info@hemimusichub.eu, Author at HEMI Music Hub

Road to international markets: Music PR in Germany Workshop by Sebastian Król

In this last workshop of HEMI Music Awards phase 1, the 27 nominees of CSEE had the chance to find out how the Music PR process works in Germany. Sebastian Król, co-founder of Backseat music agency and Funklub platform gave to the nominees an overview featuring fields of media, insights of a campaign and tips on how to get in touch with Music PR agencies.

Sebastian Król is 32 years old and lives in Hamburg. After graduating from the university of Lüneburg with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Król started working at the music agency popup-records. Six years later, in 2017, he founded the label and PR agency Backseat – together with his friend and partner Arne Thamer. Early 2021, he started Fanklub, a new platform for bands and fans which will launch in summer. Sebastian is also a musician himself, releasing music under the alias Karwendel, poetic indie folk in German language.

Backseat is a Hamburg-based music agency founded in 2017 by Sebastian Król and Arne Thamer. We develop individual PR campaigns for releases in the fields of indie, folk, pop and rock. We cover all media fields (radio / print / online / TV) in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Currently we support the following bands: Ane Brun, Sticky Fingers, AVEC, Kristofer Åström, The Fratellis, Tiger Lou, John Paul White, Meadows, Hudson Taylor, Lauren Ruth Ward and many more.

In addition to PR activities, Backseat is also active as a label itself. Together with Soulfood & Believe Digital as distribution partner we can distribute our releases worldwide. ROBA Musikverlag supports us in publishing. So far the following bands have released their music on Backseat: Carnival Youth, BRTHR, The Bland, DI-RECT, Jonas Alaska, Of The Valley, Albert Luxus, Jo Goes Hunting, Penny Police, Phototaxis, I’m Not a Blonde, Native, Brett Newski, Echo Me, Grapell, Martin Baltser, Cub & Wolf, Big Fox, Native, SPARKLING, The Cool Quest & The Bad Tones.

Backseat is in charge of the music booking for the NORDEN Festival in Schleswig and the PR for the Rock For People Festival in the Czech Republic. Since 2020 Backseat cooperates with the Czech export office SoundCzech to connect the German and Czech music industry.

In 2021, Sebastian Król and Arne Thamer founded the Fanklub Music FKM GmbH, a new platform for bands and fans: fanklub.com

Fanklub is the new platform for bands and fans!
As a band, you can create your own Fanklub page in no time, free of charge and with no programming skills – as website and app. All basic information such as live dates and videos can be found by everyone free of charge. Fans can access exclusive content such as live streams, news, and raffles by joining your Fanklub, which starts at €1.99 per month. As an all-in-one solution, Fanklub combines the functions of a classic band website with the features of crowdfunding models. With Fanklub you will have a perfect fanbase management tool and will be able to generate a solid monthly income. Because 90% of the fan contributions are passed on to the band.

Music Tech Europe Academy – Open Call!

We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Music Tech Europe Academy, a new, hybrid and scalable training scheme co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union and promoted by Music Innovation Hub (IT) in partnership with Media Deals (DE).

Music Tech Europe Academy is a 7 months program addressed to 10 music-tech innovators/ entrepreneurs/startups/SMEs across Europe, who are ready to develop their innovative project/product/service within the music field. The 10 selected participants will have access to:

– 8 weeks of one2one online mentoring with top level expert of music, technology and innovation (see the list of mentors below)

– Exclusive Industry Meetups with experienced founders of music-tech companies and managers of successful enterprises in vertical sectors from a wide range of European countries, who will share their experience and exchange with the entrepreneurs involved in the program to evaluate potential synergies.

– 3 days of Hybrid Academy in Milan to complete the mentoring program, network and exchange with the other participants and mentors, meet industry experts and get feedback from investors. After the Academy in Milan, an online pitch session in front of investors will be granted to those participants who reached the readiness level over the course of the program.

– A vibrant community of digital innovators and music professionals, involving participants, mentors and experts, to foster constant and long-lasting exchange and support.

So, are you a music tech professional looking for top level mentoring, networking and investment opportunities?

Then don’t miss the chance to apply for Music Tech Europe Academy, a program addressed to 10 high potential and talented music-tech innovators/entrepreneurs/startups across Europe who offer scalable and sustainable technologic, business and artistic solutions for the music sector.

Apply to MTE Academy before March 15th: https://www.musictecheuropeacademy.eu/

Open Call for Tallinn Music Week 2021

The next edition of Tallinn Music Week is scheduled to take place in the Estonian capital from 6 – 9 May 2021. This HEMI partner festival is currently accepting applications for artists of any genre! Deadline is January 10, 2021.

Interested in performing there? You can apply at tmw.ee/apply

As the leading showcase of “tomorrow’s music, arts and ideas” in the Baltic-Nordic region since 2009, TMW aims to spot and nurture musical talent in both its home region and across European markets. Mindful of the Covid-19 restrictions, the festival this year focuses more on the Estonian and the Baltic-Nordic talent, while artists from other countries will be included depending on the situation in the given period.

The main dates of TMW2021:

Music festival: Thu, 6 May – Sat, 8 May
Conference: Fri, 7 May – Sat, 8 May

The 3-day live music festival presents around 150 artists of various genres and origins to an audience of 15,000 people and to 1,000 music industry experts. This year’s line-up will be announced gradually from February 2021. The conference offers a 2-day program of inspirational lectures and strategic discussions, while also connecting artists with the industry experts via dedicated mentoring sessions and one-on-one meetings, all aimed at taking their careers to the next level.

TMW has been praised as one of the best winter festivals of the world by The Guardian and The Observer, as one of the most exciting cultural events in the world by The New York Times, and as a tireless promoter of adventurous arts in publications ranging from The Quietus to Forbes. The last edition of the festival which took place in August 2020 has been recognized as one of the first festivals in the world that was able to postpone the event in a timely manner and to carry out the festival, with enhanced attention to health & safety measures and crisis management.

TMW 2020 in figures:
140 performers from 10 countries
60 festival locations, including 11 music venues
11 399 music festival visitors
778 conference visitors on-site and digitally
7776 visits across different city festival events
20 233 festival visits in total

Find all the details here: https://tmw.ee/

#opencall #TMW musicfestival tallinnmusicweek tmw2021

Prestigious media partners join the HEMI Music Awards 2021

The HEMI Music Awards 2021 have secured the support of 18 distinguished Media Partners from the 9 HEMI countries.

Submissions are still open for the HEMI MUSIC AWARDS 2021. The deadline is December 23!

It’s all about the music, we all know that! However, publicity is also key, if a musician or a band want to reach their audience! That’s why the HEMI Music Awards have partnered with 18 music magazines, radio stations and music portals from every country participating in the program, to ensure the all-important media coverage and dedicated communication. Whether mainstream or cutting-edge, these diverse voices reflect the life and sounds of Central and South-Eastern Europe today. We are honored to present them all here, by country:

Czech Republic

FRONTMAN An online music website focusing mostly on active musicians, and connected with
Kytary.cz, the largest company selling music instruments in the Czech Republic.

MUSIC SERVER One of the biggest music websites in the Czech Republic covering the music scene no matter the genre, with approx. 2,000 visitors per day.

Estonia

RAADIO 2 R2 is an Estonian radio station which belongs to Estonian National Broadcasting. It focuses on new Estonian music and aims at broadening the listener’s musical horizons.

Häppening This independent Estonian design, culture, and music online magazine is devoted to spreading outstanding sound, art, and culture.

Greece

AV OPOLIS.GR is the first Greek music portal with 24 years of life and the most popular music site. Strictly original content from the music industry, with exclusive photo & video material.

LIFO is one of the strongest media brands among all categories and one of the most influential news media in Greece, with an influential and loyal community of readers.

LIFO.gr has been, since the first days of its operation, a digital phenomenon that combines high quality originality with extremely high traffic, offering valid and independent information, entertainment, views, culture and innovation.

Hungary

Phenomenon magazine was launched in 2010 as an independent online cultural portal for young people, and has secured a stable position since the start in the 18-28 age group. Its main content line is music, along with articles on strong fashion, design and cultural themes.

Trend FM This news radio station broadcasts from Budapest offering all the current news with a strong focus on economy, culture, and entertainment.

North Macedonia

ANTENNA 5 RADIO NETWORK Antenna 5 Radio Network is the top ranked national radio station founded in 1994. Antenna 5 is a Hit Music Radio Station, ranked number one in overall rating categories.

RADIO MOF Radio MOF is the first internet and youth radio in N. Macedonia, producing and sharing informative and musical content. Lead by the fact that the media space for youth is limited, this medium is an open platform for promotion of the youth cultural and creative society.

Poland

ANTYRADIO The major and longest existing rock radio station in Poland. It uses 16 broadcast transmitters that cover the largest cities in Poland. It is famous for its uncompromising approach to the existing reality and strong personalities performing on the air.

CGM.PL The largest, independent music service on the Polish market since 1999, CGM presents information both from Poland and abroad, covering practically all music genres. It is countless, opinion-forming author’s materials, such as reviews, essays, or photo reports from the biggest concerts and festivals in the country.

Romania

INFOMUSIC An important music portal in Romania, featuring all the local and international music news, reviews, interviews and latest videos.

RADIO GUERRILLA During its 16 years on the air, this radio station has launched more than 30 campaigns, designed to build and raise culture, consciousness and politeness levels in their home country. The Radio Guerrilla community is everywhere the listeners are. Always with fine humor, sour controversy and subtle irony, with discussions about actual and hot topics, with the desire to change for the better all the things that are going wrong.

Serbia

BALKANROCK is a regional web magazine-type portal, founded in 2007 with a clear vision to establish itself as a meeting place of all the lovers of rock and roll, metal, punk and alternative music in the region (Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Montenegro, FYROM).

Radio Belgrade1 A radio station of the public media institution Radio-Television of Serbia, which aims to inform, educate and entertain, but also represents an institution that has a special role in the social, cultural and political life of Serbia.

Slovenia

ODZVEN WEB MUSIC MAGAZINE Odzven is a music webzine, produced by SIGIC – the Slovenian Music Information Centre. It covers all musical genres and includes music reviews, interviews, essays and columns. Odzven collaborates with more than 20 Slovenian music journalists, from young and emerging ones to the most renowned music publicists in Slovenia.

RADIO TERMINAL is the first Slovene web radio station featuring exciting new music, music news, podcasts, reviews, and other stories related to the music presented on the radio.
Radio Terminal was established in 2011 with the intention of showcasing new and urban music in an interactive way. The radio provides its listeners with contemporary music and explores its current trends produced by local and foreign artists.

For all the details and to apply for the HEMI Music Awards, visit: https://hemimusichub.com/awards/

#Hemimusicawards #HMA2021 mediapartners

Distinguished Experts come together for the HMAs 2021

HEMI Music Awards 2021 is proud to have secured the participation of an international Jury of Experts from the 9 HEMI countries.

Submissions are still open for the HEMI MUSIC AWARDS 2021. The deadline is December 23!

In charge of all phases of the selection of candidates is a Jury of 27 members, each one an important voice in the music industry in the region: Industry professionals, Festival organizers, Promoters, Export Office Executives, Venue managers and Music journalists will come together to offer their valuable expertise and choose the winners! It’s time to turn the spotlight to our distinguished jury!