EuroSonic Noorderslag, Europe's largest showcase festival, has been an annual concern since 1996. Taking place in the Dutch city of Groningen, it offers bands from around Europe a platform to get their music heard by a host of important industry heads and, for years now, the Irish contingent at the festival have consistently made their mark.

With that in mind, it was high time Ireland was designated as the 'focus country' of the festival – a title which places an extra emphasis on a nation's music and allows even more acts to travel over. 2012 will be that year.

It all means the spotlight will firmly be on us in Groningen between January 11-14. Over the years, artists such as Imelda May, Delorentos and Fight Like Apes have all returned from EuroSonic with great contacts and concrete gig offers. Over the summer, acts from around the country had the opportunity to submit their entries, in order to earn a spot on the bill. Submissions closed on September 1 and organisers are now hard at work selecting acts. We spoke to EuroSonic's creative director Peter Smidt about that process, why Ireland has been chosen, and what that will mean come January.

"For many, many years now we've been thinking 'we should really do Ireland'," admits Smidt. "Simply due to the large number of good, interesting artists coming over from the country each year. Also because of the partners we work with in Ireland, including Hot Press. We figured it made sense to focus on Ireland this time around."

Does this coincide with a golden era of Irish music?

"Well, there's a constant stream of quality coming from Ireland," Peter counters. "Just looking over recent years we've had Bell X1, The Frames, James Vincent McMorrow, Villagers, James Vincent McMorrow... acts like that have been very, very well-received at Eurosonic."

Smidt says that there have been over 250 applications from Irish bands, hoping to join that illustrious list of former EuroSonic performers. "We're currently working on the selection and by the end of September we'll be able to release the first confirmed names. The other thing is, during the conference we will host several panels about Ireland. The aim is to explain the Irish music scene, what's happening at the moment, how the market functions and what it's like at the moment."

Considering the state of the music industry at the moment, it's more important than ever that musicians educate themselves on its workings. Events such as EuroSonic have a vital function.

Smidt agrees. "Exactly. In Europe every country is different regarding the media, the live music structures that they have in place. It's interesting for people to hear about both the market infrastructure and, of course, what's happening in the country's scene itself. That in-depth look is important, because we can only put on a limited amount of acts at EuroSonic."

Of those Irish acts heading over, Smidt has some words of advice on how to approach the festival and how to best maximise their exposure. "We have 400 festivals coming to EuroSonic Noorderslag to look for new acts to book," he says. "That's one of the main things I would say to target when you're performing – to secure bookings for next summer's festival season.

"Of course we have 25 radio stations present, including RTE 2fm, who will be recording a lot of material, will be looking for new material and broadcasting from the festival. These are the 'buyer groups' that are there and I would say, to artists performing at Eurosonic, they should focus on these groups of people."

Central to this is a new initiative, the European Talent Exchange Program (ETEP). Of the 250 artists that play EuroSonic, many will be chosen to play participating festivals (including Glastonbury, T In The Park, The Great Escape and Benicassim).

"We currently run it with 70 of the biggest festivals in Europe – and we're expanding," continues Peter. "We select acts, together with radio stations, and put them on the bill. If people go to www.atep.nl, they can get full details."

RTE 2fm have had a long association with the festival, and will once again be broadcasting onsite. Not only that, since they brought David Kitt over in 2002, they have also been sponsoring artists attending EuroSonic. Previous artists sponsored by 2fm include And So I Watch You From Afar, The Coronas, Cathy Davey, Hal and The Frames.

Music From Ireland, a project run by First Music Contact in partnership with Culture Ireland and IMRO, played a large part in championing the country for selection.

As per usual, Hot Press will be in attendance from January 11-14, and going on previous years, this will be an experience that any up-and-coming band will not want to miss.
With that, all that's left is to await the announcement of Irish acts that are Groningen-bound and to look forward to Eurosonic Noorderslag 2012.