2023-07-27 09:00:00
The POPFEST VIENNA SESSIONS, a two-day discussion program as part of the Popfest Wien 2023, are dedicated to the general conditions of current pop music.
The pop festival offers in cooperation with the Austrian Music Information Center mica – music austria a forum for its visitors to shed light on aspects of musical life. So once more in this, the tenth year of its existence: on Friday, July 28th and on Saturday, July 29th, 2023 the Popfest Sessions As in previous years, admission is free at Karlsplatz.
The economic and social conditions with which musicians have to struggle should be discussed in a discursive and constructive-critical manner Popfest Sessions to be pursued. Representatives of the music industry, music journalists and critics, organizers, scientists and musicians will address the aesthetic dimensions, the economic potential and risks of a rapidly changing industry in discussion groups and talks.
Popfest Vienna 2023 >> Sessions PROGRAM
Friday 28 July | Club U
13.00 – 14.00 self-exploitation and Precariat
In our culture, self-exploitation and a precarious lifestyle has become part of everyday life for most musicians. A heavily stigmatized topic that threatens to escalate due to the corona pandemic, platform capitalism and a lack of support and sources of income. Many are not aware of this, since poverty in art is often seen as self-inflicted. “If you don’t manage it, it’s your own fault”. Thus we find ourselves in a competitive elbow-jerk society where survival of the fittest has become the norm. You might ask yourself: How can you still live from music these days? What guarantees should we be entitled to here? And how can we create perspectives for a dignified life?
Moderation: Kathi Seidler (FM4)
Impulsreferat: Daniela Brodesser (poverty activist)
Speakers: Daniela Brodesser, Shilla Strelka (culture journalist, curator and concert promoter), Michael Strohmann (musician)
14:00 Billy Roisz live | Club U
15:00 – 16.00 Pop, Alter & Ageism | Club U
Pop music was originally a medium of emancipation, a “culture of its own” for younger people, which also served to set them apart from their parents/grandparents. The age of the protagonists was hardly discussed, one might hardly imagine that pop stars would remain active as such into old age or that they would live so long with their extravagant lifestyle.
Today’s festival line-ups are full of – mainly male – headliners beyond retirement age, at the same time there are hardly any musicians over 30 in the charts, the youth mania in the pop industry, reinforced by contemporary staging in social media, still exists, above all for women. The topic also requires dealing with numerous social issues:
How are the countless pop musicians doing in old age whose careers have not been as successful? How do older musicians deal with the grueling working conditions? How strong is ageism, i.e. age discrimination, in the music industry?
Moderation: Franz Hergovich (mica – music austria)
Speaker: Alexandra Augustin (FM4), Michael Huber (Institute for Music Sociology/mdw)Stefan Sterzinger (musician), Tini Trampler (musician)
16:00 Sterzinger live | Club U
18:00 – 21:00 Free Group DJ Workshop by Turntablista | Club U
Turntablista’s DJ workshop is regarding learning the basics of DJing with the help of records. We’ll be practicing on vinyl records because turntables don’t have displays or other visual parameters, allowing us to focus on our ears rather than our eyesight. In DJing – as in any discipline related to music – hearing and a sense of rhythm are very important, which can be developed through certain exercises.
The workshop consists of 3 parts:
1. Basic knowledge of beat matching
2. Working with the mixer, frequencies and volume
3. Introduction Structure of a track, mixing techniques
REGISTRATION at: https://tinyurl.com/3bpu2rr5
Capacity 20-30x people – first come, first served!
(Participation is free.)
Saturday 29 July | Club U / Karlsgarten
13:00 – 14.00 No Music on a Dead Planet – climate-friendly music scene? | Karlsgarten
The climate crisis is already being felt by all of us. The summer of 2022 was the warmest on record. It is high time to take this development seriously and to vigorously tackle the internationally agreed measures to achieve the climate goals. What can the music industry do regarding the climate crisis? How can the industry become more sustainable? And what role does music play in climate activism?
Moderation: Marie Pfeiffer (WWF / Paul Plut / Lurch)
Speakers: Sigi Horn (musician), Andreas Jantsch (MDE Austria), Jonas Skielboe (VeloConcerts)
14:00 Sigrid Horn live | Karlsgarten
15:00 – 16:00 Pop, Power & Abuse | Club U
The Austrian cultural landscape is shaken by allegations of abuse at regular intervals, and little has been publicly addressed regarding this from the domestic pop music scene.
The path from “open secrets” to change will not succeed without public debate, so let’s finally start with it!
What all falls under the abuse of power and what specific framework conditions are there in the music industry that encourage abuse of power?
How can one recognize abuse of power and what can those affected and all of us do? How can structures be changed to prevent abuse as much as possible?
Moderation: Mariya Peleshko (Musician, Author)
Speaker: Karin Tonsern (Sisters of Music), Anne Eck (musician), Wolfgang Renzl (lawyer)
16:00 KMT live | Club U
Popfest Vienna 2023 >> Sessions
The Popfest Sessions are presented by the Vienna Business Agency.
A cooperation of mica – music austria and Pop Festival Vienna.
Organisation: Franz Hergovich, Oliver Johnson, Anna Mabo, Christoph Möderndorfer, Robert Rotifer
The Austrian music information center mica – music austria is the most important contact point for information regarding contemporary Austrian music of all genres and also a competent contact and advisor for Austrian musicians and their economic environment.
Links:
Pop Festival Vienna
Pop Festival Vienna (Facebook)
Pop Festival Vienna (Instagram)
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