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Stefan Lehmkuhl to book BMG’s Theater des Westens

Goodlive co-founder Stefan Lehmkuhl has been appointed to the top booker role at BMG’s Theater des Westens in Berlin.

Lehmkuhl is best-known for his two decades of success curating and producing festivals such as Melt Festival, splash!, and Lollapalooza Berlin.

He, along with co-founder Thomas Resch, stepped down from Germany’s Goodlive in July 2021, making way for a new management structure.

After a two-year hiatus from the live industry, Lehmkuhl will now book concerts, residencies and theatre productions for the historic 1,7000-capacity theatre, which BMG recently took a two-year lease on.

Working alongside him at the venue will be event producer Parker Tilghman, known in Berlin and beyond by their alias Pansy. For the last decade, they have created acclaimed underground performance events and club nights in some of the city’s most prominent institutions like SO36, Deutsche Oper, Volksbühne, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, and more.

BMG Chief Content Officer Dominique Casimir says: “Taking a two-year lease on the Theater des Westens was a statement of intent. The appointment of Stefan and Pansy shows the extent of our ambition. Stefan is known for his creative booking and for producing events with visual flair and artistic integrity. With his help we will take the Theater des Westens to an entirely new level and make it a premier entertainment destination in Berlin.”

“Early feedback from artists and managers has been positive, with particular interest in the residency format”

Lehmkuhl adds: “I am excited to join in collaboration with BMG as my first consultant and curation project after a two-year hiatus from the industry. We are offering artists completely new opportunities that have not existed in Berlin before in a truly gorgeous setting.

“We are open to collaborating with agents, managers and event organisers, internationally and nationally, even beyond music, and welcome inquiries. I am grateful for Dominique’s trust and look forward to working with her, Pansy and the team at BMG. Early feedback from artists and managers has been positive, with particular interest in the residency format.”

Pansy comments: “The new format will be of particular interest to established artists who want to present a high-end show at a beautiful venue in the heart of Berlin rather than embarking on a regular tour. We look forward to pairing them with local, underground performers that keep our city so special and unique.”

Michael Schacke, Undercover CEO and responsible for BMG’s live strategy in GSA, said: “With the opening of Berlin’s Theater des Westens for live concerts, residencies and performances, the next piece of the puzzle of BMG’s live strategy falls into place. With Undercover as tour and local promoter in GSA and the Taubertal Festival, TDW now adds one of the most beautiful and exciting live venues in Europe that gives us more opportunities to work with artists and their management in the live segment.”

 


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The New Bosses 2022: Benji Fritzenschaft, DreamHaus

The 15th edition of IQ Magazine’s New Bosses was published in IQ 114 this month, revealing 20 of the most promising 30-and-unders in the international live music business.

To get to know this year’s cohort a little better, IQ conducted interviews with each one of 2022’s New Bosses, discovering their greatest inspirations and pinpointing the reasons for their success.

Catch up on the previous New Bosess 2022 interview with Agustina Cabo from Move Concerts here. The series continues with Benji Fritzenschaft, a talent buyer at Dreamhaus in Germany.

Whilst studying sports journalism in Hamburg, Fritzenschaft began a hip-hop podcast that opened a door for him into the music industry. He started working as a social media creator at Sony in 2019, and shortly after applied for a job at Goodlive, where he landed a job as part of the splash! Festival booking team, which resulted in his move to Berlin. He also helped promote the German tours of Goodlive’s hip-hop artists such as Stormzy, Skepta, Dave, and Trippie Redd & Suicideboys, and the company used his expertise for booking its domestic hip-hop festivals (Heroes).

In May 2022, Fritzenschaft was hired by DreamHaus as a talent buyer, working on tours for 070 Shake, Aitch, Kid Cudi, and Jack Harlow. He also books talent for DreamHaus’s festivals and helps develop new events.


You studied sports journalism at university. Are there any lessons from your studies that have been useful in your career?
I feel like my time at university helped me prepare for this job – especially the journalism part. For example, I learned how marketing works, how to get the information you need, and how important a good network is. In addition to that, there is lots of competition in sports and journalism, as well as the music business, so in hindsight, I feel like this prepared me.

Your podcast opened doors for you. What advice would you give to anyone trying to find a job in live music?
If you are passionate about music and want to work in live music but cannot seem to find an entrance, go the extra mile: Start your own project (podcast, blog, etc.) and invest your time. Show the world you have expertise and why you would be a good addition to any team.

As a new boss, what one thing would you change to make the live music industry a better place?
I feel like, for my generation, sustainability is more important than ever before – mental health, diversity in festival line-ups, as well as in the office, and taking care of the environment… We all know there will be competition in the live music industry, but I have a feeling that sometimes people take it too far. I believe it should never be taken personally, as business is never personal.

“If you are passionate about music and want to work in live music but cannot seem to find an entrance, go the extra mile”

What has been the biggest challenge for you and the DreamHaus team as the business has emerged from the pandemic restrictions?
You probably know Germany’s way of handling the situation with loads of restrictions, so finally being able to have shows again was great. There is uncertainty about the upcoming winter, so hopefully we can continue having regular concerts throughout the colder times. Let me be fully honest: after months in my home office, it took a while for me to get used to the regular office workflow again.

Where would you like to see yourself in five years’ time?
I got into the industry three years ago and just moved from Goodlive to DreamHaus. With that move, I also got promoted from assistant to promoter, so I just want to keep my momentum going and build my roster. In general, my goal is to continue to do my work, learn, and evolve – personally as well as career-wise – and then who knows what the future will bring.

What has been the highlight of your career, so far?
There have been a couple: After years of attending splash! as a fan, the moment I was backstage at the festival as an official was pretty cool. The first big shows were nice as well: Stormzy before Covid, Dave on the first day after restrictions were gone, and selling out our Kid Cudi show within a couple of days. In addition to that, LUIS – the first domestic act I signed – just started his first tour, which is basically sold out.

“My goal is to continue to do my work, learn, and evolve – personally as well as career-wise”

Where is your favourite venue?
The splash! Festival site at Ferropolis will always have a special place in my heart. For concert venues, there is of course Berghain in Berlin where we had great shows with Little Simz and Bas. A concert at Berghain is always special. Uebel & Gefährlich in Hamburg and Club Bahnhof Ehrenfeld in Cologne are also among my favourites.

The hip-hop world is a tight community. Who are your best friends or allies at other companies in your day-to-day work?
I am still friends with a lot of people at Goodlive and Bomber Der Herzen. I am also constantly speaking to Cedric Icaasain who manages artists and runs a club in Cologne. I also want to mention Malte von der Lanken and Andrej Malogajski from Mainland Music. Regarding domestic acts, Greg from ARKTIK Management and Steph from Atlantic Germany are my guys. Special shout-out to Thomas ‘The Don’ Schlett as well.


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Dice expands partnership with Germany’s Goodlive

Ticketing and discovery platform Dice has expanded its partnership with Germany’s Goodlive Artists.

Dice formally launched in the German market in May, teaming with Goodlive Artists to deliver sold-out shows with the likes of Fred Again, Marc Rebillet and PinkPantheress.

Now, it is extending its link-up with Goodlive to cover all of the German promoter’s festivals. The new agreement makes Dice the official and exclusive ticketing and sales platform for Melt, Splash!, Full Force and Heroes Festival, as well as the main ticket provider for Superbloom Festival.

“Dice meets our ideas of modern ticketing, and we have been missing such a platform on the German market so far”

“Dice has been successful in international ticketing for many years and is already popular with fans,” says Goodlive MD Marko Hegner. “We were pleased to be the official partner for the launch of Dice in Germany this year – after Goodlive Artists, and now also with our festivals. Dice convinces us on the one hand with its mobile-first concept, which also prevents resale on the secondary market, and on the other hand with its fair and transparent pricing. Dice meets our ideas of modern ticketing, and we have been missing such a platform on the German market so far.”

The official pre-sale for the festivals splash!, Full Force and Melt 2023 is already underway via Dice. If the festivals sell out, tickets can be returned via the Waiting List within the secure framework of the app and resold at fair prices.

“We’re delighted with how fans and the live industry are reacting to our roll out in Germany,” adds Andrew Foggin, global head of music at Dice. “We’ve already had some great success stories with Goodlive Artists and to expand the partnership with the festivals was a natural next step. Their festival portfolio is exceptional, from globally recognised brands like Splash! and Melt through to more recent properties like Superbloom, fans of all genres are catered for.”

 


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