After Monday's informal evening, during which delegates had the opportunity to get to know each other, a carefully planned panel discussion took place on Tuesday at the ZAiKS headquarters on Hipoteczna Street.
Tamara Kamińska (President of the Management Board of Culture Hub Poland and CEO of Music Week Poland) began by providing an introduction to the current state of the Polish music industry. Anna Ceynowa (Communications Director of the Association of Audio-Video Producers – ZPAV) then explained the operating principles of the recording market. In subsequent panels and lectures, Karolina Juzwa (Europe Jazz Network and Wytwórnia Club) discussed the Polish jazz scene, Anna Laskowska (Sony Music Publishing) and Agnieszka Kulczycka (Sirens) shared the secrets of licensing, and Marcin Grośkiewicz (U Know Me Records) discussed the state of independent publishing houses. Jarek Szubrycht (Gazeta Wyborcza, Mystic Festival, Music Week Poland) and Marcin Bąkiewicz (Antyradio) presented the diverse media landscape. Anna Klimczak, spokesperson for ZAiKS, also presented on its activities.
The day was packed with facts and figures, which – thanks to professional presentations, occasionally enriched with anecdotes – allowed Czechs and Bulgarians to compare their own markets with Poland's, and to understand the unique situation our country finds itself in in terms of music – industry, publishing, and the market. After the panels, delegates had time to meet at the Czech Centre and the Bulgarian Cultural Institute. The first day of the visit concluded with a visit to Pardon, To Tu – one of the most important venues in Europe for modern jazz, free jazz, avant-garde, and world music.
Wednesday was filled with a further, intense journey through Warsaw's clubs – to learn about their spaces, their operating philosophy, and, importantly, the possibilities and scope of future collaboration. Walking and using the metro and trams, the group of delegates visited such key venues on the capital's concert and party scene as Niebo i Piekło (Heaven and Hell), Stodoła (Standard), Bardzo Bardzo (Very Very), Komuna Warszawa, and Karrot Komando, where a delicious, warming, and invigorating ginger brew (non-alcoholic, of course) awaited those weary from the day.
In each of these venues, delegates spoke with club representatives and asked questions, most frequently about capacity, the ratio of Polish to foreign concerts, rental prices, preferred musical styles and genres, ticket prices, and media cooperation during promotion. All of this can prove useful when planning concerts by Czech and Bulgarian artists in Warsaw.
Those delegates who still had energy left went to Antyradio – at Marcin Bąkiewicz's invitation – to see and hear up close the workings of Poland's most vibrant rock station. After a short respite, it was time to conclude the day and the entire visit to Warsaw. The evening concluded at the packed SPATiF, where the weekly jam session was taking place. This allowed the delegates to witness firsthand just how vibrant, colorful, and vibrant Warsaw can be, even on a gloomy midweek December evening.
The perfect postscript to the visit was a tour – the following day, on Thursday afternoon – of music stores, of which Warsaw may not have many, but which it more than makes up for in quality, and that's more than enough. The delegates' guide was Marcin Grośkiewicz.
Czech delegation: David Čajčík, Daniel Dudarec, Veronika Friedlová, Marcel Palovčík, Hana Podhorská, Julie Brabcová, Jan Podskalský, Anežka Pokorná, František Holeček, Kristián Kraevski, Márton Náray, Kristína Valachová, Andrea Čermák Zbuzkova
Bulgarian delegation: Mila Georgieva, Marina Vasileva, Elisaveta Petrusheva, Mila Panayotova, Eftim Chakarov, Nikolay Hristov, Dimiter Panev, Denitsa Petrova, Borislav Petrov, Marko Anastasov, Lyubomir Denev