BIMM goes ByteFM: Students at BIMM University Berlin Hamburg visit ByteFM’s radio show
In February and April this year, a group of students across all courses at BIMM University Berlin Hamburg visited Hamburg radio station ByteFM to join them for their show ‘Anstoß’.
Every second Wednesday, presenter Marius Magaard introduces you to promising bands and musicians from Germany, Austria and Switzerland for one hour. In Anstoß, artists who have only released a few demos or their first album get a platform to have their songs played on the radio and talk about their music. It is the perfect time to get our students and first graduates on board.
With our graduating students about to take their first steps into the music industry, some of them joined Marius to talk about getting a foot in the door, work experience and, of course, their music.
Talking about the BIMM Hamburg Album
During the first show in February, Jörn Gabbe from the band The Love of Dog and Sophie Seemann aka Sophie Sailor played their songs they recorded for the very first BIMM Hamburg Album. They also had the opportunity to talk to radio presenter Marius about their music as well as their journey at BIMM University Berlin Hamburg.
About finding his way to Hamburg, Jörn said:
“I am from Frankfurt where hip hop is really big, but I am more involved with the punk scene. Hamburg is a perfect city for punk music and I thought I can get to know some musicians here who also want to do this professionally and give it their all.”
Marius also talked to Sophie about her journey in music and how she decided to study at BIMM University Berlin Hamburg:
“I recognised I wanted to do music professionally and also wanted to be in an environment where people are as ambitious about it as me. It’s not so easy to find these two things when you’re from a small town where there is no big music scene and you don’t just meet musicians by chance.”
Listen to the full interview here.
Advice for upcoming artists
For his next radio show in April, Marius invited our 3rd year students Anna Hirschgänger aka Deer Anna, Marc Feldes and Jean-Baptiste Dubruque to talk about their first steps in the music industry.
Anna said:
“What is super important as a newcomer is that you know who you are, what your music is about and that you are super authentic and know where you want to go with it. […] Another thing that’s also important when you’re just starting is to play live as much as you can. I realised that I got most fans from playing live and getting to know people after the gig. Playing live is almost the most important thing.”
Marc Feldes, who studies Music Business and has previously interned at independent label Popup Records, manages Anna. He also shared his advice:
“Firstly, social media is super important. Reaching out to music companies without a good basis probably won’t work. You must take certain steps yourself. (…) A really good thing to do as an upcoming artist is to create a list of college radios in Germany and to reach out to them. As a newcomer, it’s pretty likely that they will play your music! Playlist pitching is also great. There are great platforms like SubmitHub where you can pitch your music to playlist curators, radio stations and labels yourself. There is a lot you can do yourself in terms of music PR.”
With Music Business student Jean-Baptiste, who is currently working for a drum company, Marius talked about advice for people who want to work behind the scenes in the industry:
“Being straightforward with industry people is something I couldn’t recommend enough. Go talk to them and tell them what you want and what you can do. This way you might get an internship. This is how I got mine in my 2nd year where I worked at a record label. Don’t be scared if you feel like you don’t have enough experience yet. If you really want something, you have to be proactive about it.”
Listen to the full interview here.
For the next edition of Anstoß, Music Production student, Sarra, will be talking about her new EP and being part of the world of female producers.
Tune in on Wednesday, 8 June from 6pm to Anstoß to hear the interview. UKW 91,7und 104,0 (Hamburg) or through their webstream.
Do you want to find out more about how BIMM University Berlin connects students with the music industry? Find out more here.
