Keynote Interview: Martin Koller (Prophecy Productions, DE)
After founding Prophecy Productions, an international record label in Germany in 1996, Martin Koller was able to acquire several other labels over the years, each with its own distinctive taste. Despite the vast enlargement of each division, SPKR Media Group stands as a home to some of the leading media, art, and music of our time.
At the heart of this success story is Prophecy's underlying vision to release "wayside atmospheric music that defies categorization" grounded on the pillars of constancy, quality, and community. Beyond releasing innovative music, Prophecy Productions values long-term collaborations with its artists, fostering close relationships with clients and fans, and creating an intimate community through multiple collaborations among artists.
Moreover, due to their eye for musical talent and dedication to constancy, Prophecy Productions accompanies many of its artists from their first records, thereby releasing their entire discographies.
Gain insight into how he successfully runs a media platform like SPKR Media Group, through a balance between business acumen and creative innovation, all while staying true to his core vision and values.
Thursday 6. April 13:00 - Room 1
Interviewer: José Carlos Santos (The Devil’s Mouth, PT)
José Carlos Santos’ business card says “music curation, consulting and journalism”, which is to say he is a sort of jack of all trades of the underground, and has been so for over twenty years. He loves being at the eye of the artistic storm where performers, press, listeners, culture, language and history all fly around, bumping into each other. As a self-professed “word nerd”, a follower of Heschel’s “words create worlds” maxim, his main focus has always been writing, which he has done copiously in both his native languages, English and Portuguese – for instance, he served as a Senior Writer for Terrorizer magazine for eleven years, and is currently chief of staff for LOUD! and part of the writing staff for Zero Tolerance and Decibel –, but has pursued other activities such as radio hosting, publishing, DJ, photography, PR, management and more. He loves interviewing musicians and music-related people and getting the best out of the message they transmit to the audience, which is why he hosts a “slow listening” podcast where different guests talk passionately about their favorite songs each week. This kind of expertise has led him to be frequently asked as a moderator and/or curator for panels associated with events like Roadburn, Amplifest or SWR among others. José also maintains his own website, The Devil’s Mouth, which the aforementioned podcast of the same name is a part of, a labour of love designed to help spread the word on unconventional music of all genres. Behind all of José’s professional guises, lies essentially a profound love of music and an unshakable will to shine a light on the less exposed artists and help them reach their deserved audience.