Case studies: Beyond the Campus
Popakademie Mannheim: Building bridges between Popular Music Education, Music Production and Entrepreneurship
Mannheim, a city in the south-west of Germany, is currently traded among Germany's leading hubs for music production, having emerged alongside the success of local musicians and creative industries entrepreneurs among them the collective Söhne Mannheims (sons of Mannheim) with lead singer Xavier Naidoo who is Germany's most influential pop/soul singer and songwriter. He and his fellow musicians have been actively involved in promoting the city as a "musical talent manufactory" by directing national and international attention to the network of musicians based in and around the city.
The Rhein-Neckar metropolitan region of which Mannheim is the center has roughly 2.3 million inhabitants and is one of Germany's strongest economical regions. Especially in the creative industries it is very well positioned with a tightly knit and well developed cultural infrastructure including relevant municipal support mechanism for cultural entrepreneurialism (see image movie). Mannheim is currently in the process of applying for the Capital of Culture title in 2020, hence it is implementing an inclusive cultural planning strategy in the lead up to the possible mega-event. |
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Popakademie Baden-Württemberg Facebook Page Musikpark Mannheim Bandpool Press coverage: Deutsche Welle Spiegel Online |
In 2003, county council Baden-Wuerttemberg set up Popakademie Baden-Württemberg University of Popular Music and Music Business in Mannheim with the strategic aim of maximising the city's creative potential and utlising its existing creative networks as a tool for attracting further talent from the region and elsewhere from Germany and Europe. The development was possible with support from Universal Music, local musicians and an appropriate financial scheme provided by the municipal government, which strengthened the decision about Mannheim as location for Popakademie. The academy is the first institution in Germany with a single focus on popular music, providing specialist training for young musicians in various popular music genres, while also being a knowledge exchange platform for local musicians who teach applied music skills and are eager to transfer their music business related know-how to the classroom.
The emphasis with the Popakademie model in Mannheim is put around professional support structures and close collaboration of local musicians/producers with students and alumni at Popakademie. This relationship has proved very successful, as alumni have been regularly featured in German music charts either by collaborating with successful local musicians or by independently setting up their own musical projects Examples are Groschton productions founded by Matthias Grosch who now co-produces with the team of Xavier Naidoo; and Get well soon which is a band project by alumni Konstantin Gropper who is also a successful film music producer. Other influential alumni are rapper DannyFresh, Glamrockband My baby wants to eat your pussy and singer-songwriter Johanna Zeul.
The emphasis with the Popakademie model in Mannheim is put around professional support structures and close collaboration of local musicians/producers with students and alumni at Popakademie. This relationship has proved very successful, as alumni have been regularly featured in German music charts either by collaborating with successful local musicians or by independently setting up their own musical projects Examples are Groschton productions founded by Matthias Grosch who now co-produces with the team of Xavier Naidoo; and Get well soon which is a band project by alumni Konstantin Gropper who is also a successful film music producer. Other influential alumni are rapper DannyFresh, Glamrockband My baby wants to eat your pussy and singer-songwriter Johanna Zeul.
Popakademie was originally conceptualised as a competence center for popular music business. But in recent years it has become a proper institute of higher education. Projects like business meet-ups, congresses, regional music development strategies and open house events were gradually downsized. The stipends allocated by Universal Music were unfortunately suspended in 2008, however Universal remains an important shareholder awarding internships for students of Music Business. Popakademie offers Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts programmes in the fields of Music Business und Popular Music, which correspond with any degrees at any other creative higher education institution in Baden-Württemberg. The Department of Music Business is in charge of the BA Musikbusiness and the MA Music and Creative Industries; and the Department of Popular Music supervised the BA Popmusikdesign and the MA Popular Music.
Besides the undergraduate and postgrad teaching activity, the institution offers numerous possibilities to be engaged as external stakeholders through further education seminar programmes and a major band coaching project called Bandpool, through which acts like Frida Gold, Auletta, Max Giesinger, Die Happy and Revolverheld emerged. In 2006 Popakademie founded its own record label featuring work of its students, staff and alumni. School of Rock is another initiative at Popakademie, which is staged annually. The aim here is to offer a day full of professional music coaching to 50 school classes (roughly 1.000 students in total) from 12 schools accross the Rhein-Neckar region, where kids can learn the handling of music instruments as well as vocal techniques.
In close proximity to Popakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH, Musikpark Mannheim was set up as an entrepreneur centre for the music business. It currently accomodates roughly 40 SME's including record labels, booking agencies, and production facilities both in terms of space and equipment. Both organisations are based in Mannheim Jungbusch, a socially deprived quarter at Mannheim's Neckar harbor which is up and coming as many students and artists live there and engage with their neighborhood.
(Written by Silvie Jacobi)
Besides the undergraduate and postgrad teaching activity, the institution offers numerous possibilities to be engaged as external stakeholders through further education seminar programmes and a major band coaching project called Bandpool, through which acts like Frida Gold, Auletta, Max Giesinger, Die Happy and Revolverheld emerged. In 2006 Popakademie founded its own record label featuring work of its students, staff and alumni. School of Rock is another initiative at Popakademie, which is staged annually. The aim here is to offer a day full of professional music coaching to 50 school classes (roughly 1.000 students in total) from 12 schools accross the Rhein-Neckar region, where kids can learn the handling of music instruments as well as vocal techniques.
In close proximity to Popakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH, Musikpark Mannheim was set up as an entrepreneur centre for the music business. It currently accomodates roughly 40 SME's including record labels, booking agencies, and production facilities both in terms of space and equipment. Both organisations are based in Mannheim Jungbusch, a socially deprived quarter at Mannheim's Neckar harbor which is up and coming as many students and artists live there and engage with their neighborhood.
(Written by Silvie Jacobi)