THE GERMAN CONTRIBUTION TO A GLOBAL POPULAR-MUSIC LANGUAGE

In the period 1968 to 1990, German popular music came of age, progressing beyond the phase of imitation of the 1960s and becoming less Anglicized. The German-language market developed into the second largest in the world (after the English-language market), accompanied by the increasingly global activities of multinational corporations in the entertainment industries, whose ownership was shared jointly by European (Philips/PolyGram, EMI, Bertelsmann) or Japanese (Matsushita, Sony) conglomerates. The so-called dual-broadcasting system was finally established in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1987, creating opportunities for private broadcasters to compete with public networks for advertising revenue and audience ratings, and providing impetus to broadcast to specifically segmented popular music audiences. Many important centers for popular-music production emerged in cities like Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Hannover, and Munich. Television established shows catering to a wide variety of different popular music audiences. Musikantenstadl, for example, was coproduced by the major German and Austrian networks (ARD and ORF) and featured folk music; the ZDF Hitparade, produced by the second major German network, was devoted to German Schlager, and shows like Formel I or Beat Club focused on Anglo-American rock and pop. Groups like BAP (Cologne) and vocalist Udo Lindenberg (Hamburg) became emblematic stars for West German rock music, particularly in the late 1970s and early 1980s. These musicians were involved in controversies with the East German authorities while East German bands embarked on West German tours throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Some West German bands and vocalists, such as Kraftwerk, Nena, Nina Hagen, and the Scorpions, released hit recordings in the United States and established themselves beyond the regional market, even if only for short periods.