Popkomm’s Partner Country Spain Presents a Diversity of Styles

Berlin, Germany – Although the composer of the evergreen “Guantanamera” is Cuban, José Fernandez Diaz is nevertheless a member of the Spanish copyright collection society SGAE. Jennifer Lopez sings about herself in “Jenny from the Block” – composed by a Spaniard, Fernando Arbex. And the fun Spanish song that is so popular with formation dancers, “Macarena”, is as well known in beer tents as it is in discotheques.Spanish music is diverse and can be heard everywhere and it is therefore almost inevitable that so many Spanish labels, bands, phonograph associations and the autonomous region should be sharing the spotlight when Spain is the partner country at this year’s business fair for the music and entertainment industry, Popkomm. “You can imagine how happy we are to be here. Popkomm offers a great opportunity to boost the careers of our artists“, says José Antonio Campos, Director General of the National Institute for the Performing Arts and Music (INAEM).

Germany’s is the fifth largest market in the world for music from Spain and Latin America, making it “extremely important“, added Francisco Galindo, Secretary General of Fundación Autor. As Ralf Kleinhenz, General Manager of Popkomm GmbH explained, Spain is among the top ten countries on the world music market, making it the “ideal choice for anyone with aspirations to be an international player”.

The international music fair features 61 Spanish companies, and 100 representatives of record companies, publishers and associations have come to engage in discussions with exhibitors from around the world. During the Popkomm Festival 26 Spanish bands will be appearing in various clubs. A wide stylistic diversity has long been a characteristic of everyday cultural life in Spain and this will be clearly evident this evening during the “Spanish Night“ in the Kulturbrauerei, where bands will be playing their own individualistic interpretations of Latin Alternative, Roots and Indie. “Trash-Pop and Hip-Hop are not excluded either, as we will be able to hear during the next few days“, said the organizer of the Popkomm Festival, Dirk Schade enthusiastically. This land with its wide range of cultural diversity also produces an immense musical variety.

[Photo: ojos de Brujo].