Interview: “We offer real added value for the music community”

They don’t want to take themselves too seriously at MusikWoche, publisher Carsten Stricker reveals in an interview. One suspects there’s a wink in there. Because at the same time, the industry magazine aims to deliver genuine added value for professionals in the music community. Just over half a year after taking up his post as publisher, we spoke to Stricker about how this approach is working out at MusikWoche – and what the community can look forward to in the future.

GVL: You’ve been a MusikWoche subscriber from the very beginning and have known the magazine since it was founded. As the new publisher, what do you absolutely want to preserve, and what do you want to change?

Carsten Stricker: MusikWoche is an institution and has been a reliable partner to our industry for over 33 years. It is solely for this reason that the publication was able to weather the recent difficult years whilst in insolvency caused by third parties, and this demonstrates its true strength. A competent, experienced editorial team, but also young staff, combined with plenty of journalistic ambition and excellent craftsmanship – we have a unique network here. All of these are, of course, assets on which we will continue to build in the coming years.

But times are changing rapidly, and so it is essential for us to continue to evolve, both in terms of editorial formats and in terms of usability and content delivery. Our aim is to create added value for our community of readers by remaining relevant and by adequately covering, reporting on and commenting on the paradigm shifts of our time.

With formats such as the recent Berlin ‘Roundtable: Power. Music.’ and the new ‘Young Professionals’ series in the magazine, MusikWoche not only reports on the industry but also creates spaces for exchange and networking itself. Does MusikWoche intend to become a more active player in the industry itself in future, and where do you see the limits of this role?

Good question. The two examples mentioned – ‘Jungprofis’ and ‘Roundtable’ – already point the way quite clearly. With ‘Jungprofis’, we’re shining the spotlight on younger figures in our industry who are just starting out on their careers and who will shape the future of our sector. So the focus is on the future and doesn’t always just highlight the established players. The ‘Roundtable’ format – which is actually an old favourite and which we’ve revived this year – is all about enabling industry figures to exchange views on controversial topics in a safe space facilitated by journalists, without the social media fuss, live streams or podcast chatter. Deep discussions, well-researched and, hopefully, offering genuine added value for everyone involved. This approach delves deeper.

Naturally, every media outlet has always been a key player in its own right. We don’t want to take ourselves too seriously, but we do believe – in all modesty – that we can offer genuine added value to the professional music community. We intend to embrace this responsibility even more strongly in future. Marketing and media buying budgets have become tighter. Investments in this area now only take place if users derive an immediate benefit from them. We want to ensure that happens.

How must an established industry publication adapt in order to remain relevant to a new generation of music creators and industry professionals?

Every publication must constantly evolve. This applies not only to industry publications. We have the advantage of knowing our target audience very well, being well-connected and understanding the needs – or, let’s not mince words, the problems – that exist. We want to, and must, address these more effectively. It is no longer simply a matter of printing press releases, stock market figures or catalogue sales. Very few people benefit from that. We try to engage in active dialogue with our readers and customers to find out where the problems lie, and then we try to find solutions, talk to one another and spark discussions within the industry – even if they’re controversial. Talking is particularly important these days.