Echo Music Prize Explained

Echo Music Prize
Awarded For:Outstanding achievements in the music industry
Presenter:Deutsche Phono-Akademie
Country:Germany
Network:
VOX (2017–2018)

Echo Music Prize (stylised as ECHO, pronounced as /de/) was an accolade by the, an association of recording companies of Germany to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The first ECHO Awards ceremony was held in 1992, and was set up to honor musical accomplishments by performers for the year 1991, succeeding the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis, which was awarded from 1963 to 2018. Each year's winner was determined by the previous year's sales. In April 2018, following controversy regarding that year's ceremony, the Bundesverband Musikindustrie announced the end of the award.[1] [2]

History

First held with 370 people in the Flora, Cologne[3] in 1992,[4] the award ceremony in Frankfurt was televised and the classical awards were moved to a separate event, Echo Klassik, in Cologne in 1994.[5] Until 1995, only invited guests could attend the ceremony.[6] It was held in Munich, and in 2001, the venue was moved from Hamburg to Berlin[7] because of subsidies of up to 20 million euros, although a return in 2004 was considered.[8] In 2009, the venue in Berlin was moved to Mercedes-Benz Arena.[9]

Trophy

The trophy was designed by Oliver Renelt when he was a student at the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg. It is stainless steel, and is 40cm (20inches) tall and weighs 2kg (04lb). It depicts half a disc with notes flowing into it from a globe, and the design was the winner of a competition held for that purpose.

Controversy

The Echo Award was heavily criticized worldwide when Farid Bang and Kollegah received the award for best hip hop/urban album in April 2018. The nominated album, Jung, Brutal, Gutaussehend 3 (English: "Young, brutal, handsome 3"), contains the track "0815", in which the artists refer to their muscles as being more defined than those of Auschwitz inmates. The duo was even allowed to perform this track during the ceremony, despite heavy protests weeks before the award show.

Campino, singer of German punk band Die Toten Hosen, was the first one to criticize the committee's decision during the ceremony.[10] His remarks received a standing ovation from the audience.[11] Several artists later returned their Echo awards in protest, such as Marius Müller-Westernhagen, who returned all of his seven Echo awards received over the years. Other artists returning their awards were German conductors Christian Thielemann and Enoch zu Guttenberg, Russian-German pianist Igor Levit, record producer Klaus Voormann, and the Notos Quartett.[12]

However, criticism did not only come from artists and the German press. Several businesses joined in, with Tom Enders, CEO of Airbus, being one of the most recent high-profile commentators, saying that this would hurt "Germany's international reputation". He also asked if "antisemitism [was] becoming acceptable in Germany" again.[10]

As a consequence, the Echo Award was discontinued.[2]

Ceremony locations

YearVenueCityPresenter(s)
1992 Cologne Kristiane Backer
1993 Berlin Susann Pingel
1994 Frankfurt Fritz Egner
1995 Bavaria Film- und Fernsehstudios Munich Reinhold Beckmann
1996 Hamburg Thomas Ohrner
1997 Hamburg Axel Bulthaupt
1998 Hamburg Axel Bulthaupt
1999 Hamburg Kim Fisher
2000 Hamburg Kim Fisher
2001 Berlin Frauke Ludowig
2002 Berlin Frauke Ludowig
2003 Berlin Frauke Ludowig, Oliver Geissen
2004 Berlin Oliver Geissen
2005 Berlin Yvonne Catterfeld, Oliver Geissen
2006 Berlin Michelle Hunziker, Oliver Geissen
2007 Berlin Yvonne Catterfeld, Oliver Geissen
2008 Berlin Nazan Eckes, Oliver Geissen
2009 Berlin Barbara Schöneberger, Oliver Pocher
2010 Berlin Sabine Heinrich, Matthias Opdenhövel
2011 Berlin Ina Müller, Joko Winterscheidt
2012 Berlin Ina Müller, Barbara Schöneberger
Berlin Helene Fischer
2014 Berlin Helene Fischer
2015 Berlin Barbara Schöneberger
2016 Berlin
2017 Berlin Xavier Naidoo, Sasha
Berlin

Echo Awards

The Kastelruther Spatzen have won 13 Echo Awards in the category Volksmusik which is more than any other artist; the awards were in 1993, 1996–2003, 2006–2010.

Selected pop categories

Best National Rock/Pop Male Artist

Best National Rock/Pop Female Artist

Best International Rock/Pop Male Artist

Best International Rock/Pop Female Artist

Best Schlager Female Artist

Best National Rock/Pop Group

Best International Rock/Pop Group

Best International Rock/Alternative

Single of the Year

Single of the Year (National)

Single of the Year (International)

Album of the Year

Best National Newcomer

Best International Newcomer

Honorary Award

Echo Klassik

See main article: Echo Klassik. Following its first edition as a separate event in Cologne in 1994, the Echo Klassik has been held in the Semperoper in Dresden in 1996 and 2009,[18] in Dortmund in 2003,[19] in Gasteig in Munich from 2004 to 2008 and in 2014.[20] In 2010 it was held in Essen.[21] From 2011 until 2016 the award show was held in Berlin's Konzerthaus - only shortly intermitted in 2014. In 2017, the Echo Klassik took place in Hamburg's newly opened Elbphilharmonie.[22]

Echo Jazz

See main article: Echo Jazz. After 2010, the Echo Jazz awards were given in thirty categories, including ensemble of the year, male and female singer of the year, record label, and lifetime achievement. In 2012 the criteria for entry included album release date and "two outstanding reviews from music journalists." Conductor Claus Ogermann was given the ECHO Jazz Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.[23] Awards are decided by a twelve-member jury based on critical and commercial appeal.[24] [25]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Der Echo wird abgeschafft. faz.net. 25 April 2015. 25 April 2018. de.
  2. News: Germany to Discontinue ECHO Awards, the Country's Top Music Prize, After Anti-Semitic Lyric Backlash. Billboard. 2018-04-25.
  3. Web site: Alles über den Echo . . Axel Springer . 7 March 2004 . 22 June 2010.
  4. News: Spahr . Wolfgang . German Stars Honored As Echoes Debut . Billboard. 10 . 30 May 1992 . 22 June 2010.
  5. News: Pride . Dominic . Dance Music (And A Punk Jester) Captivate Echo Awards Ceremony . Billboard. 58 . 26 March 1994 . 22 June 2010.
  6. Web site: Ein bisschen Echo, oder was? . Der Spiegel. Spiegel Gruppe . 9 March 2000 . 22 June 2010.
  7. News: Masson . Gordon . This Year's Model: New Town, New Venue, New Media Partners. Billboard. 48. 21 April 2001 . 22 June 2010.
  8. Web site: Schirg . Oliver . Hornung, Klaus . Subventions-Geschenke: Echo bleibt doch in Berlin . Die Welt. Axel Springer . 23 May 2003 . 22 June 2010.
  9. Web site: EMI artists provide the evening's highlight performances as Germany's ECHO awards shine with a new venue and a first ever live primetime broadcast . Music . EMI Group . 23 February 2009 . 22 June 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110606013709/http://www.emimusic.com/news/2009/emi-artists-provide-the-evenings-highlight-performances-as-germanys-echo-awards-shine-with-a-new-venue-and-a-first-ever-live-primetime-broadcast/ . 6 June 2011 . dmy-all .
  10. News: German Music Business Slammed Over Anti-Semitic Lyric Controversy at Echo Awards. Aswad. Jem. 2018-04-19. Variety. 2018-04-21. en-US.
  11. Web site: Rappers Kollegah, Farid Bang stir controversy at Germany's biggest music awards DW 12.04.2018. dw.com. en. 2018-04-21.
  12. News: Germany's ECHO Awards Under Intense Scrutiny After Allowing Rap Duo With Anti-Semitic Lyrics to Win, Perform. Billboard. 2018-04-21.
  13. Web site: Echo Pop Archiv . de . Echo Pop . . 27 March 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120217071025/http://www.echopop.de/no_cache/pop-suche/ . 17 February 2012 . dmy .
  14. Web site: Die Gewinner 2014 . The 2014 Winners . de . Echo Pop . . 27 March 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150216195255/http://www.echopop.de/pop-gewinner/ . 16 February 2015 . dead .
  15. Web site: 'Die Helene-Fischer-Festspiele haben begonnen' . 'The Helene Fischer festival has begun' . de . . RBB online . Ula . Brunner . 27 March 2015 . 27 March 2015 . dead . https://archive.today/20150330121504/http://www.rbb-online.de/kultur/beitrag/2015/03/musikpreis-echo-2015.html . 30 March 2015 . dmy-all .
  16. Web site: Nicole Wiki: Die Sängerin im Blickpunkt . SchlagerPlanet.com . August 19, 2013 . de . December 31, 2020.
  17. Web site: Nicole . nicole-4-u.de . November 5, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200813134007/https://www.nicole-4-u.de/biografie/ . August 13, 2020 . live . de . January 4, 2021.
  18. Web site: ECHO Klassik im Überblick . Semperoper . PDF . 22 June 2010.
  19. Web site: Preisträger des Echo Klassik stehen fest . KIZ . NMZ . 26 August 2003 . 22 June 2010.
  20. Web site: ECHO Klassik Background. Musikindustrie. Bundesverband. echoklassik.de. en. 2017-11-24. 3 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170803212505/http://www.echoklassik.de/en/klassik-hintergrund/. dead.
  21. Web site: Echo Klassik bringt Melodien für Millionen. Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. 17 October 2010. 9 April 2011. Lars von der Gönna. de. 4 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091445/http://www.derwesten.de/kultur/echo-klassik-bringt-melodien-fuer-millionen-id3842377.html. dead.
  22. News: Thomas Gottschalk to host the ECHO KLASSIK 2017 in Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall // Submission period starts today. Musikindustrie. Bundesverband. 20 February 2017. 2017-11-24. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20171201042302/http://www.echoklassik.de/en/klassik-details/controller/News/action/detail/news/thomas-gottschalk-to-host-the-echo-klassik-2017-in-hamburgs-elbphilharmonie-concert-hall-submi/. 1 December 2017. dead.
  23. Web site: Spahr. Wolfgang. Germany's ECHO Jazz Award Winners Announced. Billboard. 27 September 2016. 18 April 2012.
  24. Web site: ECHO Jazz 2016: Hamburg. Echo Jazz . 27 September 2016. 26 May 2016.
  25. Web site: Hamburg's hot jazz scene – ECHO Jazz 2016 award to be held soon. Hamburg News. 27 September 2016. 23 May 2016.

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