Marc Feldes is a first-year student from Heidelberg, Germany, studying Music Business. We caught up with him to find out more about his life in music.
WHO are you listening to at the moment?
I’m a lover of all indie music – but I recently stumbled upon an upcoming reggae artist from Jamaica called Koffee. She really is a newcomer – only 20 years young, but already spreading good vibes with her music.
My favourite song is called ‘Raggamuffin’. Another band that’s a favourite of mine (and have also become my good friends)is Beatenberg from Cape Town, South Africa. They just released their second studio album12 Views of Beatenberg on Island Records and I can’t stop listening to it. They’re class.
I also listen a lot to Catfish and the Bottlemen, The Kooks, Arctic Monkeys, The Lemon Twigs, Blossoms, Courtney Barnett, Khruangbin, Girl in Red and Declan McKenna – and of course to The Flavians from BIMM University Berlin.
WHY did you choose Music Business?
I decided to study Music Business because first of all: music (especially indie music in my case) is my biggest passion. I started writing my own music in 2010 and began to develop a deeper interest in the music industry itself. The decision to apply to BIMM Institute came very spontaneously though.
At the end of 2018 I started working with the band Beatenberg. Back then, I was studying Media and Communication Management in Heidelberg and had to write an article about a topic of my choice. I decided to interview a band. So I got into touch with Matthew Field from Beatenberg and interviewed him. I was also fortunate enough to interview Two Door Cinema Club for a radio edit. That’s where everything got a bit more serious for me and I started rethinking my future to focus on the music industry.
A few months ago, Beatenberg were planning to tour through Europe. I didn’t think twice and contacted the band again to get involved in their tour planning. I was happy to organise two gigs for them in the end – both in Heidelberg. One was at the CAVE54-Festival and the other was at the Heart & Soul Café. Organising these two gigs and working with the band, venue managers and promoting the show via word of mouth advertising was so much fun and I felt like this was just the right path to follow.
I think BIMM Institute is the perfect university to reach my goals and dreams. I could imagine becoming a tour manager as well as a band manager, but I could also see myself founding my very own independent music label. Basically, I’m welcoming every door that might be opening in the future. There’s so much I can learn and discover in the business side of music, and I’m looking forward to venturing down this path with BIMM Institute.
