Live Music Fund Germany Launched At 20th Reeperbahn Festival
The 20th edition of Reeperbahn Festival came to an end on Saturday night, Sept. 20. Some 43,000 visitors enjoyed an international program of 800 events across four days, including around 635 concerts by around 450 acts from 30 countries at over 70 venues.
For the approximately 5,000 professionals in attendance, this year’s conference program offered 225 events with around 350 international speakers from 35 countries, including partner conferences such as re:publica x Reeperbahn Festival 34, Afro Futuristic Convention x Reeperbahn Festival 17 and Sustain! x Reeperbahn Festival 5 sessions, keynotes, panels and matchmakings, showcases and award shows.
The Keychange quota for this year’s curated line-up was 44% male and 56% FLINTA*. The freely accessible Festival Village on the Heiligengeistfeld attracted around 40,000 visitors this year, comprising festival-goers and spontaneous interested parties.
This year’s motto, ‘Imagine Togetherness!’, was evident throughout the entire Reeperbahn Festival programme from the Opening Show onwards, with numerous sessions, panels and workshops focusing on the greatest challenges within the international music industry ecosystem that can only be overcome collectively. Representatives from the worlds of culture, the music industry and politics discussed solutions that focused on preserving small venues as a breeding ground for the talent of tomorrow, fair remuneration models for artists, and the increasing influence of algorithms and artificial intelligence on human perception.
A central point of this year’s conference program was the founding of the Live Music Fund Germany, a voluntary, solidarity-based industry initiative to secure the future of live music culture in Germany, through measures including donations when purchasing tickets, and micro-funding from the industry.
Among the beneficiaries of the Live Music Funds are clubs, which take center stage each year during Reeperbahn Festival. German rap-rock stars Krartclub performed a total of 15 short surprise sets across the clubs on Reeperbahn on Friday as part of their “Kiez Tour 2025.”
Other surprise acts were Nina Chuba and, on Thursday evening, Zsá Zsá and Jolle. Once again, the immense importance of music and culture as an overarching connecting element of human coexistence, which is more relevant than ever in these times, became abundantly clear. This year’s focus of Reeperbahn Festival resonated particularly with professionals from abroad.
On Friday evening, the Anchor International Music Award was presented for the 10th time at the St. Pauli Theater. From the six nominees Sorvina (GER/USA), Soft Loft (CHE), Carpetman (Ukraine), Mei Semones (USA), RIP Magic (GBR) and Cara Rose (IRE), this year’s Anchor jury, consisting of Tayla Parx, Laurie Anderson, Suzi Quatro, Bazzazian and Max Giesinger, selected the band led by singer and guitarist Mei Semones as the Anchor winners for 2025. Mei Semones will not only receive the award itself, but also a voucher for technical equipment worth €20,000, provided by PRG, as well as the use of a tour bus from Pieter Smit for a limited period.
The ticket presale for Reeperbahn Festival 2026 starts today. Until Dec. 31, 2025, the Early Bird Festival Ticket is available for €139 ($163) for all four festival days. This year, for the first time, Reeperbahn Festival is offering a discount for music fans under the age of 30.
And for young music industry professionals, a discounted Conference Ticket will also be available after the early bird phase. The Early Bird Conference Ticket is available for €219 ($257).
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