Before we get to the topic, the entire Redfield Records team would like to thank you for your active and regular listening to our podcast on all channels! In one year, podcast host Alexander Schröder has already produced 50 episodes and exchanged ideas with real creators about success, failure, business and creativity in the music industry.
So now the Redfield Podcast is one year old: we're celebrating with the eight most popular from all 50 episodes. These are your highlights:
Top 8
Our episode from February 2020 with David Strempel, who went from being a loyal customer to one of the three managing directors of one of the most popular record stores in Germany, took eighth place. Coretex Records has been an integral part of Berlin Kreuzberg for 30 years, but the brand has long since established itself as a label for music and merchandise in the punk and hardcore scene. Most exciting for you: Alex talked to David primarily about different business models, the market position of record stores and modern communication channels for mail orders.
Top 7
The seventh most popular episode is the conversation with Martin Böttcher, who founded Impericon in Leipzig in 2004 and thus laid the foundation for one of the largest merchandise companies in alternative music. In the podcast, Martin told Alex how the idea for Impericon came about, what merchandise licenses are all about and how a niche business grew into a medium-sized company. This episode is not just about clothes, but also about important learnings from the corporate sector.
Top 6
The conversation with Mirko Glasses also made it into your hearts. No wonder: Mirko presents important insights for both musicians and other makers from the music industry about the modern structures of PR and marketing in the punk rock sector. Whether Spotify or TikTok, Mirko is consciously taking new, modern paths with his company Uncle M Music, which is both a label and a PR agency and successfully supports established artists as well as newcomers.
Top 5
FKP Scorpio is one of Germany's largest concert organizers: Hurricane, Southside and Highfield are just three of the numerous festivals that the Hamburger Million company manages. Your number five most popular podcast episode is the conversation with Stephan Thanscheidt in July 2020. Stefan started as a stagehand and went from being a local event organizer in Mönchengladbach to event manager at the music magazine VISIONS and finally to head of booking at FKP. Today Stefan is CEO of FKP Scorpio. He doesn't just talk to Alex about his career, but above all about the working methods of major concert organizers, booking headliners and of course also about the challenges facing the live music industry during the Corona pandemic.
Top 4
In March 2020, when this special episode was recorded, everything was still very fresh: the Corona crisis and with it the questions of what will happen to the music industry, what to the music clubs, what to the festivals? In this episode, Alex talks to Maik Strübe from The Living Proof Agency and Oise Ronsberger, who runs the label End Hits Records but is also busy as tour manager for Parkway Drive and Boysetsfire. This discussion is about acute problems, economic challenges, worries, but also opportunities - making the special episode your fourth favorite.
Top 3
Your third favorite episode is the second episode of the Redfield Podcast ever and the first with Maik Strübe as a guest. Mike is the founder of his own tour booking agency, with which he works for smaller punk bands like Antillectual as well as larger acts like Killer Pilze, pop musicians like Philip Boa and rappers like B-Tight. He is also a booker for various German festivals. What is particularly interesting for musicians is that he talks to Alex about support opportunities for newcomers, about making progress without an established booking agency behind you and about his approach to selecting artists.
Top 2
Oise Ronsberger is again in second place. The tour manager, artist manager and label owner got his start in the music business in the Bavarian youth café Zwiesel and has been constantly on the move ever since. In the podcast, he and Alex talk about the recording market in Europe, which Oise compares to that in the USA, where he lived for some time through strong connections to the US band Boysetsfire and their singer Nathan Gray. His exciting view of current sales and promotion channels as well as stories between the home office label and Vans Warped Tour made this episode your second favorite.
Top 1
Your favorite episode is also the very first episode of the Redfield Podcast! Alex's first guest was Florian Brauch from Sparta Entertainment, whose career has impressive milestones: Florian negotiated his first major label contract after graduating from high school as manager of the Donots, for whom he also founded his own label in Japan. He also accompanied Jupiter Jones on her way to a gold record and is now the owner of the booking agency Sparta Booking, which looks after bands like Adam Angst and Itchy. The conversation between Alex and Florian takes us back to the past days of the A&R job and management activities. What was not yet ready for a decision at the time: Florian ended the Sparta Entertainment chapter, dissolved the company and now works mainly as a consultant, coach and mediator.