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Germany’s Funke Media and Neuland Concerts merge

Hamburg-based promoters and former competitors Funke Media and Neuland Concerts are joining forces, with immediate effect.

The companies will now merge under the name of Neuland Concerts, which makes the new entity ‘one of the largest owner-managed concert agencies in Germany’.

Neuland Concerts was founded by Christian Gerlach in 2008 as a division of Warner Music, and has organised tours by the likes of Bruno Mars, Jason Derulo, Twenty One Pilots, Robin Schulz, Kaleo and Russ throughout their careers.

Gerlach and his team separated from the Warner Music Group in 2017, around the time Neuland began strengthening its relationship with Funke Media.

“Funke Media has been a competitor for us, and we have had to respectfully acknowledge the high quality on a regular basis”

Funke Media, founded in 1959 by Hans-Werner Funke, has attracted a range of international artists including Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Rolling Stones and the Bee Gees.

Gerlach and Funke’s son Pascale will now jointly lead the business and the team of Neuland Concerts as equal partners.

The new Neuland Concerts team is complemented by Günther Maienschein, who previously worked as an authorised signatory and technical manager at Funke Media.

Gerlach says: “So far, Funke Media has been a competitor for us, and we have had to respectfully acknowledge the high quality on a regular basis. Despite the competitive relationship, there was always great appreciation and, for a few years now, a growing relationship of trust.

“The establishment of a new agency and the subsequent leap into independence from Warner Music impressed me”

“It is remarkable how Pascal Funke has continued to develop the family business founded by his father Hans-Werner Funke since joining in 1997. As Neuland Concerts, we can expand our business especially in the area of ​​local events in and around Hamburg through the merger and offer even more, but above all more diverse events right here on our doorstep.”

Funke adds: “In the last few years I got to know Christian Gerlach as a reliable and at the same time very passionate organiser who always looked outside the box. He knows the needs of his artists across all genre boundaries.

“The establishment of a new agency and the subsequent leap into independence from Warner Music impressed me, since this step there have always been points of contact. We used 2020 and looked around for new alliances. Our aim was to bundle opportunities and competencies while remaining true to our own values. The two companies succeeded through the merger.”

 


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