Popkomm

Popkomm is an international trade show for the music and entertainment business, and also integrates a congress and festival. In 2007, Popkomm will be taking place from September 19th to 21st. Popkomm is organised by Popkomm GmbH, Berlin.

Looking back

Popkomm first took place in Düsseldorf in 1989, and at the time was a meeting place of little-known independent musicians. In 1990 Popkomm was first held in Cologne, and had already become an international meeting place of the industry. Cologne hosted the show until 2003. The music industry’s international trade show first opened its doors in Berlin in 2004. This year witnesses the 19th anniversary of Popkomm.

The congress

The Popkomm Congress is where important industry issues are discussed, new developments are introduced and information is presented by international representatives of the business. For trade visitors there are panels with prominent figures and keynote speakers from the highest tiers of the music business. Figures such as Feargal Sharkey, former lead singer of the Undertones and chairman of the UK’s Live Music Forum, Gilberto Gil, world-famous musician and Minister of Culture of Popkomm’s partner country Brazil, Claude Nobs, founder of the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival, and boy group impresario Lou Pearlman were all present at Popkomm 2006.In 2007 the discussion rounds, lectures and workshops taking place at the congress will once again be devoting themselves to those issues which are currently the focus of the music industry. The event’s main topics will be digital music, live music, mobile entertainment and the creative industries. In addition to highlighting these issues Popkomm will also be organising attractions by country. In 2006 the focus was on Japan, Brazil and Russia, and in 2007 there will be even more countries to discover.

The trade show

For people in the business Popkomm has become a must on the trade show calendar, a show that gives the industry a strong economic boost and in terms of cultural politics exerts an important influence. For years numerous labels, majors and indies, distributors, publishers and enterprises close to the music industry have been represented at Popkomm. With a display area covering 16,000 square metres, a total of 817 exhibitors, 589 of whom were from 55 countries outside Germany, attendance far in excess of 15,000 trade visitors, Popkomm 2006 broke all previous records. However, over the years it has not only been the number of exhibitors, the total of countries represented, and visitor attendance which have been rising, but also the volume of successful talks and deals taking place at this trade fair. Following Popkomm 2006, 72 per cent of exhibitors and 41 per cent of trade visitors reported concluding successful business.

The festival

In addition to the trade show and the congress the third element of Popkomm’s threefold concept that takes place every year is a phenomenal festival. In 2006 Popkomm organised stage performances by over 2,000 musicians from 26 countries. Last year over 400 acts performed more than 600 hours of live music at 30 clubs in Berlin, in front of rapturous audiences totalling 70,000. Among the big names at the last Popkomm Festival were Billy Talent, Chicks on Speed, Joy Denalane, Kaizers Orchestra, ¡Forward, Russia!, the Aggrolites, the Long Blondes, Sugarplum Fairy, Juliette and the Licks and Lunik. Artists, labels, publishers and music managers can apply for this year’s festival from 15 February to 15 May 2007. There are no limits to the type of music they wish to enter. Any kind of music is welcome. This is the first year that Popkomm’s festival team is inviting applications exclusively over the internet. Popkomm GmbH is collaborating with the US online portal Sonicbids.

Popkomm IMEA: the awards

Popkomm IMEA stands for the ”Innovation in Music and Entertainment Awards“. This is the fourth time that Popkomm will be presenting these awards, in recognition of innovative business ideas by people in the music industry. Once again, the focus will be on young enterprises who are making a name for themselves with, for instance, creative ideas on digital music marketing or mobile entertainment. The winners of the IMEA Awards will receive a free Popkomm stand, free accreditation at Popkomm 2008, an advisory workshop with Venture Capitalist BMP AG, and special news coverage by Popkomm’s media partners.

Popkomm Classics

Classical music is popular and the market for classical music is growing noticeably. Popkomm tapped into this trend years ago and has made Popkomm Classics a successful part of its concept. Labels, associations, publishers and classical music media are represented at the Classic Lounge, a place where they can showcase new and innovative trends of the classical music market, and where they can promote an exchange of views by meeting interesting people and holding constructive talks in a relaxed atmosphere. Classical music is also an integral part of the Popkomm Congress. Last year the panels discussed innovative educational programmes and the power of classical music. The Popkomm Festival’s Yellow Lounge in particular showcases classical music, and this year it will again be held in collaboration with Universal Music Classics & Jazz. In 2006 "ReComposed by Jimi Tenor“ celebrated a world premiere at Berlin’s Deutsche Oper.

Backstage

Since 2004 Popkomm has been organised by Popkomm GmbH. 29 year-old Katja Bittner became director of the music trade show in 2005. After a course in economics majoring in trade fair and congress management at the Ravensburg Career Academy, Katja Bittner first worked for Messe Berlin as a manager with Guest Events (organising shows such as Lovestern Galaktika, Roadshow 300 Jahre St. Petersburg). In 2003 she became Popkomm’s project supervisor. Two years later she was the show’s director. Dr. Ralf Kleinhenz is general manager of Popkomm GmbH. A graduate in commercial studies, he has occupied managerial positions at Messe Berlin since 1999. Core members of the Popkomm team also include Esther Piehl and Klaus Gropper (both exhibition managers), Patricia Schwan (conference manager) and Dirk Schade (events & festival manager).

External links

* [http://www.popkomm.com Popkomm website]
* [http://www.popkommawards.com/ Popkomm Awards]
* [http://www.yellowlounge.de/ Yellow Lounge Berlin]
* [http://musicproevents.wordpress.com/ Global Music Business Seminars]

Other music fairs

*MIDEM in Cannes, France
*South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, USA
* WOMEX - the world music expo made in Berlin - travels through Europe