Features
DEAG Launches Hip Hop Imprint District Live In Germany
DEAG announced the launch of a new hip hop brand called District Live. The brand has been operating as part of DEAG subsidiary Handwerker Promotions since November 2022, and has now been spun off as its own business, still part of DEAG, and led by Alexander Handwerker.
District Live acts as a booking agency, and tour promoter for up-and-coming, as well as established hip hop talent. Alexander Handwerker, son of Handwerker Promotion founder Fred Handwerker, manages the new division, which he also founded.
District Live, by DEAG’s own admission, sold 70,000 tickets in its first year with an artist roster that includes German rap star Bausa, who has a 17-date GSA tour lined up for February 2025, as well as talented newcomers, such as Tream, who has sold over 100,000 tickets for his second tour in 2024.
District Live’s business is not limited to the GSA region. It sent German producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter Avaion on a sold-out European tour this past May.
“With District Live, we are deliberately creating a brand that gives urban/hip hop acts a strong representation, and optimal staging. As a booking agency, we focus on up-and-coming artists at an early stage so that we can accompany them on their way from the very beginning. We also work together with established artists to further develop their performances and give them a new, unique standing in the scene,” said Alex Handwerker, managing director of District Live.
DEAG CEO Detlef Kornett added, “With District Live, the DEAG Group has gained a strong, internationally operating brand for the entire urban culture and hip-hop sector. We are particularly proud that this foundation with Alex Handwerker comes from our own ranks, and we wish Alex and District Live, together with DEAG, every success in the future and look forward to further cooperation within the entire group.”