ABSTRACT
A showcase festival can be defined as an event whose main goals are the promotion of emerging artists and the networking of musicians and music industry representatives. Therefore, apart from several short performances held in multiple venues, such events usually host conference and networking sessions for music industry professionals. This combination is attractive both for music industry representatives, who can quickly evaluate the potentials of several emerging acts, and for artists, who have opportunities to perform for diverse audiences. Globally, some of the most important showcase festivals are South by Southwest festival (SXSW) (Austin, Texas), Eurosonic Noorderslag (Groningen, The Netherlands), Reeperbahn Festival (Hamburg, Germany), and The Great Escape (Brighton, The United Kingdom), and their growing importance can be perceived as a response. The growing importance of showcase festivals can be perceived as a response to the hectic realities of the contemporary music industries. This chapter employs empirical data gathered in Poland (34 in-depth interviews) to discuss how showcase festivals are conceptualized by artists and music industry professionals as an entry point to foreign markets.
