REMA’s main event (in terms of its actions aimed at the general public) is its biennial European Showcase for young artists (meetings between artists and the public). This showcase, the first of which took place in Modena in 2007, was a great success. The next event will be in in 2009. The Showcase is a unique opportunity to present young talent in Early Music to an audience of programme organisers. REMA gives these young people a unique chance to get themselves known. For these artists, being able to meet such a large number of festival directors at such an early stage in their career is a huge opportunity. Many spend years trying to get to know the people who are essential to the success of their careers. REMA offers a year-long support programme for young ensembles taking part in the Showcase. It provides support in terms of communication, relationships and advice. All ensembles that took part in 2007 have since secured a number of bookings at member festivals, providing the young people involved with unique professional experience.
This key event (which is a sort of REMA festival) is naturally an important opportunity to meet the general public. As REMA is primarily a network for professionals in Early Music, this event is a chance to present the organisation to the outside world and the general public.
Another event aimed at the general public is REMA's participation (stand and events) in the Musicora fair, the specialist music industry fair at the Carrousel du Louvre, Paris. REMA's first participation in this trade fair took place in 2008. Following the success of the experience, REMA has decided to make its participation permanent. This fair brings together musicians, professionals and the music-loving public from France, Europe and the rest of the world. It is a very important meeting opportunity. REMA has its own stand, among other stands hosted by its members. This improves the organisation's visibility.
In 2008, REMA decided to commission the first study on Early Music audiences in Europe and access to culture (first study published in 2008), and from 2009, this will be done in partnership with the University of Modena, Italy. Feedback on the study from REMA members has been positive. This quantitative study included surveys on our members’ audiences, and enabled researchers to build an image of Early Music audiences. This was a particularly useful exercise because, by combining all the information, it was possible to put forward conclusions on how to promote access to culture.
However, the survey did show that member festivals have a poor understanding of their audiences. Very few REMA members carry out regular surveys of their audiences. In order to obtain consistent results for our global survey, REMA plans to design a unified questionnaire in conjunction with the University of Modena, which can be used for all our member festivals. This survey will be scrutinised by the University of Modena, and REMA will then create a second survey on festival organisation, pricing policies, locations and programming. Finally, a summary will be published, combining all information. This methodology is designed to yield reliable results.
Initial results for the year 2009 are expected in March 2010.
This project was funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the
Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of
the information contained therein.