The key players in the music industry got together recently at Hamburg’s classiest hotel, the Atlantic. Udo Lindenberg wanted to find a label for his new album. In the end, a newcomer triumphed over strong competitors. The ProSiebenSat.1 label Starwatch Music, with managing director Hans Fink at the helm, had one word that won Lindenberg over: television.

It all started with the first season of ProSieben’s casting show “POPSTARS.” That’s when the company began thinking about entering the music business itself and using the Group’s stations as marketing tools. “’POPSTARS’ was a success and we earned a lot of money, but only while the program was on the air,” says Hans Fink. “Afterwards, it was mainly other companies that gained from the record sales of bands we had put together.” He wanted to change that. Fink went looking for a partner in the record business and brought Warner Music on board. The result was Germany’s very first music/TV label. Fink immediately saw the potential of the “POPSTARS“ concept as a two-way street. Instead of marketing
only those bands that came from television, he also promoted young artists by putting them on the air.

The alliance between the TV and music markets has paid off, for the label is now one of the best. In 2007, the ProSiebenSat.1 subsidiary was the most successful independent label in Germany. Starwatch artist Roger Cicero sold more albums than any other musician, with the exception of Herbert Grönemeyer. The success won over rock legend Udo Lindenberg, who set up a meeting for the negotiations at the Atlantic Hotel in Hamburg, where he has lived for years. “It was a tough pitch,” says Fink. Lindenberg had offers from all the major labels on the table. His new album, “Wenn Du durchhängst,” is set for release in March under the Starwatch Music label. “The fact that he ultimately signed with us is thanks entirely to the package.” Which contained not only a record deal, but also promotion on the stations of the ProSiebenSat.1 Group.

This concept also gave Roger Cicero his big break. Artist & Repertoire Manager Markus Hartmann brought him to Starwatch Music three years ago. “Although German swing enjoyed a definite fan base at the time, Cicero was not well known, and he could have faded away in a niche market,” says Hans Fink. The record producer expected to sell between 40,000 and 50,000 albums and sent Cicero to the Sat.1 show “Nur die Liebe zählt.” This got the ball rolling. His album, “Männersachen,“ has since sold more than

400,000 times over and is still one among the top 100. The record has now gone double platinum. Fink is confident. “We will crack half a million. Roger is more than a musician. He is also an entertainer, which makes him the ideal candidate for TV marketing. After his enormously successful debut in 2005, his second album, “beziehungsweise,” appeared last October.

The ProSiebenSat.1 Group is now exporting its German
success story and will also engineer the deal between TV and music in ten new countries. “We plan to work together with other record companies outside Germany,” says Hans Fink. Some success has already been achieved. Starwatch band Marquess released a top-ten hit in Sweden last summer.
“We will definitely release the song in more countries
as well.” He also has international plans for Monrose, the girl

band from “POPSTARS.” “The trio will be the next Sugababes.” Once again, Fink is taking a bidirectional approach. “If we discover talent in other countries, we will sign them for the German market.”

But first Lindenberg’s new album will appear in Germany. He recorded songs with young artists like Jan Delay, Silbermond and Ich & Ich. “This is a crossover between his early music and modern pop.” As a record producer, Fink has always been willing to listen to artists like Lindenberg. “Schoenberg’s 12-tone music, free jazz or terrible German hits might make me reach for the OFF button.” In any case, he turns off his personal taste in music while on the job. “I am open for everything from Mozart to Rammstein. You can’t get bogged down with too much specialization in order to objectively assess artistic concepts.”