- What: Music industry trade show and convention C/O Pop
- Founded: 2004
- Where: Cologne, Germany
- When: Annually - dates vary
- Cost of Attendance: Ticket prices vary by year. There are several levels of tickets available, depending on how many events you want to attend and whether you want to go to show or to the convention events as well. In 2009, the most expensive ticket for the convention was 179 EUR and the most expensive ticket for the festival only was 75.90 EUR.
After the 2003 event, major German music industry trade show Popkomm moved from Cologne to Berlin - according to rumors under pressure from Sony, who had moved their offices to Berlin. The departure of Popkomm left a hole in the music industry/creative scene in Cologne. C/O Pop was founded to pick up that slack and make Cologne an important destination for the music industry again.
The layout of C/O Pop is similar to Popkomm - daily panel, discussion and networking opportunities with gigs scattered through city venues at night.
The convention portion of the C/O Pop event deals primarily with music industry issues, but other creative industries are represented. There is a focus on new technology and how the music industry can put new tech to good use. The gaming industry in particular also has a strong presence at the Convention, but the focus remains on how music interacts with other creative industries.
The festival portion of C/O Pop happens in various venues throughout Cologne. There is a mix of big name artists and up and coming acts. Many festival attendees are local music fans who do not attend the convention portion, however, like all music industry trade shows, the nightly concerts are still important networking spots for people in the industry.
C/O Pop helped establish Europareise, a networking group for music industry trade shows and festivals. The idea is to give festival and trade show organizers a place to develop relationships and come up with plans to cooperate and work together on festival events.
One outcome of Europareise is the relationship between C/O Pop and In The City. C/O Pop attendees receive a discount in In The City ticket purchases.
C/O Pop is popular with the people on the forefront of change in the music industry, and now more than ever, this could be an important event to visit. The tickets are reasonably priced, and attendance continues to increase, which means the networking opportunities are also going up. Unless you have something very specific to promote to the European market, justifying the travel expenses from abroad can be tough - meaning that you shouldn't sacrifice other important costs in your music career to get a ticket to C/O Pop. However, if your budget can accommodate, C/O Pop offers good value.
Learn more about music industry trade shows and events:
