The annual meeting of the Verband Deutscher Konzertdirektionen (VDKD - association of German concert companies) took place in Munich on September 18. As the VDKD also has many members in the field of classical music some of the main issues of the agenda of the assembly referred to the competitive situation between commercial and subsidized concert promoters. The participants numbered more than 120 people representing 92 companies. On the agenda was the current business report, which referred to the VDKD's losing court action against the Berlin Philharmonics Foundation earlier this year, the current situation as regards the booking of public places and the agreement to undertake a new survey regarding turnover and visitor figures.

Vip News asked Michael Russ the president of the VDKD about the success of the meeting: "I was very satisfied with the result of the meeting, especially as the discussion of the symposium "Musik am Fördertopf" from the day before continues." This refers to an extra meeting concerning subsidies for classical music and the competition fir funding amongst independent concert promoters. Russ said: "We would like to do such a symposium ourselves that mainly concerns so called "U-music. This should be dedicated to the synopsis between E- and U-music".

For non-Germans it has to be explained that 'E' stands for serious music and only considers classical music while 'U stands for 'entertaining' music like pop and jazz. 'E'-music receives subsidies of more than half a billion Euros each year in Germany. No other country in the world demarcates an artificial division between 'E' & 'U' music.

Russ explained how the idea for an additional symposium occurred at the VDKD-Meeting: "Fritz Rau, the pioneer of the pop music business raised the issue of the 'E' versus 'U' discussion which interested the rank and file of the VDKD and received a positive reaction from all members." Fritz Rau was also appointed as a Member of Honour. He is only the third person in the history of the VDKD, founded in 1947, to be honoured with such a member ship.

Vip News asked Rau, the Grand Old Man of the German concert business for his observations: "This arbitrary distinction of the definitions 'E-Music' for serious music and the opposing term 'U-Music' for entertaining music is superficial and discriminating for those artists who are downgraded in the field of entertaining music. Classical music could be entertaining as well and artists of the entertaining segment could be advanced and highly respectable. Public institutions only consider serious music but, for instance, for Anne Sophie Mutter the most important singer is Ella Fitzgerald."

Rau addresses a topic for discussion, which is completely obsolete in many European countries, and serves as an indicator for the conservatism of German cultural politics. It needs the attention of an elder statesman like Rau to open up the minds of those in the administration, but without any doubt, the politicians of every party are very resistant to any progress of this type in German culture.