Jazz Finland (Suomen Jazzliitto) produces two tours and supports the production costs of three co-production tours in the fall of 2021. The application to perform on or produce the tours, or to perform at the Jazz-Espa concert series on the Espa outdoor stage, is open from October 6, at 10.00am to November 9, at 4.00pm.
You can apply with the electronic form below, to one or several of the three options:
a) Jazz Finland tours: perform on a tour produced by Jazz Finland,
b) Co-production tours: produce a tour and get support from Jazz Finland,
c) Jazz-Espa concert series: perform at Espa stage in late July.
All jazz ensembles, with a majority of Finnish musicians, may apply with this form to perform on the Jazz Finland tours on September 6–19, 2021 or October 25–November 7, 2021. These tours are produced by Jazz Finland and the concerts are mainly organized by the member associations of Jazz Finland (Suomen Jazzliitto).
The co-production tours are produced by the applicant company and supported by Jazz Finland. The applicant must operate a registered business. Companies (agencies, production houses, managements, entrepreneurs) may apply for production support of 50% of the total costs (or max. 6.000 €) of a jazz tour taking place in Finland in July–December 2021. One of the three subsidies may be granted to a tour by a large ensemble, and the grant may extend to a maximum of 9.000 €.
Application to perform at the annual Jazz-Espa concert series, taking place on July 26–31, 2021 in Helsinki, can be completed with the same application form. The line-up for Jazz-Espa features quality ensembles that the open air stage complements. Your band qualifies for the selection, if the majority of the band's members are Finnish, and the band hasn't performed at Jazz-Espa in two previous editions. The Jazz-Espa concerts take place three times a day from Monday to Saturday, at lunchtime, early afternoon and early in the evening.
The application opens at 10am on October 6 and closes at 4pm on November 9, 2020.
Late applications will not be considered.
The subsidy decisions will be made by the Board of Jazz Finland.
The selected applicants will be contacted personally in the early half of December.
All the applicants will be informed of the selection by December 24, 2020.
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The link to the electronic form can be found HERE. The Google form will open a new window.
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JAZZ FINLAND TOURS (PRODUCED BY JAZZ FINLAND)
Jazz Finland commits to organise 5 to 8 concerts by the selected band within a period of two weeks, primarily through its member associations. In case of an exceptionally large ensemble, the total number of concerts might be smaller.
Dates:
Tour 1: September 6–19, 2021
Tour 2: October 25–November 7, 2021.
Jazz Finland will produce the tour and thus pay
- the concert fee of 235 € / musician / concert. The sum includes the vacation compensation 13,5%
- the per diems
- the fee of the sound engineer
- the travels and accommodation.
The primary form of travel on tour is Jazz Finland's minibus (8+1 seats). The sound engineer operates as tour driver and manager if not otherwise negotiated. The band may use their own technician or a technician recommended by Jazz Finland.
The tour promotion is outsourced. The services include:
- general press release
- contacting local medias and reporting all media hits
- tour poster and social media banners.
Jazz Finland promotes the tours on Jazz Finland website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If the band has relevant releases around the tour, like new albums coming out, the band may ask for an offer for their own promotion from Jazz Finland's contract company.
NB! The band must have their websites updated and press quality photos available by January 2021. Jazz Finland is not responsible for the band's promotional material!
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 2021 (new releases, tours, accolades)
- Majority of the musicians are Finnish
- The band or band leader has not been on Jazz Finland tour in 3 previous years.
Please note that the whole band must be available for touring during the 14-day period!
NB! Only ONE application per applicant. If you have several bands, apply with the group that is the most active and topical.
Application must include:
- link to the band/bandleader website or other promotional website with additional info and photos.
- music samples either on a web player or streaming service, or by email at raisa.siivola@jazzfinland.fi (must be sent within the application period!)
CO-PRODUCED TOURS (JAZZ FINLAND SUPPORTS THE PRODUCTION)
Dates: July - December 2021
Jazz Finland supports financially three production companies/entrepreneurs who each produce a tour in Finland. One of the three subsidies/One subsidy/ co-production support may be granted to a tour by a large ensemble and the applicant may apply for a bigger grant.
The selected projects have a realizable production plan and a sustainable budget. The tours should take place in the later half of 2021, between July and December. To avoid overlapping with Jazz Finland's inhouse productions, it is recommended that the supported tour would settle in a two-week period within one of the following timeframes:
July 1–22, 2021
August 9–22, 2021
October 4–24, 2021
November 8 – December 19, 2021.
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.
Jazz Finland (Suomen Jazzliitto) will support each of the three selected producers with 50% of the total costs of the tour, up to a maximum sum of 6.000 euros. One of the selected tours may be a big band or a larger ensemble (9 or more musicians), and that production may extend the maximum of the grant up to 9.000 €.
The grant may be freely divided to cover e.g.:
- musicians' fees
- sound technician's fees
- rental equipment (if Jazz Finland's PA gear is not sufficient)
- travel expenses (petrol, or traveling with other measures than Jazz Finland's minibus)
- accommodation costs
- marketing and promotion expenses
- producer's fee.
Jazz Finland 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 average 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.
Jazz Finland 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, Jazz Finland provides the band with sound equipment and a tour bus (8 + 1 seats). The bus and the PA are not available during Jazz Finland's own productions: July 23–August 8, September 6–October 3 and October 25–November 7, 2021. The producer may book accommodation using Jazz Finland's contract and special prices.