Karsten Jahnke buys into Kopf & Steine

Karsten Jahnke Konzertdirektion and Morgenwelt owner Björn Hansen have taken a stake in Hamburg-based festival promoter Kopf & Steine via their joint venture KJ Projects.

Kopf & Steine has been promoting festivals in the Hamburg district of Wilhelmsburg since 2007, such as MS Dockville, Vogelball, Spektrum, MS Artville, Habitat festival and Lüttville.

“We are very much looking forward to working with Claudio and Frank, who, together with their former partner Enno Arndt, have created great formats over the last 15 years!” says Ben Mitha and Björn Hansen, managing directors of KJ Projects.

“MS Dockville, Vogelball and Spektrum have been excellently positioned in the festival landscape and also are continuously developed with a lot of love and and eye for detail, so that they are now considered renowned institutions in the international festival calendar. The current times are characterised by many challenges for creative industries, which is why the new constellation enables us to bundle our interests vis-à-vis politics, administration and service providers, so we can represent them even more strongly in the future.

“The new constellation enables us to bundle our interests vis-à-vis politics, administration and service providers”

“At the same time, this participation underpins our strategy of extending the value chain within the framework of our own network. Through our affiliated companies such as Stereolicious GmbH (event catering) and ADDWISE Engineering GmbH (production and festival planning office), a high level of added value is created not only for all those involved but also for Hamburg as a city of culture. It is important to all of us that Hamburg continues to be an important music location in the future, known internationally for its cultural offerings and strong cultural and festival formats. Especially in the current situation, strong and independent partners and a joint strategy for action are indispensable, so the cooperation between KJ Projects and Kopf & Steine was a logical step.”

Claudio Urban and Frank Diekmann, managing directors of Kopf & Steine, add: “Kopf & Steine has welcomed KJP into its team of shareholders: This share is a great benefit for our formats and the future of music, art and festivals in Hamburg and Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg. We count on KJP as a strong partner with whom we can continue to maintain Kopf & Steine’s independence in the festival industry – and at the same time look forward to a close collaboration in which we can learn and benefit from each other in many areas.

“With almost 100,000 visitors, the festival summer on the Elbe island is a beacon of Hamburg’s music and cultural landscape. Together, we strengthen these formats – such as MS Dockville, Vogelball and Spektrum – while also preserving the jobs related to them and additionally create numerous synergies while doing this. This partnership will ensure that independent, diverse and well-attended festivals will continue to take place in Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg in the future. Hamburg will remain to be a headliner for music, culture and festivals – this is the aim we will be working on together with Ben Mitha, Björn Hansen, KJ Projects and the Kopf & Steine team. We are very much looking forward to taking this next step together.”

Founded in 2021, KJ Projects is responsible for festival and open-air formats such as Baltic Soul Weekender, Cruise Inn Hamburg and also Zeltphilharmonie.

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