Seventy five UK acts set to showcase British Music Week in Germany

• UK national group BPI's promotion for British music in Germany goes national in second year
• Focus on UK music as showcases, retail promotions and radio promotions expand to Cologne, Hamburg, Munich from Berlin base
• New figures show UK artists claim one in five radio plays in Germany, up on 2005

18th April 2007

With just days to go before the curtain goes up on British Music Week in Germany, British Music Week organisers the BPI have revealed that the line-up now includes 75 UK acts, making it the biggest coordinated promotion for British music yet seen in the world's fourth biggest music market.

The news comes as the BPI releases figures showing the UK's share of airplay on German radio increased last year to the extent that every fifth record played is now by a UK act.

Latest additions to the British Music Week programme include former Ash guitarist Charlotte Hatherley introducing her second solo album The Deep Blue and hotly-tipped singalong Brit-poppers Ghosts.

British Music Week will also mark the German launch of England Rocks, an initiative of Visit England, the official tourism body for England.

As previously announced, the British Music Week programme already includes a festival of British music video supported by the British Council.

British Music Week founder and former BPI Director of Communications and Development Steve Redmond said: "The broad spread of activities and the sheer number of artists taking part in British Music Week this year shows the strength of British music right now and the incredibly cooperative relationship we have with our partners in Germany. British Music Week is shaping up to be an unmissable event."

The programme

The British Music Week concert programme now includes 75 artists (full list below) covering a whole range of genres and from the biggest to many much smaller record labels.

Gigs will focus on four key German cities - Berlin (where the first British Music Week took place last year), Cologne, Hamburg and Munich, although there will also be associated events in other cities such as Leipzig and Munster.

British Music Week coordinator Matt Glover said: "The first British Music Week in Berlin last year was a concentrated burst of British rock in the German capital: this year British Music Week has matured into a much broader-based celebration of British music."

Highlights include:

• Former Suede frontman Brett Anderson who will play solo shows in Berlin, Hamburg and Munich;
• Hotly-tipped hip-hop star Lady Sovereign, one of the few European hip-hop acts to have enjoyed success in the US;
• Stars of British Music Week 2006 Razorlight who return to Germany with a quadruple-platinum album under their belt;
• Street laureate Just Jack promoting his first album Overtones;
• Scottish rockers Idlewild celebrating their new album No Emotion;
• The retro girl-pop of The Pipettes;
• The latest sensation on the UK indie scene The Pigeon Detectives.

BPI Chief Executive Geoff Taylor said: "By working directly with local partners, the BPI has been able to create a focal point for British music in Germany; this will achieve a far bigger impact and greater exposure for British music in this key territory than we could otherwise have gained.

"After last year's successful inaugural event, British Music Week has expanded significantly going national from its Berlin base, and is set to create an even bigger splash than last year. We hope that British Music Week may serve as a template for future international activity by the BPI."

UK airplay success

News of the confirmed British Music Week line-up for 2007 comes as new figures show UK artists increased their share of airplay on German radio last year.

The BPI analysis of Nielsen Music Control data shows UK artists accounted for 160 of the Top 1,000 most played tracks on German radio last year and achieved a 20.6% share of total German radio audience and 19.1% of total plays.

This compares with a 19.5% share of audience and a 17.7% share of plays in 2005.

Robbie Williams and James Blunt were responsible for the most played songs by UK artists on German radio last year, but the Top 20 also included entries by three brand-new artists - Corinne Bailey Rae, James Morrison and Lily Allen - as well as one of the great comebacks of 2006, Take That.

Top 20 Most Played UK Tracks on German Radio 2006

1. Robbie Williams - Sin Sin Sin
2. James Blunt - Wisemen
3. Robbie Williams - Advertising Space
4. James Blunt - High
5. Coldplay - Talk
6. Melanie C - First Day of My Life
7. Take That - Patience
8. Sugababes - Push The Button
9. Kim Wilde - You Came
10. Coldplay - The Hardest Part
11. Corinne Bailey Rae - Put Your Records On
12. Sugababes - Ugly
13. Jamelia - Something About You
14. Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
15. Richard Ashcroft - Break The Night With Colour
16. James Morrison - You Give Me Something
17. James Blunt - You're Beautiful
18. Sugababes - Easy
19. Lily Allen - Smile
20. Sugababes - Red Dress

Source: Nielson Music Control

News of the UK's airplay success follows earlier BPI analysis of Media Control GfK International data which showed UK artists had a 19.5% share of the top 500 album sales in Germany in 2006.

The biggest selling UK artist in Germany in 2006 was Katie Melua with her second album Piece By Piece.

The best-selling UK artist debut in Germany was Corinne Bailey Rae with her self-titled album.

British music on creative high

British Music Week takes place this year against the background of what is regarded as the most creative period in British music for at least 10 years.

From groups like Snow Patrol, Arctic Monkeys, The Feeling and Razorlight to solo artists such as Amy Winehouse, Corinne Bailey Rae, James Morrison and Lily Allen, British music is currently on a creative high.

Fourteen of the Top 100 best-selling albums in the UK in 2006 were debuts, and in late January for the first time in its 50 year history the UK album chart comprised entirely UK artists.

"Something very exciting is happening in British music," said Steve Redmond, "so this is a very good time to be holding a British Music Week. New British artists are succeeding at home. Now their challenge is to take that success around the world and from April 20-29 they will bring their music to Germany."

**ENDS**

NOTES TO EDITORS

British Music Week is an initiative of UK record companies' trade association the BPI. British Music Week took place for the first time in the city of Berlin in May 2006. More than 40 artists participated in a festival of British music which attracted 8,000 paying customers to clubs around the city and reached hundreds of thousands more through the media.

www.britishmusicweek.de

The British Music Week Bands

Aparatec, Benga, Big Strides, Blondelle, Bonobo, Brett Anderson, Charlotte Hatherly, Client, Codes in the Clouds, Coconut Twins, De Rosa, Decoration, Delfonic, Deluka, DJ Frank Blumel, Dogs, Dub Pistols Soundsystem, Fujiya & Miyagi, Fury of the Headteachers, Ghosts, Goldilocks, Hey Gravity!, Iain Archer, IAMX, Idlewild, Infocus, Jason Rowe, John Watts, Just Jack, Klute, Kosheen, Kubichek, Kyte, Lana, Levelload, LR Rockets, Malcolm Middleton, Mark Wright, Max Sedgley, Mohair, N-Type, Olympus Mons, Patrick Wolf, Pigeon Detectives, Razorlight, Robots in Disguise, Shakes, Simian Mobile Disco, Sixnationstate, Sohodolls, Sparky, Stopstarts, Strawberry Blondes, Subeena, The Aeroplanes, The Furies, The Hedrons, The Holloways, The Horrors, The Jakpot, The KBC, The Lies and How We Told Them, The Magdalenas, The Michelles, The Mighty Roars, The Neutrinos, The Others, The Pigeon Detectives, The Pipettes, The Runners, The Victorian English Gentlemens Club, The Voom Blooms, The Wombats, Trash Money, Vincent Vincent & The Villains

British Music Week Partners

The BPI (formerly known as British Phonographic Industry) is the UK record industry's trade association. Its membership comprises of more than 400 music companies including all four 'major' record companies, associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies representing literally thousands of labels.

The BPI has long been a leader in providing international marketing opportunities for its members since establishing the British at Midem stand in 1992 with UK publishers' umbrella group British Music Rights. In addition to British Music Week Berlin, the BPI has in recent years run bespoke international campaigns in Tokyo and Los Angeles and supported UK delegations at MusExpo, E3 Games and Billboard Film and TV.

Its synch samplers have taken its members' music directly the world's most influential music supervisors and BPI remains a lead partner in international trade fairs such as Midem and Popkomm.

Trinity Concerts, Karrera Klub and Icon in Berlin are three of the most staunch supporters of live British Music in Germany. This year they are joined by Peter Rieger in Cologne, FKP Scorpio in Hamburg, Backstage and Atomic Café in Munich, all of whom will stage a series of British gigs throughout the week, featuring the UK's most cutting-edge new talent.

Saturn is Germany's largest music retailer and will be supporting British Music Week through a combination of point-of-sale campaigns for British artist albums, and in-store appearances from some of the participating bands including Razorlight and Pipettes.

Working with partners in the UK, the British Council helps to share British expertise and talent with over 100 countries worldwide. The British Council are supporting British Music Week with marketing and promotion to their network of businesses and media, and through a series of music video screenings by iconic British directors in Berlin.

Intro Magazine is one of Germany's most influential lifestyle and youth culture magazines, with a readership of 115,000 each month. Intro are providing editorial and listings support for the bands and events at British Music Week as well and throwing their own party featuring Simian Mobile Disco.

MTV Networks Central incorporates MTV, VIVA and VIVA, the leading television brands in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. This complementary portfolio of channels, comprising entertainment, music and lifestyle formats, has a reach of 36m homes in German-speaking countries. The classic programme selection is provided by pay TV stations MTV Hits!, MTV Dance, VH1, VH1 Classic, MTV Base and MTV 2, as well as a broadband channel.

As huge supporters of British music, radio stations Radio Eins (Berlin), 1Live (Cologne) and N-Joy (Hamburg) will not only be recording and broadcasting the British gigs taking place during British Music Week, but will also host live interviews and panels on air with band members as well as stage competitions and giveaways throughout the week. The stations will also ramp up the frequency of British music playlisted during the week.

Founded in 1972, Tip is Germany's longest-established city listings magazine and covers Berlin's entire cultural spectrum, including music, film and theatre. Published every fortnight, it has a print run of 70,000 and an average readership of 200,000. Tip will be supporting all of Berlin's British Music Week events with editorial and listings in the lead-up.

Uncle Sallys started out in 1994 and has established a reputation as the country's most well known and respected independent magazine with an emphasis on alternative music. Its Berlin-specific listings booklet will complement the British Music Week events by reviewing performances from rising British acts.

Creative London is a branch of the London Development Agency, and is committed to helping develop the potential of London's creative industries. The LDA have this year helped contribute financially to the marketing efforts of London-based companies participating in British Music Week.

England Rocks is the newly launched website of Visit Britain, the British tourist agency, and showcases the heritage of British popular music within the context of key British music "landmarks". Visit Britain have chosen to launch the German version of their website in conjunction with the launch of this year's British Music Week. www.england-rocks.co.uk

Hard Rock Café will this year be supporting British Music Week by playing videos from the participating bands on daily rotation in their Berlin, Cologne and Munich cafes, as well as featuring autograph signings from some of the bands.

German Myspace, launched earlier this year will be providing online marketing support in their music pages, viewed by its millions of German subscribers.