Sweden was one of the first countries to set up an office dedicated to the support and development of the country’s music industry and possibly, at the time of its inauguration, to proving that music talents other than Abba existed, a fact now proven, and pretty obvious to all. The UK’s Q Magazine recently reported: "Forget London, LA or even Paris: Scandinavia is the new epicentre of culture". Certainly the music world cannot ignore the fact that the Swedish music industry is making a lot of noise about the undoubted talent that the country has to offer. Strange then, that with the existence of Export Music Sweden, coming second only I think to the French Export Office in longevity, and very evident and active at all the international music trade shows, Sweden has not, until now, established their own event. Interesting also that when this does finally happen, it has been suggested and initiated by ex-pat Brits. Whatever, the final well-intentioned result is that Access All Areas will now take place in Stockholm on 26-27 November. Both the British Council and ExMS are dedicated to promoting the talents of their respective countries. This is a non-profit event, driven by the need to fill the gap in the Swedish Music calendar for an industry-led event

Michael Taylor of The British Council in Sweden told Vip News about the origins of this new event.

“The concept of what became AAA was born out of a visit to London hosted by the BPI and Trade Partners UK. The British Council came away inspired to work with Sweden's annual trade event - only to find that there wasn't one! Not to be put off, the British Council set about trying to put one together, and we were lucky enough to find enthusiastic partners at Export Music Sweden. Six months down the line came Access All Areas. Over the past few years we have been working hard on promoting the UK Creative Industries. So far, this work has been limited to the Design, Film and Publishing sectors, resulting in a number of large scale exhibitions and seminars, but nothing has ever been attempted with the Music sector until now. Access All Areas is the first ever trade event of its kind in Sweden, and aims to attract over 150 delegates from Sweden and the surrounding Nordic countries, as well as a number of delegates from the UK and US. During the day, a number of focused seminars will highlight the issues of the day, such as Hype, Branding and Copyright. In the evenings, the doors open to the public for guest appearances by Malcolm McLaren, Tony Parsons and Steve Lamacq, plus over twenty artists from Sweden and the UK. If the event proves a success in it's first year, then it's hoped to expand the event each year, building in space for different genres, themes, events and venues.”

Christer Lunblad of Export Music Sweden is as enthusiastic about the event as his British partners, and commented:

“I think it's important that we cooperate, not compete, betweens ourselves as nations. The state the music business is in at the moment, it is more important to expand the market, increase total music sales, and this we can do better if we cooperate. The UK has always been an interesting market for us in Sweden. As an inspiration, as a source of good music but as of late also as a country where there is an interest in Swedish music. Together with the British Council, we want to encourage more contacts between the two countries, build networks and look forward, not be dragged down by the present gloom in the music business. That's why we are doing this seminar and showcase event, Access All Areas.”

Showcases:

Besides providing an excellent platform for international networking between Sweden and the UK, the event will provide a gateway to the rest of Scandinavia and the emerging Baltic States. It is hoped that after this first event, That Access All Areas will become an integral part of the Swedish music scene. During the two days, industry delegates will be able to take part in a series of focused seminars, while during the evenings, on two separate stages a two-day showcase event will showcase up-and-coming talents from Sweden and the UK to the music industry, Swedish press and the general public.

Partners:

The British Council and ExMS are jointly organising this event, with the help of AHA Sweden, this organisation aims to strengthen and develop the Swedish creative industry sector both nationally and internationally, and club network Going Underground. Morty McCarthy and Phil Hopkin formed this network in October 2001 and now run two weekly clubs with ‘Step On’ at Bonden Bar every Saturday and ‘Quad’ at Kvarnen every Wednesday. Corporate and Government sponsors are also lined up, and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has given the event their support.

Phil Hopkin of Going Underground comments:

We want to achieve a higher standard of awareness in UK and Europe for Swedish bands/artists. In all my years in the industry I have yet to come across such a high level of talent band/artist wise from such a small territory. When we reviewed the groups that applied to play at AAA it was a nightmare trying to pull out the best, as the level was so consistent. I would also like to see a closer-knit Swedish industry evolve somehow out of AAA. My experience this year in helping to run the event has been quite frustrating at times in getting ALL the information out to the right people. We need more cohesion on that front. Other than that most responses have been enthusiastic and we anticipate a very strong event for the first year leading into greater things for the future and maybe even on a Scandinavian level.

Venues:

The event will take place at Mondo, a new location for music in the heart of Stockholm. Mondo spreads over three floors, and incorporates two stages (the main stage holds 650 and the minor stage 400), a pub-restaurant and 100 seat cinema. It is within easy access of all the main hotels and amenities of Stockholm, and is the new hot venue for bands, clubs and large-scale events. The venue will provide a PA, backline, sound engineer and stage manager. UK Bands that are chosen to appear by the selection panel will be able to apply for a subsidy towards their costs

Press & Promotion:

PR is being handled by agents at the British Embassy Sweden and through the ExMS's and the British Council's extensive range of established media contacts. Local TV, Radio, Mobile Telephone and Internet companies will be involved. Companies taking part can expect an organised press conference at the start of the event. As the official Swedish Music Export group, ExMS will be using their own extensive network to promote this event within Sweden.

Contacts: info@accessallareas.se : www.britishcouncil.se :www.whatsonyourmind.se : www.exms.se : www.bpi.co.uk : www.goingunderground.nu : www.mondostockholm.com