Feature_60 Years of Karsten Jahnke Konzertdirektion
Beginnings
When Karsten Jahnke registered the company name back in 1962, the enthusiastic music man had already been immersed in his favourite genre –jazz – since the decade before but admits that running a company that would allow him to indulge in his passion was never really a goal. “The first jazz ball I promoted was 1959 for a band of a friend,” he recalls. “Afterwards, I remember receiving a letter from the authorities telling me that I needed a type of licence to put on such a show.” At the time, Karsten was working in an export company in Hamburg, but with his evenings free, he would organise shows when he found the time and otherwise spent his waking hours listening to jazz records and trying to contact the representatives of the artists he liked best. Finally, in 1962, his employer persuaded him it was maybe time to chase the dream, and with the registration of Karsten Jahnke Konzertdirektion (KJK), he took possession of the licence that local government had been urging him to obtain for his concerts and events. “When I started, I had one assistant and one freelancer because I have no knowledge about the technical side of things, so I made sure to have an expert for the technology,” he tells IQ. “I had a fantastic start because I was working with a German ‘nonsense’ group called Insterburg & Co. and every year we had between 80-150 soldout shows with capacities of 1,000-2,000. So for ten solid years, we made money.” The success of the boutique KJK operation also attracted the attention of Germany’s powerhouse promoters, and Karsten would often find himself working with Marcel Avram and Marek Lieber-
berg at Mama Concerts, as well as Fritz Rau, who dominated the German market from the 1950s right through to the 80s. Those collaborations saw Karsten working with the likes of David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Santana, and Neil Diamond, expanding his roster beyond its jazz routes. Indeed, while losing money on the odd show was, of course, part of the reality of being a promoter, the first time Karsten experienced real difficulties was 20 years into his career. “It was 1983, and Marius Müller-Westernhagen cancelled a tour one day before it was scheduled to start,” says Karsten. “I was insured by an English company who said they would pay, but all of a sudden it was six months later, so I employed an English lawyer, and after 18 months we got the money, which at that time was DM650,000.
It was a lot of money [about €330,000 in today’s money], and if we had not got it back, the company would have been bankrupt.” While a passion for the art lies at the heart of everything Karsten does, he is a realist when it comes to working in the industry. “I like music, but it makes no sense if you like the music and you can’t make money,” he states. “We had a lot of successful tours and, okay, sometimes you lose some artists – Depeche Mode we lost, Herbert Grönemeyer we lost. But some, like The Dubliners, we’ve booked for their entire 40 years. And we still have Peter Gabriel and we still have The Cure, so to be honest, I’m really happy.”
Keeping it in the Family
Although Karsten was always keen to keep his
Testimonials To successfully operate for so long in this business and in the face of everchanging economic, political and social trends and challenges, is not just a simple product of professionalism and economic calculation – it takes much more than that, just as it takes more than a certain age to be a grand seigneur. For this reason, I associate KJK and above all its founder, with greatness, passion, loyalty, integrity, and unbreakable optimism, rather than with a focus on profit optimisation and positive balance sheets. Karsten, you have long been one of the outstanding personalities in our industry – nationally as well as internationally. You have become a role model, not only as an entrepreneur and managing director but also as a person who always sees the positives first, appreciates tradition just as much as innovation, and as someone who has never lost his curiosity and passion for music. KJK has become synonymous with continuity, reliability and fairness. Dear Karsten & team, celebrate and let yourselves be celebrated – you definitely deserve it! Folkert Koopmans | FKP Scorpio
© Franklin Hollande
Karsten is one of the true gentlemen in our business and a promoter who cares about the artists he works with. He has passed on his passion to Ben who will carry the Karsten Jahnke torch into the future and the next chapters of the company. Nigel Hassler | CAA
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iq-mag.net
I had the pleasure of working for Karsten at the beginning of the 70s, in his early – and my very, very early – days of our music industry. After a few months in the office, Karsten sent me on tour, which finally made me move to Berlin about one year later! I’ve learned a lot, especially that you better order spirits on commission instead of buying them with a discount (only Karsten will know what I mean). Congratulations, Karsten, on a really impressive career as a passionate gentleman promoter. Peter Schwenkow | Deutsche Entertainment AG Wow, 60 years of Karsten Jahnke Konzertdirektion! It’s so great to see a family Thousands of business thriving, with lovely people at the helm. Massive congratulations to professionals read Karsten, Ben, and the team, and here’s to another 60 years!! IQ every day. Make Emma Banks | CAA
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