In the autumn season 2024, Finnish Jazz Federation produces three tours as inhouse productions, on September 16–24, October 7–15 and November 4–12 and supports the production costs of two externally produced co-operative tours. We are also calling for artists to perform at the Jazz-Espa concert series in Helsinki in July–August 2024. The application opens at 10 am on October 16 and closes at 4 pm on November 6, 2023.
You may apply with your band to the Jazz Federation tours that take place on September 16–24, October 7–15 and November 4–12, 2024 or to perform at the week-long Jazz-Espa concert series in the turn of July–August 2024. As a producer who has a registered company, you may apply to receive production support for a tour in the autumn season 2024.
The inhouse tour productions are fully produced by the Jazz Federation, and the concerts are mainly organized by our member associations. The co-production tours are produced by the applicant company and supported by the Jazz Federation. NB! The criteria of the co-produced tours have been updated.
You can apply for both types of tours and Jazz-Espa using the form linked in this article. You can only leave ONE application. If you have several ensembles, select the one that is the most active and topical. By applying, you commit to the band members being available for touring during the whole period.
The application opens at 10 am on October 16, and closes at 4 pm on November 6, 2023.
Late applications will not be considered.
The decisions will be made by the Board of Jazz Finland, and the selected applicants will be contacted personally by December 20, 2023 at the latest.
All the applicants will be informed of the selection before the turn of the year.
NB! The selections for Jazz-Espa will be made after the turn of the year, and the applicants will be notified of them by February 29, 2024 at the latest.
Instructions:
1. FINNISH JAZZ FEDERATION INHOUSE PRODUCTIONS
The Jazz Federation commits to organise 5 to 6 concerts by the selected band within a period of nine days, primarily through its member associations.
Tour 1: September 16–24, 2024 (aiming to be primarily carried out by train and/or electric car)
Tour 2: October 7–15, 2024 (aiming to be primarily carried out by train and/or electric car)
Tour 3: November 4–12, 2024 (with Jazz Federation’s minibus using renewable diesel)
Finnish Jazz Federation will produce the tour and thus pay the
– concert gross fee of 235 € / musician / concert (incl. vacation comp.)
– per diems
– fee of the sound engineer
– travels and accommodation (primarily in twin rooms).
The starting and finishing location of the tour is initially Helsinki. The band members’ travel expenses to Helsinki and home from another location in Finland will be compensated by the Jazz Federation. Travels from abroad will not be compensated. The sound engineer operates primarily as tour driver and manager if not otherwise negotiated. The band may use their own technician.
PROMOTIONAL READINESS
The band must have quality promotional material ready by the time of application. That includes also music available in an online streaming service. The Jazz Federation is not responsible for the band’s photos or other promotional materials, nor for example, social media content. The media communications services are outsourced. The services include a general press release, contacting local jazz medias and reporting all media hits. The Jazz Federation promotes the tours on Jazz Finland website and the federation’s social media channels. A consistent visual identity, including posters and social media banners, will be created for the tours.
APPLICATION REVIEW
The application is reviewed especially regarding the following:
– High jazz-musical quality and originality
– Professionality of the band (established status, releases and promo materials of good quality)
– Topicality in 2024 (new releases, tours, accolades)
– Majority of the musicians are Finnish
– The band or band leader has not been on Finnish Jazz Federation tour in 3 previous years.
In artistic programming, Finnish Jazz Federation pays special attention to representation and diversity, regarding e.g. gender, age, physical ability, cultural and educational background.
2. CO-PRODUCTIONS
The general objective of the co-production tour support is to provide financial assistance to jazz music tour producers, enabling them to operate in accordance with principles of sustainability and fair compensation.
Finnish Jazz Federation supports two externally produced tours in the autumn season 2024. The applicant must operate as registered business. Companies (agencies, production houses, managements, entrepreneurs) may apply for a production grant. The support is max. 50% of the total costs or the maximum sum according to the number of musicians on tour (see the chart below). The producer and the artist must show a level of professionality, and present a tour plan and budget that can be considered both responsible and realizable.
The tour plan should outline how the tour intends to address reducing its climate impact. Jazz Federation will assist the selected producer as needed in planning the tour’s low emissions.
The tours should contain at least five concerts in the course of max. two weeks. The tours must take place between August and December 2024.
The applicant company is responsible for the whole production of the tour, and therefore, responsible for:
– the economy of the tour (and taking care of possible employer responsibilities)
– selling the concerts
– promotion of the tour
– logistics and accommodation
– management on tour.
Finnish Jazz Federation will support each of the two selected producers with a maximum of 50% of the total costs of the tour, up to a maximum sum of:
– 1500 € per a solo tour
– 2500 € per a duo tour
– 3500 € per a trio tour
– 5000 € per a quartet tour
– 6000 € per a quintet tour, or a larger ensemble.
The grant may be freely divided to cover e.g.:
– musicians’ fees
– sound technician’s fees
– rental equipment (if Jazz Federation’s PA gear is not sufficient)
– travel expenses (petrol, or traveling with other measures than Jazz Federation´s minibus)
– accommodation costs
– marketing and promotion expenses
– producer’s fee.
NB! Only one flight (if necessary) is allowed per tour. Flights may be considered necessary when potential train/car travel lasts over 7 hours. In exceptional cases, such as a tour where venues are located far apart, a second flight may be accepted for justified reasons. In such a case, please clearly state and explain the reason in the “tour introduction” section of the application form. This will be assessed during the application process and approved or rejected based on the reasons provided.
The tour should be organized as a cohesive whole. Applicants are encouraged to consider whether workshops, clinics, or other collaborations with local concert organisers could be integrated into the tour on potential rest days.
The Jazz Federation requires that all the professionals in the working group get a fair compensation for their work. According the Finnish Musicians’ Union, the minimum fee of a musician is 200 €/gross, and that should be the minimum concert fee on this tour too. It is required that all exceptions to this minimum fee, such as ticket income deals, should be thoroughly negotiated with all the participants when planning the tour.
The Jazz Federation is not the employer on the co-production tours. The production company is responsible for the possible employer’s duties. They may apply for financial support from the Finnish Music Foundation and other funding sources; however, any funding applied or received should be stated in the application form and reported later. The co-producing party will be in charge of the execution of the tour.
In addition to the financial support, the Jazz Federation provides the band with sound equipment and a tour bus (8 + 1 seats). The bus and the PA are not available during the federation’s inhouse tours September 16–24, October 7–15 and November 4–12, 2024, and during the co-operation tour of Finnish Jazz Federation and Free Voices agency (Vapaat äänet) September 25 – October 7, 2024. The producer may book accommodation using the Jazz Federation’s discount prices.
3. JAZZ-ESPA CONCERT SERIES, JULY–AUGUST 2024
Finnish Jazz Federation is producing a series of free outdoor concerts at the Espa Stage in Helsinki from July 29 to August 3, 2024. The selection of performers for Jazz-Espa consists of high-quality, primarily domestic bands that are not selected for a tour in the same application round and have not performed at Jazz-Espa in the previous two years. The Jazz Federation produces the concerts and covers musicians’ fees (200 € gross, + holiday compensation 13,5 %) as well as provides meals at the Kappeli restaurant.
We encourage all professional bands to apply! We hope to see musicians of various ages, appearances, from different educational and cultural backgrounds, and gender identities on stage. Access to the concert stage is barrier-free, but the backstage area and social facilities may have obstacles. For bands with members who use wheelchairs or find stairs challenging for other reasons, we will adapt the backstage facilities accordingly.
Applicants will be notified of Jazz-Espa selections by the end of February 2024.