Montreux Jazz Festival announces UK & European partnership with TikTok for the festival’s new music initiative MJF Spotlight

25 January 2022 - Press release

  

Montreux Jazz Festival has today announced a UK and European partnership with TikTok for the festival’s new music initiative MJF Spotlight. Launched in 2021, MJF Spotlight was created by the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival to support emerging artists and new music, in the form of original content creation and live performances. As part of the partnership with TikTok, MJF Spotlight will be releasing a series of live performances under the name “The Road To Montreux”. Additionally, TikTok have been named an official partner for the 2022 edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival and will be bringing its creators and talent to the Lake Geneva shoreline this summer.

Recognizing the joint possibilities to support emerging artists, “The Road To Montreux” will feature performances from some of music’s hottest rising stars. Throughout 2022 and as part of MJF Spotlight, “The Road To Montreux” will feature six live showcases throughout the year that will be live streamed via TikTok and on Montreux’s own operated channels.

TikTok will collaborate with the Montreux Jazz Festival’s talent team to identify the most exciting rising stars in the music industry, providing the artists with a platform to reach new audiences and further their careers. The live showcases will be filmed in Zurich, with stops in Berlin, Hamburg, and London, before ending at the 2022 edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Additionally, Montreux will be offering artists from MJF Spotlight the opportunity to perform on the MJF Spotlight stage at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2022. 

As an inclusive space and a home for all, Montreux Jazz Festival is committed to reflect the diversity of creative talent and genres across the music industry.  MJF Spotlight showcases music from across a broad spectrum of music genres including pop, electro, rock, hip-hop, jazz, R&B and more. Each month MJF Spotlight supports one specially selected artist with exclusive digital content and live shows internationally. Previous MJF Spotlight artists include the likes of Priya Ragu, releasing two live music videos from her lauded performance at the festival in 2021, as well as a two-track live EP which was released via DSPs.

MJF Spotlight is part of Montreux’s mission to diversify and perpetuate the festival’s exposure through its subsidiary media company Montreux Media Ventures. Launched in 2019, Montreux Media Ventures was created to evolve the festival from an annual event into a company sustainable in itself by creating high quality content all year round.

Nick Bonard, CEO of Montreux Media Ventures says: “Like TikTok, we are passionate about music. Leveraging the Festival’s legacy of supporting young artists, MJF Spotlight offers new talent a physical and digital platform to showcase their music to new audiences. Together, TikTok and MJF Spotlight can supercharge the process of artist discovery through entertaining and engaging content.  We are very excited to find new artists to highlight through MJF Spotlight this year.”

Michael Kümmerle, Head of Music Operations Germany, Austria and Switzerland at TikTok says: “Artist discovery starts on TikTok and at Montreux Jazz Festival. Same as for MJF our passion is enabling emerging artists of any genre take their music and passion to the next level. We cannot wait to see how the next rising stars will be unleashing the interactive potential of TikTok LIVE or create entertaining content to inspire new and existing fans.”

With over 50 years of history showcasing and supporting new artists, Montreux Jazz Festival has helped launch the careers of many successful artists, including the likes of Lewis Capaldi, Lizzo, Jorja Smith and Priya Ragu, who have all played at the iconic festival. From July 01 – July 16, the Montreux Jazz Festival will return to the Lake Geneva shoreline for its 56^th edition, showcasing some of the biggest names in music and the best emerging talent.