Ever since 1966 Midem has been one of the biggest and most respected music fairs in the world. This year we decided to take a look. The music business is changing so is Midem. One could see a lot of “old” industry and people told us that it isn`t like it used to be. Less people coming due to the problems the international music industry is facing in the past couple of years. But Midem is reinventing itself. Midem is now attracting more and more young startups from around the world and extending from “just music” to digital media.

Cannes being a warm and sunny place in the cold European winter could well be the place for a new – not only music related – digital fair people from all over the world will pilger to. We need a SXSW in Europe – of course european style! This may take a few more years however we could feel the transition going  on at Midem making a dinosaur a lion again!

Amongst many parties and live gigs we got the chance to meet quite a few Berliners amongst them José Matías del Pino from the Berlin based startup Ondango that took part in the Midem Lab Competition and Philipp Eibach from wahwah.fm. We took the chance  to fire some BERLIN LOVES YOU questions at them. See what José had to say!

José on a little hidden beach close to Cannes

In one sentence – and we mean one sentence – what is it you do?
Ondango is a beautiful shopping system that helps brands of all kind to sell their products directly on their Facebook Pages.

Why are you doing it in Berlin?
I was living in Munich before founding the company, and my first co-founder was living in Berlin. He has a family, so it was easier for me to move to Berlin than for him to go to Munich. Besides that, the cost of living is lower in Berlin, which is also an advantage when you’re starting a business.

Whats the best thing about doing it in Berlin?
Berlin has nowadays the most exciting startup ecosystem in Europe. Hundreds of companies are based here and one can profit from direct relationships with potential customers and partners. There’s plenty of creative, affordable talent from all around the world here, too.

Whats the worst thing about doing it in Berlin?
The winter!

Your favourite place for lunch is…
There’s a small Italian restaurant right next to Sponsopay’s offices in the Ackerstraße in Mitte (between Invalidenstr. and Torstr.), can’t recall the name though – great pasta and friendly service.

If you had to leave Berlin within two hours knowing that you could nevercome back what would you do in that time?
It depends on the time of the year, the weather and the time of the day. Assuming the best case (nice weather in a Summer afternoon), I’d like to hang out with friends, eating a pizza and having a beer at Club der Visionäre.

Would you consider yourself an artist?
Not really, although artists and entrepreneurs do share some characteristics: Passion for what you do, following a vision, the need to be creative and resourceful, a lack of risk-aversion.

Why are you here at Midem?
Ondango was finalist of the Midemlab competition, where 30 companies from all around the world pitched their Tech&Music-related business to a jury of experts.

Presentation during the Midem Lab competition

Did you enjoy it?
A lot. Met interesting people and made valuable connections to potential customers and partners.

Who is your favourite company in the Midem Lab competition and why?
I guess I’m not allowed to say Ondango, right? I like WildChords from Finland – very polished product, fun to use, addressing a big market that’s ripe for disruption.

Parlez vous francais?
Nope.

What was the frenchest thing you did while you were here?
Sadly not much, it was all about work and meetings. I guess eating baguettes and croissants don’t count as a French thing!

You met the Rovio (aka Angry Birds) CEO for breakfast how was that and how was he?
I met Mikael Hed for a short meeting regarding the possibility of selling Angry Birds Merch on their Facebook Page. He was very cool, and showed a lot of interest about what we’re doing. We also talked about typical internet-geek topics (scaling SAAS models, challenges in international e-commerce, etc). For a person with his scope of responsibilities, very down to earth.

THANK YOU

Henrik taking care of his bike on Torstr.

Thanks Henrik for being the first to answer our set of questions for Berlin based entrepreneurs! From today on we will be interviewing Berlin based tech entrepreneurs on Berlin, their businesses and what makes it special to be here.

In one sentence – and we mean one sentence – what is it you do?
Building one part of the future of reading

Why are you doing it in Berlin?
Why not, Berlin is a great place to live

Whats the best thing about doing it in Berlin?
There is always things happening here. Nothing ever get’s boring.

Whats the worst thing about doing it in Berlin?
Breakfast and Deutsche Telekom

Your favourite place for lunch is…
Flamingo Freshfood

If you had to leave Berlin within two hours knowing that you could never come back what would you do in that time?
Dance one last dance at Berghain

Would you consider yourself an artist?
That’s actually a good question. I guess code is art somehow.

The last thing you have to say is:
Follow me on twitter?

Check out more about Readmill here or follow Henrik on Twitter.

Or maybe a bit simpler where they eat!

Ever wondered where you can meet all these tech startup we are working on the next big  thing guys? Well there is only one answer to this question and it is: Rosenthaler Platz.

The problem: There are about 50% really good venues and about 50% really bad ones. So these days the good ones where you will meet employees from Soundcloud, Readmill or Amen are Transit, Co Co Banh Mi or if you are a into a bit more fancy Asian stuff Dudu on Torstr.

For the investor meetings but also to have some relaxing times and have good drinks the ones who are blessed with a membership will meet at Soho House Berlin.

Tuna Steak Tartare at Soho House Berlin.

And then there is about a 10 minute walk away from Rosenthaler Platz a place where usually on fridays a lot of people mingle its a meet and greet amongst the scene. The place is called Papa Pane and has huge Pizzas, great Pasta and really good deals. Brad Pitt likes going there when in twon with his architects. Thoe fridays are also used to sometimes have the first weekend beer or a house vine to slwoly start the weekend

More to come in Part 2 which will be published here soon!

Below find some impressions of this years fashion week. Please join us on our facebook page for detailed coverage and more pictures!

Dimitri:

Kaviar Gauche

Laurel

Lena Hoschek

Patrick Mohr

We are giving away 2×2 tickets for Bodi Bill performing live on the 21st of january! Simply visit our facebook page and join the competition!

What are the hottest Berlin startups? Well of course, we know.

The giant that is Soundcloud, has millions of users, and it only launched three years ago.

http://soundcloud.com/

wahwah.fm are looking to revolutionise the way we interact with music. Born from the idea of hearing what others are listening to around you, wahwah.fm lets you listen to radio stations based on how close they are to you. Great for locals!

http://wahwah.fm/

Tape.tv is MTV for Generation Y. They are already the third most popular video stream service in Germany.

http://www.tape.tv/

Being kept very under wraps, Inner Toy is trying to democratise the music business, enabling you to stream music for free and promote your favourite artists.

http://www.innertoy.com/

The Pandora for Germany, Aupeo already have a huge catalogue for creating their personal radio service.

https://www.aupeo.co.uk/

Midem is looking really exiting this year and we even have some Berlin startups that have applied for the Midemlab competition.

With Ondango you can set up a online shop to sell your products directly within Facebook to your fans through your Facebook Page – Without ever leaving Facebook.

Pipe

Pipe is a new way for friends to transfer digital files simply and directly andin realtime.

Navegas is the one and only, web based music player for all your music sources. Combine NOW the music on your PC with everything you have and find on YouTube and SoundCloud. More music sources and services are coming soon. Let us know what we should add next and what you think & feel about the current version. Enjoy everything!

In case you haven`t noticed but according to 6wunderkinder (who basically started this “revolution”) in a smart PR act Berlin is the new tech hub in Europe! See yourself:

Soundcloud is taking the world by storm. It’s based in Berlin, so we thought it would be interesting to check out the hottest musicians who are currently using the service from Berlin.

A Guy called Gerald

The legend that is A Guy Called Gerald has really been keen on soundcloud, where you can find dj mixes, remixes and originals spanning his entire career.

Trickski

Having only been on the scene for 5 years, Trickski are surprisingly prolific. With over 52 tracks to listen to on Soundcloud, there is no end to the amount of fun to be found on their page.

Quarion

This is just one alter ego of Ianeq, but seems to be his most popular. Except some beautiful deep house.

Hunee

It seems house is a big thing here in berlin, as Hunee also creates slick house music, equally at home as in the club.

Ewan Pearson

Ewan Pearson is loved by critics and fans alike. Check out this snippet from pitchfork:

Someone with an up-to-the-minute knowledge of dance trends as well as an understanding of what makes trad songwriting tick… We’re lucky to have him.

Visiting for the weekend? These are the highlights of the Berlin music scene, and are well worth a visit, even if you’re only in Berlin for a short stay.

Festsaal Kreuzberg

It looks and feels like an old ballroom for the early 20th century, but inside you’ll find everything from feel good hip-hop nights to the bleeding edge of experimental electronica. Plus they regularly have concerts from the US indie rock scene.

Lido

This is the place to be in Berlin for the indie kids. Be careful though, if you want to see any semi-popular band, tickets sell out fast.

O2 World

Forget big bands, O2 is famous for only putting on legends within the music scene. Holding 17,000 concert goers, be prepared for some amazing musical nights out. Since it opened Metallica, Sting and Teisto have all played there and was the home of 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards.

Rosi’s

If you are looking for a no nonsense night out in Berlin, this is it. VIP and guest lists are traded for cheap entrance fees and unpretentious DJs spinning their favorites. Regularly the night ranges from Indie Disco, to rap, to rock n’ roll, often with all three genres playing on the same bill!

Berghain

Infamous for it’s strict, but seemingly random, door policy, Berghain visitors seek good techno and good acoustics, as the club features arguably the best sound system in the world. Often you could stay here all weekend, as there is no set end.