Popkomm’s Digital Future

While attendance continues to plunge, Popkomm director Daniel Barkowski reckons Germany’s longstanding trade fair, conference and showcase festival will soon be restored to its former glories.

This year’s edition (Sept. 6-8) reported the three-day crowd was down by nearly one-third on last year – from 7,500 to 5,200 – but Barkowski told Pollstar he’s bullish about Popkomm’s future.

Barkowski believes the conference is only playing possum and is about to demonstrate that it’s still at the forefront of music biz bashes alongside Eurosonic-Noorderslag, ILMC and Hamburg Reeperbahn Festival.

“The music industry isn’t the same place as it was 10 years ago,” he said, explaining how Popkomm’s numbers have steadily declined in the decade since it left Cologne.

Barkowski, who was born in that city, says he’s tired of people comparing the numbers because the comparison isn’t valid.

“In those days they were selling CDs,” he said. “Nowadays, there are young people who have no idea what a CD is.”

He says the organisers are planning an announcement that will come “no later than November” and show how Popkomm intends to return to the forefront of business-to-business platforms.

Barkowski, who has run Popkomm in the two years since it was canceled due to lack of interest in 2009, believes the new Media Gate initiative will steer the event toward becoming a communication platform encompassing the music and technology industries.

Barkowski believes Popkomm has a key role to play as the digital age gains a greater influence in the business.

He told Pollstar the digital sector is the one area that’s showing growth in a rapidly shrinking recorded music business, and Popkomm will be well positioned to cater to that growth.

“On the one side there are people providing free music and on the other side there are people wanting to make money from that music,” Barkowski said. “I can see Popkomm as a platform where both sides can meet and hopefully hammer out a compromise that works.”

The focus changed in recent years with former event director Katja Bittner proclaiming the 2007 edition would recognise the growing importance of the live music sector. “It didn’t work,” Barkowski admits.

Barkowski cites the appearance of Swedish export minister Dr. Ewa Björling at this year’s event as an example that Popkomm still has the clout to attract international big hitters.

As for the live side of the business, he pointed out that this year the number of acts playing showcases doubled to about 120.

“It’s still the place to see new bands a year before they’re featured at other places,” he said, praising the contribution that Paul Cheetham of Düsseldorf-based SSC Group has made since becoming Popkomm’s talent booker.