2008 fair music award
The winners of the 2008 fair music award have been presented in the course of a Haydn Jahr 2009 – event on September 3rd in Schloss Esterhàzy in Eisenstadt. The award winner is the label col legno, further laureates are the ensemble Klangforum Wien, the musician’s initiative JazzWerkstatt Wien and the British label Honest Jon’s Records.
Fair music is an initiative by mica-music austria. It aims for more fairness and justice in the music business. The jury criteria have been developed based on the UNESCO-convention on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions, and the Musical Rights formulated by the International Music Council: freedom of musical expression, fair terms for artists, cultural diversity, service for the customer and market access for musicians from the south.
The fair music prize was awarded for the first time at the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz in 2007.
An international jury with representatives from international music organizations like International Music Council or European Composers’ Forum, and the European Consumer’s Organisation (BEUC), chose the winners.
Helmut Bieler, a member of the government of the Austrian administrative district of Burgenland, welcomed die fair music initiative in Eisenstadt: “Absolute artistic freedom is the basis for artistic peak performances. I’m pleased to support this sustainable project through the awards show in Eisenstadt.”
The winners were presented by Silja Fischer, Executive Officer of the International Music Council and Peter Rantasa, executive director of mica-music austria and vice-president of the International Music Council, both members of the fair music jury.
The Austrian label col legno is the winner of the fair music award. The jury appreciated the compliance of the criteria “artistic freedom”, “fair terms for the artists” and “cultural diversity”, as well as the special engagement and creativity in the promotion of contemporary music.
The art director of col legno, Andreas Schett, emphasized the great importance of the fair music award for the label, supporting its intention, to promote music of high quality also apart from niche markets. He wished fair music distributive channels soon to be established. In his laudation, col legno composer Wolfgang Mitterer complimented his label on the possibility to realize also unconventional projects.
Clemens Wenger, Daniel Riegler and Peter Rom from JazzWerkstatt Wien were pleased to be awarded for the high ethos of their collective project. The jury appreciated also the free entrance to their concerts as “service to the customer”.
The Klangforum Wien was awarded by the accolade for its democratic structure. The ensemble was represented by Emilija Jovanovic. The ensemble thanked for the prize and commended it as “sophisticated, adorable and clever little trick, because it would remain the winners of their daily little failure”.
The British label Honest Jon’s Records convinced the jury by the wide range of its catalogue, including music from southern countries and from the immigrant-communities of Great Britain. The jury also praised the fact, that Honest Jon’s still sells it recordings on compact disc and vinyl.
