It was an experiment that succeeded: On 27 and 28 August, about 40 Delegates met in "Festsaal Kreuzberg" in Berlin to experience the first hybrid Reeperbahn Festival International edition under the required social distancing and safety regulations.

After the kick off with Alexander Schulz (CEO Reeperbahn Festival), Christina Schäfers (Project Lead Keychange, Reeperbahn Festival), Philipp Grefer (Founder, WISE), Evelyn Sieber (Project Lead Reeperbahn Festival International Berlin, Reeperbahn Festival) as well as Patrick Daniel (Delegation Coordinator & Programme Co-Curator, Reeperbahn Festival International), the delegation was invited to visit the Chinese Company "Maybe Mars Records" digitally. The first day was also enriched by a matchmaking and a panel discussion involving European and American Delegates, the ANCHOR Jury and Nominee Announcement as well as a singer-songwriter session in the evening. Day 2 included a panel concerning "Challenges and Opportunities in the live music industry for China & Europe", matchmakings, keynotes, and company visits among others with Universal Music Group Nashville. The crowning finale: A showcase night with the amazing artists Mimik Banka, Nova Heart, Faces On TV, Ätna, Chinese Football and Velvet Volume.

Christian Goebel, General Manager (Motor Entertainment GmbH)

After the cancellation of most of the conferences essential for our industry this year, our motivation for the RBF International was all the higher, combined with the interest in the ambitious hybrid concept. And I am impressed by how well the implementation succeeded: Meeting European delegates on-site in Berlin, virtually visiting Chinese companies and conducting listening sessions with colleagues in Nashville is far more than a hygienic measure, but laboratory and inspiration for future on-site and online work – although hopefully soon again with less than 1.5m distance between each other.

Jens-Markus Wegener, General Manager (Edition Intro Meisel GmbH)

Reeperbahn Festival International – On-site and Online – from Berlin was the first hybrid convention I attended and I would like to take this opportunity to praise the organizers. The coordination of 40 European delegates with digital music managers from China and Nashville worked surprisingly well.

The highlight for me was the matchmaking sessions with American publishers and record companies from Nashville as well as many really exciting online sessions with Chinese music companies. The publishing market is certainly still underdeveloped, but I talked to three companies that also operate publishing divisions and we will try to develop concepts on how Meisel music publishers can do business in China. The matchmaking contacts from Nashville that I got from Reeperbahn Festival International were also publishing houses and service providers operating at a high level. Again, I would like to praise the Reeperbahn Festival operators for the quality of the contacts.

Conclusion: a really successful event with valuable new contacts, where I could learn a lot more. Therefore a huge thank you goes to the entire Reeperbahn Festival team!

Reeperbahn Festival International is funded by the Federal Foreign Office.