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Popkomm ’09 Cancelled; New Plans for ’10

Illegal filesharing blamed for decline in industry support for the show

Popkomm, one of the biggest music conferences in Europe, has cancelled its 2009 event. The conference was slated for 16–18 September in Berlin.

Dieter Gorny, who founded the Popkomm conference, said that the music companies that participated in the show were not able to support the 2009 event in part due to illegal downloading and filesharing.

According to a report by Deutsche Welle, Gorny said that goverments had not grasped the seriousness of the issue and how much damage it was causing the music industry. Gorny is currently head of BVMI, the German music industry association.

A near 50 percent drop in attendance was forecasted for the 2009 show. In 2008, 842 exhibitors from 52 countries and 14,000 industry participants took part in Popkomm, but that was a decrease of some 20 percent from its highest years of attendance.

The pop music festival that traditionally accompanies Popkomm was also cancelled.

Popkomm organizers said they are looking for a new concept for the 2010 fair, with greater emphasis on networking and public events.

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