New report sums up the Fund’s experiences with the Nordic live music initiative Puls

“We are very pleased to see that the Fund’s efforts to develop live music in the Nordic region has been fruitful, and that more venues and festivals are now looking towards other Nordic countries, both in their booking and in the development of professional networks.

The music industry has undergone fundamental changes in recent decades, and most recently the pandemic has shown how important it is to create opportunities for collaboration and coordination across national borders. With Puls, we have seen that support for concert promoters and strengthened cooperation at Nordic level can also support sustainable development of the industry locally, nationally and internationally.”, Søren Merrild Staun, Senior Advisor at the Nordic Culture Fund and project manager for Puls

Focus on networks across the Nordic region

The aim of the Puls initiative has been to create a network of concert organisers from across the Nordic region who, with support from the Fund, have arranged concerts with artists from other Nordic countries than their own. Puls has thus  provided Nordic artists with a network of Nordic music scenes and given audiences the opportunity to experience artists they might not otherwise come across.  

Throughout the period, a total of 65 concert organisers (festivals and venues) have been involved in the  initiative, and almost 1000 concerts with Nordic artists have been held. During the period, the Puls organisers have also participated in annual network meetings with a focus on sharing experiences, networking and current agendas from the live scene in the Nordic region – such as booking new artists, diversity on and behind the stage and sustainable touring.

Puls was formally concluded at the end of 2022, but several of the Puls organisers are arranging the last concerts during 2023 to complete those postponed from the period of corona lockdown.

Great significance for concert organisers

In the spring of 2023, the consultant agency Seismonaut gathered the experiences and results from the initiative including the importance of Puls for the Nordic concert organisers during the initiative and into the future. You can read about the most significant results here: 

Key points from the report

1. Nordic music reaches a wider audienceThe Puls initiative has helped the organisers increase the volume and impact of Nordic music in local, national and Nordic contexts. The initiative has created ripples and opened new doors. Venues have started  to orientate more towards artists in the Nordic region, which helps to boost the Nordic music scene.
2. Networking and new collaborationsWith the annual network meetings, Puls has paved the way for organisers to establish relationships across borders. The meetings have led to new, smaller networks within the larger network.
3. Greater risk-taking in programmingPuls has strengthened organisers’ ability to think outside the box and take greater risks when booking artists. This has made it possible for new names and genres to appear on stage.
4. Flexibility has ensured creative rangeTrust, flexibility and a close dialogue with the Fund have ensured creative range and been a prerequisite for the Puls organisers to have the space to unfold their visions.
5. Transfer of personal knowledgeThe work of the Pulse organisers is often carried out by a few people with extensive knowledge and experience in the field. This can make their work fragile. Puls has helped to meet this challenge.

Puls lives on

Even though no more funding is provided through Puls, the initiative and experiences live on in the Nordic Culture Fund’s other funding programs and strategic work. For example, in continuation of Puls, the Fund has recently initiated a partnership project that aims to build resilient music ecosystems in geographically remote contexts and highlight the role of music in the sustainable development of local communities. You can find more information about the partnership here.

Another project where Puls on the artist side gets an afterlife is through the Fund’s support for the music initiative/network Liveurope (funded through Creative Europe). Liveurope’s Nordic project called Above 55° supports the work of 21 European venues in presenting talented Nordic musicians and bands across Europe.