Many ideas for solidarity structures – 10 years of Music Pool Berlin

Please read this extensive interview published last month before our 10th Anniversary celebration in "Kaput Magazin für Insolvenz & Pop" between our colleague Andrea Goetzke and Thomas Venker.

Andrea, first of all: Congratulations on the 10th anniversary. In today's cultural sector, it is not a matter of course that institutions and projects can cultivate such longevity. How did you perceive the process from the idea to Music Pool Berlin, from its genesis to its current established state?

Andrea Goetzke: Thank you very much. The idea emerged from the all2gethernow e.V. process, which was founded 15 years ago. The a2n e.V. was founded in 2009 in response to the cancellation of Popkomm at the time and the reasoning behind it, namely that the music business was at an end because of the internet. a2n filled the Popkomm date with a participatory event that explored the situation of music in the age of the internet and invited not only the classic music business but also musicians, fans and those working on digital music projects. This initiative led to a series of annual conferences and other events. These increasingly focused on musicians, since at that time there were hardly any content-related offers on music business and cultural policy topics that specifically addressed the needs of musicians. All professional exchange was geared towards companies in the music industry.

At the time, a transition was taking place in which artists could manage their own business via digital services, and not just concentrate on their artistic work and leave the rest to “the business”. The narrative of the hour was the promise of DIY, that musicians now had complete freedom to do everything themselves and no longer needed intermediaries. Of course, DIY already existed, as in punk and self-organized structures – and was then incorporated into the neoliberal project.

Many musicians were initially overwhelmed by the possibility of doing everything themselves: how does it all work? And does it even make sense to do everything alone? This is where the a2n events for musicians at the time came from, along with the idea of a permanent offer of advice and exchange of experiences for and with musicians. At the time, we and our partners noisy Musicworld and the Clubcommission submitted an application to set up a counseling center for music professionals, similar to those already existing in Berlin for other cultural sectors. The a2n e.V. then became the sponsor of the Music Pool Berlin project, with a permanent team and office (today at the House of Music on the RAW site), which has continued to develop to this day.

Our formats have remained the same over the years – initial consultation, workshops, coaching, community evenings. The content and our network are constantly evolving. We also often work in cooperation with events such as re:publica, where we provide content-related input. Together with my colleague Eric Eitel, I curated various thematic sections there, for example on music infrastructures.

For me, it was an important step that we were able to enable sustainable and continuous work with the structural funding, which had been repeatedly extended before. That we were able to create part-time positions for our employees that allow them to work year-round on further training opportunities for musicians while also having time to research and develop topics over the longer term. I consider this to be something special in the cultural sector, where work is otherwise mainly project-based and correspondingly precarious.

It was mentioned in the question before, the cultural sector is under enormous pressure. After the pandemic and several rounds of inflation, we have now – due to world conflicts on the one hand and political upheavals within the Federal Republic of Germany on the other – arrived at a threatening point where massive cuts in cultural funding are looming (see the planned draft budget for 2025). How do you perceive this? To what extent does this affect your work?

Yes, we also perceive this with concern. We also advise and support musicians in developing project applications. In recent years, public funding has become increasingly important for music creators as well. The pop music sector, which used to operate entirely on the market (in the 80s and 90s), now works at least partly like other art forms, through public funding. Funding is available both directly, in the form of scholarships or album funding for musicians, and for music festivals and series – in other words, for direct support of artistic work as well as for performance opportunities.

Competition is already very high and is intensifying. Many more people are submitting applications today due to increased costs and the associated more difficult market situation, with shrinking funding budgets at the same time. This means that less established artists in particular have fewer and fewer opportunities. This is especially a problem for newcomers on the threshold to the next step. Because with tight budgets, there are always flagship projects or institutionalized players who also apply to the same pot. Combined with the fact that clubs and promoters also want to take fewer risks due to increased costs, I see major challenges here, especially for the up-and-coming and mid-level artists, who make up our main target group at Music Pool. The situation is difficult for the independent scene as a whole, and I think that experimental projects in particular, which often arise in less established fields, will have a hard time – but they are precisely the ones that initiate interesting developments in the arts.

As a funded project, we ourselves are dependent on public funding. We are funded by the European Union and Musicboard Berlin. Our funding cycles are two to three years, and of course it is possible that it will not be extended. We have also considered various ways of becoming less dependent on public funding, for example, through a cooperative model. However, any private and member-financed options would probably mean a reduction in what we offer.

But first, let's go back to the work of Music Pool Berlin. Your track record is impressive: you've advised more than 18,000 musicians. Can you tell us about your experiences: what issues do artists usually come to you with? How does the advisory process work? Is it just one-off advice or a longer-term support process?

The concerns span a wide range: How do I get into the KSK? How do I approach my album release and what do I have to consider? How do I get gigs and book a tour? How does Gema work? What do I need to consider when writing funding applications? Some also have questions about self-organization and mental health. Some come with specific questions, such as how to check a contract, where we then refer them to lawyers in our expert pool.

In our in-house counseling with our permanent advisors (Melissa Perales, Petra Sitzenstock, Laura Gertken, Olaf Möller), anyone can ask any questions they have regarding their professional music-making. My colleagues advise on all topics related to the non-creative aspects of professional music-making. How the further process unfolds depends on the concerns of the respective artists – maybe they only have one question and find an answer immediately, or my colleagues go through a longer process with them over several appointments, or they refer them to a person from our pool of experts who then advises on specific questions and offers coaching through us. Or there are workshops or community evenings that address the concerns of the artists – peer2peer exchange also takes place there.

You are concerned with “community-oriented concepts”. Do you have the feeling that the increasing economic pressure on musicians and artists (and on the cultural sector in general) is leading to more selfishness and a “survival of the fittest” attitude, or that it is important for everyone to cultivate a cultural climate together that creates a framework in which people can work and live with and from their art?

The latter is what we are trying to promote by sharing relevant inspiration and experiences. From the very beginning, our aim has been to turn DIY into Do-It-Together. Through our community evenings and artist meetups, for example, we create spaces where musicians from different scenes and genres can meet, find collaborators and exchange ideas – and also discuss topics together.

For example, our last community evening was on the topic of how we can continue to create structures for live performances by up-and-coming musicians or small and medium-sized bands together – in the current, more precarious situation described above. This discussion was largely about questions of redistribution: how, for example, booking agencies with successful acts can cross-finance newcomers, how clubs can offer different price structures depending on the budget, how promoters work with supporter tickets and unlock a cheap ticket for each purchased support ticket, etc. I think it would be great if we had more of a sense of solidarity here than we do as music scenes – that financial success also means supporting others on the way there, so that everyone shares responsibility for interesting, experimental and sustainable music scenes. We also discussed which structures already exist that could be used to organize redistribution and thought of Gema, for example. During the discussion, I got the impression that many ideas for solidary structures were emerging; maybe we should put together best practices here.

And the same question again, in a way – but this time with a view to the socio-political framework rather than the economic framework . Berlin's cultural scene (more than any other in Germany) is currently divided in the aftermath of the horrific massacres by the Islamofascist terrorist group Hamas on October 7, 2023. Close friends and cultural partners have not infrequently become opponents in conflict, unfortunately far too often with no room for dialogue. How do you feel about the situation in the city? What does it mean for your work?

Yes, we see and discuss the conflicts that arise from different positions and interpretations in the local cultural scenes. As a counseling center, we have so far mainly listened and provided space to share frustration, grief, and concern. The topic has so far tended to resonate as a prevailing mood, while we have had other topics in focus, both in the counseling sessions and the community evenings. Berlin's cultural scenes are very international and many of the international music makers come to us as a point of contact, and we are currently perceiving a great deal of frustration here.

In addition to the grief and anger over the catastrophic situation in the region of Gaza, Lebanon, Israel, which is still escalating, I think that the political approach here, guided by reasons of state, contributes to a hardening of the discourse: it leads to a lack of communication, less exchange, insecurity and a situation in which many do not feel seen and respected in their grief and different narratives and references to the war, and that includes Arab, Muslim as well as Jewish perspectives and many more. And it affects us on a material level – there has been police violence against migrants and funding, visas, performances and jobs have been called into question – with little discussion and mediation taking place. Added to this is the Germany-wide atmosphere of “we have to deport on a large scale”, which perpetuates a “you don't really belong here”, and which strengthens the shift to the right. I think Ebow expresses the frustration from a migrant perspective well in her song “Free”.

Economic developments are linked to this topic: I think it needs many different decentralized formats from different perspectives, on a small scale and with careful organization, to create nuanced and cautious approaches to sensitive topics and different narratives, and also space for debate and conflict. The upcoming cuts to the independent scene are curtailing precisely such possibilities. Much more than the conflicts here, it is personally important to me that this war, with its catastrophic destruction and killings, be ended and that diplomatic and just paths be taken.

What are the big challenges for Music Pool Berlin in the coming years?

Demand for our advice, training and networking is high, which means we could do even more. However, it seems that budgets are stagnating or shrinking. We are therefore looking at how we can best organize our commitment and our formats so that we can help as many interested parties as possible with an exchange of professional experience. At the same time, we are always considering what further and alternative financing options might look like.

And let's look at this question from a different, more positive perspective: which projects/plans are you most looking forward to?
We are currently in talks with Musicboard Berlin about continuing and expanding the pilot program set up in 2024 to support scholarship holders in the coming funding round. We also have other ideas in the pipeline, such as my colleague Petra Sitzenstock's idea of supporting live performances by newcomer artists with workshops and performance opportunities.

Andrea, you just attended the Unsound Festival in Krakow, which has recently also had to deal with the effects of gentrification (which led to the loss of its great hotel location) and the difficult cultural policy situation in Poland (associated with cutbacks that are currently also threatening us on a massive scale). How did you perceive the 2024 edition?

The festival was very beautiful and, in terms of scope (venues, number of artists, internationality, collaborations), I think it was similar to the previous editions I have experienced. Unfortunately, I didn't talk to anyone there about the specific challenges that Unsound is currently facing. There was a small program by the local Mint Magazine that addressed topics such as cultural policy and gentrification, but it was in Polish. I gave them feedback that I would have appreciated this information in English as an international visitor as well.

Last question: what were your musical highlights at Unsound?
I was really happy about the DJ set and live set by DJ E aka Chuquimamani-Condori and the DJ sets by DJ Anderson Do Paraiso and Assyouti.
A song I've been listening to a lot lately: Molly Nilsson, “Ugly Girl”

.... (This article has been translated by deepl (article in Germany follow link) https://kaput-mag.com/rainbow_de/viele-ideen-fuer-solidarische-strukturen-10-jahre-music-pool-berlin/

Andrea Goetzke works as a curator and cultural organizer. She is co-founder of Music Pool Berlin and still organizes the community program with monthly talks and artist meetups. She was already involved as a curator in the all2gethernow events that preceded Music Pool. Outside of Music Pool, she pursues her own curatorial interdisciplinary practice with a wide range of programs and collaborations.