Europe Celebrates 'Border-Breaking' Music

GRONINGEN, UK (VIP NEWS) — The winners of the 2010 European Border Breakers Awards (EBBAs) have been chosen and will receive their awards in a ceremony presented by British TV personality Jools Holland in Groningen on 14 January 2010.

The show will be attended by Maroš Šefèoviè, the European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth and will be broadcast on television throughout Europe. This year’s awards also include an exciting new category the 'Public Choice EBBA', which will be voted for by the European public for the first time ever.

The European Border Breaker Awards are given to debut artists or groups for their success in crossing national borders and reaching audiences outside their own country. They are given by the European Commission, in cooperation with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

The Awards highlight the need to make wider use of the potential of the common market in which musical consumption patterns are still predominantly national in nature. Therefore they aim to stimulate the mobility of artists and the circulation of their work within Europe and beyond, as well as to raise awareness and appreciation among audiences of music from outside their national borders.

The winners of the 2010 European Border Breakers Awards are:

Milow “Milow” – Belgium
Charlie Winston “Hobo” – United Kingdom
Peter Fox “Stadtaffe” – Germany
Soap&Skin “Lovetune for Vacuum” – Austria
Kerli “Love Is Dead” – Estland
Jenny Wilson “Hardships” – Sweden
Buraka Som Sistema “Black Diamond” – Portugal
Sliimy “Paint Your Face” – France
Esmée Denters “Outta Here” – The Netherlands
Giusy Ferreri “Non Ti Scordar Mai Di Me” – Italy

The award ceremony will be recorded and broadcast by Dutch National Television (NOS) and the show will receive European coverage through the EBU broadcasting network of European television and radio stations.

Former EBBA winners include now established artists such as Carla Bruni, Adele, Alphabeat, The Ting Tings, Tokio Hotel, Damien Rice, The Thrills, Gabriel Rios, The Fratellis, Basshunter, Dolores O’ Riordan and many more.

This is the seventh edition of this successful European Union award, with which the European Commission – in close partnership with the European music industry – highlights the creative richness and diversity of European contemporary music.

New: the EBBA Public Choice Award
New for 2010 is the introduction of the Public Choice EBBA: one of the 2010 winners will be chosen by the European audience as the most popular border breaking act in Europe and will be rewarded with the Public Choice EBBA.

The voting for the Public Choice Award takes place online at www.europeanborderbreakersawards.eu from mid-November until the end of the year. The voting is supported by EBU radio stations throughout Europe.

The winner of the Public Choice EBBA will be announced during the ceremony on January 14th in Groningen.

EBBA criteria
The EBBAs are funded through the EU Culture Programme which also funds the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture, the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage and the European Union Prize for Literature.

The artists receiving this award are selected on the basis of statistics provided by the Billboard Information Group, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the European Talent Exchange Program (ETEP) according to the following criteria;

First album released outside the home territory of an artist or group from the 34 countries participating in the EU Culture Program

Sales in EU Member states outside the country of production during the past year (between 01/09 and 31/08/2009)

Radio airplay information; all public radio stations from EU countries provide their most played list of new European acts

The artist's ability to perform live, their touring capacity and success at European festivals outside of his/her home country

These criteria were compiled by EMO in cooperation with the European Broadcasting Union, the Billboard Information Group and European festivals participating in the European Talent Exchange Program.