Anchor International Music Award

 

Here you can find everything about the Anchor - Nominees, Anchor Board 2025, Jury 2024, Archive and the Press Kit

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Anchor 2025 - apply now!

The application phase for the Anchor Reeperbahn Festival International Music Award has started!

 

All acts confirmed for the Reeperbahn Festival 2025 can apply until 24 June 2025.

 

A board of 12 renowned personalities from the music industry will examine all your applications and decide which six acts will enter the race as official Anchor nominees. These acts will perform live at the festival over two days in front of the jury and our festival audience, until one takes home the Anchor 2025.

 

Apply now via RBX OS!

 

Application deadline: 24 June 2024

Selection phase: 27 June to 6 July 2024

 

We look forward to seeing you!

The­se were the 2024 No­mi­nees

An­chor Board 2025

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Bethan Elfyn

Anchor Board 2024

BBC Project Manager, Presenter and Producer with 25 years’ experience at the forefront of new music, working for over a decade with BBC Radio One, BBC 6Music, and hosting and DJing and curating stages at a number of high profile festivals – Latitude, Reading Festival, Greenman, The Great Escape, Liverpool Sound City, ATP Australia and others. Bethan now heads up the development and strategy of BBC’s public value partnership with Arts Council of Wales under the banner Horizons/ Gorwelion – a music talent development scheme to develop new, independent contemporary music in Wales, UK. Horizons is a member of talent development European exchange called Excite, who showcase at a number of partner festivals. 

Portrait Clémence Renaut

Clémence Renaut

Anchor Board 2025

Clémence Renaut is a Paris based booking agent at ATC Live and represents artists such as Mac DeMarco, Aldous Harding, Ty Segall, Black Country, New Road, Wu Lyf, Current Joys, Florence Sinclair amongst others. She worked as a promoter for 8 years at SUPER!, and Elastic Artists as an agent, before joining ATC live in 2016.

Portrait Dotun Bolaji

Dotun Bolaji

Anchor Board 2025

Dotun Bolaji is a booking agent known for his commitment to promoting unique voices, talent and stories in the music industry. Dotun's dedication to promoting emerging talent led him to a key role at Runway, where he honed his booking skills under the guidance of industry veterans such as Steve Backman and Matt Hanner. In his current role at Primary Talent International, Dotun continues to set new standards, focusing on both the UK and international markets. His expertise lies in managing and expanding international touring and festival opportunities.

Portrait Francisca Sandoval Scheggia

Francisca Sandoval Scheggia

Anchor Board 2025

With over 15 years of experience in the Chilean independent music industry, she has held various roles within the sector. She is currently the President of the Chilean Independent Music Association (IMICHILE) and General Manager of Chilemúsica, the sector brand dedicated to promoting the export of Chilean music. At an international level, she is a Board Member of WIN (Worldwide Independent Network), an organization that brings together independent music associations from Australasia, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, representing thousands of music businesses and professionals worldwide. Additionally, she is the Head of the Conference Area at Fluvial, an international music and conference event held in Valdivia, Chile, since 2016. She is also part of Discos Río Bueno and La Unión, projects focused on music production, booking, and communications. 

Portrait Hella Wittenberg

Hella Wittenberg

Anchor Board 2025

Hella Wittenberg works as an editor in Berlin and Brandenburg. She is Head of Content in the online editorial department at Musikexpress, but also writes about her favorite new music, film and series discoveries for the print editions. She also writes and photographs as a freelancer, including for Mit Vergnügen. 

Portrait Jovanka von Wilsdorf

Jovanka von Wilsdorf

Anchor Board 2025

Jovanka v. Wilsdorf, Berlin, is the initiator of the DIANA AI Song Contest and the Female* Producer Prize (Germany) and the musical director at Hanson robotics (Hong Kong). In addition to her work as a creative consultant and artist coach for various music companies and Musicboard Berlin, she gives lectures on international stages on the topics of  "AI in music production" and "artist development". 

Porträt von Justin Sweeting

Justin Sweeting

Anchor Board 2025

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Justin Sweeting has over twenty years music industry experience, centered within Asia. As Clockenflap’s co-founder and Head of Music, Justin is responsible for programming across all of Clockenflap’s festival properties as well as year-round headline show touring in Hong Kong and beyond. Connecting the dots between Asia and the global industry at large, Justin enjoys spreading the word on the region’s music potential and is actively involved in its positive evolution. 

Portrait Karma Bertelsen

Karma Bertelsen

Anchor Board 2025

With more than a decade of entertainment and music industry experience, Karma Bertelsen (she/her) is an award-winning marketing expert who has worked with a variety of artists in various forms from Ed Sheeran, Craig David, and Red Hot Chili Peppers to Phoebe Bridgers, The 1975, and Björk, Karma has been a team player in pioneering, chart-topping, and acclaimed music campaigns. With a truly 360 holistic understanding of the music sector, Karma has worked across various sectors, including live, recorded, and distribution, giving her an extensive and unique understanding of audiences, artists, and the wider music ecosystem. She is an advocate for diversity in music and her work has seen her inducted into the Music Week Women in Music Awards Roll of Honour (2017), SheSaidSo’s Alternative Power List (2017), shesaid.so x keychange.eu ‘we.grow’ mentor (2023 & 2024), inducted into the Kindness in Leadership 50 leading lights list 2024 and be selected for Keychange’s Talent Leadership Programme 2025.

Portrait Mandi McIntyre

Mandi McIntyre

Anchor Board 2025

Mandi is the Director of Programs at QMusic & BIGSOUND. She has two decades of experience leading festival programs and cultural development, including at Woodford Folk Festival, across Australia and internationally. From roots at Brisbane’s 4ZZZfm to Glastonbury festival, she champions music's power for environmental and social change. She is a director of the board for Green Music Australia, championing the ‘No Music On A Dead Planet’ campaign. 

Portrait Ramera Abraham

Ramera Abraham

Anchor Board 2025

Ramera Abraham is a London-based vocal producer, songwriter, producer, and recording engineer. After obtaining her engineering degree from Abbey Road Institute in 2018, she started in the industry with an engineering residency at Spotify's Noteable studio, with mentorship from Berklee College of Music. It was there that Ramera dealt with daily studio operations while delving into the world of vocal production and engineering. She moved on to work as a runner, then assistant engineer at Metropolis Studios, assisting artists like Adele, Little Mix, Nick Cave, Elton John, Stormzy, and Sam Fender. Now as a freelancer, Ramera works with independent artists as well as artist services company, Platoon, across their artist roster. She has worked with RAYE, Ms Banks, Ayra Starr, Henry Moodie, KAMILLE, Luz, and Saint Harison. Ramera was also included in SheSaidSo's Alternative Power 100 List 2021 as one to watch, and is the Music Producers Guild's Vocal Producer of the Year 2023.   

Portrait Sosefina Fuamoli

Sosefina Fuamoli

Anchor Board 2025

Sosefina Fuamoli is an award-winning Samoan-Australian music journalist, broadcaster, and content producer based in Melbourne, Australia. Her career reflects a deep commitment to promoting Australian music and fostering a diverse musical culture. Sosefina's work has also had significant professional impact on the Australian and Pacific music industries, with her work shaping media narratives, representation, and industry access for underrepresented artists and communities. Sosefina's work has been featured in a number of titles including Rolling Stone Australia, NME, The Australian, KNOTFEST and more. She can currently be heard hosting weekly music interview show ‘On The Record’ for Radio Australia, as well as ‘Sista Sounds’ - a show dedicated to amplifying women’s voices throughout the Pacific region. As of 2025, she can be seen regularly on television as a music correspondent for ABC News Breakfast. 

Portrait Yudu Gray Jr.

Yudu Gray Jr.

Anchor Board 2025

Yudu Gray Jr. is a three-time GRAMMY-winning executive, experienced entrepreneur, and artist advocate focused on empowering creators globally by simplifying the business of music. As Co-Founder & Co-CEO of 24/7 Artists, he’s built a global community of over 25,000 creative professionals that foster innovation and gives all artists the confidence and tools to pursue their dreams. 

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Portrait stronboi

Highlights of Anchor Award Show | Reeperbahn Festival 2024

On this special evening our wonderfull hosts Melissa Khalaj & Tarik Tesfu present the best six up-and-coming live acts of the year at the St. Pauli Theater. 

And the jury consisting of Emily Kokal, Julia Stone, Tayla Parx and Tim Bendzko announces the winner of the Anchor 2024 -

strongboi!

Congratulations!

 

Here you can find all videos from Anchor 2024

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About

The Anchor – Reeperbahn Festival International Music Award has been presented to up-and-coming musicians as part of the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg since 2016.

For fans and music industry professionals, it helps guide them in their search for the best new music – and for the competitors it is a springboard to an international career.

A jury panel comprising well-known names from the international music industry selects the nominees from the festival programme in advance. The nominees have the opportunity over two days of the festival to impress festival visitors and the distinguished Anchor jury – and if their music, lyrics and performance are outstanding and unique enough, they’re in with a chance of winning the Anchor, presented at an award show on the Saturday of the festival. 

Find out all about the Anchor in this video.

This was the An­chor Jury 2024

Porträt von Emily Kokal

Emily Kokal

Anchor Jury 2024

Emily Kokal is a founding member and co-lead vocalist of Warpaint, a band known for their unique creative vision over the past two decades. Emily’s distinctive voice, artistic flair, and stage-ready delivery have set Warpaint apart from their peers. She is currently exploring new musical landscapes as a solo artist and working on various projects, including film music, visual art, and poetry. Emily will bring her extensive experience and unique perspective to the judging panel and will undoubtedly offer valuable insights for the nominees. 

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Julia Stone

Anchor Jury 2024

Julia Stone has established herself as a major creative force in the international music industry over the last 20 years. Together with her brother Angus, she has released six studio albums, all of which have been critically acclaimed. Her second album, “Down the Way”, won five ARIA Awards and reached triple platinum status. Julia has also released three solo albums and has been involved in various artistic projects, including film scoring and acting. As a mentor to emerging artists, she shares her extensive knowledge and experience in order to nurture the next generation of musicians. 

Porträt Tayla Parx

Tayla Parx

ANCHOR Jury 2023

Tayla Parx, a renowned songwriter, artist, and entrepreneur, boasts over 1 billion streams in her discography. She made history in 2019 by winning Billboard's "Hitmaker" Award with three Top 10 hits on the Hot 100. Apart from her songwriting process, Parx released two well-received albums, “We Need To Talk” in 2019 and “Coping Mechanisms”. In 2020, she launched TaylaMade, Inc., housing Parx Publishing, Parx Studios, 3020 Management, and Trailer Parx. Her latest project, “Many Moons, Many Suns” is scheduled to come out later this year. She remains a highly respected and boundary-pushing figure in the music industry.

Porträt von Tim Bendzko

Tim Bendzko

Anchor Jury 2024

Tim Bendzko has shaped the German pop music landscape like hardly anyone else from his generation. Since his breakthrough with “Nur noch kurz die Welt retten”, the versatile artist has enriched the music landscape with his profound lyrics and catchy melodies and has received numerous awards, including the Bambi and the Echo. Authenticity, creativity, and extensive experience in the music industry together with Tim’s ability to tell stories through music and to create emotional connections with his audience make him a valuable member of the Anchor jury. 

Pho­to Gal­le­ry

Pho­to Gal­le­ry Win­ners 2016 - 2024

Ar­chi­ve

Press Kit

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