Pushing Pop Music

From the outside, the Pop Academy looks like the other concrete warehouses lining the canal in an industrial suburb of Mannheim. But step inside and you enter a unique university that teaches musicians and business students the ins and outs of the music industry. It is the only one of its kind in Germany.

Students here emerge with a Bachelor of Arts degree by taking subjects such as songwriting, DJing and contract law, said Sebastian Hornik, the Pop Academy's spokesperson.

"We teach pop, or pop culture, and we make sure we link theory with practice," Hornik said. He said a student learning songwriting also had to learn business theory, contract law, music licensing and how record companies work.

"It's extremely important, because at the end of the three years, you are practically a small business and you need to know the rules of the game," Hornik said. "It's only when you understand and live pop that you can sell it."

Students have to prove their dedication to music

The Pop Academy started up in 2003. A year later, it moved into its new building worth 3.8 million euros ($5 million) -- half of which was funded by the European Union. Each year, the Pop Academy takes on 55 new students, who study for a Bachelor of Arts in either Pop Music or Music Business.

The musicians have to undergo a rigorous audition process. And the business students need to not only have good grades, but also have proven dedication to the music industry.

According to Hornik, the academy requires two years of industry experience -- either in the business sector, such as work experience at a record company, or more hands-on experience, such as managing a band.

"The musicians obviously have to have played in a band, and they have to prove that with posters or flyers from concerts," Hornik said. "Here at the Pop Academy, we start at a certain level."

An opportunity to dedicate oneself to music

Joe Falk, a third-year student majoring in songwriting and singing, said he never would have taken the step to become a full-time musician if he hadn't received a spot at the Pop Academy.

"I was too cowardly; I am just too German for that," Falk said. "Here, I've learned all the business know-how that you need as a musician. I've also improved dramatically because I have the opportunity to play music full-time, and to completely dedicate myself to music."

Joe is full of praise for the academy. He said that although he didn't exactly love the business subjects, they have proved extremely useful.

Fellow student Ryan Rauscher doesn't want to be a rock star. Rather, he wants to help rock stars get famous via the Internet. Rauscher started off studying business at a normal German university before applying to the Pop Academy.

Rauscher said there are advantages and disadvantages in both systems. The size of the classes, which run between six and 40 people for example, were much smaller than at university, he said.

"But here at the academy, you also have a lot of people giving seminars that come from the industry, and they have never taught before," Rauscher said. "Sometimes, they just miss the mark."

Trying to keep the music industry in Mannheim

Germany's musicians tend to live in the northern cities of Berlin and Hamburg. Both have a thriving arts scene, and are somewhat cooler than the southern German city of Mannheim. With a population of only 300,000, Mannheim is a gritty industrial city with one of the highest percentages of immigrants in the country.

But like other industrial cities, such as Glasgow or Manchester, the city does have a reputation for music -- especially since successful soul singers such as Xavier Naidoo and the hip hop group Söhne Mannheims hit the charts in the past few years.

Mannheim was eligible for EU regional development funding because it qualified as a structurally weak region. Hornik said it's hoped that once the students at the Pop Academy have completed their degrees, they'll stay on and rent an office in the nearby Music Park. This new complex of offices was specifically built for those in the industry.

"They (the EU) don't just want to provide an education, but also support the region," Hornik said. "They hope people here will make connections and stay here, hopefully in the Music Park."

There are hopes the music scene will eventually establish itself in Mannheim and then also make an economic impact.

"That's why they pumped money in," Hornik said.

Singer-songwriter Falk for one said he planned to continue living in the region. Who knows, in a decade or two, Germany's musicians could be heading south instead of north in their search for fame and fortune.