Building Capacity for Data-Driven Decision-Making in the Music Sector
We’re thrilled to share that Tourbus is a partner in TOURBUS EUROPA, a newly launched Creative Europe project coordinated by Lund University. The project uses new digital tools, built on breakthroughs in AI and digital musicology at Lund University, to gather and analyse data about where musicians perform across Europe, helping artists find the right venues and plan smarter tours across borders. More than just new digital tools, TOURBUS EUROPA is a project about social innovation: working with musicians, venue organisers, and music organisations across Germany, Denmark, and Sweden, the aim is to co-create the new skills, collaborative models, and know-how needed for artists and venues to actually benefit from what these tools make possible.
This means helping artists find relevant venues, programmers discover performers, and policymakers gain data-driven mobility insights. The project also tests how “synthetic block booking”, or algorithmic touring recommendations, functions in real-world conditions. Bridging university research and music professionals with the help of music support organisations, the aim is to change how we book, organise, and measure live music.
Key activities:
- Conducting 9 workshops for musicians and venue programmers to develop digital skills and adapt organisational practices.
- Running a pilot programme across 3 countries, putting the Tourbus tool into users’ hands to test synthetic block booking, gather feedback, and refine both the tool and the necessary social innovations.
- Sharing insights through a resource kit, symposium, an improved Tourbus prototype, and a final report detailing the project’s findings.
The consortium brings together expertise in research, digital musicology, and music-sector support across the three countries: Lund University (Sweden, project coordinator), Art Music Denmark (Denmark), Föreningen Svenska Tonsättare / Swedish Society of Composers (Sweden), and Tourbus AB (Sweden).
Open calls for artists and venues to participate in the pilot programme are coming soon. Stay tuned and sign up to our newsletter for more updates!
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
The project runs from 2026 to 2028. Project coordination: Dr. Sanne Krogh Groth, Lund University.
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