Strength in Numbers

Resilience in Creativity: EJN Report highlights dynamic adaptation of jazz sector amidst pandemic challenges

Europe Jazz Network launches ‘Strength in Numbers 3: Sketches of Resourcefulness’, offering vital insights into the state of the jazz, creative and improvised music sector in Europe (2024)

Europe Jazz Network (EJN) is pleased to announce the publication of ‘Strength in Numbers 3- Sketches of Resourcefulness’, the latest report offering a comprehensive statistical profile of the EJN membership in 2021. Commissioned by EJN and researched by Phyllida Shaw, this third instalment in the series (first two editions were in 2012 and 2016) highlights the remarkable resilience, adaptability, and resourcefulness of creative music organisations across Europe in the face of the unprecedented challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report captures key trends in the sector, focusing on the activities, workforce, and financial state of festivals, venues, and infrastructure organisations across the continent.

Key Findings: A sector transformed by crisis and recovery
In 2021, EJN members showcased their capacity for innovation and resilience. The report, based on data from 111 respondents in 30 countries, underscores how organisations adapted swiftly, creating new opportunities for artists and audiences in a rapidly changing environment. Some of the most notable findings include:

- Membership growth: Despite the difficulties of the pandemic, the number of EJN members has nearly doubled since the last survey in 2016, growing from 99 to 191 members by 2023.

- Artist support and audience reach: EJN members continued to promote concerts and support artists. In 2021, 84 respondents promoted nearly 4.700 bands and involved 17.400 musicians. Extrapolated to the entire EJN membership, the report estimates that over 7.400 bands were promoted and an audience of 1.56 million was reached through live events in 2021. This is a very good number considering the difficult circumstances in which members had to operate in that year.

- Gender balance efforts: EJN members have been actively working towards gender equity. In 2021, 76% of respondents stated they were striving to achieve better gender balance in the bands they promoted. Yet, male musicians still made up 69% of the total artists pool, while commissioned composers saw a more balanced split of 49% male and 46% female. The gender balance of the EJN members’ workforce is also changing. For the first time in EJN’s history, women made up the majority (54%) of the workforce, reversing the male-dominated trends seen in earlier years. Governing body members and artistic directors are much more likely to be male, while volunteers are more likely to be female.

- Financial impact: While many members reported sharp declines in income and expenditure due to the pandemic, with a combined income drop of 27% from 2019 to 2020, there were some signs of recovery in 2021. The combined income of 93 members was €132,6 million, and extrapolated to the full membership, it is estimated at €204,4 million. Despite this, the recovery remained incomplete, with income levels still significantly below pre-pandemic figures.

Adapting to a new normal
The report sheds light on how EJN members navigated the challenges posed by COVID-19, which severely disrupted the live music sector. For many organisations, 2021 was a year of partial reopening, often under strict health regulations and reduced audience capacities. In this environment, organisations turned to live-streaming, digital broadcasting and publishing of albums to maintain their connection with audiences and support artists.

One of the key adaptations was the shift to digital platforms. In 2021, 44 organisations live-streamed a total of 888 events, reaching over 2.28 million online viewers. While this provided vital income for artists and maintained audience engagement, many EJN members reported that livestreaming was not a financially viable long-term solution.

Workforce and volunteerism: the backbone of the sector
Another important theme in the report is the resilience of the workforce. In 2021, EJN members employed a total of 6.296 people, with volunteers making up a substantial 44% of the total. This high level of volunteerism highlights the deep commitment of individuals to keep the creative music sector alive and thriving, but at the same time it shows the vulnerability of the workforce, which struggles to make a stable income and a viable career path from it. In addition, the pandemic caused considerable fluctuations in employment levels, with 28% of respondents reporting a smaller workforce compared to 2019.

The report also tracks a significant shift in the gender balance of the workforce. In 2013, 55% of the total workforce were male and 45% female. By 2021, 46% of the workforce were male and 54% female. Nonetheless, governing bodies and artistic director roles remain predominantly male, with 75% of artistic directors identifying as men.

Looking ahead: strength and collaboration in challenging times
In the face of the pandemic, EJN members demonstrated extraordinary resourcefulness. The report reflects on how the sector developed new strategies to ensure its survival, including online initiatives, hybrid events, and collaborations that transcended national borders. Many organisations used the downtime during lockdowns to reflect, create, and prepare for a more dynamic future.

EJN would like to extend its gratitude to all members who contributed to this report. Their insights and data have provided a valuable resource not just for EJN members, but also for musicians, policymakers, funders, and all professionals involved in the European music sector. Special thanks go to Phyllida Shaw for her meticulous research, and to the EJN Board of Directors and Research Working Group for their inputs and support.

DOWNLOAD the full report AT THIS LINK (.pdf file, 1.5 MB)
Or access it on Issuu here

EJN Research Project: Strength in Numbers 2 (2016)

This research collected a substantial set of data from the EJN membership about number and typology of concerts organised each year, support to local artists and typology of other activities, audience numbers, voluntary and paid staff, sources of income and major expenditures. As the EJN membership is very diversified in terms of geographical distribution (32 countries) and of typology and size of organisations (113 members), the research can give a fair representation of the state of the jazz and creative music sector in the European cultural landscape

Europe Jazz Network’s research project, supported by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union, asked EJN’s members to complete a detailed online survey, collecting a mixture of qualitative and quantitative data about their organisations in 2013. Key facts emerging from “Strength in Numbers” 2 are:

- Strong response rate - credible and robust at 61%;

- Report gives good evidence on the state of the sector, which shows that despite a difficult operating context, with generally reduced public subsidy and state intervention compared to the last research (published 2012), EJN has continued to grow and its members are extremely active in finding new business models and ways of engaging audiences and enriching the live music experience;

- Staffing is up, volunteering is down and in terms of financial health, income overall is up (as is expenditure) but public funding is reduced. Earned income from ticket sales and sponsorship is increased;

- Most expenditures are done locally for artists’ performances and local suppliers and have a strong impact in local economies;

- The sector is becoming more diversified in terms of music genres and artistic disciplines it features and collaborates with;

- Members' activities are also differently profiled, with a significant decrease in free events (perhaps linked to reduced public subsidy) and a similar, but lower, number of events overall;

- Audiences for events are up overall but free audiences are down, as might be expected with lower numbers of free events;

In addition, the report includes a comparison with the original research data presented in Strength in Numbers 1 (2012), plus a qualitative research process with selected EJN members to explore and illustrate innovative projects being undertaken by members, often in creative partnerships across Europe, and featuring six case studies about EJN members: Jazz Fest Sarajevo, Banlieues Bleues, Flanders Arts Institute, Annamaija Music Company, Budapest Music Center, Bohemia Jazz Fest, Moers Festival, Handelsbeurs, National Forum for Music, Sage Gateshead, I-Jazz and Norsk Jazz Forum.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT (pdf file, 2.5 MB)
DOWNLOAD THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (pdf file, 900 KB)