Let The Marketing Battle Commence

There will be a lot of mail shots fired in the coming weeks as Berlin’s Popkomm and Hamburg’s Reeperbahn festival and conference begin the marketing battle that may decide which becomes the country’s premier live music business event.

Popkomm, which was canceled last year after poor sales, is claiming it will “once again live up to its international reputation” and promising healthy delegations from western Europe as well as the U.S.

Currently the German music market is represented by Universal Music Germany, as well as by VUT (Verband unabhängiger Tonträger), Berlin Musik, Popakademie Mannheim and Popbüro Stuttgart, who will be exhibiting in pavilions with combined displays.

This year Popkomm, which is Sept. 8-10, will provide a networking agent service for the first time, to help set up international business contacts.

Reeperbahn Campus, the Hamburg festival’s conference, is promising a similar setup, although it’s describing it as “new forms of cross-company exchange.”

It will have about 30 panels dealing with the recorded music industry, live entertainment, and how they overlap the interactive and media industry. The first panelists and keynote speakers are expected to be announced in the next mail shot.

Lining up against Popkomm’s European music offices, it already has the support of Warner Music Central & Eastern Europe, German promoters association IDKV, Yourope – the European festival association – and KMM.

While Popkomm is standing by its “international reputation,” the Reeperbahn event is describing itself as “Germany’s most creative neighbourhood.”