TikTok as a career boost. As an aspiring DJ, he moved through the booming Berlin underground techno scene shortly after reunification and played all over the world. Since techno became too monotonous for him in the long run, he produced more and more music and founded the Valicon Producer Forum with Silbermond producers Ingo Politz and Bernd Wendlandt.
Andre “Brix” Buchmann worked for well-known German pop stars such as Tobias Regner and the first The Voice of Germany winner Ivy Quainoo. He also picked the ESC winning song “Satellite” by Lena Meyer-Landrut from his extensive archive to present to Stefan Raab, Universal Music & Co.
So he appeared in the television world, was side coach of The Voice of Germany juror Samu Haber, music director of the flopped Pro Sieben show “Die Band” and was repeatedly involved in the songs of the casting show participants.
But working as a producer eventually felt like assembly line work for him. Brix turned his back on the music industry and founded Bitstream Media Lab together with former Managing Director of Warner Music Michael Brycz. The agency represents creators such as Falco Punch, Bartmann and Michael Smolik and manages a reach of almost 40 million followers.
In the Redfield Podcast, Brix explains what it means for him and the creators to be active on TikTok, how brand collaborations come about and what large corporations and small indie bands can take away from a social media app like TikTok. For him it is clear that platforms like TikTok or Twitch are still experiencing incredible growth, but will also be replaced at some point.
He explains why he considers TikTok to be “a blessing for the music industry” and what opportunities there are to build your own reach independent of music media.
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