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Last Tuesday, the second Music Estonia music industry day, SPOT, took place at the Genialistide Klubi in Tartu. The aim was to map, together with music industry professionals, the impact of music on Tartu’s culture, community, and the wider economy, and to understand Tartu’s role in the broader development of the Estonian music sector. Discussions covered topics such as career paths, the role of record stores, the Siuru cultural center, and Tartu’s concert life in general.

The day was opened by Ave Demelmester, the head of Music Estonia, who briefly introduced Music Estonia’s key activities and the day’s agenda. The program began with a panel discussion titled “The Tartu Vibe: What Shapes Artists Who Start Here?”, where local musicians, together with moderator Evelin Kivi, discussed the supporting factors, what they have missed, if anything, and why Tartu continues to be a place where new names and new sounds are born.

The panel included drummer Robert Leht, Eeva Talsi, Ats Lukas (aka benakanister), and Laura Põldvere, all of whom have had quite different journeys into music. Talsi was guided towards making music by her education and music teachers, while Leht saw drumming primarily as a form of therapy. benakanister was introduced to rap through SoundCloud, and although he auditioned for the Viljandi Culture Academy, he decided against enrolling.

The musicians also had different first experiences on stage. Põldvere remembers performing for overly intoxicated Finns on the second floor of the Vilde cafe in the Lille house. Talsi’s first performances were during her folk music studies at the Viljandi Culture Academy and at the Vanemuine Concert Hall. “The whole concert I felt so sick, but I survived! I’ve performed in Tartu a lot, one of my first concerts was at Gen Klubi, Kihnu Virve was dancing the polka in the front row,” Talsi recalled.

benakanister had his first performance at a school freshman party at the age of 15. “I did one verse, but I forgot all the words.” Leht took his first steps at a Härma school ball but also got to play with his school band at student corporations and the Trefner school, which was possible precisely because he was in Tartu. Now, however, many, including himself, are in Tallinn. Põldvere noted that Tartu is a city that represents saying “yes” to one’s time and creativity. “Do less, but achieve more.”

SPOT continued with introductory presentations. Thea Zaitsev spoke about her Tallinn-based management and publishing company and sync agency, Tier Music, which is one of the companies that participated in Music Estonia’s development program. Uku Pütsepp, on the other hand, introduced his company with an international reach, Degritter, which focuses on manufacturing ultrasonic vinyl record cleaning machines.

The panel program continued with a discussion on “The Record Keeps Spinning: The New Wave of Physical Formats,” which, under the guidance of moderator Merit Maarits, explored how physical formats and record stores are maintaining, and even increasing, their importance in Tartu, and how this helps to create and sustain a community. Record store owners Robert Kähr (Biit Me), Ahto Külvet (Psühhoteek), and Rainer Rob Sirel (Gramophonetree) shared their insights into the university town’s trends.Sirel noted that although there are three record stores in Tartu, they don’t seem to compete with each other, as the same customers frequent all three. Although record store sales have been affected over the years by both the coronavirus and the current general price increase, the panelists said that several positive jumps have been noticeable. Even if sales numbers decrease, the number of so-called “freaks” is increasing, stated Kähr. Sirel mentioned that 2025 has been a very good year and there is no danger of having to close the store.

According to Külvet, the idea behind his record store is to know as much as possible about as little as possible. “I want to have special, refined things that I can introduce,” he added. At the same time, compromises must be made between what customers ask for and what he wants to offer. “The compromises are Frotee, Misha Panfilov, Groove of ESSR collections. That was a big challenge for me. Some fairy tales and Estonian things are easy to sell because they are good.”

“You won’t find those records in my store because I know that others sell a lot of them. Of course, when you have regular customers, you know their taste and can make recommendations. Mostly I sell the record that is currently playing,” said Sirel, for whom running a record store is like a small club. “On Saturdays, the shop is open from 12 to 3 pm, but I’m often there until 5 or 6 pm. A group gathers, time passes, we chat, a club atmosphere develops, and the conversation goes on for a long time.”

Following the panel discussion, Ö Stuudio and Sviby presented their activities. Over the years, the former has grown into a creative cluster for artists and creative individuals, centered around the recording and production studio founded by Martin Kikas and friends. Since 2008, it has also become a place that creates various types of moving images. The Sviby platform, led by Jaan Naaber, aims, much like Degritter, for an international reach by offering event organizers greater support in event management and marketing compared to its competitors.

The final and most extensive panel discussion of the SPOT day, “Tartu’s Concert Venues and Where Does Siuru Fit In?”, focused on the controversial topic of the cultural center in Tartu, and more broadly on the opportunities and limitations of concert venues in Tartu and how they might influence each other in the future.

Although there has been much talk in the cultural sector about “pouring money into concrete,” Eve Alte, the director of the Vanemuine Concert Hall, argued that if there is no proper concrete, there is no point in paying salaries either, and a golden mean must be found. “A larger space is needed, but at the same time, we have to think about how we will maintain it.”

Liina Tammepõld, who handles press and marketing for L Tips Agency Estonia, noted that for them, bringing their events from Tallinn is a big risk, even though Tartu’s title as the European Capital of Culture last year opened many doors. The agency has now announced a major concert in Tartu, where they have previously only organized one event. She admitted that they can find halls of the scale planned for Siuru in Tallinn as well, but if there were venues in Tartu with a capacity of 1800–2000, it would be a different story.

Speaking about why Siuru’s capacity has been reduced to 1500 standing places during the planning phase, Tartu’s Deputy Mayor Elo Kiivet said that half the effort has gone into justifying why the cultural center and the hall are needed at all, and at times it felt like they wouldn’t even reach that number. However, she emphasized that their greatest desire has been for flexibility and speed, to bring prices down for organizers as much as possible, and for the completely empty “black box” with a flat floor to be set up as quickly as possible, right down to the technical equipment. “Fortunately, we have not had to compromise on quality and speed,” she added.

Martin Sõgel, the organizer of the KAUGE festival, also recalled the experience of the UNDA festival at the Estonian National Museum, noting that it was generally good to bring a rave to a place where you would never normally take it, although for him and many others, bringing all that to the cradle of Estonian culture didn’t quite fit. “Our mistake as organizers was that the festival was too big; one end was too far away, and so was the other. There was also the issue that people from Tartu are lazy; the question is about distance. It’s not far from Roosi street, but still. That’s why UNDA wasn’t such a success story. From a marketing perspective, they tried too hard to involve foreigners and Tallinn.”

For Sõgel, it is important that Siuru can host different styles of music. “The question is also about Tartu’s technical capacity—is there enough lighting equipment here, or does it have to be brought from Tallinn. The biggest expense, besides labor, is transport. The question is whether we can afford everything. Production is slowly developing in Tartu, but Tallinn already has that level.”Thus, he is not sure if local technical companies will be able to cover Siuru’s needs in the future. Alte pointed out that the Estonian National Museum has a good warehouse, which was confirmed by Maarika Pokinen, the project manager for performances and concerts at the ERM—organizers use this facility a lot, although prices are constantly rising, which creates its own difficulties. “Siuru’s know-how is good because Taavi Toom, the former technical manager of the ERM, is also advising them. He knows exactly what the ERM’s weaknesses are.”

Alte said that they are prepared for some turbulence in the market when Siuru is completed. “There is no panic that we will be left completely high and dry. Every party finds its audience and its place. Over the years, things will level out and there will be enough for everyone. I believe the new building will be great.” Paul Lepasson, the program manager of the Genialistide Klubi, which hosts over 400 events a year, does not think that Siuru could compete with Genialistide Klubi. “A lot of things just don’t fit in here. /…/ The more that happens, the better it is for everyone.”

Ragnar Konson, a producer at the Tartu event management center, noted, however, that from their perspective, Siuru unfortunately doesn’t solve anything. “I would dare to do a Zetod concert at Siuru, but I wouldn’t dare to do Ellip. The bigger problem is with smaller venues that are convenient for both visitors and organizers. It’s important to get a full service and not have to bring in different services from elsewhere.”

Kiivet added that they are not planning the building down to the millimeter today. “We are also leaving room for growth. The key is to have many different halls. Siuru does not compete with the ERM or the concert hall at all. It is not possible to perform classical music at Siuru. We hope that through Siuru we can get cooperation working better, cover everything, and support each other. So that it wouldn’t just be a space.”

Alte pointed out that it is important to know what mission the Siuru cultural center will take on. “Does it have a commercial purpose, or is it a carrier of culture? If it is a carrier of culture, then it needs support. I was a bit amused by the budget part, that it will start generating 1.3 million in revenue per year. As a dream, that’s good, but the electricity bills have to be paid. If we act out of a sense of mission and give young people or interest groups an opportunity, then that won’t bring in revenue, and the bills still need to be paid.”

In conclusion, SPOT showed that even if Tartu is not Tallinn in terms of its pace of development and opportunities, it doesn’t have to be. The university town has its own holistic vision of how local music life can and may develop differently. In a way that takes into account the local audience and culture, but also sees opportunities to offer a unique musical experience and innovation alongside Estonia’s other major cities—one that can be both an example and a learning opportunity for all other sectors of the field across Estonia. It also possesses an international and forward-looking mindset and dimension that is attractive to visitors from outside, while remaining uniquely its own for Tartu and its people.

Author: Merit Maarits