Germany invests in music

The German government has approved €8.2 million in new funding for pop, rock and jazz music. The figure – part of the €660m recently earmarked for cultural projects from 2017 – will be divided among Initiative Musik, the Live Musik Kommission (LiveKomm), the German Rock Music Association (Deutsche Rockmusik Stiftung), Musicboard Berlin and showcase festivals Reeperbahn, Pop-Kultur, c/o pop and jazzahead!, all of which will see an increase in funding, with export office Initiative Musik’s budget nearly doubled.

http://www.iq-mag.net/2016/11/8-2m-music-germany/#.WDl5OrKLSM9

German police target concert thieves

Slipnot - not the thieves!

Police in Germany have broken up a crime ring they believe was responsible for a spate of thefts at concerts and music festivals across Europe this summer. State police in Saxony investigated following the “audacious” theft of 25 wallets and almost 100 mobile phones at a Slipknot show at the Leipziger Messe in Leipzig in late January, and the search of a suspect's home in the Schönefeld neighbourhood revealled a backpack containing around 60 stolen phones. The police have now discovered a “large network of thieves” who weer active at concerts in Zwickau, Bielefeld, Lingen and Munich and found it was also operating beyond Saxony, and even outside Germany. Other crimes attributed to the gang include thefts at Wacken Open Air, Dour Festival, Tomorrowland and Lokerse Festival in Belgium, Street Parade in Zurich and Limp Bizkit shows in Dusseldorf, Tilburg in the Netherlands and Colmar in France. The Police say that gang members also planned to target FKP Scorpio’s Highfield Festival in Leipzig, but were recognised by detectives and apprehended on their way to the event.

http://www.iq-mag.net/2016/08/police-break-european-festival-crime-ring/#.V73dQPkrKM9

Good news for the German, Italian and Swedish recorded music markets

The income of Germany's recorded music market grew 4.4% year-on-year in the first half of 2015. That was mainly driven by a whopping 87% rise in streaming subscription revenues, which easily offset a decline in CD album sales. Download sales also increased.  Germany’s record industry, the world’s third-biggest music territory behind the US and Japan, accrued €686m in the first half of 2015.

The income of Sweden's recorded music market rose 4.2% in the first six months of 2015 - with streaming growing once again to claim 83.9% of revenues. According to new data from IFPI Sweden analysed by MBW, the market's recorded music turnover in Jan-June this year stood at 507.5m SEK (€54.6m), up from 486.9m SEK in H1 2014 (€52.4m).

The income of the Italian recorded music market jumped up 22% in the first half of 2015, according to new figures published by Deloitte. The total revenues of the region stood at €65.55m, compared to €53.61m in H1 2014. A strong release schedule by local pop artists helped lift the total physical market by 22% to €37.3 million. Digital revenues increased 37% to €21.18m, with download sales up by 6% to €10.82m. Streaming, increased its year-on-year H1 income by 37%, up to €17.36m.

http://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/german-record-industry-4-4-streaming-income-jumps-87/

Kylie deposits in dispute after cancelled German tour

Negotiations over the status of advance payments made in respect of Kylie Minogue’s cancelled German tour are taking place between the interim receiver for the bankrupt promoter CT Creative Talent , the artiste’s UK-based agent CAA and her management company Roc Nation in the US. Carlos Fleischmann’s CT Creative Talent was placed into receivership in September, following a cancelled Backstreet Boys tour and other setbacks, and slow ticket sales for Minogue's Kiss Me Once tour.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6311852/kylie-minogues-german-tour-promoter-in-financial-trouble

German live sector bounced back in 2013

Germany's concert and events sector rebounded in 2013 after falling by 16 per cent in the previous year according to a new survey. The results, published by the Consumer Research Association on behalf of event organisers and agents association BDV and Musikmarkt magazine, show turnover increased by 15 per cent last year to €3.822 billion ($5.043bn), a rise of €500 million ($660m). FKP's Scorpio boss Folkert Koopmans told Audience magazine the growth was due to the economic recovery and an increase in major stadium tours over 2012.

More Euro transport rules mean more touring costs.

France, Germany and Belgium have introduced new rest rules and charges for commercial drivers which the PSA fears will add more costs and expenses to touring bands. In addition to reports on the BBC web site that Germany is set to charge foreign motorists for autobahn driving, recent bulletins from the Freight Transport Association have highlighted French and Belgian authorities imposing changes to rules regarding truck drivers’ rest periods, with both countries outlawing the practice of taking certain obligatory rest periods in the cab - adding to accommodation costs and presenting drivers with difficulties in finding suitable places to stop with many trucks and lorries too large for hotel car parks. In Germany drivers need to ensure their vehicles are issued with badges, costing between 10 euros for 10 days and about 100 euros for a year-long permit. German ministers have insisted that the new law will not violate EU rules against discrimination.

http://www.psa.org.uk/articles/new-driver-rules-could-increase-tour-transport-costs

German record industry posts modest growth

Following the news earlier this year that the global record industry saw slight growth in 2012, for the first time in over a decade, the trade body for the German record industry says that revenues there were up year-on-year for the first half of 2013, again the first time there has been growth in over ten years. According to BVMI, digital revenue was up 16% for the first half of the year, helping offset the latest 2.5% decline in physical product revenues, so that overall monies were up 1.5%.