Rostrum+ was a cooperation project co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union running from 2015 to 2018 which aimed to rethink the ways in which contemporary music connects with audiences through radio network. The project explored new strategies to develop audiences, promoted new music, enhanced the skills of radio professionals and inspired cooperation between musicians, higher music education institutions and broadcasting companies throughout Europe and beyond. The springboard for the project was the International Rostrum of Composers, an annual event uniting some 40 delegates of national broadcasting companies. Building upon this existing foundation, the project introduced new activities that connected with other operators of the genre, the end goal being the expansion and durable growth/sustaining of the contemporary music sector in Europe and beyond.

To this end, the International Music Council entered into a partnership with 3 national public radios, 3 higher music education institutions, one European cultural network and 2 cultural venues to bring the IRC out of its boundaries. To achieve our objectives and address all of the target groups necessary for the action, the Rostrum+ project sets out a diverse set of activities:

Listen: a series of listening sessions for national public radio broadcasters

Live!: a series of 16 concerts

Create: co-commissions to 6 composers

Forum: a series of activities will be implemented to enhance the capacity of radio producers to deal with the new challenges, explore possibilities and develop solutions

Sound: a dedicated sound corner to let the audience discover contemporary music

Lab: an unprecedented activity in which radio producers will be invited to experiment innovative approaches to present contemporary compositions to the public and allow them to interact with it

Edu: academic training, live concerts and meetings with composers, professionals from radio and concert halls to develop a dynamic link with the musicians of tomorrow