Miscellaneous How a booker gets up-and-coming musicians on stage
Every year, the m4music festival gives a stage to those who are currently in vogue in the Swiss alternative pop scene. In an interview with Keystone-SDA, co-booker Stipe Svalina explains how to track down acts that are still unknown to the masses.
21.03.2025, 11:00
21.03.2025, 11:01
SDA
In 2024, EDB from Bern conquered the festival stages with their indie pop in dialect. It was also the year of rapper and musician Soukey, who made the leap to the bigger stages and shared them with Nemo, for example. The Zurich punk band Batbait is also one of the up-and-coming acts on the Swiss music scene. They will all be performing at the m4music Festival, which takes place over two days in Zurich in a week's time.
These musicians are among the better-known names performing at the festival. New music is often discovered here. Music lovers meet industry professionals in the normal audience. 1500 people from the music and event industry have registered for the upcoming edition of the festival. The aim of the Migros Culture Percentage festival is to promote pop music in Switzerland. But how do you track down the up-and-coming newcomers?
Stipe Svalina is responsible for booking with Matthias Schlemmermeyer. They bring the often new faces in the Swiss and international music scene to the m4music Festival.
Training in the nightlife
Svalina has long since established himself as a booker, and bands are often brought to him. "When I watch a video clip of a band, I already know a lot after ten seconds," he told the Keystone-SDA news agency.
This allows him to quickly get an impression of the band's potential: "I then know the vibe of the group, can assess how well they fit into the current market and which potential target group they can reach."
Part of being a booker is being out and about in the nightlife and attending concerts. But: "The older I get, the more important the basic training I've had in the music business becomes. Now I know exactly which parameters I can rely on."
It started as a hip-hop kid
There is no training as a booker in the traditional sense. For Svalina, who was born in 1984 and grew up in the Zurich Oberland, it all started in his youth. He was a hip-hop kid at the end of the 90s. "I wanted to be part of the scene, with everything that goes with hip-hop: rap, jams, graffiti." At the age of 16, Svalina began organizing events together with colleagues. He was active in the scene as a hip-hop organizer until 2007.
At the age of just 22, he took over the Rampe club in Bubikon (ZH). Today, he is co-owner of Exil in Zurich and works as a creative director for other event organizers on a contract basis. He is currently also involved in the Frauenfeld Openair. He has been booking bands for the m4music festival since 2016.
When asked whether he only books artists that he likes himself, Svalina replied: "Fortunately not. As I understand it, as a booker I have to make sure that a festival can keep its promise to the audience - and not bring my favorite bands on stage."
Alternative pop on the springboard
At the m4music festival, the promise is concrete: to present musicians from the alternative pop scene who are on the verge of breaking through. "We shouldn't book an ultra-progressive group, nor should we be in the mainstream area of pop music," says Svalina.
The diversity of pop music is important: "We want rock, new jazz and hip-hop and other styles." Diversity in terms of gender and language regions is also important. For example, French-speaking Switzerland will be represented at m4music by a number of acts, including the psy-rock band Fomies from Vevey. The balance of Swiss female artists and international acts is also important. Half of the acts performing at m4music are from Switzerland.
In the run-up to the festival, newcomers are given the opportunity to send in their demo. If they are selected, they can perform their songs in front of the audience and jury at the festival in the Schiffbau, divided into genres, and win. This year's line-up includes last year's winners of the main prize "Demo of the Year", the Manic Pixxies.
As for Stipe Svalina's favorite at this year's festival, he names two. "We were able to book Miso Extra at the last minute. I'm particularly looking forward to her," says the booker. Miso Extra sings and raps and makes dreamy, electronic-inspired pop. Another highlight for Svalina is the Zurich rap duo L Loko & Drini, who have already made it into the Swiss charts and are headlining on the Friday of the festival. "From the perspective of the two, who already have commercial success, it's special to be headlining a festival like m4music. I think it's great that the two secondos from Wiedikon are coming to us, rapping with their Zurich slang."
