Reeperbahn Festival 2024 Completes Program

The Reeperbahn Festival has announced much of its musical and conference lineup for this year’s event, set to take place in Hamburg, Germany, from September 18-21. Organizers anticipate around 50,000 attendees at Reeperbahn Festival 2024, including roughly 4,000 conference delegates, a slight increase over last year`s numbers. The program includes around 265 events and nearly 300 speakers, who will delve into the current state of both the German and international music industries. The festival will showcase over 400 artists from around 30 countries, performing approximately 480 concerts at 70 venues throughout Hamburg’s Reeperbahn district. Among this year’s key topics is the threat facing the independent cultural sector in Germany, driven by shifts in the country’s political landscape, which could potentially result in cuts to funding for theaters, clubs, youth cultural centers, and more. One of the anticipated highlights is a discussion featuring the legendary promoter Marcel Avram (pictured) and Astrid Messerschmitt, co-CEOs of United Promoters AG. Other sessions will examine the intersection of national and European cultural policies, covering subjects such as fair compensation in music streaming, the role of music in local policymaking, and the ways in which music can serve as a tool against political populism. The conference will also tackle technology, with AI playing a prominent role, as well as how tech can improve artist compensation in 2024. Additional topics include marketing strategies, the misuse of power in the music industry, sustainability as a cultural sector opportunity, accessibility, navigating the Middle East conflict, and sessions dedicated to the recorded music and publishing industries, along with sync and film. This year, Africa is the focus country, and the conference program reflects this with sessions like “Bridging the Gap: Connecting European Audiences with African Music Roots,” As a partner in the Europe-wide Keychange initiative, the Reeperbahn Festival remains committed to a gender-balanced lineup, with a 50/50 split of female and male artists. This year, the festival will also unveil the Keychange Study 2024 in a press conference held in collaboration with the German performing rights organization GEMA.