Berlin’s annual music fair Popkomm has closed its doors after 23 years.
News of Popkomm’s demise appears to have come as little surprise, however, with figures in the German music industry saying the event ‘died’ a long time ago.
"Popkomm was already dead before it moved from Cologne to Berlin in 2004 because by then the music business was already having structural problems,” music publisher and GEMA member Prof. Dr. Rolf Buddle told Billboard.
“The industry does not have the money anymore to book large booths. Today you only want to meet and see interesting bands. The Berlin Music Week is exactly the right thing." He also added that he thinks Berlin Music Week "can compete with MIDEM."
Hille Hillekamp, owner of the music publishing company Grand H in Hamburg suggested that "Popkomm had always tried to be MIDEM in Cannes, but never made it," while placing the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg as the main conference for German music businesses today.
Bernd Hocke, general manager of the independent record company Edel, said that "the concept of Popkomm was too broad and superficial to overcome. As a platform you have to be more specific."
Berlin will now look towards Berlin Music Week to maintain the capital's presence on the musical map, especially since the new event has recieved investment of around 1 million Euroes from the city itself.
Billboard suggests that the German government hopes Berlin Music Week can secure the city's international reputation as Germany's music capital.
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