Convention
02. + 03. Mai 2019

New date in May 2019, Early Bird Tickets available now, first speakers confirmed!

After the c/o pop Convention is before the c/o pop Convention: This is especially true this time - since the next edition will take place on May 2 and 3, 2019, which is just about five months from now!

LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD!

Watch the recap video of the c/o pop Convention 2018

The c/o pop Convention 2018 in pictures.

The c/o pop Convention 2018 in pictures.

The Future of Spaces with Rachel Sibley, Cologne honors Nico, new Speakers

Two weeks to go!

It’s just two more weeks until c/o pop Convention 2018 – and we are further expanding our programme. And we confirmed more new speakers: Lynden Campbell (Head of Synchronisation, Domino Recording & Publishing Co. Ltd.), Sophie David (B2C Marketing Manager, Paris Tourist Office) and Frantz Steinbach (Cultural Manager, France).

German Sounds

International trade professionals are discovering the German (pop)music scene

​More partners, more content, more fun!

The offerings of this year’s c/o pop Convention on August 30 and 31, 2018 at the IHK Cologne are more diverse than ever before - not least thanks to many partners who contribute in very different ways, but always with great competence and commitment. We would like to introduce some of these partners and their contributions to c/o pop Convention - and we want to thank them very much.

More Content, More Value!

More Content, More Value!

The programme for the c/o pop Convention is getting more and more fleshed out and is getting a new addition to the family. RENDEZ-VOUS! MUSIC MEETS FILM will bring together film creators and content providers from the music business. We Are Europe will be presenting three high-quality panels at INTERACTIVE and EXCHANGE & CONNECT. There will be a panel about the change of power from music media to influencers and musicians at BRANDS & MUSIC. And a workshop at NEW TALENT will inform the participants about the tasks of a music publisher.

Check the timetable!

Who, what, where, when? The complete programme of the c/o pop Convention on August 30 and 31, 2018 at the IHK Köln is online now. Get an overview now.

Not like any campaign

Placing an original composition in a German advertisment: that’s not easy, but possible! Yasmine Gallus, Senior Marketing & Sync Manager of Budde Music will show us, what the process between artist, publisher, agency, and brand can look like. She will, together with Peer Steinwald (Senior A&R Manager Budde Music), composer Max Weissenfeldt and Executive Producer Mark Róta (antoni Holding GmbH) will, present us with an example of two campaigns for Mercedes-Benz, on Thursday, August 30 as part of BRANDS & MUSIC.

Brexit: Who Knows What, Where and When

Brexit will change the music business inside of the EU – especially in the area of touring. Our Brexit panel will discuss how the British and German music industries will collaborate in the future. The panels will include the UK industry heavyweight Allan McGowan and take place as part of EXCHANGE & CONNECT on Friday, August 31, 2018.

The Importance of Music Genres in Tourism Identity

On Wednesday, August 29, the Music Tourism Convention organized by Sound Diplomacy will take place in Cologne for the first time at Hotel Pullman. Ralph Christoph, Head of Program der c/o pop Convention, is a member of the Steering Committe.

A better world thanks to data?

The thematic focus “The Future of Trust”, which is a part of INTERACTIVE on Thursday, August 30, will deal with values and distribution systems. Paula Schwarz will deliver an impulse performance. She is the inventor of Datanomics and founder of the World Datanomic Forum – and according to Forbes one of the 30 most important Social Entrepreneurs under 30 in Europe.

MUSIC EMPOWERING BRANDS

In which ways brands can use music for communication – and also in which very different ways: This will be presented by Dennis May, Chief Creative Officerat DDB Germany, at BRANDS & MUSIC on Thursday, August 30 with the aid of several cases.

Live is life: 1st NRW Live Summit

The concert industry occupies a key role in the NRW music business. To improve its circumstances, the first NRW Live Summit will bring together players of the live business with representatives of politics and administration as part of EXCHANGE & CONNECT on Friday, August 31. The organizers are our Head of Program Ralph Christoph and Manfred Tari of Pop100.

Artist Story Josin: How to make a career

From „unsigned act“ to newcomer with support tours and international festival appearances: The singer and producer Josin will provide exciting insights into her career so far on Friday, August 31 at NEW TALENT.

Sound, Spot – Sync, super!

What’s next for the sync business? We will discuss the future of the synchronization of music rights for advertising & film at BRANDS & MUSIC on Thursday, August 30. International music supervisors and sync specialists will give you insights into their work. Speakers include Ilana Goldstoff (Sizzer Amsterdam), Nadin Lefkeli (White Horse Music) and Kier Wiater Carnihan (Record-Play).

Industry meeting for brands, agencies and the music industry

On Thursday, August 30 BRANDS & MUSIC will bring together everybody who is contributing to the success of cooperations: Advertisers, marketers, media-makers, the music industry, and the advertising industry. One of them: David Klemm – as Vice President Business Development he is heading the sector Acceptance Development at Mastercard. His topic at the convention: Festivals and payment systems.

Creative dialogues on the digital future: INTERACTIVE

On Thursday, August 30, INTERACTIVE will bring together digital and creative professionals to discuss central topics and challenges of the economy and society. One of our speakers will be Dirk Dobiéy of Age of Artists.

The networking platform: EXCHANGE & CONNECT

Networks are the main artery of the global creative industry. On Friday, August 31 we will present how networks generate new ideas and added value, as part of EXCHANGE & CONNECT. One of our guests will be the label head of Staatsakt Maurice Summen.

Useful industry knowledge: NEW TALENT

On Friday, August 31 NEW TALENT will impart useful industry knowledge, establish networks and offer support. Experienced professionals will provide input straight outta practice. One of our guests will be Robert Meijerink, main booker of the Eurosonic Noorderslag Festival.

Ready for lift-off: Early-Bird-Tickets now available!

Sound of #urbanana

The sound of #urbanana spreads rhythmically across the Autobahn, blows up the asphalt in Krautrock-style and celebrates newcomers in post industrial giants. Seventy years of music shaping #urbananas cities range from CAN to Mouse on Mars, from Kraftwerk to Hauschka; as well as from Philipp Boa to Kreator and from Mayday to c/o pop and Open Source Festival. And who knows, maybe the next generation of icons will be rocking the stage next Saturday.

c/o pop meets Linecheck

#copopontheroad: Starting on Wednesday our programme director Ralph Christoph and Fabian Gerhartz, programme planner for the Brands & Music Day, will be in Milan for the Linecheck Music Meeting. Their topics: Financing of Festivals, the German market and happiness through music.

Look back in joy!

Two days full of exciting keynotes, talks and panels: Our new trailer gives you a nice overview of some of the highlights and central topics of c/o pop Convention 2017.

We have got a location!

We now have not just a date but also a location of the planned c/o pop Convention 2018: It will once again be the IHK Cologne.

#copopontheroad

The c/o pop Convention Team will continue to travel to discuss the urgent topics of the music business on an international level. The next stops will be: Monkeyweek (Sevilla), MaMA Festival & Convention (Paris), BIME Conference & Festival (Bilbao).

We have a date!

The date for the next c/o pop Convention and our 15th anniversary is fixed: On August, 30 and 31, 2018 exciting panels, international speakers and red-hot topics all around the music business will be awaiting you once more.

Cologne on St. Pauli

pop NRW is going to present the creme de la creme of up and coming pop stars from NRW, including Albrecht Schrader, Bergfilm, HOLYGRAM and Moglebaum, popNRW, at the Reeperbahn Festival. The c/o pop Festival and Convention will also travel to Hamburg with a large team. Contact us to arrange dates there!

Vienna calling!

Ralph Christoph, our Head of Program, is a member of the jury for the new music export award „XA“ at the Waves Vienna Music Festival & Conference. Our team will be in Vienna and is looking forward to having meetings.

Visitors welcome!

As part of the international visitor program of the NRW KULTURsekretariat, eight representatives of festivals, music magazines and the music business were able to establish a lot of new contacts at the c/o pop Convention 2017.

Dear MaMA!

For those of you who still need more great music, relevant input and new business opportunities after c/o pop Festival and c/o pop Convention, we recommend a journey to Paris to MaMA Festival & Convention. The keynote from Nora Felder will be about music supervision and sync.

Brands & Music Reception powered by VEVO

Augmented Future

Noisy Conny

The film “Conny Plank – The Potential of Noise“ will have its premiere on August 17 as part of c/o pop Festival – prior to this we will talk to the filmmakers at the Convention. A first trailer will get you in the mood for the film.

Participative culture

At the Panel “Participative culture: The next generation of interfaces to make music creation easy“ on Thursday August 17 three players will present three completely different approaches on how to convey music in the digital age better, more realistically, and more participatively.

Let’s write a hit!

Two international top producers will head to c/o pop and work with eight German and Danish artists. The goal: To write hits for international stars.

Cultural Equality

”Cultural Equality“ is the central topic of Roskilde Festival 2017. We are happy that Roskilde Festival is financially supporting our topical tract “Gender Equality” on Thursday, August 17 in co-operation with Popkultur Köln e.V.

Maximum fun with Thereminis

Invented in 1920 is was one of the first electronic music instruments and is being played without touching it. In her workshop on August 17 Dorit Chrysler will show a modernized version of the Theremin – the Theremini.

From moderate to provocative

Sometimes moderate, sometimes brisk: Our moderators know how to get exciting conversations going. You should look forward to: Anja Backhaus (WDR), Bianca Hauda (1Live), Daniel Koch (INTRO), Jan Hendrik Becker (NDR), Dan Koplowitz (Friendly Fire), Alexander Eß (Vevo), Ronny Krieger (Stems @ Native Instruments), Sebastian Dresel, Daniel Erlacher (Elevate Festival) and Bas Grasmayer (MUSIC x TECH x FUTURE).

We Make Waves

“We Make Waves” is a showcase festival and conference, created for and by women and non-binary people active in the music industry, with its first edition taking place in Berlin in November of 2017.

As part of the topic track “Gender Equality” the organizers will will introduce the project on Thursday August 17.

More Speakers, more Knowledge!

The list of speakers has gotten even longer. We are happy to welcome Rory Kenny (CEO, JAM), Kristof Beuthner (Nillson Fanzine), Marie Gutbub (freelancer, journalist), and the novelist Jenni Zylka

Drop it like it’s hot!

How will a track find its way into a popular TV show or a commercial? How do meaningful synergies come into existence? This will be discussed on Friday, August 18 in the panel “Drop it like it’s hot: How to sync right”, manned by top-class representatives: Charlotte von Kotze (Vice), Daryl Bamonte (Schubert Music Publishing), Simon Pursehorse (Sentric Music), Casper Nederhand (Massive Music) & Dan Koplowitz (Friendly Fire Licensing) of all sides.

Discover Trailer Park!

Trailer have long been a tried and tested tool to promote movies, TV shows and nowadays also games – music is a central part of it. Trailer Park is one of the market leaders in this field. As Vice President Bobby Gumm is responsible for all musical matters. In his keynote at Brands & Music Day he will give an overview about what music for trailers is all about and what the market looks like.

Let’s work!

We are not just going to talk at c/o pop Convention 2017, we will also work – in a whole slew of exclusive workshops for ticket holders.

(Club) Culture in Jeopardy?

Is the (club) culture in jeopardy? Does Germany need cultural areas? This will be discussed by Klubkomm and Livekomm on Friday, August 18 with representatives from the club scene and politics.

Talking gender

Michela Magas, EU Woman Innovator of the Year 2017, will reflect on the role of women in science and art, design and technology, academic research and industry during a talk on August 17 as part of the “Gender Equality” thread.

Speaking of speakers…

The list of speakers of the c/o pop Convention has filled up more. New additions are Meriç Öner (SALT), Nikoo Sadr (The Orchard), Bianca Hauda (1Live) and Vaughn McKenzie (JAAK).

Disruption without horror?

The blockchain might be able to once more revolutionize the music industry – this time maybe to the advantage of the creatives. On August 18 prominent guests, including Imogen Heap, will discuss its potential but also its perceived risks.

The Sound of the Brand

To create characteristic sound identities for his brand clients, such as Schüco and VW, he sometimes has new instruments built from their products. We are happy to welcome Timo Blunck from the audio design specialist BLUT who will give a keynote at the Brands & Music Day at c/o pop Convention.

Get interactive!

The fifth edition of our partner INTERACTIVE Festival will highlight the diverse facets of the digital transformation. Prominent speakers have agreed to take part on August 16 and 17 at IHK Cologne.

Appsolutely up to date!

This year there is once again an app for the c/o pop Convention and c/o pop Festival – with all the information on all the events and speakers on August 17 and 18 – including Brands & Music Day and New Talent Day.

Gender and Music Videos

As part of the topic track “Gender Equality” we will discuss role models and gender hierarchies in music videos on August 17 – among others with Maria and Lisa Furtwängler, whose MaLisa Foundation is responsible for a study on this.

Niche as a Chance

The most important players in the field of music streaming, like Spotify and Apple Music, are addressing mainstream consumers. What is left for the power user? Bas Grasmayer did check out the niche streaming market for us.

Streaming 2.0

Will the future of streaming be the niche? On the panel “Streaming 2.0 – New kids on the block for the early adopter“ four representatives will present and discuss different models on Thursday, August 17.

Sonic DNA

Ric Scheuss from TRO Music Services will comment on the way in which technology fuels creativity and enables dangerously effective sounds and music for brands in his keynote „Sonic DNA – Musikalische Markenführung durch Machine Learning“ on Thursday August 17 at the Brands & Music Day.

Everything will be digital!

How the digital transformation changes society, individuals and businesses is the topic of our partner event INTERACTIVE Festival that will also take place on August 16 and 17 at the IHK in Cologne.

There it is: the programme!

The preliminary complete programme for both days is here! Take a look which topics and which speakers will be waiting for you on Thursday and Friday

Top topics, top speaker!

Overall around 100 international speaker will come to IHK Cologne on August 17 and 18. Confirmed top speakers are Michela Magas (Music Tech Fest), Imogen Heap, Maria Furtwängler, Charlotte von Kotze (VICE) and Frans Jonker (Eventbrite).

Riot in the Matrix

The second panel “Riot in the Matrix – Revolutionizing Communication” will put some of the most ambitious developments in the field of revolutionary communication, user-centered identity and Blockchain up for discussion.

Brands & Artist & Repertoire

How can businesses utilize the fanbase of artists on social media and online platforms? We will discuss this in the panel and workshop “Artists & Repertoire in Digital Campaigns” at the Brands & Music Day on August 17.

On the road to somewhere?

What are the perspectives for the role of culture in the city of the future? This is the topic of the year from the EU funded cooperation project We Are Europe. We will talk about this on Friday August 18 in the panel “On the road to somewhere?” with our partner festivals Elevate – Discourse & Activism (Graz/Austria) and Resonate (Belgrad/Serbia).

Let’s talk about films

Two talks will focus on music films which will have their premiere as part of c/o pop Festival: “Conny Plank - The Potential of Noise“ by Reto Caduff and Stephan Plank as well as “Magical Mystery oder Die Rückkehr des Karl Schmidt“ by Arne Feldhusen.

How to Blockchain at Sonar D

We will introduce one key subject of this years c/o pop Convention as part of We Are Europe into Sonar+D: the Blockchain as a means of more transparency and fairness in the music business.

The future of remix culture

What the change of the remix culture looks like in the era of mobile first will be discussed by some of theplayers who are pushing this change forward.

Super Supervisors!

What would a film, a commercial or an image video be without music? This panel will be talking about the power of music and its influence on successful marketing.

Musicians with smartphones

Are remixes being newly defined by the new possibilities of smartphones? This is one of the key subject of c/o pop Convention 2017. Bas Grasmayer looked at some of the players who are revitalizing the practice of remixing.

Music & Video – live on screen

Our guest writer and curator Bas Grasmayer (MUSIC TECH FUTURE) introduces another main topic of the c/o pop Convention 2017 in his newest blog entry: video & live streaming.

Fight for Your Right to Party (and create)

On June 15 we will be at Sónar+D 2017 conference in Barcelona in the context of We Are Europe. We will discuss how places to create and to party can be saved from commercialism or be created.

What’s up, festivals?

How does festival sponsorship work in the year 2017? Who are the new festival sponsors? How are brands nowadays activating live? Who is the target group and how much can a festival tolerate? These are a few of the questions that the panel “Festivalsponsoring Today – wie Festivalveranstalter und Markenartikler zusammenarbeiten“ (festival sponsorship today – how festival organizers and branded companies are working together) will discuss at the Brands & Music Day on August 17 in Cologne.

We are live!

Music and video have been closely interconnected since the end of the 20th century. Where will this take us in the age of live streaming? We are going to discuss this in a high-calibre panel at c/o pop Convention 2017.

Brand new connections!

The Brands & Music Day on August 17 will once again focus on the collaboration of music business and brands in the context of cooperation and communication.

Talent and Remmidemmi!

The program of the New Talent Day on August 18 is set up. Newest confirmation: Björn Beneditz from Deichkind on the topic ”Live performance and staging of the artist”!

Germany at Night​

c/o pop and Rapid Eye Movies are presenting: “If I Think of Germany at Night” – exclusive film premiere and club night with Ata (Robert Johnson) and Tobias Thomas (Kompakt) on May 4.

On the SPOT in Aarhus!

On May 6 we are inviting all delegates of SPOT+ in Aarhus/Denmark to a reception.

Tickets, please!

You can get day passes from now on! Crazy discounts for students!

Good deal, good night!

Contingent of discounted hotel rooms exclusively for ticket holders – book now!

Get your act together!

This year the New Talent Day will be held for the first time as part of c/o pop Convention 2017 on August 18. There seasoned professionals will impart their knowledge and tricks on upcoming musicians, who will also learn how to promote and market their music effectively.

Speak up!

Brands & Music, Music & Tech, Music Content & Distribution, Sync und New Talent – these are the central topics of the c/o pop Convention 2017. International top speakers will provide exiting input – the first four are already confirmed.

Perfect Match

c/o pop Festival and c/o pop Convention are moving closer together this year. Get your combination ticket for all events and all concerts now for the early bird special price of 149 Euro!

What have the music blockchain pioneers been up to?

2016 saw a new word entering the music business lexicon: blockchain. At c/o pop Convention 2016, Benji Rogers unveiled new components of his dotBlockchain Music project, making it easier for external parties to participate in the project. But what is blockchain, what can we expect, and what are the most recent developments? Bas Grasmayer, digital strategist and founder of MUSIC x TECH x FUTURE, answers these questions in anticipation of c/o pop Convention 2017.

c/o pop goes Resonate

We are happy that, together with Sónar Festival and Sónar+D, we are able to contribute to the program of Resonate Festival the context of We Are Europe. Participating in our name: Hans Nieswandt and Dimitri Hegemann

Good news for everyone who likes to plan early: The dates for next year are already fixed.