Pop Up_Berlin 2025 – Labelmarkt und Live-Konzerte
As part of this year’s festival, a public label market will be held for the first time – in cooperation with the Association of Independent Music Entrepreneurs (VUT). It will be a place for music, exchange and encounters. Over 200 VUT labels are based in Berlin – and on 28 August, many of these independently run labels will present their work, their artists, their releases and their merch in the courtyard of Festsaal Kreuzberg. Between crates of records and conversations, a space will open up for networking, for discovering new favourite records, and for personal connections between the scene and the audience. In the evening, the labels will also take over the stage – with a concert programme that makes the curatorial confidence of this scene heard: loud, diverse, and straight from the heart of Berlin.
VUT (Verband unabhängiger Musikunternehmer*innen e.V.) represents around 1,200 independent players in the German music industry – from labels and publishers to self-releasing artists. Together, they account for 35% of the market share and over 80% of all new releases. VUT engages in political advocacy and provides a wide range of consulting and support services. Through the VIA Awards and the Indie Days, the association supports diversity and emerging talent.
The Berlin Music Commission (BMC) is the network of Berlin’s music industry – independent, diverse, and inclusive. With LISTEN TO BERLIN, it promotes innovative musicians and helps make the city’s creative potential visible both nationally and internationally – through compilations, awards, showcases, and youth support (via the formats LISTEN TO BERLIN: COMPILATION, LIVE, AWARDS and YOUTH). Together, these formats offer Berlin-based musicians and young talents support, visibility across the industry, access to key music business networks, and direct encounters with professionals – along with the opportunity to perform at major events and those hosted by media partners. The goal is long-term, sustainable networking across Berlin’s music scene.
Pop Up_Berlin 2025 is funded by Projekt Zukunft Berlin, an initiative of the Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises. The Pop-Kultur Festival is funded by the State of Berlin – Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion, and by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of »Stärkung des Innovationspotentials in der Kultur III (INP III)«, as well as by Initiative Musik gemeinnützige Projektgesellschaft mbH with project funding from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.