VIP newsletter June.indd - VIP

WWW.VIP-BOOKING.COM
VIP- News
PREMIUM ›› VOL. 82 ›› JUNE 2006
Fullsteam Ahead in
Finland
McGowan’s Musings:
So let’s get the bad news out of the way
first, the Grim Reaper has been far too active of late and as I write in early June we
regret the passing of several highly important figures in our business in the space of
the last couple of weeks. Our condolences
go to all friends and family of US Agent extraordinaire Ian Copeland, seminal Danish
promoter Eric Thomsen, champion of the
blues Clifford Antone, and longtime ambassador of reggae and ska Desmond Dekker.
I worked with Ian Copeland in the late 70’s
in London at Sherry Copeland Artists (John
Sherry is also no longer with us) and he was
a great character. Clifford Antone founded
Antone’s club in Austin Texas and I spoke
with him at the club just a few weeks ago
after SXSW. Personal contact obviously
makes one’s reactions more poignant, but
none the less all these gentlemen will be
sadly missed.
On a happier note summer finally seems to
have kicked in here in Brighton, hopefully
this is the case wherever you are and that
the sun stays around for the Festival season,
particularly for those that suffered from last
year’s interminable rain. However in a lot of
cases both festivals and concerts won’t be
battling with the weather, but more likely
FOOTBALL! Promoters, bookers and bands
all over the world must be desperately
checking the schedules to try and avoid going up against vital matches and big event
screens will regularly feature more than one
type of player.
Allan McGowan [email protected]
Allan McGowan
Certainly in Germany the live music schedules will not be exactly business as usual, and
they’ve even had to lose the Stones dates in
Nuremberg and Leipzig, although we’re all
glad to hear that Keef’s head will be back together in time for them to restart their European tour in Milan on July 11.
By the time you read this I will hopefully be
enjoying the Andalusian sun, but before I
leave I’m trying to figure out a way of staying
away from my emails without coming back
to literally thousands of spam messages! Is it
just me, or has there been an enormous increase of late? How much Viagra can one man
need? Is Yasser Arafat’s widow really going to
reward me for looking after her money? Did
I ever have a bank account with them in the
first place? Porn again – and again! A mortgage from spammers – Nein Danke! – Where
will it all end, who is sending it and when will
they bloody well get the message that we’re
not interested!..... I think dear readers that
you can tell that I need a holiday!
We’ll all be taking a break for July, but we’ll
be back in August, so please let us have your
summer news, festival reports etc so that we
can let everybody know, in the meantime,
success, happy times, and most of all good
health to all of you.
VIP-News talked to Juha Kyyrö, who
earlier this year parted company with
Risto Juvonen’s Welldone Agency to
set up his own agency, promotion,
management and records operation
under the Fullsteam banner.
VIP-News: How did you first get into
this business.
Juha: I got into music business, as
many people do, through my own
band. It all started with helping other
bands with getting shows, and in
2001 I started a company called Sitruunamaailma. The first shows I promoted, were for Swedish bands Blindside and Plastic Pride. Soon after that I
was already working with most of the
Scandinavian agents with bands like
Looptroop,Turbonegro, Nine, Flogging Molly, Skindred and many others.
I was also booking agent for a small
roster of Finnish alternative bands.
I was approached by Welldone first in
2002 and then again in 2003. I finally
started working for them in 2004 as it
felt like the best set-up at the time. In the
meantime I had also started a record
The VIP-Booking European Live Entertainment Book
Advertising in the VIP Book will make you visible to 10.000 business
professionals all over Europe. You will find no better place to expose your
company to the whole European Live Entertainment Industry.
›› RESERVE YOUR AD NOW ON WWW.VIP-BOOKING.COM
1
VIP-BOOKING.COM
VIP- News - J u n e 2 0 0 6
label called Fullsteam Records, which has now
grown to be one of the main independent record
labels in Finland (awarded twice for best in dependent record label by Musiikki & Media, the
biggest music business conference over here).
VIP-News: How long were you at Welldone and
what acts did you work with there?
Juha: I worked for Welldone for 2 years, I worked
with all of the bands I had been working with
before and obviously continued promoting
shows for more and more foreign bands all the
time. My Finnish roster is actually smaller now
than when I started at Welldone, but at the
same time I am managing one band, Disco Ensemble, and concentrating mostly in promoting shows for international acts in Finland.
VIP-News: When did you make the decision
to leave and start up on your own and what
prompted this?
COLOPHON ››
Juha: I guess being independent has always
been really important for me, but starting up
on my own again for the live side of what I was
doing actually felt like the easiest solution, as I
already had my own company, the record label,
Fullsteam Records, with 6 employees who were
already involved in some of the shows I did. For
me the main reason to go on my own again
was just the fact that I wanted to be free to do
VIP-News is published by:
VIP-Booking
26 York Street
London W1U 6pZ
Managing Director:
Ronni Didriksen
[email protected]
General Manager:
Peter Briggs
[email protected]
Fullsteam Agency
whatever I want with my job, and that wasn’t
possible at all times at Welldone.
VIP-News: What is the structure of Fullsteam,
who will you be working with, and which acts
will you represent? Will you be working internationally or concentrating on local and national
business. What are your aims and goals for the
company?
Juha: Of course, we are heavily concentrating on developing as a company at the moment, so I would have a better answer to this
five years from now, but right now Fullsteam
Agency consists of two promoters/agents, one
production guy and an assistant. I am also
extremely happy to tell you that Anne-Mari
Harinen from Trinity Concerts in Germany
joined us in May, she is actually Finnish and is
moving back here. I will also have more news
for you later on this year about our structure.
The goal is nothing less than being the best
promoter in Finland, which is what we already are for alternative music, at least in my
opinion. Our main business at the moment is
promoting concerts for international artists in
Finland, but we do represent a bunch of Finnish bands, for example the recent Eurovision
Song Contest winners Lordi, Disco Ensemble
and Rotten Sound.
VIP-News: How do you see the state of the business at the moment?
Sales Agent:
John Ainsworth
[email protected]
Juha: Live music is doing extremely well in Finland, and we have been lucky (or good!) to succeed on the record label side as well. As long as
we concentrate on artists that we truly believe
in, I cannot see any problems ahead.
Writer and editorial:
Allan McGowan
[email protected]
Writer:
Manfred Tari
[email protected]
Juha Kyyrö
For advertising enquiries pls. contact
Peter Briggs [email protected]
or +44 870 755 0092
Lay-out:
Pekaye Graphics, Phuket – Thailand
[email protected]
2
VIP-BOOKING.COM
VIP- News - J u n e 2 0 0 6
Channelfly Group Open New London Bar
Allan McGowan [email protected]
The Channelfly Group has been busy of
late, following on quickly from organising the three day trade and showcase
event The Great Escape in Brighton as
reported in last month’s issue) the Company have opened a new bar in London’s
New Oxford Street.
The Fly as it will be known, intends to attract a regular clientele made up of music
industry and music fans. Executive Director Jeremy Ledlin told VIP-News, “The
Fly has great facilities such as video projectors and sound systems and we will
be installing plasma screens. We have a
basement room for hire with full technology available. It’s a perfect space for the
business to hold record launches, video
playbacks and receptions. By day it will
operate as a café/restaurant and by night
it will be an ideal place to meet before
gigs and to hear new tunes. We’ve called
it The Fly, like our magazine which will be
available in the bar, to distinguish it from
our other live venues, all known as Barfly.
At the moment we won’t be putting on
live entertainment but in the future we
may well extend the licence to do this.”
The Channelfly Group is one of the UK’s
leading independent music businesses,
with interests in live music venues, artist management, producer management,
recording and publishing. The Channelfly
Group includes the Barfly chain of live
venues; SuperVision, an artist management company, SBM, a record-producer
management business, Animal Noise, a
recording company and The Fly, one of
the UK.s widest distributed music magazines.
FIB Heineken – Benicassim Festival 2006 Sells Out
Allan McGowan [email protected]
At the time of writing only one day tickets
were available for the FIB Heineken Benicassim International Festival, this increasingly popular and ever expanding event
has now sold out of all 3 and 4 day tickets
for July 20-23.
The first edition took place in August 1995,
and since then its stages have featured –:
The Stone Roses, The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Cranes, Silvania, Autechre, Belle & Sebastian,
Los Planetas, Suede, Saint Etienne, Björk,
Pizzicato Five, Astrud, Massive Attack, The
Cure, Manta Ray, Suicide, Echo and the Bunnymen, Migala, Goldfrapp, Fangoria, Einstürzende Neubauten, Polar, Pet Shop Boys,
Brian Wilson, Franz Ferdinand, Kraftwerk,
Kaiser Chiefs, Devendra Banhart.
day sometimes with an extended stay in the
area, or as the starting point for other Spanish destinations.
Benicàssim is also the only music festival
in the world that offers summer courses in
subjects such as Radio Fiction, Comics and
Animation Documentary Film, and the Marriage of Film and Music, in collaboration
with the Universidad Jaume I these have
been highly, and surprisingly, successful.
The Festival organisers have also branched
out to instigate separate but connected
events. From the 27th of April to the 7th of
May this year week in Brussels, Les Nuits du
Botanique” the first of four festivals Last, four
surprising concerts marked the launching of
Un-Pop Classik, a European music project,
led by the FIB Heineken which gathered
four bands, four orchestras and four major
festivals to prove that pop and rock are not
incompatible with classical music.
This year’s headliners include Scissor Sisters, The Pixies, Echo & The Bunneymen,
The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, Morrissey,
Depeche Mode, Madness and Placebo. Recent changes to the bill include the cancellation of Beth Orton who has postponed her
concerts in Europe due to the extension of
her American tour, and the Editors change.
from Saturday the 22nd to Sunday the 23rd
of July.
More Information: www.fiberfib.com
With Glastonbury resting whilst organiser
Michael Eavis allows the fields of Worthy
Farm to recover, FIB Heineken - Benicassim
has attracted festival fans from all over Europe to make this their summer pilgrimage.
Certainly many in the UK have discovered
that a combination of cheap flights, much
cheaper on site catering and camping, pretty much guaranteed good weather, beaches
for sea swimming and a vibrant and extensive music, theatre, film, fashion, arts and
social programme offers them all and more
than is available at home for the same or less
outlay. Many now treat this event as a holiMadness headlines Benicássim 2006
3
VIP-BOOKING.COM
VIP- News - J u n e 2 0 0 6
Dates For
Download
Festival In
Boston &
San Francisco
Manfred Tari [email protected]
311 to play Downloads Festival
The festival that was launched in 2003 in
the UK will now be exported to the US.
While the UK Dates for the event are set
for June 9 to 11, the US Dates are August
20 in Boston and September 30 in San
Francisco.
In Boston the festival will take place in the
Tweeter Center and will feature acts such
as 311, Dropkick Murphys, G. Love & Special Sauce, Jurassic 5, The Wailers, Pepper.
While Live Nation announced the Shoreline Amphitheatre as the location for the
edition of the event in San Francisco, no
information had been made yet regarding the line up for that show.
Charlie Walker, President of Music for the
corporate concert company said “Live Nation is a world leader in festival ownership.
Our goal is to import the skill set and successful festival brands we currently own in
Europe into our venues in the United States.
Expanding Download into another market
here in the States is a great step in that direction.”
21. Edition of the Summerjam
Festival
Manfred Tari [email protected]
Klaus Maack, managing director of
Contour music agency and promoter of
the Summerjam Festival is dedicated to
reggae music. The agency roster consists of course of other artists that are
not strictly reggae or dancehall as he
has also been working for many years
with artists such as Nick Cave and New
Model Army. Nevertheless he has a passion for reggae music.
VIP-News: What are your expectations
for Summer Jam 2006?
Klaus Maack: The ticket sales are developing in the same way as they did in the
year 2005. And in the year 2005 we were
sold out. So I hope that we will reach this
point this year again.
VIP-News: Was it more difficult to get the
billing together this year?
Maack: It was more difficult because
last year our pulling acts were the strong
German league acts like Seeed, Gentleman, Patrice. And this year we had to go
more international and I followed up my
dream since many years to have two of
Bob Marley’s sons on the same stage together with Andrew Tosh, the son of Peter
Tosh. And I think this was a good thing
to do because Damien Marley especially
has a very good album on the market
and he has started a very strong international career.
VIP-News: Did you have problems to get
sponsors for Summer Jam 2006 due to
the World Cup?
Maack: Yes, in general we have problems to get sponsors because it is a sort
of music festival that is generally not very
interesting for sponsors. Then we had the
usual sponsors. But for the first time we
will have the TV on board. They will do a
ninety minute special about the Summer
Jam festival which will be broadcasted on
the ZDF and also in Arte.
VIP-News: You are one of the first German
festival promoters to extensively promote
your festival abroad. Any new developments on promotion in foreign countries
you have already realized now?
For more information please check:
www.downloadfestival.com
Klaus Maack
4
VIP-BOOKING.COM
VIP- News - J u n e 2 0 0 6
Maack: Yes, getting stronger. We have had advance ticket sales in France last year for example of approximately 1000 tickets. It looks like
we will double this figure this year. And we have
got a lot of demands from Scandinavia, from
Holland and also from the UK. It is easy to do
now because there are computer tickets system
you can work with. In earlier years we did this
all by mailing, sending out original tickets from
our office which was very difficult because of
custom rules and things. But now through the
modern computer ticket systems we are able to
sell tickets in all markets.
VIP-News: Do you doing marketing over there?
Maack: Oh yes. We are doing marketing in the
usual outlets and the magazines and also we
are doing marketing for the festival with the
friend promoters in the UK and friend promoters in Scandinavia.
VIP-News: Does this mean you spend money
on advertising and promotion activities?
Maack: Yes, we send posters, we even do flyers in the language of the country where we
work with promoters. And we are doing advertisements in French and Scandinavian
magazines. Yes we are spending money for
advertisement.
VIP-News: How about your online site? Do you
think it’s become more important to have a
website like yours?
Maack: It’s a key. It’s a key thing. I mean we are
selling one fourth of the total advance tickets
sales from our website. And it’s continuously
growing. This shows how important it is and I
think our website is quite good. You can find
everything on our website.
VIP-News: Don’t you think it would be necessary to have a French language or a Dutch language version of the website.
Maack: No not on our website. But if you do outlets, if you work with the club scene in Paris or in
Amsterdam or in Stockholm wherever. We could
do it in English (French), but I think it also gives
the people a good feeling if they can read the information in their own language on the flyers.
VIP-News: How are your other shows doing at
the moment?
Maack: We are doing shows with Ziggy Marley,
we are doing shows with Alpha Blondy because
the Ivory Coast Team is in Germany and doing
shows in Cologne, Mainz, Stuttgart, München,
Nürnberg. I’m doing a show with Sean Paul in
Stuttgart, Gilberto Gil and shows with Damien
‘Jr Gong’ Marley.
and six thousand people in Stuttgart. Damien
Marley and Morgan Heritage at the Stadtpark
in Hamburg I think we will sell approximately
three and a half thousand tickets. The same
with Gilberto Gil.
VIP-News: How did the World Cup affect your
business?
Maack: I don’t know yet, it starts today. First of
all it was difficult because there are many artists who didn’t want to come because of some
reason. The second difficulty was that there is
a lot of offers from the city councils and from
people who use public money to present entertainment for the World Cup fans. It is hard for
commercial promoters if you have to charge
ticket prices like 30 Euros for Gilberto Gil. In general the World Cup has harmed the business
because the early summer period is not as busy
as it used to be for the commercial promoters.
On the other side I worked together with some
of the FIFA people and we were selling some of
the acts in our home city especially.
VIP-News: Have you been able to charge better
fees?
VIP-News: Are they selling well?
Maack: I wish that I had charged more, but it’s
o.k.
Maack: Yes. Alpha Blondy will sell out all four
shows, approximately 1.500 capacity, it’s Muffathalle, Mainz, Kurtz open air, Stuttgart Zapata. For Sean Paul I think we will get between five
The Summerjam-Festival takes place on the
Fuehlinger See in Cologne from July 14 to 16.
For further information please check www.
contour-music.de and www.summerjam.de
London Calling The Music Industry
Allan McGowan [email protected]
Another addition to the increasing number
of trade conference and showcase events
will take place on 29th and 30th June 2006
at Earls Court, London when London Calling hits town. London has of course long
been an international hub for the music
business but until now has not successfully hosted a large scale industry event
– London Calling 2006 aims to change that
with Nokia, Sony ATV, MySpace, MTV, O2,
Sony BMG, Last.fm, Kontor and SK Telecom
amongst others joining the line-up.
than 15 hours of panels and presentations
discussing Future Technologies & Innovations, Brands & Bands, and New Business
Models. The speaker line-up includes key
spokespeople from organisations suchas
Heineken, IFPI, MTV, GCap, TNS, Orange,
Sony BMG and Mashboxx. The exhibition
show floor features over 100 participating
companies – including Emusic.com, The
Orchard, HMV Digital, Ministry of Sound,
Nokia, Apple, IODA, CD Baby, Positiva and
many more.
The London Calling education programme
will focus on three themes.40 speakers
from more than 10 countries will share
their experience and expertise in more
The event will also feature two live performance areas – featuring upcoming bands,
acoustic performances and international DJ
sets.
5
VIP-BOOKING.COM
Delegate packages are available at
www.Londoncalling2006.com
ranging
from exhibition-only access through to full
‘Access All Areas’ VIP passes.
VIP- News - J u n e 2 0 0 6
12,000 Extra
tickets for
T in the Park
Allan McGowan [email protected]
Big Day Out, Organisers of the T in
the Park festival were able to release
12,000 extra tickets for sale online and
by phone after some were recovered in
an anti-touting operation, the extra allocation sold out in 10 minutes. They included admissions that were cancelled
after music fans flouted a two-ticketper-person rule.
Geoff Ellis of DF Concerts and Big Day
Out in his role as a member of the Concert Promoters Association has been
very actively involved with the campaign which has been taken to Governmental level in the UK to stamp out
ticket touting and to control secondary
ticket sales. He said: “It’s great news for
us that there is now a system in place
to help identify and eliminate touts and
once again we would urge fans not to
buy from unofficial sources
Permission has also been given to increase capacity at the Scottish two-day
July festival, sited at Balado in Perthshire which this year features bands
The Who and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. 75,000 people will now attend the
July 8 & 9event each day. Those without
tickets have been warned to stay away
from the festival site, which will be surrounded, by a ‘fortress fence’ and an exclusion zone.
According to the BBC a new report has
estimated that Festivals is worth £18m
to to the country’s economy. The study
says T in the Park brings in £7.5m to the
local economy in Perth and Kinross and
another £10.5m to tourism through
worldwide media coverage.
The Neutral View On The
Festival Season
Manfred Tari [email protected]
Asking festival promoters about
their business is quite a usual thing.
As the live entertainment business
witnessed a growth period over at
least a decade also the periphery
has grown. In particular these are
in Germany specially dedicated
publications that report about Festivals only. The Music magazine Intro
launched with Intro Festival Guide
the first publication of it’s kind.
VIP-News has once again become a
media partner for the Intro Festivalcamp at Popkomm 2006 in September in Berlin.
This time VIP-News spoke to Philipp
Welsing, who is the editor in charge
of the Festivalplaner release by music magazine Visions.
VIP-News: How would you describe the
trends for the festival season 2006?
Philipp Welsing: I see a big upward
trend. Festivals seem to get really
popular not only in the UK but also in
Germany. Festivals like Hurricane and
Southside were sold out far ahead in
advance and even faster than in previous years. Also I think there are lots of
German festivals that were newcomer
festivals in 2004 or 5 that have since
then established themselves in the
midrange field and I think that this is
really positive trend. Also some of the
big festivals will not take place in 2006
because the World Cup is on, because
of problems with acts that didn’t turn
up in Europe.
VIP-News: Would you say the general
number of festivals is the same as in
previous years?
Welsing: Maybe a little bit less but this
does not have an impact on the overall quality of the festival landscape.
VIP-News: Which festivals would you
highlight as really worthwhile and
interesting that have been established on the German market recently?
6
VIP-BOOKING.COM
Which are the interesting newcomers
on the festival market in Germany?
Welsing: I would say the open air Werden in Essen is becoming more and
more popular and they have excellent bands: Also the Rheinkultur still
has the monopoly of these kind of free
festivals, but that’s already established
so I would especially highlight Werden
as being excellent. Also I would say
Rock am Deich, Omas Teich. Coming
to Switzerland the Gurtenfestival and
open air St. Gallen are always excellent. If they continue this well they
could attract more people from Germany as well.
VIP-News: Have you seen a development where foreign festival promoters
promote their shows in the German
market now as well?
Welsing: During the last four years it’s
kind of stayed the same. Even Roskilde
which is not really close to Germany,
has always been connected to the Festivalplaner and some Belgium festivals
too. Aerodome is not happening but
there are other festivals in Belgium,
which try to kind of reach German
visitors. At the same time it is hard to
cooperate with them because it �s not
a German speaking area. As a magazine or the Festivalplaner it �s difficult
to cooperate with them or to present
those festivals. But I would say it’s kind
of stayed the same from the festivals
and how they want to communicate
to the German audience.
VIP-News: How much are you covering dance events?
Welsing: The Festivalplaner has electronic events like the Juicy Beats festival in Dortmund, which is excellent in
the Westfalenpark. We have Phonopop festival which is excellent. I would
say that about 10 percent of the festivals in the Festivalplaner are electronic
festivals.
VIP- News - J u n e 2 0 0 6
VIP-News: What is the total number of
festivals covered within the Festivalplaner
this year?
Welsing: In the Festivalplaner 2006 we
cover about a hundred and ten festivals.
VIP-News: What about advertising. Is that
the same as in previous years? Do festival
promoters put ads in your newspaper or
your publication?
Welsing: Oh yes they do. No major changes observed there. I think that stayed the
same really. But I’m not into the marketing
side you know. Better ask Bunky or Stefan
to check that.
things that go wrong. They always try to
refine their line-ups and concerning Hurricane and Southside, to give the audience
a wide range of genres. I would say yes.
VIP-News: It appears that at the moment,
there are a lot of promoters that still advertise in print but not so much online. Don
�t you think online advertising is much
more important than print these days?
they exchange a lot on the internet. So I
would say concerning festivals it may be
better for promoters to advertise online,
you know to concentrate more on online
on the right platforms. Festival goers like
to exchange, they want to drive together
to the festival and back. It’s a big community that communicates on the internet,
so promoters should maybe focus more
on the internet.
Welsing: Not more important, no. Actually concerning festivals, the festival audience is always a big community and
For further information please check:
www.festivalplaner.de by Visions or
www.festivalguide.de by Intro.
VIP-News: When it comes to the audience,
are there any particular developments you
have realized? When people go to your
website is there any special event they are
looking for?
Welsing: I think people are more open
minded to rock music right now because
rock music has established itself in Germany like German speaking dance. I
would say that Rock has come very close
to mainstream right now. So I would say
that rock festivals attract more people
than they maybe did two or three years
ago. But that is not really a change in the
audience of the festivals. Maybe festivals
like Hurricane or Southside which were
indie festivals before, now attract a more
mainstream audience.
VIP-News: How about Rock am Ring?
Welsing: Rock am Ring is so established
that I don’t think there are any changes to
the audience. But I cannot really comment
on that because I have only been there
once two years ago.
VIP-News: Do you think the quality of festivals has improved over the last couple of
years?
Welsing: I would say yes because festival
promoters always try to refine their concepts concerning camping and sanitary
facilities. I think they are constantly developing. They learn from lots of things,
Phillip Welsing
7
VIP-BOOKING.COM
VIP- News - J u n e 2 0 0 6
Robbie Williams
Tour Sponsors
Announce
Mobile Williams
Manfred Tari [email protected]
Mobile Williams
The product range of the exploitation
of concert presentations reaches new
levels. T-Mobile and Sony Ericsson are
the main sponsors for the upcoming
Robbie Williams tour. The companies
now declared their ideas for value
added sponsoring. Besides the usual
branding opportunities via posters,
screens and advertisements T-Mobile
and Sony Ericsson undertake some special efforts that refer to core business of
those companies.
Sony Ericsson will release the new mobile phone W300i, the Walkman®-Phone
with a preinstalled video clip of Mr. Williams. T-Mobile offers mobile broadcasts via UMTS of each concert during
the tour, starting on June 9 in Dublin,
Ireland. The Telco even launched a
new channel entitled Tour TV that will
screen backstage features and reports
about the ongoing tour. Furthermore a
WAP-page on robbiewilliams.com, wallpapers, ringtones and exclusive downloads completing the digital virtual
sponsor enviroment. In real life manner
the sponsor team arrange competitions
before each show entitled “Supernatural Carnival”.
The Future of GermanSounds
Manfred Tari [email protected]
At the beginning of this year the future of the German music export office was very uncertain. As expected
the state ministry of culture and media (BKM) pulled out of the group of
financiers of the organisation. The
other core financiers were the GVL
(society for performing rights) and the
copyright collection society GEMA.
from GermanSounds were more or
less fruitless and talks with other
sources in the hope of getting some
sort of official comment about the
status of negotiations lead to no
concrete results. Nevertheless there
have been various activities by the
people involved that could be best
described as hidden diplomacy.
As reported in the March issue of
VIP-News the BKM only subsidised
GermanSounds during a start up period limited to three years. The GVL at
that stage supplied a further 20.000
Euro to ensure that GermanSounds
could go on at least until May.
On several occasions VIP-News asked
for any sort of information that could
be used for publication and several
times members of the organisation
announced dates when they would
put out a press release describing
the status of affairs. But such a press
release was never released. When it
came to the point of public interest,
active players involved in this process acted as if they were members
of the secret service, trying to hide
their most ambitious activities supposed to save the world.
GermanSounds is organized as a
plc company. Shareholders of the
organisation are amongst others
the German leg of IFPI (Bundesverband Phono), V.U.T. (association of
independent record companies),
IDKV (Association of German concert
promoters), MMF (Music Manager
Forum Germany), The German Music
Council and the music conventions
Popkomm and Womex.
In the meantime several other bodies
have been working for the continuation of GermanSounds. But the process of political groundwork hasn’t
been easy. Already in January the
newly appointed head of the German IFPI Michael Haentjes (CEO of
edel records) said in interviews that
there is no need for such an export
office, as there are many music companies that do this job themselves.
This statement by a political heavyweight indicated very clearly how
difficult the procedure for finding a
common solution was going to be.
Efforts to get an official statement
The sponsor engagement that started
already in July 2005 will last 18 months
and will in particular cover 29 shows.
8
VIP-BOOKING.COM
However, off the record it quickly
became apparent that not all of the
shareholders were pleased with the
work of GermanSounds. Certainly
GermanSounds managed to achieve
similar results to many other export
offices. But the criticism was often
directed at the personalities involved
in the organization.
These criticisms were mainly linked
to Peter James, the CEO of GermanSounds. Haentjes played the role
as archrival to James, but Haentjes
was not alone in his dissatisfaction.
Reproaches that were made referred
to the strategy of GermanSounds,
in practical and political terms. Besides concerns regarding the practical work, a very basic political point
that actually had nothing to do with
VIP- News - J u n e 2 0 0 6
GermanSounds was that James also held
the position of Chairman of V.U.T. Certain
members of the V.U.T. voted that the association should pull out of the German IFPI
country group.
interim Managing Director. Furthermore
GermanSounds will leave its former office
and will be relocated in the offices of the
Berlin Fair, the mother company running
Popkomm.
This move had an indirect but significant
affect on the future of James as CEO of
GermanSounds. For the moment the departure of James as CEO is unconfirmed
but it is more than likely that James will
retire from this post, with Rosita Kürbis,
who currently works as a project manager for the organisation becoming the
At least until Popkomm in September this
should be an interim solution. James will
supposedly go back to the V.U.T. and will apparently intend to continue undertaking further lobby activities from there. What’s interesting in relation to this, is that some sources
pointed out that the lobby work for GermanSounds wasn’t as good as it should be.
There are many speculative elements
within this story so referring to an undoubted fact gives an extraordinary ending. This fact being that it was James who
was the leading driving force in the past
making GermanSounds possible. So it’s
ironical that it is James who now seems
to have become the scapegoat. When
everything unfurls as described in this article, GermanSounds will hopefully finally
release a press release shortly after June
19 that will at least confirm some of those
things mentioned in this story.
Jazz Festival Moers pulled 8000 visitors
Manfred Tari [email protected]
The 35th edition of the Jazz Festival Moers
gained 8000 visitors. It was the first edition
under the leadership of Reiner Michalke as
the new artistic director for the event. Burkhard Hennen, founder and for 34 years
mastermind of the festival quitted in 2005
after having difficulties with the involved organisations such as the public radio station
WDR and the city council of Moers.
VIP-News spoke to Reiner Michalke about
this year’s edition:
Reiner Michalke: I’m very pleased. Everything
went well and we had a good crowd. Even the
thunder was sold out which was very surprising cause the weather was very cold. I’m very
pleased with the overall results.
pop avant-garde. And to reduce a little bit
the amount of folk and world music, of traditional ethnic music which is not the music
I’m looking for the Moers Festival. These are
the main changes regarding the program.
There are a lot of other changes in the organisation and the operation of the festival.
I moved the stage in the middle of the tent so
that the audience is sitting around the stage
and has a better view of the stage. This also
allows us to create a completely new situation for lightning and for the sound system,
which was very good; this year we took a lot
of care for that. And a lot of small details, we
had music within the breaks composed by
Ara Hendrickson, artist in residence. And we
displayed photos from the day before on a
big screen during the breaks just to entertain
people a little bit. These are little tiny changes
to the last year.
VIP-News: What were the biggest changes
and amendments you undertook since taking
over?
VIP-News: How was the reaction of the audience for the people who have been going to
Moers for many years?
Michalke: I think there were a lot of things. I’ve
tried to restrain the whole program structure.
I aimed to make the history of the festival visible, seen in a way by referring to the old days
of Moers and invited Peter Brötzmann, who is
marked as a relic but as a real vivid example
for a certain style of improvised music in Europe. And he was there with a young rhythm
section that worked very well and made sure
that it was real contemporary music of today.
That was one thing. The other thing was that
I tried to open the festival to ambitious singers, songwriters, let’s say to the ambitious
Michalke: You will never know who is a frequent guest and who is new there. The guestbook of the festival is very interesting cause
we now have 150 guests comments there.
That is really lovely. So there were very strong
responses on the program and on the festival.
And that’s interesting, there was a very wide
range of people who were there since the seventies, they were really happy with the changes. Some others are a little bit sceptical about
this pop music. They missed African dance
night or folk music. There’s a very big range of
different expressions in the guestbook. But all
VIP-News: Are you pleased with the results of
this year’s Moers Festival?
in all most of the writers are very confident and
really content with the changes.
VIP-News: How does the future form look in
2007?
Michalke: O.k. I think good. I read a very good
review in the Süddeutsche Zeitung. They wrote
that the Moers Festival not only has a long past
but that it also has a very promising future.
Which is something to really go for. I’m working over the program for 2007. I will follow the
way I started. The way to really present high
cuts, music that ranges from very very loud to
very very silent, which is very important to me,
which is also something that happens these
days. This is what the musicians are going for.
For further information please check:
www.moers.de/festival
Reiner Michalke
9
VIP-BOOKING.COM
VIP- News - J u n e 2 0 0 6
Live Nation Links with
CPI
Allan McGowan [email protected]
In a big move that more formally unites Michael Rapino and
Arthur Fogel with Michael Cohl, Live Nation announced that it
has acquired a controlling interest in legendary, Toronto-based
Concert Productions International (CPI). Founder Cohl will also
join the Live Nation board of directors. CPI is a leading innovator in global touring for acts like the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd
and U2, having produced some of the largest grossing tours in
history.
Live Nation CEO Rapino commented, “Under Michael Cohl’s leadership, CPI has established and impressive track record of expanding
the relationship between artists and fans beyond the live event...this
deal allows Live Nation to enhance its leadership position in world
touring, fueling our distribution network to maximize revenues for
the artist and Live Nation.”
Michael Cohl
New Appointments At Live Nation New York
Manfred Tari [email protected]
The New York branch of Live Nation appointed new bosses. Bruce Moran who previously worked as CEO for OCESA Presents/
CIE USA Entertainment and before that as
Vice President of Music for Madison Square
Garden had been appointed as President
of Live Nation New York.
the addition of these two live entertainment
veterans will allow us to continue to grow our
operation in New York City. They are the perfect fit for our company in one of the world’s
most important markets.” Moran concluded
regarding his career step: “We are delighted
to be joining the Live Nation family. As native
New Yorkers, both Phil Ernst and I are looking
forward to the challenges ahead and making
sure that concert audiences in the greatest
city in the world are provided with the greatest entertainment the world has to offer.”
As Senior Vice President for this subsidiary
Live Nation appointed Phil Ernst, who has
worked with Moran since 2000.
Charlie Walker, Live Nation’s President of
Music commented “We are confident that
Live Nation
10
VIP-BOOKING.COM
VIP- News - J u n e 2 0 0 6
International Brass Tacks: - Basic Strategies for
International Touring
Allan McGowan [email protected]
This issue’s guest contributor from the US
is Sam Heineman. He is now a freelance
consultant, working out of New York and
occasionally Berlin. Previous to this he was
Director, International Touring/International Marketing Sony Music Entertainment,
NY, responsible for all international promotional touring, production, artist riders and
logistics, visas and permits tour budgets,
databases, accounting and billing for Columbia, Epic, Classical and Legacy artists.
Over the years he has provided his production and logistics skills to Companies such
as Mean Fiddler, and Festivals including Lollapalooza and Roskilde.
Working internationally is a challenge. It’s
a real game and should be played serious-
ly – with preparation; asking questions,
doing research and making plans. Being
prepared and accepting the responsibility for being so are the most important
contributing factors to a successful endeavour. “Rolling with the punches” is
probably the next most important trait to
posses.
Communication, information and contacts are more accessible than ever and
no excuses can be made for ignorance.
Business, technology and culture have
evolved together providing the key tools
and information to research and develop
a career literally at one’s fingertips. With
all the tools available, one can take the
reins and steer business and career in
any desired direction. With fortitude and
knowledge, things seemingly otherwise
insurmountable can be conquered.
Money vs. art, work vs. personal time whatever inner demons cause daily strife,
it is important to accept the mantle of
personally managing one’s career. Be
it a manager, tour manager or the artist
himself, certain basic practicalities should
be kept in sight. Research, budgeting
and application are three fundamentals
that, when integrated well, will provide
the greatest benefits of any venture.
Challenges like increased flight costs,
dwindling promo budgets and increased
marketplace competition demand that
professionals view virtually each minute
decision as its own business venture with
a cause-and-effect mentality.
It’s crucial to set rules and create and
adhere to realistic budgets. Every dollar/
pound/euro/zloty/etc counts. Visa costs,
foreign taxes, and duty surcharges are
just a few budget elements so often overlooked which can easily escalate especially when touring with a sizable party. Understanding and allowing for extra costs
is absolutely necessary because surprises
happen and budgetary Hope can turn
to Disillusionment in a heartbeat. Smart
professionals can be found and hired to
help develop and maintain touring plans
and they should be utilized.
Cultural education also should never be
undervalued. It’s pointless to say “they
loved us in Philadelphia, New York and
Boston” without knowing why. The same
is true about Copenhagen, Amsterdam,
Berlin and Tokyo, Seoul and Sydney. It is
incumbent upon those who are serious
about their international scope to understand the markets they’ve targeted.
For example, touring in the US must be
undertaken as regional tours. Because
the US can really be viewed as nine
separate ‘nations’ within North America
(see The Nine Nations of North America
- Houghton Mifflin, Boston - by Joel Garreau) it’s crucial to plan tours accordingly
Sam Heineman
11
VIP-BOOKING.COM
VIP- News - J u n e 2 0 0 6
based on cultural as well as logistical routing. Time is anyone’s most valuable asset
and the strictest rule of thumb should be
that, if it doesn’t make sense, don’t do it.
Culture and venue are just half the research pie. When working with an agent,
record company, promoter, etc, it is
equally important to really know what
they’re about. Although the majority are
dedicated to developing an artist’s career, there are, unfortunately, those more
concerned with their agency’s corporate
bottom line than nurturing that which
ultimately feeds it. There are individuals
within these industry entities who know
little more than to balance the overall company rosters and base decisions
solely on which act would best fulfil their
company’s immediate goals and, frankly,
keep their ass in the job.
It can be detrimental to accept “I don’t
know,” “we’ll try” or “we’ll see once you arrive” as an answer unless absolutely necessary. Although it’s also not advisable to
become an annoyance by issuing a bar-
rage of questions and demands, personally managing one’s success as well as the
success of those whom one represents is
vital. It’s essential to review and approve
promotional schedules in advance. Not all
people in different countries and cultures
respect the approval process and rarely
place someone else’s wishes above their
own. In more than a few instances, stage
plans can be thoroughly ignored and the
artist arrives to find him-/herself staged
bizarrely – standing alone on a three-foot
square, five-foot high chartreuse pedestal
with his guitarists sitting on a pile of flowers and the drummer not even remotely
close to the stage. Sometimes a TV show
director will just plain lie, agree to everything and not give a damn once the artist has already traveled 6,000 miles to find
nothing is as promised. Part of any good
preparation is also planning contingency
as well as practicing diplomacy; getting
the job accomplished without pissing off
your hosts.
It’s important to always keep planning
for the second round. Obviously the
aim is territorial longevity and progress
and the best laid plans and research
can’t compare to what is gleaned while
actually in the territory. Time should be
taken to ‘get local’; get the regional publications regardless of the language. It’s
possible to get a sense of the vibe and
scene (not trying to sound “yea, groovy,
baby” here) just by checking the ads, i.e.,
who’s playing, how they’re billed, what
acts play together, etc. If working with
a tuned-in local representative, it’s wise
to ask to get radio play lists including
those outside of the genre in to which
an artist falls.
Long-range planning is necessary but
each step during a career journey should
be assessed and each subsequent step
moulded accordingly. Within all of the
analysing, planning, meetings, strategy
and occasional bouts of poverty, it is most
important to enjoy what you do. There is
also an adage that can keep one grounded through most work trials: working in
the entertainment industry is a privilege,
not a right.
Having the right tools for the job is often the key to success. Through our ongoing communication with key Live
Entertainment Industry Professionals, we have developed a range of services to meet the demands of agents, promoters, talent buyers, venue bookers etc. It’s no coincidence that we are now considered to be the No. 1 information
provider for this thriving industry.
???????????????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????
???
????????
?????????
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
????????? ›› ?????????›› ?????????
??????????????
???????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????
???? ??????? ??? ???? ??????????? ??? ?????????? ???? ???????????? ???
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
???? ?????????? ?????? ????? ??? ??????????????? ????????? ?? ????????? ??
????? ???????? ????? ?? ???????? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ??? ???? ??????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????????? ???????? ???? ??????? ?????????????? ??????? ???? ????? ????
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????????? ????????????? ???????? ???????? ??????? ??????? ????????
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????? ??????? ?????? ???? ???? ??????? ?????????? ??????????
?????? ??????? ??????????????? ??????? ????????????????? ??????????? ???
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????????? ??? ????? ???? ????????? ????? ????? ??????? ?????????
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
???????????????????
????????
???????
????
????????????????
???????????????
??????????????
???????????????????
??????? ?????????? ???? ????????? ???? ???? ???? ??????????
????? ????????? ????????????? ??????? ????? ???? ???????
?????? ???? ??????????? ???? ??????? ?????????? ???????????
????? ????? ??????? ?????? ????????? ??? ?????????? ???????? ???
???? ??????? ????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ????????? ???????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
???? ???????? ??? ??? ???????? ???????? ???? ??????? ??????????
????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ????????????? ???????? ???????? ????? ??
????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ??????? ???? ??????? ?????????
???????? ?????? ???? ?????? ??????? ????????? ????? ???????? ????
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????
???????????
?????????????????????????????????????????
??????????????????????????????
????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????
?
VIP-Booking.com
Launched nearly 5 years ago, VIP-Booking.com is now the most
widely used online information service for the European Live
Entertainment Industry with subscribers in over 25 countries.
Using the latest technology and state of the art tools, the service
provides in-depth information streamlining the day-to-day operations of industry professionals, saving both time and money.
VIP-BOOKING.COM
The VIP-Book
The ultimate print directory for the European Entertainment Industry, packed
with contacts and easy to use. An essential reference book for every office
providing basic contact information
and a solid overview.
THE VIP-BOOK
12
VIP-BOOKING.COM
VIP-News
Written by our highly merited journalists, Allan McGowan and Manfred Tari, with over 50
years of experience between them in the Entertainment Industry, VIP-News brings the latest news and views directly to your computer
keeping you up to date at all times.
VIP-NEWS
VIP- News - J u n e 2 0 0 6
GOSSIP ››
Ronni Didriksen [email protected]
Things that make you smile
Ho w is the day for a VIP Employe e
- see for yo urself !
ARTIST AVAILS ››
Amerie
Territory:
Period:
Agency:
Agent:
Phone:
E-mail:
Homepage:
da nc
If yo u se e hi m
e on th e be ac h
Worldwide
2006
A&M Entertainment
Mike Coates
+1 (516) 620 1216
[email protected]
www.amentertainment.com
Beverley Knight
Territory:
Worldwide
Period:
June ‘06 - March ‘07
Agency:
Concorde International Artistes
Agent:
Paul Fitzgerald / Mark Cowan
Phone:
+44 207 602 8822
E-mail:
[email protected]
pl s ca ll VI P! !
Bronco Buster
Territory:
Europe
Period:
September
Agency:
Paperclip Agency
Agent:
Hilde Spille
Phone:
+31 24 323 9322
E-mail:
[email protected]
Homepage: www.paperclip-agency.com
M an fred Ta ri
Th e V IP
foo tba
ll
re p a r
t e am p
im pres se d by th
in g f o r
Germa
e sp ee d of sp or
t
East 17
Territory:
Period:
Agency:
Agent:
Phone:
E-mail:
Worldwide
June ‘06 - March ‘07
Concorde International Artistes
Paul Fitzgerald / Mark Cowan
+44 207 602 8822
[email protected]
Kid Creole & The Coconuts
Territory:
Worldwide
Period:
2006
Agency:
Owit Music Europe
Agent:
Niels Estrup
Phone:
+45 4640 8718
E-mail:
[email protected]
Homepage: www.livemusik.nu
ny
Nils Lofgren Band
Territory:
Europe
Period:
July/August/September
Agency:
Paperclip Agency
Agent:
Rob Berends
Phone:
+31 24 323 9322
E-mail:
[email protected]
Homepage: www.paperclip-agency.com
t h e V IP
t e am d o
in g b u s in
e ss ou t
s ide o u r
MORE ARTIST AVAILS ON:
WWW.VIP-BOOKING.COM
ne w h e
a d o ffic
e
13
VIP-BOOKING.COM
POST YOUR ARTIST AVAILS ON:
WWW.VIP-BOOKING.COM
VIPNews
VIP- News
- A u-g J
u sut n
2 0e0 52 0 0 6
READERS PAGE ››
Speak out - participate in the debate. The VIP-News Reader’s-page is open for letters and contributions from readers.
Consider the VIP-News Reader’s-page, as your “speaker’s corner” towards professionals in the entertainment industry all
over Europe. The purpose of the Reader’s-page is to encourage more interaction and to allow our readers to voice their
opinions about the many aspects of our industry. Contributions should be emailed to [email protected].
Thank you !
Thank you so much for all the warm letters, emails, phone calls and
flowers we have received after ET’s passing.
Kind regards,
Pernille Moller Pedersen
ET Concert Promotion
Letters to VIP-News, with the writer’s name and email address together
with a photo (if available), should be emailed to [email protected]. Anonymous letters will only be published if the sender is
known to VIP-Booking.
VIP-Booking ApS reserves the right to a) edit contributions for reasons
of space or clarity b) deny publication c) add comments where appropriate. Please aim to limit your letters to 250 words.
Erik Thomsen - Parken April 2005
NOTICE BOARD ››
Another new service in the improved and redesigned VIP-News is the Notice-board, which is available for all readers.
Reader’s messages will be posted on the Notice-board as a free service, passing on announcements, job postings, buying and selling notices, inquiries or alike. Announcements should be emailed to [email protected]
>>>>>>>>>>>>> WE ARE MOVING! <<<<<<<<<<<<<<
From Monday 26th June 2006 our new contact details will be:
The Primary Building
10-11 Jockeyπs Fields
London WC1R 4BN
Tel: +44 (0)20 7400 4500
Fax: +44 (0)20 7400 4501
PLEASE ALSO NOTE THAT MYSELF AND MARTJE WILL BE AT SONAR
FROM WEDNESDAY 14 JUNE TILL TUESDAY 20 JUNE.
Decked Out
James Mac
VIP-Booking ApS cannot be held responsible for loss or damages
incurred as a result of transactions with individuals or companies
through the notice board. We recommend all to make the necessary
enquiries before entering into any agreements.
VIP-Booking ApS may not, for reason of space, be able to post all
announcements received. Announcements should be emailed to
[email protected], including name and email address.
Please shorten your message to the extent possible, to make room for
as many notices as possible.
14
VIP-BOOKING.COM
VIP- News - J u n e 2 0 0 6
MEMBER PRESENTATION ››
In this section we offer members of VIP-Booking.com some space to present their company to VIP-News readers.
If you would also like to present your company please contact Peter Briggs at [email protected]
Festivalbussen tourservice
Festivalbussen tourservice is Swedens largest travelagency
concentrated on journeys to concerts and festivals in Europe.
After several years in this business it’s time to expand for new
grounds, therefore Festivalbussen tourservice was started. The
company is a subsidiary to Festivalbussen.com and the objective is set to be one of the major actors even in this proffession.
With our knowledge and experience we can guarantee that we
will help you make your journey as conveniant and comfortable
as possible.
We are at the moment expanding our fleet with 2 new buses and
also two minibuses.
Festivalbussen tourservice is situated outside Gothenburg in
southern Sweden, but we are effective everywhere in Europe!
Today we own two”nightliners” and two minibuses
Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions
Our number is +46 (0)771 - 190 490.
About Our Company
VIP-Booking’s core product is the Internet’s oldest and largest database for the European Live Entertainment Industry www.vip-booking.com developed as a tool for industry professionals. Since it’s
launch in the year 2000, we have consistently offered our subscribers the very best in database services and now boast subscribers in
over 30 countries.
Today VIP-Booking offers a range of tools for the industry – including VIP-News, VIP-Booking, VIP-Book and VIP-Contract.
Please visit vip-booking.com for further information.
How To Contact Us
Your comments and suggestions are always appreciated.
VIP-BOOKING.COM
VIP-BOOKING.COM | 26 York Street | UK - London W1U 6pZ | Phone +44 870 755 0092 | Fax +44 870 622 1953 | e-mail: [email protected]
15
VIP-BOOKING.COM