Reeperbahn’s International Success

Hamburg’s Reeperbahn Festival & Campus turned out to be an even bigger success than organisers expected as the conference sessions attracted 2,124 delegates from 34 countries.

In the lead-up to Reeperbahn, Detlef Schwarte of Inferno Events, which organises the annual conference gathering, said he was expecting the final figure to be nearer 1,800, which would still have been a 35 percent increase on last year.

 
“It is the place to be,” said Hamburg-based lawyer Jens Michow, who also runs BDV, Germany’s main promoters’ association.
 
“Reeperbahn Festival is developing terrifically and is the get-together for the German music industry, musically and regarding international attendance,” said Warner Music Central & Eastern Europe chairman and chief exec Bernd Dopp. 
 
Lyor Cohen, Warner Music Group USA’s chief exec for recorded music, made Reeperbahn’s opening keynote speech, after which he announced he was resigning.
 
Former NME and Melody Maker journalist Mark Sutherland ran a Q&A to ask Cohen about the changing face of A&R, the implications of the transition to digital and the seismic changes in the artist-fan relationship.
 
Other panels looked at intellectual property, whether raised standards in the event and outdoor businesses are doing any good, and – naturally – an explanation of why Germany is a musical wonderland.
 
In the evenings more than 200 acts performed showcase sets in the many clubs and music venues that are in easy reach of what was once the world’s most famous red-light district. 
 
Reeperbahn Festival  & Campus was Sept. 20-22.