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Popkomm: Music takes over Cologne

The music industry flocks to Cologne, Germany for the world’s largest music festival.

https://p.dw.com/p/16IG

It looks like it is going to be extremely busy again at the Popkomm, the world's leading music fair which kicked off in Cologne on August 16. It is the pop media event of the year.

Every venue in Cologne's city centre will provide the backdrop for the coming three days and nights. Around 500 international artists present new work with live performances and showcases, an Eldorado for talent scouts and music industry representatives from more than 33 countries.

The majority of music industry representatives this year are from the UK. One of the many artistic highlights, Ex-Spice Geri Halliwell, is expected to perform at the festival. She has already made an appearance at the event‘s opening gala.

Beyond the glamour and the hype, Popkomm is about business. Germany is the world's second largest music market. Yet most of the profits are made by American and English labels.

As a result of various initiatives like Popkomm, the share of German music on the German singles market has more than doubled in the past twelve years, when the festival was first set up. It now pulls a crowd of over two million visitors.