Do it NOW

Tibor Holoda

When we first started to play with the idea of creating an event for the music we loved, we weren't thinking long term. We were reacting to our state of mind - we felt the pressure to do something and do it differently. Wilsonic wasn't meant to be a business idea, nor was it economically analysed or future-planned. There was simply no strategy, just an immediate feeling to do something NOW. So we did it.

Let me first illustrate the background wherein Wilsonic was given birth. Way back in our humble beginnings, electronic music was still a rather new thing among the general public in Slovakia. At the time, everything associated with electronic music in our country (and I'm pretty sure i can say that about the whole Eastern European region) was labeled as house, techno or drum'n'bass. The general opinion being that this music was for weirdos, if not only junkies. There were almost no local producers, only a handful. There was no media coverage apart from a few webzines. Even though it sounds like a very distant past from the current point of view, it's a fact that the Internet was still not widely adopted and a broadband connection was something very rare.

We were part of the first electronic music generation in Slovakia, helping to form what could be later called a local club scene. The first signs of the traditional party model were already on the horizon and we felt bored by the status of the scene in general. We thought it's something we have shared among us, but later on we've realised, it wasn't a generational feeling, not even among our close circles. Definitely not a situation for sowing some seeds of new sounds the way we had it planned, but we felt different. It wasn't a healthy environment for seeking out financial support for something so “off of this planet”, but we tried - still living our dreamy lives inside our bubble. We didn't find financial sponsors, nor did we get support from government institutions. For the first we were too "artsy-fartsy", for the latter culturally not “high” enough. So we brought our own savings onto the table. Pragmatic thinking aside we've created Wilsonic - big time! A 3-day festival with music that surprised even the local insiders. We’ve raised the flag in the  Slovak National Museum. Underground went mainstream - overnight.

Wilsonic Festival 2000 was attended by roughly 300 people daily, which turned out to be an economic flop, but the atmosphere, feedback and general feeling afterwards was so good, that we decided to continue with our efforts despite the overall economic situation. From then on we started to think more strategically and over the years built a respectable festival that found itself a strong local following. Currently Wilsonic is on the lookout for its international audience and on the path to becoming an important global stop-over for professionals and punters alike.

We have started to concentrate more on the music from our region because we felt that the music from Central & Eastern Europe needs its own annual platform to showcase its best fruit and strengthen its inner ties to allow itself a healthier development. Wilsonic doesn’t only fill its programme slots with known Easter European acts, but it’s actively seeking out talent and helping up-and-coming acts to showcase itself alongside well established international names. The other reason for such orientation was simply to distinguish Wilsonic from other global festivals by giving it a defining mandate of pushing local artists in tandem with international ones.

Wilsonic is successfuly aiming to establish itself as one of the most important events on the Central & Eastern European scene of forward-thinking music. To accomplish this, there is still lots of work to be done and learn on the way up. We are aware that not everything can be bought with money, though, money still talks so let us explain some of the barriers we are still facing.

As mentioned, we weren’t attractive enough to gain public funds, and although our cultural role was recognized by some of the NGO’s over the years, it still only makes up a fraction of our budget. We said to ourselves that it would be nicer to have a festival that could be financed only out of ticket sales and sponsorship. Sponsors are making a similar decision as the ticketbuyers – their motivation is exactly the same – to serve their own benefit. No commission deciding, no “connections” help – and there are more important areas where public money should be spent anyway.

As the festival continues to establish itself on an international scale, it must compete with other similar European events, which are indeed supported by public funds and on the other hand, in Slovakia, there’s not enough corporate money to be spent on activities like Wilsonic – given its size and economical power. Therefore, we must and will apply for such funding and will continue to explain our significance to local, regional, governmental and European authorities. While it would be nice to have a wholly “clean” cultural sector, trying to stop global agricultural subsidies is next to near impossible without bottomless pockets – to give it a parallel.

Maybe you are asking yourself now why we are complaining when its Eastern Europe and its sooooooo cheap here! Fortunately and unfortunately, not anymore. Our costs as a festival, comprising a decent portion of it’s programme of well known “western” acts, has the same if not many times higher costs, fee-wise. We are using the exact same technical equipment as anywhere in the world (no Tesla amplifiers), required by agency contracts anyhow, so the production costs are very similar. Rent of venues is also comparable, so the only thing left is staff costs, which barely comprise a major part of the budget.

On the income side of things we still know where we are. Eastern Europe, baby! Tickets are cheaper and the bar income is also much, much lower.  Prices must be kept low so we don't alienate or offend our core market. The only thing we have as a market advantage internationally is a cheap price. We will try hard to leverage this in order to stay competitive and to offer our international audience a festival experience they can't  find anywhere else.

Trust us, Wilsonic is worth it. Come and see for yourself. Second weekend of June in Bratislava – it’s only a 50 km away from Vienna, but that’s what Google maps is for anyway. See you next year, 12-13 June 2009!

More Information http://www.wilsonic.sk/