November 23 at 11 AM EST

Live streaming and video recording available at

Polish Cultural Institute New York YouTube

How to conduct promotional activities abroad? Is a local music label a means to an end? How to get media’s attention? What is a music showcase? How to get funding? Grzegorz Kwiatkowski, leader of Trupa Trupa, Brian Lowit, founder of Lovitt Records and manager of the legendary label Dischord, and Michał Hajduk, Polish music promoter since 2001, talked about their own experiences and the realities of the US music market. Participants were able to ask questions via the YouTube live chat. Moderated by Jarek Szubrycht, music journalist at Gazeta Wyborcza.

Brian Lowit has over twenty years of experience as a founder and director of, Lovitt Records, the label Brian formed in 1995 when he was in college. Lovitt releases mainly bands from the United States but has signed Trupa Trupa from Poland a few years ago, and is working on signing more overseas artists. He is the managing director of the esteemed Washington DC punk label Dischord Records since 2004, where he oversees production and distribution as well as the office staff. He is also the co-owner of an ice cream store in Washington DC. Brian lives in the Washington DC area with his wife and two dogs.

Grzegorz Kwiatkowski, member of the band Trupa Trupa, singer and poet. The band, first celebrated for its originality in Poland was quickly noticed abroad – the Storm of the Year award from the largest-selling newspaper in Poland, signing a contract with the British label Blue Tapes and the French Ici d’ailleurs. Their album Jolly New Songs released in 2017 was included in the Newsweek’s list of best albums. In February 2019, the band signed a worldwide contract with Sub Pop. Their latest album Of the Sun was released in 2019 by the Glitterbeat label (Europe), Lovitt Records (USA), Moorworks (Japan), and Antena Krzyku (Poland). Trupa Trupa works with international concert agencies, performs at major festivals and world stages receiving praise among many others from Pitchfork, Rolling Stones, The Guardian and Chicago Tribune, their tracks are played by Iggy Pop on his BBC Radio 6 Music show and by Henry Rollins on his KCRW radio show. 

Michał Hajduk has been in the music business since 2001. He started as an independent concert booker/promoter, gaining experience as a music curator at the Center for Contemporary Art in Warsaw, independent music venues manager, tour manager and bands manager, co-programmer of festivals and contributor to the indie record labels. In 2008 he joined the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, a state cultural institution promoting Polish culture around the world. As an alternative and jazz music curator he created and developed a strategy for an alternative music sector, co-organized a number of events and conferences in Poland and all over the world under the label “Don’t Panic! We’re from Poland”. Since 2019, he has been working as a curator at the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR).

Jarek Szubrycht, music journalist at Gazeta Wyborcza. Editor-in-chief and publisher of now defunct music quarterly Gazeta Magnetofonowa, he has also written for Polityka, Przekrój and both iterations of Machina, run the T-Mobile Music and Red Bull Muzyka portals. Author and writer of books about music and biographies, including of Vader, Slayer, and Maryla Rodowicz. He is a member of the program board of OFF Festival Katowice and a board member of the Polish Phonographic Academy. Retired metal singer associated with the band Lux Occulta.

November 23 at 11 AM EST
Duration: 60 min.

Polish Cultural Institute New York YouTube