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Vision “zukunfts.music”

On the stage

Talent prevails? Yes, if it is well protected.

And then it’s all about timing!

How the first three to five years in the professional life of young musicians develop, is decisive for the quality and duration of a career. Too many pitfalls can derail promising careers. zukunfts.music attempts to support young musicians after their first successes in competitions and in subsequent engagements, as well as to assist them in very tangible ways. For this, zukunfts.music relies on a wide network of experts from all areas of the music industry.

Deaf of loud applause? Lots of tricky questions.

Sleepless nights? Not only the bar pianist knows about them. Here are some of the questions that can keep musicians awake: How do I plan a concert tour? How high a fee can I ask for? Can I turn down a commitment? What should I look out for when confirming a contract? What about residence permits, work permits, passport details, social security? When should I rather not step in? And finally:

How do I find the right agency? Or do I wait for it to find me?

The best musical education at the most renowned university does not replace the practical knowledge of a musician's life. It is not the job of professors to explain how to apply for a visa or about the dangers of jet lag. Even the best agencies may not always be the right people to talk to about some of this, as they have to work profit-oriented and have an interest in a high number of appearances. What often sounds very seductive for a young musician does not always coincide with healthy artistic development.

Supported by patrons. Committed to the musicians: zukunfts.music

Away from the principle of the pouring can: zukunfts.music bundles musicians’ aid

zukunfts.music addresses young musicians who are at the very beginning of their professional career and are looking for answers – to practical, legal and artistic questions – and wants to serve as a hinge between the world of concerts and the existing support programs from foundations, initiatives or funding institutions for musicians.

zukunfts.music is based on a multi-faceted patronage that allows young musicians to profit from a wide range of grants and services free of charge.

There was nothing good about Corona.
That's why a lot has to get better now.

The Corona crisis has revealed the weaknesses of the music world, which urgently need to be addressed now. The development and support of talent must be
secured more sustainably.

Due to Corona, many classical music agencies cur- rently lack the money to invest into the work necessary for setting the foundation for a young career. It usually takes two to three years before the efforts for a musician under contract is amortized. zukunfts.music wants to take it from there and act as counseling center to help young musicians over these two to three years to be trained to meet the market and work with agencies – and to show ways to market themselves, if no agency wants to take them on board. In all cases, zukunfts.music wants to accompany the aspiring freelance musicians on their way to self-responsibility.

Supported by patrons
Musicians as tightrope walkers

What helps musicians as tightrope walkers? Great skills along with talent, strong nerves –  and a stable network.

zukunfts.music doesn't know everything. But maybe knows many who would know the right answer.

zukunfts.music regularly updates its networks and can therefore provide musicians with the best experts in each situation.

From our future range of services

  • Coaching: Practice | Concert operations, travel, contracts, financial plan
  • Coaching: Personality | Finding a profile, outline of the artistic orientation, repertoire
  • PR and communications consulting | Biography, portrait photos, social media
  • Accompaniment of sound productions | Help with label and program search
  • Link with specialized professionals | Law, insurance, physio and psychotherapy

The most delicate flowers need the most experienced gardeners.

From the best for the best: further training for agents

For some years now there have been university degrees for prospective art and culture mediators. However, anyone can call themselves an “agent”, from event managers to musicologists to lawyers. To ensure that young musicians are accompanied by the best professional partners in the future, zukunfts.music wants to offer agents individual
coaching and seminars for practical training and further education.

Here, Sonia Simmenauer draws on her own experiences as founder of one of the world’s most renowned agencies in the classical music business for thirty years.

Most delicate flowers
All-round package for exceptional talents

zukunfts.music does not replace an agency. With six notable exceptions.

All-round package for exceptional talents.

zukunfts.music assumes the function of a professional agency for a maximum of six musicians at the same time (2-3 per year). The young musicians are selected by an independent group of relevant protagonists from the concert world and are intensively supported with careful concert acquisition in order to be equipped with knowledge and practical skills for their future artistic life.

The musicians cannot apply, but are selected once a year from a series of recommendations and after a targeted search and will be given concerts and professional recording opportunities. In the best-case scenario, the artists are then referred to a professional agency. In doing so, zukunfts.music relies on the large network of promoters, labels and agencies.

The mentoring extends over a maximum period of three years and ends automatically if an agency takes on one of the young musicians before the end of the three-year period.

zukunfts.music is looking for patrons. People who want to promote tomorrow's musicians today.

Art costs money. Our sweat, one or two musician's tears –  and last but not least Your hard-earned money.

In order to make zukunfts.music possible, a stable basic financial security is required. The aim is to create a close connection between musicians and sponsors. That's why we address people interested in culture and music who want to make a difference:
starting with donations of goods and instruments up to financing the institution itself.

You have the choice.
We have the right projects.

  1. Basic support. You invest in zukunfts.music in the long term in order to guarantee the institution a stable infrastructure and to provide support to as many young musicians as possible.
  2. Support in kind. A marketplace of encounters between musicians and enablers. Practical help is in demand - regardless of whether it is about stage shoes, travel expenses or instrument loan.
  3. Direct Grant. You finance a musician a specific service from the zukunfts.music network: from coaching hours to photo shootings.
  4. Become an Artist “Godparent” – either for the realization of an specific artistic project or for the all-round support of an exceptional talent by zukunfts.music.
Looking for patrons
Psychodynamik

“The inner world of a marriage is nothing compared to the psychodynamics of a string quartet!”

Having been directing one of the most renowned classical music agencies in the world for over 30 years, it is time to give something back.

Allow me to introduce myself? My name is Sonia Simmenauer. After 33 years, I handed over the management of my Impresariat Simmenauer to my son Arnold and his team. It has never seemed more urgent that younger people shape their future. The Corona crisis has accelerated this handover.

Now I would like to contribute my knowledge and experience to a completely new project - and thus close the gap between music conservatories and agencies. I would like to bundle the time I have won back into zukunfts.music and make it available to young musicians and new agents: people who have to master, assess and implement so many things on the threshold of their professional life – and this in a very short time. I can give you a lot: my decades of experience, my knowledge of the concert business and, last but not least, of the soul of the musicians themselves. The inner world of a marriage is nothing compared to the psychodynamics of a string quartet!

Most young musicians today are very good, many downright excellent. For the market, however, they have to be many other things: mannequins for glossy photos, interchangeable stage material, thrown into the jaws of a merciless market – especially after successful competitions, when all the doors suddenly seem to be open. Here the most robust natures prevail first. However, these are rarely the greatest talents.

With zukunfts.music I will try to counteract this and will also accompany the critical minds and sensitive talents on their way to the stage. In order to achieve this, I am aiming at establishing a highly professional network that has not previously existed in this form and that brings together all existing efforts.

CONTACT

zukunfts.music
Sonia Simmenauer
Pestalozzistrasse 103
10625 Berlin

Mail: sonia.simmenauer@zukunftsmusic.de
Phone: +49/151/546 129 12