Features
Reeperbahn Festival 2024 Shaping Up In Germany
Reeperbahn Festival has unveiled much of its musical and conference program ahead of this year’s edition, which is scheduled to go down in Hamburg, Germany, Sept. 18-21.
Some 265 program items, and around 300 speakers will explore the state of the German and international music industry, with this year’s topics including the threat to the independent cultural sector – in Germany, that threat is posed by shifts in the political power structure across Germany’s federal states, which may lead to the cancellation of funding for theatres, clubs, youth cultural centres, etc.
There’s also a session on grasroots music culture, which will particularly look at the situation clubs are finding themselves in. One of the confirmed speakers at this year’s Reeperbahn Festival includes Mark Davyd, CEO of the UK’ Music Venue Trust.
Other sessions pertaining to the live entertainment sector include “Question of attitude – when fans revolt,” which will be looking at the fan protests in Germany that put a stop to the country’s top soccer league making a deal with investors.
The current superstar economy will have its own session, and the annual review of the festival season, coupled with an outlook for next year, returns to the conference program of Reeperbahn Festival 2024.
One highlight should be the conversation with promoter legend Marcel Avram, and Astrid Messerschmitt, co-CEOs of the United Promoters AG.
Other sessions focusing on the intersection of national and European cultural policy. Their topics include fair pay in music streaming; the role of music in local policy making; how music can help resist political populism, and more.
Further conference topics include technology, with AI taking center stage, but also looking at how technology can facilitate artist compensation in 2024; marketing; abuse of power in music; sustainability as an opportunity for the cultural sector; accessibility; dealing with the Middle East conflict; and sessions focusing on the recorded music and publishing sectors, as well as synch and film.
This year’s focus country is Africa, and aside from the artists performing across Hamburg during the festival, the conference program reflects that: session names include “Bridging the Gap: Connecting European Audiences with African Music Roots,” “Unleashing Potential: Harnessing Southern Africa’s Music Market for Explosive Growth,” and “Broken Systems, Bold Sounds: South Africa’s Musical Resistance.”
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The festival program features more than 400 artists from around 30 nations, who will perform around 480 concerts at 70 venues strewn around Hamburg’s Reeperbahn district.
The prominent Elbphilharmonie venues will be graced by Alli Neumann and Trentemøller this year. Across the entire festival, every conceivable genre of music is represented, with some of Europe’s most promising new talent taking the stage.
Some of them are nominated for the annual Anchor Award. This year, the selection includes Beth McCarthy (UK), ENJI (DE), KÄSSY (AT), Milan Ring (AU), Moonchild Sannelly (ZA), and strongboi (DE). The 2024 Anchor Award jury consists of Warpaint singer, guitarist and producer Emily Kokal (US), musician and singer Julia Stone (AU), producer, musician, songwriter, entrepreneur, and activist Tayla Parx (US), and songwriter Tim Bendzko (DE).
As partners in the Europe-wide Keychange initiative, Reeperbahn Festival is once again committed to putting on a 50% female, and 50% male lineup this year. This year’s Reeperbahn Festival will also introduce the Keychange Study 2024 in a press conference with that’s done in cooperation with German performing rights society GEMA.
Organizers expect some 50,000 visitors at Reeperbahn Festival 2024, including around 4,000 conference delegates – slightly above the 2023 figures.