The Euroradio Eurosonic Group met in Hamburg on Friday, 27 September at the invitation of NDR (Germany). The meeting took place during the Reeperbahn Festival.

This was an opportunity to discuss the preparations for the forthcoming Eurosonic Festival, arguably the best showcase for up-and-coming European acts. Every year, EBU youth-focused radio stations select an artist or band to perform at the Festival in Groningen (the Netherlands). On 15-17 January next year, some 26 broadcasting organizations will join forces to promote young talent from all over Europe.

Supporting new music - and musicians - remains one of the distinctive features of EBU music-based radio stations. This important point was stressed at the opening of the meeting by Norbert Grundei, Head of N-JOY, the youth station of NDR. But it's not simply about "new" music: "live" music is also at the core of public service broadcasting.

In this context, the exchanges of concerts were also presented and discussed, with a review of the 2012-2013 offers that featured names such as Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Mumford & Sons, AlunaGeorge, the xx, Phoenix and dozens more.

Among the other points discussed at the meeting was Euroradio2See, the web platform launched last July, which enables EBU Members to access video streams, both live or on demand.

Participants then had the opportunity to go to evening concerts on the Reeperbahn in Hamburg, where more than 50 years ago a band of young Liverpudlians learned their trade. Their name? The Beatles.