The historic Café Odeon on Zurich’s Bellevue is vibrating with the cosy hustle and bustle of a Friday morning. Outside, the sun bathes the city in a glorious autumn day. The coffee machine rattles away, and Jean Zuber, outgoing managing director of Swiss Music Export, orders a jasmine tea at the small round table by the window.
After almost two decades, Zuber is leaving the music industry and will be working for the City of Zurich’s cultural department in future. Time for an unofficial exit interview.
At the end of this year, you will have worked at Swiss Music Export (SME) for 18 years. Now you are stepping down. What prompted you to take this step?
It is vital for your personal growth to change jobs from time to time. It’s also good for the position itself when fresh minds take the helm. If you’ve built something yourself, such as a festival or a magazine, you can, of course, pass it on or continue running it until you die. But Swiss Music Export isn’t my invention. When I joined, it was already five years old. Of course, I was able to shape a lot during that time, but my babies at Swiss Music Export are details.
Admittedly, my decision is not in line with the norm in the Swiss music business. In general, there is minimal turnover because there are simply no jobs. Once you reach a certain age and become specialised, there are no more jobs. For me, it was clear: I want to do something different. I seized the opportunity, even though many people don’t understand why I’m moving to a finance department. I see it as an exciting challenge.
A lot has happened in the last 18 years. Off the top of your head, what has been a highlight during this time?
I’m sure you want to hear about a specific moment, and I can easily think of ten examples. But ultimately, I’m proud that we managed to establish the SME. When I started in 2008, the SME was heavily criticised. It was a tiny organisation that couldn’t even afford to publish an annual report, as it lacked both the time and money.
Today, SME is sustainably institutionalised and taken seriously. It is the point of contact for the industry, music creators, other institutions and sponsors. I believe something would be missing if it no longer existed. And I’m proud of that.
I gather that you can now hand over the SME to the next generation with a sense of peace of mind.
Yes, one hundred per cent. In recent years, I have seen job advertisements that would have appealed to me. But I actively decided against them because I feared for the survival of the SME. However, now is a good moment, after we have restructured for several years: for governance reasons, our financial backers can no longer, nor do they want to, have a say in strategic matters. Today, the board consists of industry representatives. We have defined a new strategy, written new statutes and secured funding, at least until 2026. And my successor, Fabienne Schmuki, was already on the board and knows the environment and the profession extremely well.
Were there any difficult moments? Crises?