Wikipedia

Marek Lieberberg

Marek Lieberberg (born 7 May 1946) is a German[1] concert promoter, best known for founding and organising the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals. In 2014, the European Festivals Awards granted him the Lifetime Achievement Award. Lieberberg is the chief executive officer of Live Nation Concerts Germany and holds the same position for Switzerland and Austria.

Marek Lieberberg
Marek Lieberberg in 2016
Lieberberg at Rock am Ring in 2016
Born
Marek Lieberberg

(1946-05-07) 7 May 1946 (age 78)
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Occupations
  • Concert promoter
  • concert organiser
  • CEO of Live Nation Germany, Switzerland, Austria
Years active1969–present
Known forFounding of Rock am Ring

Early life and career

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Marek Lieberberg, the child of Jewish Shoah survivors, was born in 1946 in the Zeilsheim displaced persons (DP) camp.[2][3]

In 1969, he organised the first open-air event at the velodrome stadium in Frankfurt, two years after the Summer of Love.[2]

After founding their concert agency Mama Concerts, Lieberberg and his partner Marcel Avram organised the first British Rock Meeting festival in September 1971 in Speyer, Germany. It was inspired by the model of the American festival and featured Fleetwood Mac, Black Sabbath and Rod Stewart.[4]

In 1972, Lieberberg and Avram organised the second edition of the British Rock Meeting on an island near Germersheim, which attracted a larger audience. It featured, among others, the Doors, Faces and Pink Floyd.[4]

It had been almost a decade since a major open-air festival had taken place in Germany, despite some failed attempts at amateur events. The press and politicians denigrated this type of event.[5] Lieberberg attempted to organise a festival on the Nordschleife [de] portion of the Nürburgring in 1980. However, the project ultimately failed due to protests from nearby residents and a lack of parking spaces.[2]

In 1985, Lieberberg wanted to bring to the German region of the Palatinate (Pfalz) the atmosphere that reigned in the town of Bethel during the first Woodstock festival.[6] Lieberberg decided to launch a festival, and the 1972 British Rock Meeting would serve as a model. Lieberberg and his collaborators had learned lessons from Woodstock's "chaotic conditions" and the "serious errors" of the Monterey Festival. Rainer Mertel, the first managing director of the new-fashioned Nürburgring complex, placed his trust in him.[5] Thus, Lieberberg founded the Rock am Ring festival in 1985.[4][6][7]

Lieberberg, opposed to the Rostock-Lichtenhagen riots, organised the Heute die! Morgen Du!  [de] festival in 1992.[3]

He was the ticketing partner working in collaboration with CTS Eventim.[8]

Lieberberg won Tour Promoter of the Year 2007 at the annual Live Entertainment Award (LEA) [de], held at the Color Line Arena in Hamburg. Some artists whose concerts he promoted that year included Bruce Springsteen, Nelly Furtado, the Police and Shakira.[9]

In 2009, he was awarded two Live Entertainment Awards in Hamburg: Concert Promoter of the Year and Festival of the Year for his two open-air festivals, Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park.[10]

In 2010, he won a Live Entertainment Award again as Tour Promoter of the Year. The previous year, he presented artists such as Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Green Day, Linkin Park, U2, and Xavier Naidoo through his agency, MLK.[11]

In 2011, Lieberberg received a Live Entertainment Award in Frankfurt "in recognition of his safety record over the last 25 years of promoting the Rock am Ring concert".[12]

 
Lieberberg in 2017

In 2014, the European Festivals Awards gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award.[7]

In 2015, Lieberberg was appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of Live Nation Concerts Germany.[8][13] The same month, Lieberberg left his own company, Marek Lieberberg Konzertagentur (Marek Lieberberg Concert Agency; MLK), after 15 years of collaboration with CTS Eventim. MLK was still part of CTS Eventim, which continued to organise the Rock Am Ring and Rock im Park festivals. With his son André, he began working for the Live Nation German arm.[14]

He remained the head of the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals organisers in 2016.[15]

On 23 June 2017, Lieberberg received the Badge of Honour from Frankfurt Mayor Peter Feldmann. According to Feldmann, this distinction was awarded to him for his "commitment to rock and pop music", emphasising that he advocated philanthropy and took a stand against xenophobia and racism.[16]

Besides Germany, Lieberberg is also CEO of Live Nation Switzerland and Austria.[17] He is referred to as the CEO of Live Nation GSA. "GSA" is an abbreviation for Germany, Switzerland and Austria.[18] He and his son run Goodlive, an acquisition of Live Nation that presents ten festivals in these three countries.[17]

In 2024, Lieberberg was the promoter of Adele's 10-date concert residency in Munich.[19][20] Also, in April 2024, he was included in Billboard's International Power Players list in the Live category for "executives who are driving success outside the United States" and have "contributed to a ninth consecutive year of growth for the global recorded-music business".[17]

He is a concert promoter based in Frankfurt.[12]

As a musician

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From 1964 to 1967, he played in the Rangers band alongside Ludwig Ickert, Robert Wolf, Jürgen Kessner, and Axel Schürmann. They also named themselves the Trembles and the Sad Sack Set.[21][22] On 21 October 1966, they were guests on the German television show Beat Beat Beat.[23] The band is also featured in the book "Die Beat Bible". In 1967, the newspaper Bild wrote articles about them. CBS sued them on 24 February 1967 because the name of a band under CBS's contract sounded very similar. They lost the case and gave the money they made by selling their music to CBS. They renamed it "New Rangers" but split up shortly after.[24]

Discography

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  • Lovers Of The World Unite (1966)
  • The Trembles − Here Comes My Baby / Baby Stop That Playin' Around (7" Single, 1967)
  • The Rangers − Black Is Black (7" Single 1966)
  • The Rangers − I Found a Love (7" Single, 1967)
  • Sad Sack Set − Number One / The World For Us (7" Single, 1967)
  • The Rangers − The Rangers (LP)
  • The Rangers − These Boots Are Made For Walking (1967)
  • The Rangers − Very Last Day (1967)
  • The Rangers − Look Through Any Window (1967)
  • The Rangers − Long Valley Road (1993)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Geller, Jay; Meng, Michael (2020). Rebuilding Jewish Life in Germany. Rutgers University Press. p. 145. ISBN 9781978800731.
  2. ^ a b c "Paragraph 1: Wie ist Rock am Ring entstanden? − Paragraph 2: Wer veranstaltet Rock am Ring?" [How did Rock am Ring emerged? − Who organises Rock am Ring?]. Rheinische Post (in German). n.d. Archived from the original on 22 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024. See middle of page
  3. ^ a b Krauss, Martin (7 December 2015). "'Mich befremdet das'" ['That alienates me']. Jüdische Allgemeine [de] (in German). ISSN 1618-9698. Archived from the original on 22 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Badenhop, Peter (30 May 2014). "Campino klettert, Pelham prügelt, Axl trödelt" [Campino climbs, Pelham brawls, Axl dawdles]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Archived from the original on 10 November 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Rock am Ring vor 25 Jahren: Marek Lieberberg erinnert sich" [Rock am Ring 25 years ago: Marek Lieberberg remembers]. Rolling Stone Germany (in German). 3 June 2010. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  6. ^ a b Becker, Torben (6 June 2022). "'90.000 Menschen, das war mir dann doch zu viel'" ['90,000 people, that was too much for me']. Die Zeit (in German). Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2024. see paragraph 2
  7. ^ a b Renshaw, David (16 January 2014). "Arctic Monkeys and Daft Punk pick up European Festival Awards". NME. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  8. ^ a b Waddell, Ray (3 August 2015). "Live Nation Launches German Arm, Appoints Respected Promoter Marek Lieberberg to Lead". Billboard. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  9. ^ Wolfgang, Spahr (12 March 2008). "Lieberberg Wins Big At Germany's LEA Event". Billboard. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  10. ^ Spahr, Wolfgang (3 March 2009). "Double Win For Lieberberg At Germany's LEAs". Billboard. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  11. ^ Wolfgang, Spahr. "Marek Lieberberg Honored In Hamburg". Billboard. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  12. ^ a b Spahr, Wolfgang (21 March 2011). "Love Parade Follow-Up: Why Little Has Changed in German Concert Industry". Billboard. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Marek Lieberberg fordert komplette Auslastung der Clubs und Hallen" [Marek Lieberberg demands complete utilisation of the clubs and halls]. Rolling Stone Germany (in German). 17 March 2022. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  14. ^ "Marek Lieberberg verlässt Eventim und geht zu Live Nation" [Marek Lieberberg leaves Eventim and joins Live Nation]. Rolling Stone Germany (in German). 4 August 2015. Archived from the original on 1 August 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  15. ^ Dearden, Lizzie (4 June 2016). "More than 70 people injured after lightning strikes at Germany's Rock am Ring festival for second year in a row". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  16. ^ Gottfried, Gideon (26 June 2017). "Frankfurt Honors Lieberberg". Pollstar. Archived from the original on 3 November 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  17. ^ a b c Duffy, Thom (29 April 2024). "Billboard's 2024 International Power Players Revealed". Billboard. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  18. ^ "Hype um Stadionkonzerte: Warum spielen Taylor Swift und Coldplay so oft in Wien?" [Hype about stadium concerts: Why do Taylor Swift and Coldplay play so often in Vienna?]. Die Presse (in German). 22 August 2023. Archived from the original on 22 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  19. ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (17 July 2024). "Adele announces 'big break' from music". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  20. ^ "Adele gibt im Sommer zehn Konzerte in München − 2,2 Millionen Ticketregistrierungen" [Adele gives ten concerts in Munich this summer − 2.2 million ticket registrations]. Der Spiegel (in German). 6 February 2024. Archived from the original on 16 March 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  21. ^ "The Rangers (5)". Discogs.
  22. ^ "Discogs-Gruppen - Hallo, bin neu hier und habe viele Fragen". Discogs.
  23. ^ "The Rangers".
  24. ^ "Interview". rocknroll-schallplatten-forum.de.
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