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Hamburg, 22 September 2008 – Continuation of the “pop course” (“Kontaktstudiengang Popularmusik”, a part-time higher degree course in pop music) at the Hamburg College of Music and Theatre has now been safeguarded on a long-term basis. In a joint move by the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, CTS EVENTIM AG, Frank Otto and the Haspa bank, a total of 1.35 million euros has been provided as a solid and lasting basis for the pop music course.
Launched in 1982 as a pilot project, the “pop course” celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. This makes it not only the oldest, but also the most successful incubator for musical talent in Germany. Its graduates include internationally successful bands such as Wir sind Helden, Seeed, Revolverheld or Texas Lightning.
Due to major funding problems, the “pop course” has been on the verge of ruin on several occasions. To ensure the continued existence of this exemplary facility for music training in Hamburg, a foundation has been created at the initiative of the First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Ole von Beust. The foundation capital amounts to EUR 850,000, and CTS EVENTIM has established a nonprofitmaking limited company called “Popkurs”, with EUR 500,000 in additional capital. All revenues generated by the nonprofitmaking company are used exclusively for the benefit of the pop course. Ole von Beust: “Hamburg and pop music share a long tradition. The pop course is inextricably linked to that tradition. I am delighted that, in a partnership between the city and private investors, we have managed to give this facility a secure perspective for the future.”
From now on, the “pop course” will bear the name “EVENTIM Popkurs Hamburg”. “For CTS EVENTIM as the leading enterprise in the European live music business, giving support to young performers is a matter of great importance. With our financial investment, we would like to create the required framework so that artists can continue to be trained and discovered in the Hamburg “pop course”, who one day will inspire thousands of people from the stage”, explains Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, CEO of CTS EVENTIM AG.
About the “pop course”
The “Kontaktstudiengang Popularmusik” (a part-time higher degree course in pop music) at the Hamburg College of Music and Theatre is the pioneer in pop music training in German higher education. Launched in 1982 by thenPresident Prof. Dr. Hermann Rauhe as a “pilot study in the pop music field”, the pop course has since accepted around 50 musicians each year from all over Germany in a selection procedure involving several steps, who are then coached in two intensive courses each lasting three weeks. Many course graduates have been shaped by this pioneering concept in recent years, who for their part still have or have had enormous influence on Germany’s music scene. They include bands like Revolverheld, Wir sind Helden and Seeed, or performers such as Ute Lemper, Tim Fischer or Heinz Strunk. Many other participants in the course have found a place in the music business as studio or live musicians, or in music publishing companies, recording companies or in higher education.
Teachers on the EVENTIM pop music course include Jane Comerford, Prof. Anselm Kluge, Prof. Peter Weihe, Prof. Curt Cress – some of Germany’s most highly respected and accommplished lecturers in the field of popular music. Last year saw the 25th anniversary celebrations of the course, which attracted considerable media attention.
About CTS EVENTIM
CTS EVENTIM AG, listed in the SDAX index (ISIN DE 0005470306), is Europe’s market leader in the ticketing field and one of the leading providers of live entertainment. More than 60 million tickets for well over 100,000 events are sold annually using systems developed and marketed by the EVENTIM Group. In addition to more than 6,000 stationary box offices throughout Europe, sales via the Internet and especially via the www.eventim.de and www.getgo.de portals are gaining increasingly in importance.
