Germany Promises State Aid To Music Start-ups

The German government says it is prepared give financial support to small-and-medium sized start-ups in the German music market.
The move was announced by German minister of economics Michael Glos at the Popkomm trade fair in Berlin today (Sept. 19).
Full details of the budget and how the aid will be allocated have not yet been announced. However, this is the first time the government has publicly made a commitment to helping new music industry businesses. Previously, government had claimed said it was too difficult to assess the value of music-related enterprises and determine how much financial assistance to give.
Dagmar Sikorski, president of the German Music Publishers' Association, is among the industry insiders welcoming the government initiative. He says it would "strengthen competitiveness in all segments of the market, especially as smaller music companies need help in the first years after they start a business," Sikorski declares.
At Popkomm, Glos unveiled government statistics which showed the German music industry generated than $6.93 billion in 2006. That figure included $2.36 billion from the recorded music market and $4.99 billion from the concert business.

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