Medusa Has Midas Touch

CTS Eventim may well be worried about its progress in the U.S. and UK, but it demonstrated its grip on the German market when its Medusa Group promoters took five gongs at the country’s Live Entertainment Awards.

Stefan Güntner from Peter Rieger Konzertagentur knew he won a “best talent support” award because it was announced March 31, but four of his Eventim colleagues also picked up LEAs at the special awards bash at the recently renamed Hamburg O2 World April 15. Güntner was one of six people to share the prize for helping Philipp Poisel’s career.

Marek Lieberberg won promoter of the year. Peter Rieger made it two for his Cologne-based company by taking best arena tour for his Pink dates, Dieter Semmelmann’s Semmel Concerts was best local promoter, while Folkert Koopmans from FKP Scorpio showed Medusa has developed the Midas touch by taking The Jury Prize.

“He managed to set up two festivals – Plage Noire and RollingStone Weekender – in a holiday resort on the shores of the Baltic Sea,” said former Musikmarkt Live editor and LEA jury chairman Martin Schrüfer.

“They’re also attractive events for families and that sort of festival is quite a new idea here in Germany. The jury were pleased to recognise him for the concept, as well as the perfect way in which both events were produced.”

Schrüfer, who helped German promoters’ organisation (IDKV) chief Jens Michow set up the LEAs in 2006, says it’s amazing to see how the awards have grown.

Michow has also negotiated for the U.S.-based Production Resource Group to come on board as a major sponsor, ensuring the event has a state-of-the art presentation to keep pace with that growth. The event was recently re-branded as the PRG LEA.

Apart from attracting most of the major players in the German live music business, the ceremony also had its usual celebrity guests. Peter Maffay, The Scorpions, Scooter, Christina Stürmer, Roger Cicero, soul singer Joy Denalane, and all the members of Silbermond, as well as many other VIPs from culture, sports and the media were in attendance.

Even German Chancellor Andrea Merkel sent a note to acknowledge her country’s great live music industry prize-giving. Michow read it to the room and passed on Merkel’s best wishes.

It was no surprise that Lieberberg won best promoter as he was doing it for the fourth time in a row. But what reportedly stunned many in the 1,000 or so crowd at the O2 World was that this year he turned up to collect it.

His last appearance at the LEAs was in 2007, when he and his staff stormed out because their Rock Am Ring didn’t win the award for best festival.

Nobody from the company was there to collect the best promoter prize the company won later in the evening.

In 2008 and 2009 Marek’s son Andre picked up the various LEAs the company won, and he quickly made it clear MLK’s rift with the awards was more banter than bitter.

“Hello? … Marek? … No, I won’t leave. We won,” he said, as if taking a telephone call from his father as he picked up the best concert award the company won a year after the walkout.

This year Marek collected the best promoter award himself and his acceptance speech indicated the days when he mockingly referred to the LEAs as “golden pineapples” are water under the bridge. Apart from that, maybe he’s forgiven the awards jury for 2007 as last year Rock Am Ring did eventually win the festival award.

This year it went to Melt Festival, the event Stefan Lehmkuhl’s seemingly ubiquitous Melt! GmbH runs on the 16,000-capacity Ferropolis site at Graefenhainichen, a former open-face coal mine that sits on the shores of the Gremminer See. The site won best venue in 2006.

Lehmkul’s company has diversified beyond being an outdoor festival promoter, demonstrated by the run of shows it did for Bonaparte winning the award for best club tour. Apart from Rieger, Melt was the only individual company to win in two categories.

Melt’s also actively marketing the Ferropolis site to all the major promoters and booking Berlin Festival, which is now part of Berlin Music Week (Sept. 6-12).

Eventim’s Medusa Group promoters weren’t the only major company to win awards, as Peter Schwenkow’s ever-growing contribution to classical music earned his firm another LEA.

The DEAG chief won agent of the year for his work with violin virtuoso David Garrett.

This year’s show of the year went to Berlin-based EquiArte for Apassionata, concert of the year went to Musikwirtschaft for its Fantastische Vier date in Stuttgart, and best venue went to Dresden Elbe.

Artist manager of the year went to Markus Bruns’ Brunetti Management for the way the Berlin-based company has overseen Peter Fox’s meteoric solo career. Berlin’s Sub Opus 36 got club of the year and “best new style event” went to Boese & Friends for Die Atzen Tour 2009.

Given the LEA jury is largely made up of journalists, along with radio programmers and cultural executives, it’s hardly surprising the lifetime achievement award went to a man whose career has straddled music and the media.

Apart from helping develop the multimillion-selling career of German-singing star Udo Jürgens and other top “volksmusik” acts including Alexandra, Heino, Stefanie Hertel, Stefan Mross and Florian Silbereisen, Hans Beierlein also managed to find time to create Musikmarkt magazine in cahoots with publishing company Josef Keller Verlag.

The award recognised Beierlein’s contributions as a journalist and for being the man behind many of the acts that have gone on to become household names in Germany.