Reeperbahn selects Denmark as 2020 focus nation
Reeperbahn Festival 2019 wrapped up on Sunday (23 September) following four days of panel discussions, keynote interviews, industry announcements, award ceremonies and live performances.
Organisers of the Hamburg-based conference and festival announced Denmark as next year’s focus nation shortly after the close of the 2019 festival, which drew more than 50,000 visitors, including 5,900 music industry professionals.
A “record” number of Danish bands will be present at Reeperbahn 2020, which will take place from 16 to 19 September. Denmark-focused networking events, panels and pre-events will also take place.
17 bands from 2019 focus country Australia performed at Reeperbahn this year, with Glenn Dickie of Australian music export office Sounds Australia commenting that he “couldn’t be happier with how our year as focus country has played out.”
“Our artists and managers are excited by all of the business opportunities that have been presented to them and we are excited to continue this momentum in presenting great Australian music to the German market,” says Dickie.
A “record” number of Danish bands will be present at Reeperbahn 2020
A host of industry announcements were unveiled at this year’s Reeperbahn, including the future of gender equality campaign Keychange, the creation of a mentorship scheme for European music managers and the launch of Pitchfork Music Festival in Berlin.
Ukrainian rapper alyona alyona was this year’s winner of international talent competition Anchor, with a jury comprised of Tony Visconti, Bob Rock, Peaches and Kate Nash, among others.
At the International Music Journalism Awards, IQ’s news editor Jon Chapple took home the gong for best music business journalist of the year, with Juliane Liebert of Radioeins winning best German music journalist of the year and Vivian Goldman receiving the English equivalent award.
German rock festival Open Flair (20,000-cap.) won the best festival award and multi-genre festival Haldern Pop (7,000-cap.) was received the prize for best booking.
Tickets for Reeperbahn 2020 are available here. Under early bird rates, applicable until December 31, conference tickets are priced at €138 and a four-day festival pass is €99.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
EMMA launches EU music managers mentorship scheme
The European Music Managers Alliance (EMMA) announced the launch of the first-ever pan-European mentorship programme for music managers today (20 September), at Hamburg’s Reeperbahn Festival.
The European Music Managers Mentorship Activation (EMMMA – note the extra ‘M’) aims to foster knowledge sharing and increased commercial opportunities by linking managers across the European Union.
The EMMMA programme is spearheaded by pan-European artist managers’ body EMMA, which launched in London last year, comprising managers’ associations from the UK, France, Holland, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Poland. The European Commission’s Music Moves Europe initiative is providing funding for the mentorship scheme.
EMMMA will team up emerging European managers with experienced mentors from each participating country. The programme will provide a combination of face-to-face meetings at MaMA Festival in France, Oslo’s by:Larm, Tallinn Music Week in Estonia and the Great Escape in the UK, with bi-monthly Skype sessions and workshops on areas including live music, touring and taxation, streaming data and making a business out of a band.
After completion of EMMMA, participants will be responsible for providing a one-year business plan for at least one of their artist, songwriter or producer clients.
“This much-needed programme will enable managers to share expertise and build their artists’ careers across borders”
“Diversification and fragmentation of the traditional music industry has undoubtedly elevated the role of music managers, who are now required to be experts in all aspects of their clients’ business – from songwriting and recording deals, to live touring, brand sponsorship, online marketing and a host of other areas,” said Per Kviman, chair Music Managers Forum (MMF) Sweden and chair of EMMA, speaking at the launch at Reeperbahn Festival.
“This much-needed programme will enable managers to share expertise and build their artists’ careers across borders. We hope it will grow over time and help build a strong network of managers across the EU. This is a big win for the future of European music.”
Virpi Immonen, vice chair of EMMA and chair of MMF Finland added: “MMF Finland is proud to be the project coordinator of this groundbreaking pan-European mentoring programme.
“Management can be a tough and stressful gig, in what is often a solitary career, and so our aim with EMMMA, and with support from the European Commission, is to start pooling and sharing the vast knowledge base that exists across the continent, and to help upcoming managers to successfully grow their business. In turn, that will offer even greater opportunities to support the careers of our artists, our songwriters and our composers.”
Applications for EMMMA will open soon. More information about the programme is available here.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.