing the work, which has already been started by Atlantic Soundscapes. The music export showcases will therefore when possible incorporate other sectors of Faroese culture such as video art.

Calender 2008 - Showcases, events, etc...

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UPCOMING:

22-24 August 2008 - Multizik Festival @ Luxembourg, feat. Figurines, the late parade, No and the Maybes, Blue Foundation & 2 more TBC Danish acts (www.multizik.eu)

25 October 2008 - Nordic Blizzard @ Tivoli, Utrecht, Holland , feat. Men Among Animals (DK), Slaraffenland (DK), Dúné (DK) and ORCA (FO)

8 November 2008 - SPOT on Denmark @ AB, Brussels, feat. Slaraffenland, Le Fiasko, Tone & Said the shark

28-29 November 2008 - SPOT on Denmark visits Sonic Visions @ Rockhal, Luxembourg, feat. Dúné, Veto, Jong Pang, No and the maybes & Murder

3-7 December 2008 - Transmusicales - ORCA feat. Yann Tiersen & Budam @ L'Aire Libre, They will perform all 5 days of the 30th anniversary of this legendary French festival (www.lestrans.com / www.myspace.com/transmusicales)


PAST

October 2007 - Music wrapped in art feat. Prins Nitram @ The Danish Cultural Institute, Brussels

3 November 2007  - SPOT on Denmark @ AB, Brussel (www.myspace.com/danishmusicbelgiumwants)

January - March 2008 - PLATFORM feat. As in RebekkaMaria & Mud Flow @ The
Danish Cultural Institute, Brussels

3 May 2008 - ATLANTIC SOUNDSCAPES @ Beursschouwburg, Brussels (www.myspace.com/atlanticsoundscapes)

10 May 2008 - TUTL label night @ Tórshavn, The Faroe Island (www.tutl.com)

22 May 2008 - PLATFORM II feat. Spleen United & Hollywood Porn Stars @ Secret location in Brussels (www.myspace.com/platformed)

5-7 June 2008 - SPOT festival @ Århus, Denmark /BENELUX bus trip to SPOT (www.spotfestival.dk)

2008 brings the Danish music scene closer to Central Europe

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the rocking factory is extremely proud and thrilled to announce that it will be representing ROSA – The Danish Rock Council, in BENELUX and France. Thus, as of today, the rocking factory is taking on the role as ROSA – The Danish Rock Council’s BENELUX/France project consultant. The cooperation aims at boosting Danish popular music’s profile in the region. We will strive to meet this ambitious goal via a dynamic, long-term oriented work process. The rocking factory is happy to underline that the main incentive for the cooperation is a common mindset, which bodes well for the future.

ROSA – The Danish Rock Council is one of the most important cultural institutions for popular music in Denmark. ROSA – The Danish Rock Council annually organizes SPOT (the biggest Nordic showcase festival for new popular music), supports the development of new talents in Denmark, supports new Danish bands in their international career development, frequently collaborates with international partners, is a co-founder of MXD – Music Export Denmark and holds the vice-president seat in MXD – Music Export Denmark’s board of directors.

ROSA – The Danish Rock Council’s new local presence will mean several things for people operating and living in BENELUX and France:

In 2008 several events featuring Danish music will take place at prominent venues and festivals in Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg

The Danish music scene will become accessible to people in the region on a daily basis. On the business, audience and political level

The “music bridge” between Denmark and the region will become solid. Thus, 2008 also opens doors in Denmark via projects such as PLATFORM and a special international night at the SPOT festival

You can keep yourself posted on here or at www.rosa.org about future
ROSA – The Danish Rock Council events and projects related to the cooperation.

It is important to underline that ROSA – The Danish Rock Council’s other partnerships in the region will continue unaffected.

"...I DEMAND EURO PRIMETIME FOR THE NORDIC TUNES..."

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Mission Statement

"Being based in the heart of Europe the rocking factory aims at being the gateway between the Scandinavian/Nordic and Central European music scenes by offering the most professional, reliable and result-oriented assistance to Scandinavian and Nordic music organisations who try to enter specific Central European markets"

PLATFORM

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PLATFORM II - 22 MAY 2008
On the 22nd of MAY one of the biggest current Danish acts and chart toppers Spleen United (DK) and the Belgian rockstars Hollywood Porn Stars (B) will play a gig together at a top secret location in Brussels. The style of the day is limited places and “invites only”!!! So if you wanna see two of Europe’s best bands in a very intimate but highly plugged setting then you better cross your fingers for an invitation…. We will say no more but: “Welcome to the 2nd edition of PLATFORM!”

PLATFORM… What concept?
PLATFORM is, as the name indicates, a new platform for the exchange of pop, rock, indie, alternative and electro artists/bands between Belgium and Denmark. The aim of PLATFORM is to expose new upcoming Danish bands to Belgian music lovers and expose new Belgian bands to Danish music lovers. Three times annually an established Danish band/artist and an established Belgian band/artist who both still await their international break-through will hook up and play gigs together in Denmark and Belgium.

The PLATFORM gigs in Belgium make use of unusual surprise locations. The concerts in Denmark will take place at Lades Kælder, Copenhagen, and Musikcafeen in Aarhus or via prominent support jobs.

PLATFORM I = Music Export
On the 18th of January 2008 PLATFORM “I “ took place when As in RebekkaMaria (DK) feat. JOJO DJ Team (DK) played a sold out show in front of a 200 people crowd at the Danish Cultural Institute in Brussels, which had been turned into a venue for the night together with one of Belgium’s finest rock bands, namely Mud Flow (B). As in RebekkaMaria furthermore played a night club show at “the wax club” on Saturday the 19th of January. The 2 Belgian shows were followed by Mud Flow concerts in Denmark on 27th of March @ Lades Kaelder and the 28th of March @ Musikcafeen. Today As in RebekkaMaria enjoys airplay on Studio Brussel, have landed a booking deal with Stage Mania and just played at the AB on the 3rd of May… In short the concept’s working.

Partners & Links:
www.myspace.com/platformed, www.rosa.org, www.dkibenelux.org, www.therockingfactory.be, www.lades.dk & www.musikcafeen.dk

TUTL cooperation

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TUTL kicks off European cooperation with the rocking factory

The rocking factory is proud to announce that 2008 will bring the biggest record label from the Faroe Islands closer to the European continent via a partnership with the rocking factory in Brussels.

TUTL has existed for 31 years and represents almost all professional Faroese music within rock, pop, electro, indie, world, folk, jazz, classical, etc…

The rocking factory will immediately start representing TUTL on the continent. It will be a declared goal to get as many TUTL bands on the road as possible in 2008. Furthermore TUTL’s artists will actively be promoted to relevant European music professionals. Ultimately this should result in an increase in the distribution of Faroese music in Europe and strengthen the scenes profile in the medias.

We will focus on the Central European markets. In particular Germany, France, BENELUX, Switzerland and Austria.

By getting a daily presence in the heart of Europe TUTL and the rocking factory together hope to become a key factor in the ongoing process of strengthening the profile of Faroese music abroad.

TUTL TOURING

A vital step in the process of getting Faroese music spread to the rest of the world is the establishment of TUTL touring. TUTL touring is a revolutionary new service offered to international booking agencies. In brief TUTL touring consists of 1-year partnerships between TUTL and various European booking agents. The partnership gives the agent exclusive access to booking the best Faroese bands of the moment in her/his territory.

ATLANTIC SOUNDSCAPES

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Took place on 3 MAY 2008 @ BEURSSCHOUWBURG (Click here to go to myspace!)

ATLANTIC SOUNDSCAPES was the first music export showcase promoting the Faroese music scene on the European continent. The showcase was coordinated and supervised by “the Mission of the Faroes to the EU” who hired the rocking factory to coordinate the project for them. It is important to note that the showcase made use of the strategically favourable location offered by Brussels, Belgium, to attract music industry professionals from all over Central Europe.

ATLANTIC SOUNDSCAPES consisted of two parts:

Part 1 (17:00 -20:00): A multi-cultural exhibition, featuring Faroese paintings, photo/video art, cuisine and fashion, set the scene for a networking reception. The +100 participants of the reception were representatives from the Faroese music and arts scene and European record label managers, distributors, festival bookers, journalists and relevant art institutions. Furthermore several political professionals from the Faroes and international EU organisations also attended the reception .

Part 2 (20:00 -23:00): The second part of the day featured concerts with the 4 Faroese bands ORCA, Budam, Boys in a Band and Gestir. The concert area of Beursschouwburg was on the evening completely full. The 200 people audience consisted of the guests from the reception as well as regular “ticket buying” Belgian concertgoers.

With more than 100 significant music and political professionals taking part in the day and a full house for both the reception (150 people) and concerts (200 people) Atlantic Soundscapes was in terms of attendance and atmosphere a major success. Furthermore the showcase generated impressive music export results and +1 million media coverage in Belgium.

It is important to underline that Atlantic Soundscapes would never have taken place without the cooperation of the events public and private stakeholders. Hence The Mission of the Faroes to the EU, SAMVIT – The Faroese Trade Council, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Nordic House / Atlantic Music Event (AME), The Ministry of Culture and Education, Beursschouwburg , BP, Norriq, Sirri, the white hotel and the rocking factory all strongly contributed to the success of the event

The bands who played at the showcase were picked by a group of prominent Belgian music industry professionals from Pukkelpop, Le Soir, De Morgen, Studio Brussel, VK*, Beursschouwburg, RifRaf and Soundslike.be. In other words the bands featured at the concert are the Belgian picks of the Faroese litter.

The 4 bands were:

BOYS IN A BAND (Rock / Indie) - www.myspace.com/boysinaband
GESTIR (Ambient / Alternative) - http://www.myspace.com/gestir
ORCA (Experimental / Electronic / World) - www.myspace.com/jenslthomsen
BUDAM (Cabaret / Folk / Experimental) - www.myspace.com/budam

Photo highlights

(ORCA is unlike anything but so much like it should be)

(Budam flirting... but with whom? You gotta love it!)

(Gestir's in the zone)

(Boys in a band singing their hearts out)

(Full house during the reception)

(Full house during the concerts)

Contact

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Address:
Louizalaan 177 Avenue Louise, Box 5
1050 Brussels
Belgium

Phone:
+32 2 502 50 91 (landline)
+32 475 414 396 (mobile)

E-mail:
christian@therockingfactory.be

Target groups

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Scandinavian/Nordic & BENELUX music organisations - Example: When a strong group of bands, indie record labels or Nordic/BENELUX music export organisations decide to make a push to promote their scene in the BENELUX/North the rocking factory is an ideal partner to take onboard.

Scandinavian and Nordic musicians and bands - You will always be the key ingredient no matter which organisations are involved in the project!

The factory is flexible so just contact us - As long as the project is based on good ideas and quality we're listening.

Taking responsibility

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"Never undertake a task one does not believe in"
Before taking on a task the rocking factory always double checks whether the project aims and music will work on the target export market.

"Act like a professional"
If the the rocking factory takes on a task it works out a concrete action plan, gives its partners regular feedback and always remains available for the partners to contact.

Services

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Representation - If you need someone to represent your organisation or project in Central Europe on a day-to-day basis from Brussels, but don't plan to set up your own office for the purpose, the rocking factory is the partner to go to.

Events and projects - The Scandinavian and Nordic music scenes all have the potential to generate a lot of interest in Central Europe. Promotional initiatives such as showcases abroad however often fail to generate concrete results. By being based in the heart of Europe the rocking factory can help turn Nordic promotional pushes into a success. Together we can find the critical success factors of your event/project and together we can reach them.

Past projects: "Spot on Denmark" @ AB

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SPOT ON DENMARK - 3 November 2007

What
Spot on Denmark was a 1-day event promoting Danish indie, pop, rock and electronic music in Belgium. The goal of the event was to expose cool new Danish bands to the Belgian music lovers and improve the network between music industry professionals in the two countries. Concretely the day consisted of two parts. First of all there was a conference between music industry professionals from the two countries during the afternoon, where more than 80 music industry professionals from both countries participated. The second part of the day was a concert in the evening @ AB in Brussels. The concert featured 4 Danish bands that had been picked by Belgian music journalists and bookers. Those bands were Murder, Figurines, Band Ane and Amber.

Both conference and concert went extremely well with a major crowd at the conference and full house for the evenings concert at Club AB.

Who
The project was coordinated and supervised by the rocking factory and carried out in cooperation with Music Export Denmark, the Danish Embassy in Brussels, the Danish Cultural institute in Brussels, DUP - Danish Independent records labels, AB and 14 Danish indie record labels (i.e. Morningside Records, Bad Afro Records, Cope Records, Jenka Music, Whiteout Music, Artiscope Music, etc..)

Results
Although it is hard to assess the final outcome this early on many things have already happened. Both Murder and Figurines are getting distribution of their latest albums in Belgium. Both bands have also made booking agreements in Belgium and the Netherlands. Furthermore Band Ane is in negotiation for a Belgian distribution deal and non-showcase acts who were only represented in Brussels at the conference are also getting results. For example Emil De Waal will play at the wonderful Gent venue Kinkystar Club on the 10th of February 2008.

Read the Music Export Denmark raport on the results here

Links:

Event:

Partners:

Event participants - The record labels