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drinks Monday 1 September 08 Edinburgh Reunion in London
Topping And Butch Hit Leicester Square 26-27 September 08
PopKomm 2005
Berlin's key music industry event PopKomm ran 14-16 September 05.
by Taly Koren
Popkomm is one of the biggest music conferences in the world, mainly focused on the European market. It's a gathering of the music industry - record companies, publishers, managers, lawyers. It's a coming-together to listen and talk about music, to sell, to buy, to discover the new single, the new star. I've got to be there. Plane to catch. And a little snag.
I book my flight at the last minute on the net, and ask for a city centre hotel. Their idea of 'city centre' turns out to be an hour from PopKomm - like Siberia to Euston, but without the tube. For events like this, you have to be near the venue - walking distance. Next time I book on the net, I'll check on a map.
The plane from London's full of A&R and industry people. I'm sitting near the head of A&R from Universal's music-dance label and we end up having a great chat. As a PopKomm virgin, I ask him what it's like. He says it used to be in Cologne, and was a lot more intimate than now. Everyone stayed in the same area, not like in Berlin where everyone's all over the place.
It's my first day. You hear Popkomm from a long way away - drumbeats. And the building's huge. You go in, and the vibe's irresistably exciting. A loud hall full of 1,600 cool people. For the first few moments, it's scary - and confusing. Eeek! Where's the reception desk? Um, outside.
I get my tag. Everyone's tagged, a bit like probation except this one gets you free transport, and free entry to the events, parties and gigs at night. They give you a thick book of data - all the events, who's there, companies, people.
PopKomm's director is Katja Bittner. It's the event's second year in Berlin, and she says it's 'like a band that has to work harder to prove itself with the second record than with the first.' But she's optimistic: 'Popkomm has fallen in love with Berlin.'
PopKomm has three aspects - exhibition, congress and festival. The festival is open to industry and public and takes place in clubs round Berlin, allowing signed and unsigned bands lots of exposure. The exhibition and congress are industry events. Overall, according to the organisers, there are some 800 exhibitors, 2,000 companies, 50 countries.
The first hall's divided into lots of different stands. The giants take whole areas and create their own worlds and moods. The little ones have stalls. Exhibitors are grouped by countries. The British area is straight in front of the entrance - naturally - with a red Routemaster (though probably not next year) in the middle. It's an impressive site, and turns out to be a good place to meet if (when) you get lost.
Lots of the stands dish out free drinks and nibbles, CD magazines, brochures. Some of the big companies do free drinks at the end of the day, making their own parties.
I've got there a day late, which is a pity. Even a single day there can be very productive - if you do really good homework before. The key is to do as many meetings as possible - and know which will be the best parties and gigs in the evening.
Most meetings are arranged over the net a few weeks before PopKomm. After registration, you get access to all the e-mail and postal addresses of the companies and people taking part - which is also very handy for the future. It's vital when you send your details to companies to write clearly about your project - and what you are aiming for, what kind of deal, what licensing. Time at the actual event is at a premium. You meet so many people every minute by chance - and it could change your life. So sitting with a company that wants to hear rock music when you're doing chilled music is a waste of precious moments.
When you meet, some people will want to listen to your music or watch your DVD. Some prefer to chat. People expect you to leave a CD or example of your work. You end up with lots of CDs from lots of different labels - my luggage from Berlin put on a lot of weight.
Blimey. The second hall's even bigger. Between the two, they've made a kind of tunnel.
Apart from the stands, there are other places to meet for people who don't have one. The best is the media launch, which takes place in a grand hall with big orange cushions on the floor - very Ukrainian Revolution. There are small chairs and tables laid out in a square - you move them around for meetings. There's a bar doing free fruit cocktails, with and without alcohol. There's a garden outside for people who want to smoke or breathe fresh air. There are a few internet connections, but not enough - you have to wait ages.
Most of the night events are spread over town. It's very hard to know which gig, which party, to gamble on - and then find it. A colleague and I haven't done good preparation on this and go to an event close to the hotel (I'd moved). It's just a loud gig, with no party feel. Next day we hear about all the good gigs we missed. Bastards.
I feel a lot more confident on day two. I have the energy of a tiger. It's knowing what to expect, what to want, being in the groove.
You learn fast that the best meetings happen accidentally. People chat to you everywhere, from coffee bar to escalator. There are artists from all over the world who have come to find a label - very helpful and friendly, and everyone pooling information. It's not to rule out planning - that's essential too. You can end up with great meetings with different countries, knowing in your heart that even if not all of them will end with a deal, you've made great world-wide connections.
Learning from my mistakes, I plan tonight very well. But there are so many good events I don't want to miss - so I end up running from one place to other! The biggest is a party with DJ Paul van Dyk. People not going to PopKomm can come to the club too, so there's a queue of a few hours to get in. There is a terrific Spanish party too, and a French one. And no-one's shy - it's a great feeling.
At the end of PopKomm, there isn't a real chance to say goodbye. You think you're going to run into the people you've met there at tonight's parties, and you don't. On the plane back, you feel a bit empty. There's been that high buzz of seeing so many friendly people getting together for the common purpose of making music. And suddenly it's over.
END
(c) Taly Koren 20 September 2005
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