Popkomm ponders move in time and place

German trade show Popkomm might be on the move. According to Popkomm Managing Director Ralf Kleinhenz, exhibition organizer Messe Berlin is trying hard to have the 2009 event between September 16 and 19. That would be three weeks earlier than this year. One of the reasons for Popkomm’s so so attendance has been attributed to the fact that it took place in October – too late in the eyes of some. 

In an interview with MusikWoche Kleinhenz gave the trade show a thumbs-up regardless. He did acknowledge, however, that Popkomm needs to make a second move: towards the center of the German capital, to Mitte. He hasn’t finalized a location yet, but Messe Berlin appears to be set on relocationg the exhibition and the conference to an area of Berlin that is closer to where the music action and some label headquarters are. 

Some rumors place Popkomm 2009 near the Potsdamer Platz. Others think it will be farther east in the district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. Kleinhenz wouldn’t comment on that.

German download market could top revenues of $110m in 2008

The German download market remains on a growth path. media control GfK published new statistics today on the digital market volume for the third quarter. In the three months to September 30, Germans bought 11.5 million music downloads. That’s a year-over-year improvement of 21.8 percent. Digital revenues with these transactions amounted to €21.6 million (just shy of $29m), up 33.6 percent compared to last year’s figures. 

During the first three quarters of 2008 the German business sold 33.7 digital units, worth €61.7 million ($82.7m). media control GfK Managing Director Ulrike Altig forecasts “close to 45 million downloads” by the end of the year. That could result in revenues north of €82 million ($110m). 

Pushing overall digital music sales in Germany are bundles which sold 1.1 million units in Q3, up 61.2 percent. Single track downloads only grew by 18.6 percent to 10.3 million songs. 

Best-selling digital album in Q3 was “One Chance” by Welsh opera sensation Paul Potts of “Britain’s Got Talent” fame. Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” came in second ahead of “This Is The Life” by Amy MacDonald and “Death Magnetic” by Metallica. Best-selling single was Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl” who topped Kid Rock and “All Summer Long”, which has been available as a single track at most retailers outside of the U.S. 

Find half-year stats on the German market here and here.

BMG Rights Management wants to have a team of 60 people by 2012

Following the announcement by German media powerhouse Bertelsmann to stay in the music business with new company BMG Rights Management, some additional details on the venture surfaced. Jörn Geipel at German trade weekly MusikWoche reports on the ongoing staffing plans at BMG RM. Within two years CEO Hartwig Masuch wants to work with a team of 20 people at the Berlin headquarters of the company. An additional 10 colleagues will be working in satellite offices in France, the UK, Spain and the Benelux countries by then. These are what Masuch and Co-CEO Max Dressendörfer have identified as BMG’s core markets in the first years of the company’s existence. Dressendörfer added that by 2012 BMG Richts Management hopes to be able to double its workforce in Europe, making it a team of potentially 60 people.

We7’s Steve Purdham sets the record straight on his streamlined service

A couple of days ago I reported on the recent changes in the set-up of ad-supported music service We7. Their CEO, Steve Purdham, who appears to be an avid reader here, prompted me to correct a few details. While at first glance the revamp of We7 seemed to abandon ad-supported downloads altogether, Steve points out that they “haven’t dropped ad funded downloads, in fact, more than 50% of our music database is still available for ad funded downloads in the UK but streaming, at this moment, is the functionality that is consistent with all tracks.” 

Fair enough, I stand corrected. But it still poses the question why copyright owners make it so hard for new services like We7 to offer a consistent product without confusing consumers too much about what they can do with the songs offered on the site. Maybe it is like Edgar Bronfman once said: Not all songs are created equal. 

I beg to differ. Apparently, so do others. Purdham, for one, is keeping his hopes alive: “Our desire to deliver choice to music fans, so they can decide between ad funded streaming, ad funded downloading and high quality paid for downloads, is still our aim.”