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CatChing up with Roskildeand the new head of pRogRamme andeRs wahRén Read moRe on page 14
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Vip-magazineedition #15
august 2014
VipNEWS
Vip 15#spot
folkeRt koopmannfkp Scorpio announces
new conference…
Read more on page 13
welCome to the Vip-magazine
This magazine contains some of the best news from
the recent editions of our monthly, online vIP-News.
Please lean back and read about a New music conference,
take a trip to creative hamburg, get some points of view on
Ticketing and on youtube as a Tactical Player.
We distribute this magazine for free at the major industry events,
so as you are reading this it is most likely that you are attending one of these,
and we invite you to come and talk to the vIP-Booking team
about the services we provide.
until we meet again…
the Vip team®
vip-booking.com
#3Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
#4Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
1329
7
Contents:
18
05 Waves Vienna Meets Bratislava Music Conference
06 (CE)ETEP latest results
08 BBC announce Music Awards
10 IMMF Moves to Strengthen the International Voice of Managers & Artists
12 Industry Profile
13 FKP Scorpio Announce New Addition to the Conference Showcase Calendar
14 Catching up with Roskilde
18 The Socialization of Ticketing
22 Survey Reveals Problems of Tent Dumping at Music Festivals
24 Artist Avails
25 MIDEM to Change Dates
26 YouTube – A Tactical Power Player
28 Tales of the City… A Trip to Hamburg
Vip-magazine 15 #2014
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14
6
the opening sentence of the
announcement regarding the collaboration
of Waves vienna and the bratislava music
conference reads: “the exchange between
eastern and Western europe will this year
be manifest in the choice of location”.
this innovation is very interesting; both
cities are only 54 km apart but the
definition east/West still seems to indicate
a meeting between two different worlds.
anyhow, Waves vienna and the bratislava
music conference are strengthening their
collaboration; previously the cooperation
has been primarily focused on the exchange
of the showcase program between the
cities, but for the upcoming edition the
conference program will also take place in
bratislava.. the conference schedule now
sees the conference program starting on
october 2 in vienna, with the second day
taking place in bratislava on october 3.
for the first time the vienna conference
will take place in the university of music
and performing arts, alongside the
vienna music business research Days.
this conference is quite interesting as
it combines the world of science and
academics with that of the music business.
invited speakers among others are paul
resnikoff of Digital music news (uS), peter
Jenner (uk), keith harris of ppL (uk), and
our own allan mcGowan.
further information can be found on:
http://www.wavesvienna.com/en/update/
artikel/waves-vienna-bratislava-music-con-
ference-1/
waVes Vienna meets BRatislaVa musiC ConfeRenCe
manfred tari [email protected]
#5Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
#6Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
anne frank alsted [email protected]
the fourth results of the european talent exchange programme
2014 and the first ceetep results of 2014.
(ce) etep is an initiative of eurosonic noorderslag to stimulate the
circulation of european repertoire on festivals, radio and media in
europe.
ETEP: 270 confirmed shows by 89 artists from 19 different european
countries.
CEETEP: 10 confirmed shows by 9 artists from 8 different european
countries.
Royal Blood: ‘’eurosonic noorderslag was our first european show
so we’ll always remember it. a very important and well organised
event at the start of the year, highly recommend it for new artists’’.
MØ: ‘’eurosonic noorderslag is a great, and cool festival to play.
especially for up comers! it has helped me two years in a row get-
ting attention from cool media and bookers from badass festivals in
europe. When you’re there you feel the excitement for new music
amongst the people participating in the festival no matter if it’s the
guests, the scouts or the artists’’.
Kadebostany: ‘’our show at eurosonic was a success and solidified
our reputation as a live band, it helped us reach many professionals
of the scene at once. for a band like us who tour a lot, this showcase
was like a ‘’shortcut’’ to reach influental people in the live world who
didn’t know of us yet’’.
ETEP Results: top-scoring countries / top scoring act:
1. UK, 17 artists, Royal Blood, Jungle
royal blood eurosonic noorderslag session, video Jungle
2. The Netherlands, 15 artists, Birth of Joy
birth of Joy live at eurosonic noorderslag
3. Ireland, 7 artists, Hozier
video hozier, hozier live at eurosonic noorderslag (phone recording)
4. Sweden, 7 artists, Elliphant, Alice Boman
elliphant eurosonic noorderslag session
5. Germany, 6 artists, Milky Chance
milky chance live at eurosonic noorderslag
This is the complete list of ETEP and CEETEP artists and
bookings at this point. Next ETEP and CEETEP press release
will follow september 2014:
oratnitza bG 1
carnival youth Lv 1
bernays propeganda mk 1
frau casio rS 1
Goodbye to Gravity ro 1
puncke hr 1
Quimby hu 1
ti rS 1
beissoul & einius Lt 1
Ceetep:
Carnival Youth Bearnays PropegandaOratnitza
royal blood uk 14
Jungle uk 14
mØ Dk 9
George ezra uk 7
milky chance De 7
birth of Joy nL 7
pional eS 7
hozier ie 7
kodaline ie 6
Wild beasts uk 6
circa Waves uk 6
ballet School De 6
benjamin clementine fr 6
kadebostany ch 6
Jaakko eino kalevi fi 5
Larry Gus Gr 5
baby in vain Dk 5
emilie nicolas no 4
Lulu James uk 4
the Strypes ie 4
the animen ch 4
elliphant Se 4
alice boman Se 4
Sam Smith uk 4
hudson taylor ie 4
i am Legion uk/nL 4
Drenge uk 4
tourist uk 4
Seward eS 4
claire De 3
coely be 3
east india youth uk 3
La pegatina eS 3
Girl band ie 3
kate boy Se 3
thomas azier nL 3
Denai moore uk 3
hermigervill iS 3
Lonely the brave uk 2
mariam the believer Se 2
nadine Shaw uk 2
truckfighters Se 2
bondax uk 2
farao no 2
kid karate ie 2
Linkoban Dk 2
n’toko Si 2
russkaja at 2
the mispers uk 2
nonono Se 2
kensington nL 2
melanie De biasio be 2
Slick Shoota no 2
taymir nL 2
Ásgeir iS 2
Jenny Wilson Se 1
afterpartees nL 1
baskerville nL 1
brother & bones uk 1
c + c = maxigross it 1
cairo Liberation front nL 1
charity children De 1
DJ pravda it 1
electric eye no 1
Gudrun von Laxenburg at 1
Ja panik at 1
kit nL 1
La femme fr 1
Le Galaxie ie 1
Luca Sapio it 1
pablo nouvelle ch 1
repetitor rS 1
Scarlett o’hanna be 1
tensnake De 1
the opposites nL 1
the Wands Dk 1
traumahelikopter nL 1
noah kin fi 1
Djaikovski mk 1
rhodes uk 1
manu Delago handmade at 1
mozes and the firstborn nL 1
mister and mississippi nL 1
reverend Shine Snake oil Dk 1
bo Saris nL 1
emilie nichols no 1
cid rim at 1
klangkarussel at 1
Soul Sister Dance revolution nL 1
#7Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
etep:
MØ Royal Blood Kadebostany
the bbc has announced the launch of
the bbc music awards, as part of a wide-
ranging new musical strategy by the
corporation …
aimed at celebrating the year`s best
popular music, the awards event will be
the bbc`s biggest musical presentation
after Glastonbury , uniting bbc one, bbc
radio 1 and bbc radio 2 ahead of a live
show presented by chris evans and fearne
cotton . the event will take place on 11
Decembe r at London`s earls court.
categories will include british artist of
the year and song of the year. a panel of
bbc presenters and producers will select
the best british artist and international
artist awards, with viewers and listeners
choosing the winning song of the year.
the awards will also feature a host of
performances to review the year, as well as
collaborations between well-known artists
and the bbc orchestra. bbc radios 1 and
2 and the one Show will offer behind the
scenes access to the award ceremony.
the new music strategy unveiled by
the corporation encompasses tv and
radio programming , digital services and
provisions to support emerging talent
including the introduction of classical
music to uk primary schools.
“today`s the start of something very
special for everyone who loves music,” bbc
director general tony hall said. “bbc music
is a celebration of the brilliant musical
talent across our country. We`ll be joining
up music on television, radio, iplayer and
online like never before. there`ll be new
shows, new partnerships and whole new
ways to enjoy music.”
the wide ranging plans have been
welcomed by many, but are surprising
considering recent cut backs and
redundancies , however the new strategy
is of course positive. there may also be
some consternation at the offices of the
brit awards, although the bbc are making
great efforts to convince all interested
parties that there will be no conflict –
Watch this Space!
announCemusiC awaRds
Chris Evans and Fearne Cotton will host the BBC Music Awards from London’s Earl’s Court
#8Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
allan mcGowan [email protected]
#9Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
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#10Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
immf moves to strengthen the international Voice of managers & artists2014 sees the international music managers
forum (immf) taking big steps on the way
towards strengthening the international
voice of music managers and artists. With
a new seat in Luxembourg, strengthened
secretariat , new international committee
structure and several new members the
immf umbrella now represents the inter-
ests of national associations from more
than 20 countries, with an organizational
infrastructure able to leverage this ever
growing representational weight.
Kari Karjalainen, lawyer and chairman
of the IMMF Copyright Committee
explains one of the core drivers for
strengthening the IMMF:
THE NEW oRgANISATIoNAl STRuCTuRE
the new immf has been registered as a
non profit organization in Luxembourg. the
daily operations will be coordinated and
administered by Daria Wabnitz, while the
agency factory 92 will be taking over the
international press relations. committees
are the cornerstone of immf’s new
structure working as labs in order to draft
ideas, enhance international cooperation
and strengthen policy work, within the
following areas:
• EuropeanCommittee
• LiveCommittee
• CopyrightCommittee
• MarketingandpromotionCommittee
• FundingCommittee
• TrainingandEducationCommittee
immf is moreover experiencing growing
international membership demand. this
Spring the immf thus welcomed mmf
estonia as its newest national member.
mmf Latin america is furthermore being
established and welcomed into the immf.
mmf Latin america will unite managers
from argentina, brazil, chile, colombia,
paraguay, uruguay, panamá, costa rica,
Guatemala, mexico, perú and venezuela.
CuRRENT PolICY & REPRESENTATIoN ACTIVITIES
the immf copyright committee took part
in the eu copyright consultation at the
beginning of march 2014, presenting its
position paper on the issue. the position
paper stated the importance of copyright
legislation harmonization across the eu
in order to give a legal answer and a
framework for the mass usage of content.
the position paper also underlined the
necessity of an international song database
in order to build a global and efficient
monitoring tool.
immf also attended the music biz association
summit 2014 at musikmesse frankfurt in
Germany where executives from several
major stakeholder organizations presented
their concerns and opinions on recent
worldwide evolutions within copyright, eu
matters and international collecting rights.
representatives from pan-european and
international umbrella organization within
music industry areas such as entertainment
law, music publishing and concert venues
attended the event alongside immf.
in general 2014 has thus far seen immf
being represented and featured across
a wide range of international music
stakeholder events from Sun breathe music
“…People need music, and in order
to support music making , music
creators seek audiences for, and
income from their creations . For
some time the market for music
has not functioned either fairly
or efficiently, imbalances affect
the creation of new music , one
of the core problems is that the
marketplace for music rights does
not work. The growing ambition
of IMMF is thus no coincidence ,
but a necessity...”
allan mcGowan [email protected]
#11Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
conference in cape town (South africa)
over SxSW in austin (uS) to tallinn music
Week in tallinn (estonia).
ABouT IMMF
the international music managers forum
(immf) represents music managers and
through them the artists (performers and
authors) they manage. the core mission of
the immf is to defend the economic and
legal interests of artists on an international
scale. the immf’s vision is to create better
international trade conditions for all art-
ists across the world. the immf today
represents national mmf organizations
from 21 countries.
Contact:
• Generalinquiries:DariaWabnitz
• Press:ChristianHaldBuhl
links:
• IMMF(www.immf.com)
• FACTORY92(www.factory92.eu)
IMMF Council at Midem 2014
#12Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
#12Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
pRofile industry
1. A brief history of your career in the live Music industry.
Started my first promoting company in 1977, promoting and
manifesting punk and alternative concerts in Austria and developing
marketing concepts for the industry (banks etc.). In 1985 James
Brown’s manager, Jack Bart, gave me the first opportunity to progress
towards an international agency. Sal Michaels (Pyramid Productions),
Dick Allen (William Morris) to name a few, were instrumental in
giving me the opportunity to further develop the concept of “artist
marketing” throughout Europe, the Near East, Africa and eventually
the Far East and Asia. So it was a logical step to stop promoting and
focus on artist marketing from 1988 onwards.
2. Describe the highlight of your career and the biggest
disappointment.
Here’s some of the hightlights:
- When we had FOREIGNER perform at the Reunion of LED ZEPPELIN
in 2007 at the O2 in London .
- Our last tour with RAY CHARLES in 2003 – we knew this would
be our last tour with him. His dignified way of handling this was
deeply moving.
- KOOL & THE GANG at the aids benefit in 2003 in front of 250 000
people in Nairobi/Kenya.
- SEAN PAUL (2009) and 50 CENT in Casablanca (2011)/
Marocco open Air in front of 150.000.
- Our tour with CHIC featuring Nile Rodgers last year – that
comprised 80 cities across the world – and thanks to “GET LUCKY”
all sold out!
Biggest Disappointment:
When I found out at the tender age of 6 that it was my parents and
not Father Christmas who brought the Christmas tree…
3. What’s your best skill and worst habit in the context of your
work?
My best skill is to always move forward , act solution orientated, find
great people to work with and find great fun in what I am doing.
I focus a lot on the main points which is maybe also my worst habit –
I sometimes don’t pay enough attention to detail. Thank god I have
a great team who do.
4. What’s your new year’s resolution/plans for 2014?
We are working on a world tour that combines some of our Classic
R&B /Funk artists with people from the EDM scene.
Similar to what we saw happening with CHIC featuring Nile Rodgers/
DAFT Punk , there are numerous collaborations now evolving along
the same lines (e.g. GEORGE CLINTON PARLIAMENT /FUNKADELIC &
RUDIMENTAL),. The tour concept will be unique and will give the
audience a fascinating dynamic between classical & new!
5. What do you see yourself doing 10 years from now?
Hopefully still working at GLP with my team to expand the
marketing potential of the great artists we represent and devise
yet new and unexplored show formats. We will continue to be
strong in the different areas that GLP cover – Funk, EDM, show
formats (like our Burlesque show, Peter Pan on Ice etc), Rock, Jazz
and World music. Hopefully we will be booking music that does not
exist yet and continuing to expand throughout the world.
geoR
g leit
neR
Name: Georg Leitner
Company:
Georg Leitner productions Gmbh
Email: [email protected]
Roster includes:
George clinton parliament / funkadelic, kool & the Gang,
Gil Scott heron, akon, missy elliott, Sean paul, collie buddz ,
inner circle, foreigner, nina hagen and mother’s finest.
pRofile industry
#13Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
allan mcGowan [email protected]
fkp sCoRpio announCenew addition to the Conference
showcase Calendar
Whilst interviewing folkert koopmans i was
already aware that this outwardly calm and
even reserved man always appears to have
some new project on the go. not satisfied
with upcoming tour dates with the 100 or
so artists and 16 festivals in 4 countries that
his hamburg based company is responsible
for, he already had plans in place for a new
conference and showcase event in Sweden.
fkp Scorpio is joining the showcase
conference circuit by creating a Swedis h
event in norrköping during its bravalla
festiva l. he told billboard, “We’re speaking
to 18 venues in norrköping and we can
use several that are within walking distance
of each other, just as reeperbahn does in
hambur g and eurosonic does in Groningen.”
things are already looking good for fkp Scoroio’ s
outdoor festival business, with its majo r
twinned German festivals , the 73,000-capacity
hurricane and 60,000-capacity Southside,
having already sold out with a couple of
months to spare. folkert also expects to sell out
the second edition of bravalla, which kicked
off last year with a 52,000-capacity sellout . Sell
outs are also expected for Denmark’ s 30,000
capacity northside, started in 2010, and the
27,000 Greenfield started in Switzerland in
2005.
the new event is to be called, Where’s the
Music? fkp Scorpio say that this title is their
way to describe what state the music business
is currently at and where it is heading . their
press release goes on to explain:
this is best done live and through discussion.
the platform is a combined showcase festi-
val and music industry conference, focusing
on new music, new collaborations and new
solutions . Where’s the Music? is a festival
with two purposes, one obviously being the
music where we aim at having new artists in
focus and presented to a curious and excited
industry ready to get into new projects . the
other being a comprehensive conference
program processing and exploring subjects
related to the industry. the festival will include
artists performances as well as lectures held
by people in the music industry, sharing their
stories and experiences. the combination
will make a platform for networking, where
nationa l and international music industry will
exchange experiences and ideas, explore new
artists and find new collaborations, through
lectures and personal meetings.
folkert koopmans, ceo of fkp Scorpio is
excitedly looking forward to launch his new
festival in norrköping. “We have found a great
and trustworthy partner in upplev norrköping
while promoting bråvalla festival in 2013. it
feels great to come back to norrköping with
the new concept, Where’s the Music?, so
that we can show international professional s
in the music industry what Sweden is well
known for in europe – to find and bring
up interesting new artists and innovative
technical solutions.”
”it feels great to develop the collaboration
with fkp by creating a new festival together ,
says Stefan papangelis, ceo, experience
norrköping. “WHERE’S THE MuSIC?” is
going to improve the image of norrköping as a
music city and bring us even closer to its vision
to become the music capital of Sweden”.
fkp Scorpio will, in collaboration with
upplev norrköping, create an annual festival
that will be held in various public locations
in the unique area called industrilandskapet
in the central of norrköping. this location
adds to the experience of the festival as
being more intimate and the visitors will
be able to walk from one stage to another
in just a few minutes. our ambition is to
make this festival the best one in the nordic
countries and attract thousands of visitors
to norrköping.
“WHERE’S THE MuSIC?” is scheduled for
12-14 february 2015. this is about a month
after eurosonic and pretty close to by Larm
- a lot of professionals could be very busy
early next year!
Folkert Koopmans, CEO of FKP Scorpio
#14Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
this year saw the rolling Stones play under
the orange canopy, which was originally
designed for the band in the uk for their
1976 summer tour, although this present
canopy is a new larger version designed
in 2001. the Stones performance set
the stage for a special experience for the
band, the festival and the audience. With
other headliner s including arctic monkeys,
Damon albarn, Stevie Wonder, Jack White,
major Lazer and Danish act trentemoller -
this year’s festival broke the all time record
with over 100.000 tickets sold meaning
that the festival expects to be able to
donate approximately 2.5 million euro to
charity and cultural purposes.
VIP-News spoke to Anders Wahrén of
Roskilde Festival after the event:
the team at Denmark’s roskilde festival,
undoubtedly one of the world’s leading
outdoor events, as well as being one of
greatest contributors to charitable causes
on an international scale, has remained
pretty constant for a good few years, but
the recent announcement by the well
known and respected rikke oxner that she
was stepping down from her latest position
as artistic Director has led to a ‘shuffle’
in the management team. vip spoke to
roskilde’s anders Wahrén about his past,
present and future work with the festival:
How long have you been involved
with Roskilde, and what is your
background ?
– I grew up with Roskilde festival, my first
year was 1996 when I was only 13, and
started working as a volunteer in 2001,
alongside working at a local Roskilde venue .
I went on to skip my studies and take a job at
Roskilde Festival where I booked bands from
2004 to 2007, focusing on Scandinavian
acts and upcoming Danish acts. After a 3½
year stint at Live Nation Denmark, where I
developed a roster of local talents as well as
played a central role in the startup of their
now 5-year strong metal festival Copenhell, I
returned to Roskilde in the spring of 2011 to
take a new role as head of music booking, to
allow Rikke to concentrate on management
duties.
Since your return what areas of the
event’s development have you been
concentrating on?
CatChingup with Roskilde
VIP-Booking.com – General
Manager Peter Briggs
comments on his visit to this
year’s edition of Denmark’s
Roskilde Festival:
for a second year roskilde 2014 was again
blessed with fantastic weather, adding to the
already unique experience provided by the
arrangers. very few festivals i’ve visited pay
so much attention to creating such a good
experience and atmosphere for the audience ,
providing a wide and diverse selection of
restaurants , bars and cozy areas all set off by
colourful and atmospheric lighting in both
the main festival area and backstage. i never
cease to be amazed at how well everything
seems to run and how little trouble there
seems to be in compariso n to the crime
statistics often reported during an average
weekend in a town populated by a similar
amount of people. although the 31.000
volunteers (yes 31.000!) certainly play their
part in keeping order there’s still something
to be said about easing the restrictions on
from people’s lives and just letting them do
it their own way.
allan mcGowan [email protected]
CatChingup with Roskilde
– Over this last 3½ years, besides
actual music booking, I have focused
on developing our artistic profile that
also consists of street art, installations,
performance , literature and much more.
As well as the way we combine art forms,
production and the general identity of the
festival.
Will you be taking on Rikke’s role
when she steps down?
– Rikke had moved from heading the
music booking to a less hands on role as
Artistic Director. I will not take over the
full responsibilities, but I have taken over
the responsibility of programming all of
our artistic content – music and other art
forms – with the brilliant teams that make
the festival stand out.
From your point of view was this
edition particularly successful and
what stood out for you. Do you have
any specifically memorable moments
from previous editions?
– This was a very successful year for us,
not only because of a strong line-up and
remarkable ticket sales, but also because
we (again) introduced new stages,
developed a new Art area, put even more
focus on our massive Street Art project
and even with a late cancellation from a
headliner like Drake, we managed to keep
Jack White in Europe for an extra show. All
in all our volunteers impressed once again
and delivered the special Roskilde vibe
with outstanding moments like Damon
Albarn’s Arena show, the Atomic Bomb!
Tribute to William Onyeabor, an exstatic
party with Major Lazer and more intimate
sets ranging from beautiful quiet moments
with Aoife O’Donovan via Maya Jane Coles
electronic touch to extreme hardcore from
Nails. Everyone from artists to audience
and press have given nothing but great
feedback, so we are very happy and eager
to follow up in 2015.
Do you see any changes being made
in the future running of the Festival or
does the present formula continue to
work successfully?
– The good thing about the present formula
is that it is actually always a changing
event. Sure, the main lines stay pretty
much the same, but we have a history
of killing some of our darlings (stages, a
cinema, certain areas etc.) to make room
for new things. And as far as the musica l
profile goes, we take pride in the fact that
we are one of the most varied and diverse
festivals in the world, and I don’t see that
changing. I think it’s interesting to see all
the more genre-specific festivals popping
up, but diversity has always been the key
#15Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
Anders Wahrén, Photo by Roskilde FestivalPhoto by Vegard S. Kristiansen
#16Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
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13TH -15TH JUNE 2014
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SEE YOU NEXT YEAR AT#NS15 12TH - 14TH JUNE 2015
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for Roskilde, and that’s also a big part of
attracting the many different audience
types we have and who create the special
atmosphere at Roskilde. The ability to
change really is a big part of the key to
success and goes hand in hand with the
great deal of involvement from both the
hundreds of volunteers who devote time to
work with Roskilde Festival all year around
and the co-creation with our guests.
Congratulations for the
success of this year’s Roskilde
are in order , but also, on
a more personal level, the
whole VIP team would like to
congratulate Anders Wahrén
and his wife on the very recent
birth of their second son, and
Rikke Oxner on her equally
recent marriage!
17–20 SEPT. HAMBURG/GERMANY
2014
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MUSIC & DIGITAL SESSIONS WITH DAVE ALLEN (US) · KAREL BARTAK (CZ) · SAT BISLA (US) · ROB CHALLICE (GB) · CLAIRE ENGLAND (US) · MARTIN GOLDSCHMIDT (GB) · THOMAS GOLUBIC (US) · JEFF GOTHELF (US) · JOHNNY HAEUSLER (DE) · ROB HALLETT (GB) · GESCHE JOOST (DE) · TATJANA KIEL (DE) · ARI PULKKINEN (FI) · IRMIN SCHMIDT OF CAN (DE) · AMELIA SHOWALTER (US) · RALPH SIMON (US) SHOWCASES · NETWORKING · AWARDS · SHOWS · MEETINGS · CONCERTS ELLA EYRE · ROBIN SCHULZ · HOZIER · ASA · ELIOT SUMNER · THE ACID · FAT WHITE FAMILY · SAINT RAYMOND · MALLORY KNOX · RALEIGH RITCHIE · THE SUBWAYS · CATS ON TREES · YOUNG FATHERS · WE HAVE BAND · BOYS NOIZE · LILLY WOOD & THE PRICK AND MANY MORE
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Orange Scene, Photo by Steffen Joergensen
#17Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
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FOR INFORMATION AND UPDATES
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SEE YOU NEXT YEAR AT#NS15 12TH - 14TH JUNE 2015
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the soCialization of tiCketing
Which trends are you currently seeing within the ticketing
business?
– There are a lot of them., I think the most important one is that for years
people have been talking about consumer information and ‘knowing
your customers’, but it was more about putting the instruction to use.
Now, 2013 and 2014 are the years where event organizers are really
beginning to understand the values of their own relationship with their
visitors; they’re doing everything to build the strongest relationship
possible. That isn’t caused by selling a ticket or having a new headliner
on the event; it’s about knowing the people that like your brands and
knowing how to interact with them. By thoroughly knowing them
and knowing how to involve them through technology, companies
have a chance on becoming more successful, and which can make the
difference for the future. That is one of the most interesting trends, it’s
nothing new, but the change is that companies really understand it the
importance of the customer relationship now.
In which part of the event genres is Paylogic most successful?
– As we started in the Netherlands there was a very big electronic music
culture already going on for years. This market is pretty revolutionary
and very progressive, so when we started, this was one of the quickest
growing markets that we could enter. I guess that half of the tickets
sold by via Paylogic can be connected to electronic music but we also
facilitate ticketing for other events like tours, sports events and venues.
In the German market mobile ticketing is less important in terms of the
overall share of tickets sold for concerts. When do you expect mobile
ticketing to also speed up in Germany?
– Most of the tickets are bought via the internet on laptops or desktops .
However in the USA, the UK and also in the Netherlands, you see that
nearly eighty percent of event discovery happens on mobile devices,
through social media or event apps. In the US, the conversion rates of
mobile payment are growing incredibly, so they are just one step ahead
of Europe. I’m not sure, but I guess one of the reasons fewer tickets are
sold via mobile right now, is that a lot of solutions offered are not very
user-friendly. Another reason is that other well-known main players in
the German market don’t have a focus on mobile payments and push
it less than in other countries. They don’t inform their customers on
the possibilities; if they did they might sell a lot more tickets through
manfred tari [email protected]
#18Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
#19Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
the soCialization of tiCketing
mobile devices. For example, a few years ago as e-commerce started
on the European markets, the Netherlands were already selling eighty
percent of the tickets online, while in Germany still over forty percent
of the tickets were sold via retail stores. I don’t think the technology
lags in Germany; the consumer behavior is different if you compare it
to the Netherlands or the US. Buying on mobile devices will become a
common way of buying tickets in Germany in 2015.
“Big Data” is a buzzword in terms of the exportation of
consumer and consumer behavior data. What kind of data
is really useful and how do you evaluate it, or how does the
promoter evaluate it?
– I think the most important thing is, if you are in a direct relationship
with the consumer (the fan), you can get more and more information
on how they behave and how they make decisions as well as how they
are buying their tickets. If you see that a consumer is always buying
tickets on the first day you’re on sale, then you know what kind of
consumer that is. If you can connect this data to his social environment
and you see that he is engaging with your event or even alerting others
to your event, then you can call him an ambassador or an influencer .
No, there isn’t a revolution going on but it seems a sort
of a progressive evolution is under way as ticketing
benefits from new technologies and consumer trends.
VIP News spoke with Jan Willem van der Meer, CCo
at the ticketing service provider Paylogic , a company
which is part of the stock market listed EDM-Imperium
SFX Entertainment.
#20Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
Every brand, especially event brands, are being pushed a lot by these
influencers. Now, if you get in touch with these people and offer
additional incentives, for example a sense of exclusivity, you connect
them on a stronger level to your brand or your event. That is what we
call customer ownership. If you give them some extras and they can
share it, then they might actually sell the tickets for you. Like with a lot
of things in this world, if people are promoting what they have paid
for, it has a much stronger effect that a promotion by someone who
is just selling it. About eighty percent of the people who are going to
an event are going there because someone they know is going too.
So, who is the first one who makes the decision? If you find out who
these people are and how they make decisions, you can connect to
these people and connect them to your brand. This is very important.
You can have statistical data about how many women, how many men
or, how many people are coming by public transport; that’s interesting
data and I’m sure you can use that information. But it is more interest-
ing for the planning of an event; if you want to know how to boost
the event, how to sell more tickets and get sell out earlier , you need
to know the influencers and connect to them.
How much is social ticketing only
a buzzword or already reality ?
– Well, social ticketing is a buzzword. That doesn’t mean however
that it is not something I think of. I don’t think that social ticketing
is only on Facebook, I think Facebook is a tool like many other social
networks are tools. You should implement those tools in your entire
strategy to establish a relationship with your visitors. What I call social
ticketing is to assure that people can take their relations and friends
to the same event and that they share experiences together. You can
facilitate this in a digital way, so that could be social ticketing; it could
be a group buying process. If people buy a ticket and they have the
possibility to tell their friends/,”Hey, I bought a ticket for this event,
would you come with me?”, that is part of social ticketing. But you
should not concentrate on only one platform. A user on Facebook is
a Facebook-user in the first instance, not a user of your brand.
Do you remember the first big social network from the US? It was
Myspace, and after Myspace collapsed, there were about thirty or
forty bands that completely went out of business, because the only
access to their fans was through Myspace. So they lost their fan base
completely because they didn’t realize that they were so dependent
on Myspace. I think it is important that you use Facebook, but it
should not be to only platform you use to connect to your visitors.
What kind of plans and innovations do you have in mind,
technically or strategically, for Paylogic in 2014?
– I think the main focus for us is to be able to create strategies for
event organizers to get better connections to more people, using
a lot of different technologies in order to connect. But it’s similar
what we discussed about social ticketing, we want to connect and
understand our costumer. Together with our customer we make a
strategic plan in which we point out a list of dates and moments
in which we make the right contact points with the visitors to get
them connected to the brand. That plan is established for the ticket
sales, for pre-registration, for different kinds of contact moments.
Everybody wants a special product and everybody wants special
conditions for it. I think that, by letting our customers understand
that with the tools of Paylogic you can have so many more contact
moments, and so many more ways to get people connected to the
event, you can do much more than just putting the tickets on sale.
We did this from the start, but now we feel that our customers are
really getting it and they like it. As I said at the ILMC, it’s much more
important to become a strategic partner to your customer than just
an online cash register.
Another thing we are currently looking into is connecting in many
different ways to RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). We believe it
is important to not only know what consumer behavior looks like on
their device, it is also important to know the behavior of consumers
at the event. When you know what the consumers are doing at
the event you can be much more successful, it can bring much
more feedback and it can influence the entire event. I think mobile
becomes more and more vital. We talk a lot about a “Mobile first”
approach, which means that whatever you think of in your strategy,
you position the visibility and usability on mobile devices first after
which you roll it out to different devices.
We also want to help our customers making it possible for people
to buy different products on one website, either being music,
either being it a ticket or something else. Right now it still looks
Jan Willem van der Meer
#21Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
like you promote an event on your website and you direct people
to the website of, let’s say, CTS Eventim or Ticketmaster and the
people have to buy their tickets there. This is a little bit old fashioned ,
because buying a ticket is a very simple process and there is no reason
to buy it on a separate platform. So, actually it has to be available
everywhere. The role that Paylogic plays in there is something like
“Intel inside”, it’s not about us. You should just be able to sell and to
buy the ticket on every platform.
okay, but the reality in these days seems that if you have
tickets available on various platforms, promoters end up
having a couple of terminals or printed data-lists at the door,
trying to figure out where the visitor bought the ticket.
– I think what we do is exactly what solves this problem. What
happens right now is that you work with one consumer brand
ticketing platform like Ticketmaster, Ticketonline, CTS Eventim or
anyone else. This brand has the goal to find audiences for you as
an event organizer. So you sell seventy percent of the tickets there,
but then you decide to sell tickets on Facebook or on Songkick or
wherever . What we try to explain is that we are not a destination
platform or a consumer platform, you don’t buy tickets by
Paylogic. com or on our mobile app. We are the technology in
between the consumer, the event organizer and any platform
that they want to partner up with. We give them access in one
standardized technological way, to make sure that everybody has the
best service; the consumer, the event organizer and the promoting
platform. The event organizer and the promoting platform should be
able to easily make a deal together. For example; Songkick gets one
euro for every ticket sold or fifty percent of every ticket sold in the
final week before the event when the need is higher. This should all
eventually be facilitated by technology.
People often compare us to CTS Eventim or Ticketmaster because
they think we have the same goals. But we don’t. We don’t want to
have our own relationship with the consumer; we don’t want to be
the promoting party. We are the technology facilitator; we want to
make sure that in the entire e-commerce system these three different
roles can work perfectly together. No issues at the entrance of an
event, no issues with selling out on one platform but still have tickets
available at the other. We make sure the technology works. And also
we make sure that everybody gets paid. When we collect the money
from the visitor of the event, also the platform like Songkick will get
paid immediately and we do not have to involve the event organizer.
We distribute that money with our technology. With this B2B market
place as we are creating it, ticketing platforms as we know them will
change. It might take a little while, but we think that is what the
market wants.
Choosing the SAP Arena in Mannheim, your event will have access to 8 million potential customers drawing more than 30 cities within 100 kilometers radius.
MannheiM: Smart hotspot in the middle of Europe
#22Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
the Love your tent campaign and
buckinghamshire new university have
published the results of a survey of
festival- goers about the waste left
by punters on festival sites, an
increasingly big issue for the festival
sector with logistical , environmental
and commercial ramifications , and
something previously highlighted by
the a Greener festival organisation.
Juliet ross-kelly has set up the Love your
tent initiative on the back of environmental
work she has done with the isle of Wight
festival , and aims to discourage an
increasingly common practice amongst
festival- goers in the uk and beyond,
buying a dirt cheap tent for attending a
festival, with the intention of just leaving
it in the camping field at the end of the
event. So that someone else has to dispose
of it. isle of Wight festival organise r
John Giddings has talked about the tent
problem at various festival industry events
over the past years.
in the survey of 1200 festival-goers from
multiple countries, 60% admitted to
discarding tents at the end of festivals,
with a third then saying they intended
to continue doing so, and another third
unable to say for certain they wouldn’t
do it again in the future. this despite the
suRVey ReVeals pRoBlems of tent dumping at musiC festiVals
allan mcGowan [email protected]
suRVey ReVeals pRoBlems of tent dumping at musiC festiVals
fact 86% of those surveyed recognised
waste was a major environmental factor at
festivals .
according to bucks new university’s teresa
moore the research confirms a growing
problem not just confined to the uk. as tent
prices get cheaper, more are discarded at
festivals. She called for retailers to take their
share of their responsibility and work with
event organisers to tackle this problem.
ross-kelly’s work at the isle of Wight
festiva l has included inviting festival-goers
to sign up to a commitment regarding
taking responsibility for their waste, and
their tents, pointing out that by camping
alongside similarly committed people
festival- goers will be able to stay in a much
more pleasant campsite for the duration
of the event. She is encouraging other
festivals to introduce similar measures,
with a bid to reducing campsite waste at
festivals by 10% year on year. She said,
“thanks to the great support and work
by bucks we can see how much work still
needs to be done to encourage a change
in audience behaviour. by targeting
festivals to reduce their campsite waste by
10% year on year we are leading a change
that will help to protect festival culture for
future generations and from the work that
we’ve done with the isle of Wight festival,
we know it’s achievable”.
ImagIne if you could go to one website and learn
aLL about the european Live music Industry?
WeLL you Can!www.vip-booking.com
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#23Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
#24Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
Go online - www.vip-booking.com
Need to know who is touring Europe? ®
vip-booking.com
aRtist aVailsSee/add more artist avails at vip-booking.com
oRBITAl
Chloe Charles territory: europeperiod: September/octoberagency: paperclip agency / agent: hilde Spillephone: +31 243239322e-mail: [email protected]: www.paperclip-agency.com
Bo Kaspers orkester territory: World wideperiod: by requestagency: Lifeline entertainmentagent: michael henrikssone-mail: [email protected]: www.lifeline.se
THE oRCHESTRA starring Elo former members territory: Worldwideperiod: 2014-2015agency: World entertainment associates of americaagent: John regna - artist agent/managerphone: +1 407-993-4000e-mail: [email protected]: www.theorcheStraonline.com
Alan Parsons live Project territory: Worldwideperiod: 2014agency: World entertainment associates of americaagent: John regna - artist agent/managerphone: +1 407-993-4000e-mail: [email protected]: www.alanparsonstourpromo.com
oRBITAl ñ 25th year anniversary tour in 2014territory: the World excluding uSaperiod: may onwardsagency: value added talentagent: Dan Silverphone: +44 207 704 97 20e-mail: [email protected]: www.vathq.co.uk
Stanley Jordan +Teodore Enacheterritory: europeperiod: Late october + november 2014agency: DeniS vauGhan manaGementagent: Denis vaughane-mail: [email protected]
glasvegas
Jedward territory: europeperiod: october & november 2014agency: Denis vaughan managementagent: Denis vaughane-mail: [email protected]
glasvegasterritory: europeperiod: 2014agency: primary talent internationalagent: ben Winchesterphone: +44 20 7400 4500e-mail: [email protected]: www.glasvegas.net
Resetterritory: Worldperiod: 2015agency: Scandinavia event aSagent: thomas borgvange-mail: [email protected]
Dionne Warwick territory: Worldwideperiod: 2014-2014agency: World entertainment associates of americaagent: John regna - artist agentphone: 407-993-4000e-mail: [email protected]: www.DionneWarwicktourpromo.com
#25Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
midemto Change dates
for many years music business professionals flocked to the South
of france in January to attend what was for most of those years
the industry’s biggest trade event, and hopefully for blue skies and
sunshine. but things have changed, numbers have dropped off for
midem, and often the weather seemed to take a turn for the worse.
however all is to change, as the event is to push back 6 months to
5-8 June 2015.
there will be other changes, miDem Director bruno crolot: “miDem
2015 will have a new look, new content and a new atmosphere, as
well as being partially open to the general public. We believe the
result of the changes will be a bigger, more vibrant miDem, with
more participants from more countries. all of this and a move to a
June date when cannes is at its best”.
now it seems pretty certain that the sun will shine, but what of hotel
availabilities, and high season prices for what was always the most
expensive of events, particularly in the bars? We shall see…
®
allan mcGowan [email protected]
#26Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
– a taCtiCal poweR playeRthe Google subsidiary youtube intends to enter the new market for
music streaming services. in recent years youtube became one of
the most important platforms for promoting music and apparently
would like to extend its position in the market joining other recently
established players such as Spotify, Deezer and Wimp...
youtube’s mother ship Google currently has a market cap of $375
billion and is known for delivering impressive business results
such as the $59.8 billion revenue and net income of $12.9 billion
reported for 2013. Google does not declare business results for
youtube within its financial reports.
however, the results itself are certainly satisfyingly for shareholders
but may cause exaggerated demands from those who produce
and supply the raw material for what actually makes youtube
popula r. in terms of the business agreements with the market
suppliers for streaming services, the decision takers at youtube
seem determined not to overpay some of these content providers.
in fact youtube is already quite well known for holding on to the
bucks. a bit like apple or amazon , adidas or burger king, and other
usually corporate companies that often attract media awareness
when it comes to allegations of poor working conditions or other
questionable business practices.
in terms of questionable business practices youtube is now
confronted by protests from independent labels who simply do not
want to sign the license agreements proposed by youtube for its
new streaming service. according to the trade organisation Win
(Worldwide independent network), the contractual demands are
considered by many labels as, ‘highly unfavourable’, setting out
non-negotiable terms, undercutting existing rates in the market-
place from partners such as Spotify and Deezer.
it is already well documented that in particular less well known
artists receive less per year in license fee payments from streaming
services than a busker normally earns per day. but what do
manfred tari [email protected]
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#27Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
these ongoing developments mean for the live music industry
community ?
the answer is simple: a trend that has already manifested itself
over more than one decade now, basically rising fees and ticket
prices! the live music business has been compensating
artists for their drastically reduced income from
recorded music for years now. on the one hand
promoters, artists and agents benefited from
rising visitor figures and ticket prices. on the
other hand the question remains what does
this development mean for the live music
industry in the long run?
the music business is a fast changing industry
that continues to re-invent itself. it is evident that the
regular introduction of new technologies has caused significant
development , amendments and innovations, from the invention
of the Gramophone, the shift from shellac to vinyl records to
cDs, the rise of radio and tv, and lately the digital distribution of
recorded music via online outlets.
yes, the live music sector has benefitted and experienced a long
lasting boom in recent years. yes, youtube reached agreements
for its new music service with Sony, Warner and universal music.
but the latest news as reported in the financial times on June 17
is that youtube is “about to begin a mass cull of music videos by
artists including adele and the arctic monkeys, after a number of
independent record labels refused to sign up to the licensing terms
for its new subscription service.”
these reports undoubtedly indicate that youtube is a
tactical power player. using its powerful position to
obtain better conditions for its new service. but while
the live music industry currently is only indirectly
affected by these kind of business practices by players
such as youtube, it is only a question of time until one
of the corporate tech & online giants such as Google,
apple or facebook will reach out and launch services such
as ticketing systems or media platforms that perhaps will be as
demanding and onerous for the live music sector.
With this in mind, it might be time that particularly the live music
industry sends a signal of solidarity towards those that are already
facing the power of youtube and their business associates. and for
those power players within the corporate concert companies it might
be helpful to bear in mind, that the profit results of Google alone are
twice as much as the overall revenue returns of Live nation...
MEGAFORCE
A concert without our stage is like a body without a soul
WWW.MEGAFORCE.DEMegaforce Veranstaltungs GmbH
Jöhlinger Straße 118D-76356 Weingarten
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#28Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
My invitation from the Media Relations Dept of
Hamburg’s Marketing Dept to join a Press Trip to become
better informed about Creative Hamburg was somewhat
last minute; in fact I was in Dresden when I agreed to take
part, then in Berlin. However the sensible routing was
not for me – as usual! Rather than staying in Berlin for
an extra day then taking a leisurely train ride, I returned
to Brighton, had a day at home, then flew to Hamburg
at an hour normally associated with going to bed at the
many music trade events that I’ve still not learned to be
sensible at! Things weren’t looking good when the Ho-
tel’s brand new Wi-Fi system clearly didn’t want to have
anything to do with the rooms, I complained of course,
it’s in my aging nature…. However, stay with me – things
definitely got better!
this trip around a fast developing city, with a great trading and
docklands tradition, which i’d already become quite fond of from
my distantly remembered days of booking bands into still operating
venues like the markthalle, and several visits to the reeperbahn
festival , was not in any way exclusively to do with music.
basically this visit aimed to give us an introduction to the creative
scene of Germany’s second largest city,covering not just music, but
Design, media, Games and fashion the other journalists on the jaunt,
an interesting group of people easy to get on with, were concerned
with these sectors and architecture, travel and Lifestyle. So we
were to cover a wide field of creativity. however my first impression
that only a few stops on the tour would be relevant to my area of
experience , and hopefully, expertise, were wrong, and this trip has
reinforced my observation and contention that music, and all the
music industry’s multiple methods of production and development of
its product are connected with pretty much all areas of creativity, and
even more so in this digital age that on the one hand has caused so
many problems, but on the other has forced all areas of the industry
to embrace change..
of course berlin is Germany’s largest city, and the competition between
the two is more than easily detectable. however, hamburg is recog-
nised as Germany’s design capital with more than 14,000 designers
living and working there. according to edgar ruhe, ceo of ham-
burg creative Gmbh, 80,000 people work in the creative industries in
hamburg, 8% of the total work force, producing a turnover of€10.5
billion. hamburg is also financially better off than berlin, and appar-
ently has 42,000 millionaire inhabitants, whereas the once divided
city has only 10,000. however berlin is way ahead on business ‘start-
allan mcGowan [email protected]
tales ofthe City…a tRip to hamBuRg
#30Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
ups’, though hamburg is fast catching up and determines to use ‘old
money’ to finance ‘new start-ups.
our first guided tour was around the spectacular and still under
construction hafen city hamburg – europe’s largest inner-city
development project. the city is currently turning old harbour
warehouses into ateliers and event venues especially for the city’s
creatives . there is also a brand new university which we visited,
where i was struck by the image of a young student concentrating
on the construction of an architectural model somehow seemingly
not distracted by a spectacular view through the huge floor to ceiling
window of large ships entering the harbour.
hafen city also gave us our first view of a development specifically
concerned with music. the nearly completed and very beautiful new
concert hall - the elbphilharmonie, situated right on the waterfront of
the river elbe, on the western tip of the hafen-city. the glass structure
is built upon the massive red brick construction of the former
warehouse known as the kaispeicher a and rises up to a height of
110 metres. the hall contains a world-class concert hall with a seating
capacity for 2,100 guests and a height of 50 metres, plus two smaller
concert halls, along with a hotel, a restaurant, 45 residential flats and
a plaza with a 360° panorama view which is open to the public. the
project is currently guaranteed completion of the whole building on
31.10.2016. the opening will probably take place in Spring 2017.
the elbphilharmonie and the prestigious hundred year old Laeiszhalle
in the city centre are under one management. the concert series
‘elbphilharmonie konzerte’ will present a multifaceted, modern and
cosmopolitan programme of classic, jazz and world music in about
100 concerts each season.
further visits included the very impressive if Design exhibition, and the
still under construction offices of designxport. the 25 hours hotel,
is described as a maritime design hotel, but could definitely qualify
as a rock ‘n’ roll hotel with its highly imaginative design, much of it
explained to us by the english designer, Stephen Williams. i wish we’d
been staying there! www.25hourshotels.com/en/hafencity/home/
home.html
visits to buzzing and attractive areas of the city like Schanzenvierte l
reminded me a lot of the Laines in brighton and parts of east London
like Dalston. the energies shown by the new businesses, assisted in
terms of start –up advice and support through access to funding ,
including crowd funding, and provision of affordable work, and
rehearsal , space reminded me of the ways that the music industry in
the uk is finally beginning to receive support from parts of regional
and national government.
We met with hamburg Startups at coworking space betahaus
hamburg , and were told about eifflewerk, a new centre for
coworker s specialising in digital media startups. i asked how many
applicants referred to themselves as operating, or intending to, in the
music business. no actual figures were available, but the sector is well
represented, though currently it lags behind games.
i was surprised by the number of references to SxSW, although we
at vip generally think of the austin event as specifically a music and
artist showcase, (which of course it was till a few years ago) kreative-
gesellschaft, www.kreativegesellschaft.org the funding and advi-
sory body operated by hamburg creative, saw it as an event offer-
ing export opportunities to a wider raft of creative companies. they
Hamburg by Night
#31Vip-magazine 15/2014www.vip-booking.com
had in fact financed attendance in austin, using a variety of means
including ec social and cultural funds, for a hamburg delegation
including the reeperbahn conference and festival.
they were also working with the reeperbahn festival conference
to integrate non-music companies to the exhibition areas of the
event. co-founder and organiser Detlef Schwarte, well known to vip,
explained the history of the event to the journalists. (We will catch
up on plans for this year’s September edition in the next issue.) the
staging of the festival, started by promoter karsten Jahnke, in the
red light reeperbahn district was quite an initiative in changing the
reputation of the area, and it could be said, helped give the green
light to take over properties in the area to develop spaces for creative
use alongside the facilities originally provided to attract needy sailors
and now curious tourists.
it seems that as the ever growing number of music conference
and showcase events develop they are attracting more delegates
and exhibitor s, from gaming and other digital media companies,
includin g the new companies and individuals, the sort of startups
being backed by the city of hamburg. it appears that music which
has always provided content for all forms of media, marketing and
entertainment , now also provides promotional outlets and vehicles!
our full on tour took in visits to the aDc festival which celebrates
and awards best practice in German advertising, product Design and
creative communications, and Jung and matt, one of Germany’s
most successful advertising agencies.
other music related stops were at a brand new and impressive
recording studio run by micky berg of the German Wahnsinn team,
micky explained that they had located this state of the art facility close
to the reeperbahn to benefit from the music activities, and the access
to the growing number of local musicians.
We also met with karsten Scholerman of clubkombinat and
Livekomm , who i had sat with on a panel that i moderated at last
year’s reeperbahn. he explained some of the work his organisation
was undertaking to help live clubs in hamburg and beyond, there was
some good news, but still problems, including the loss of hamburg’s
long established molotov club due to the rebuilding in the area of
Spielbudenplatz (many of you who attend reeperbahn regularly will
know about this.) the clubs are having their problems but fighting
back using initiatives like Die nacht der clubs, the club night will
take place on September 5th, with shows in 25 clubs all available for
entrance with one ticket. www.dienachtderclubs.de
i haven’t told you all; fancy dancing in one of the biggest clubs
i’ve ever seen – once a fish market? need a stuffed camel or a
huge portrait of elvis, or the prow of a galleon perhaps? Just visit
hanseatische materialverwaltung for whatever props you may need
for your creative project – another successful startup…as i say, it was
a very full three days!
my thanks to Lu yen roloff and matthias beer of hamburg marketing
for arranging the trip, and for feeding, watering and looking after us
all. i suggest you all book a weekend in hamburg, or i’ll see you at
reeperbahn – just ask me anything about creative hamburg…!