Scots forge new alliances with Europe: as the music industry takes the high road to Go North, the Scottish scene is looking to build links further afield.(Go North)

As the industry prepares to Go North for the third year running, the Aberdeen-based festival looks set to capitalise on a burgeoning Scottish music scene and to forge stronger ties with its Northern European counterparts.

With delegates and acts attending from across the UK and abroad, and with greater links forming with Scandinavian countries, the gig-based extravaganza, taking place on June 9 and June 10, will include acts from Finland, Norway, the US, the Faroe Islands and the Netherlands, as well as performers and industry representatives from across the UK.

"The profile of Go North is clearly growing internationally. Our aim is to create closer links between Scotland and Scandinavian countries," says organiser Shaun Arnold, who is also a co-founder of Highlands and Islands Labels (Hail), an umbrella organisation for indie labels in the north of Scotland.

"We would like to create a network where we can have acts playing across the different events in Northern Europe and look at joint marketing, joint showcasing and encouraging greater connections between artists and labels distributors."

Among the international supporters is Inger Dirdal, managing director of Music Export Norway. This year she will be attending with singer-songwriter Maria Solheim, after being impressed with the results achieved by Furia, who played in 2003. The band went on to perform at In The City and attracted positive attention in the UK.

"There are definitely connections between Scotland [and the Nordic countries] in terms of trade," she says. "That makes things interesting in terms of developing Scotland as a market."

Labels and acts in the Highlands have also been quick to capitalise on the contacts they make at Go North, both on at home and abroad.