What c/o pop does

c/o pop, operated by cologne on pop GmbH, is a Cologne-based festival and convention operator that has run an annual urban pop-culture event in the Cologne-Ehrenfeld district every year since 2004, drawing approximately 36,000 visitors. The company sells two coordinated products under one brand: the c/o pop Festival (multi-day concerts in unusual urban locations, experience formats, performances, and a closed-street market on Venloer Straße) and the c/o pop Convention (a music-industry program of keynotes, talks, workshops, and networking). A year-round Special Events program extends the brand into carnival parties, seasonal concerts at venues such as Philharmonie Essen, and Advent shows. Distribution is anchored by an exclusive ticketing partnership with Höme - Für Festivals GmbH on the infield.live platform, while an in-house booking team, dedicated PR agency (SaLT PR), and a curated Awareness/DEI program provide operational differentiation.

Monetization rests on three pillars: ticket sales (Early Bird at €75, 3-Day Tickets, Day Tickets for the festival; Professional and Young Professional/Student Tickets for the convention), corporate sponsorship and partnership packages, and multi-source public-sector grants from Initiative Musik, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM), the Federal Chancellery (Bundeskanzleramt), the City of Cologne, and the NRW State Ministries of Culture and of Economic Affairs. Through the musichubgermany initiative, approximately 80% of booked festival artists are now sourced domestically, and a partnership with The Orchard adds distribution services. Customers are split between a long tail of 36,000 individual festival attendees and a concentrated cohort of music-industry professionals attending the convention; sponsors and government funders form the principal B2B revenue base.

Operationally, c/o pop is a privately held GmbH led by Managing Director Norbert Oberhaus, with a lean professional team of roughly 20-30 full-time staff supplemented by working students, apprentices, and interns. Headquartered at Bartholomäus-Schink-Straße 4 in Cologne, the company runs no proprietary technology platform, no mobile app, and no AI capability, relying instead on third-party ticketing, email, and social channels for audience development. The business is regionally focused on NRW and Cologne with no international footprint, and revenue figures are not publicly disclosed.

Name

c/o pop

Legal name

cologne on pop GmbH

Website

https://c-o-pop.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

c/o pop (cologne on pop GmbH) operates an annual urban pop-culture festival and music-industry convention in Cologne, Germany, drawing 36,000 visitors each year since 2004 and monetizing via ticket sales, sponsorships, and multi-source public-sector cultural funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Music Festival & Industry Convention

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131), Performing Arts Companies (7111)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Music Festival Organizers & Promoters (MPAGAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Concerts & Music Festivals (THAJAFAA), Performing Arts Centers & Presenters (Programming/Booking) (MPAGABAM)

Keywords

• Music festival organization
• Pop culture events
• Music industry convention
• Live music programming
• Cultural event management

Headquarters

HQ city

Cologne

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Festival Ticket Sales: Primary revenue stream from selling festival tickets (3-Day Tickets, Day Tickets, Early Bird Tickets at €75) and convention tickets (Professional Tickets, Young Professional & Students Tickets) through ticket partner Höme - Für Festivals GmbH
2. Sponsorship & Partnerships: Revenue from corporate sponsors and partners who pay for association with the festival's image-dursting and lifestyle-oriented target group of 36,000 visitors in NRW and Cologne

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

c/o pop organizes and produces the annual c/o pop Festival, a multi-day urban pop culture and live music festival held across venues in Cologne-Ehrenfeld since 2004, attracting 36,000 visitors. Alongside it, the company runs the c/o pop Convention, an industry meeting for music professionals featuring keynotes, talks, and workshops, complemented by year-round Special Events, a market street fair, an awareness/DEI program, and a job festival.

Product overview

c/o pop is a Cologne Pop Culture Festival consisting of two core products: the c/o pop Festival (music and entertainment festival running annually since 2004, attracting 36,000 visitors with hundreds of program items including concerts, performances, and experiences) and the c/o pop Convention (industry meeting for music professionals with keynotes, talks, and workshops). The offering is supplemented by Special Events (seasonal concerts, carnival parties, and venue-specific performances like Philharmonie Essen), the Awareness Program (DEI-focused safer spaces initiative), the MUSIC PEOPLE job festival, and the c/o pop Market street fair. The festival focuses on diversity and inclusion, promoting FLINTA* and queer artists as well as other underrepresented groups.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• c/o pop Festival Annual multi-day music and pop culture festival held across urban venues in Cologne-Ehrenfeld, featuring concerts in unusual locations, experience formats, performances, and a market on Venloer Straße. Attracts 36,000 visitors annually and showcases emerging German and international artists.
• c/o pop Convention
• Special Events Year-round pop culture events including concerts at unusual venues, parties, and seasonal events such as c/o pop goes Carnival parties, Philharmonie Essen concerts, and Advent concerts.
• c/o pop Awareness Program Awareness/DEI initiative promoting discrimination-free festival culture with guidelines, code of conduct, and safer spaces for marginalized groups including FLINTA* and queer artists.
• Festival Tickets (Early Bird, 3-Day, Day Tickets) Tiered festival access passes sold via the official ticketing partner Höme - Für Festivals GmbH on the infield.live platform, including Early Bird, 3-Day, and Day Ticket options granting access to festival shows.
• Convention Tickets (Professional & Young Professional/Students) Tiered convention access passes including Professional Tickets (Convention + festival access) and Young Professional & Students Tickets (Convention events only), sold via the official ticketing partner.
• c/o pop Sponsorship Packages Customizable corporate sponsorship packages providing brand association with c/o pop's 36,000-visitor urban pop culture audience in NRW and Cologne, with packages discussed in personal meetings.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80% of booked bands come from Germany, demonstrating local talent development

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Initiative MusikcoreOthersGovernmental music initiative that supports c/o pop Festival as part of their funding program for German music festivals
• Bundesregierung - Staatsministerin für Kultur und Medien (BKM)coreOthersFederal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media supporting c/o pop Festival and Convention
• Stadt KölncoreOthersCity of Cologne as key local government partner supporting the festival
• Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaft des Landes Nordrhein-WestfalencoreOthersState Ministry of Culture and Science of NRW supporting c/o pop
• Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Industrie, Klimaschutz und Energie des Landes NRWcoreOthersState Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of NRW supporting the festival
• BundeskanzleramtcoreOthersFederal Chancellery providing funding support for c/o pop Festival
• Sparkasse KölnBonnminorOthersLocal bank as festival sponsor
• fritz-kolaminorOthersBeverage sponsor for the festival
• MühlenkölschminorOthersLocal beverage partner
• SaLT PRcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPR agency handling festival press inquiries, interview requests, and accreditation for Festival & Convention (Saskia Lena Trautwein & Andrea Topinka)
• Höme - Für Festivals GmbHcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial ticket partner conducting advance sales for c/o pop tickets in the festival's name and on their account
• WDR COSMOminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRadio partner broadcasting and covering festival content
• RausgegangenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for special events like Geheimkonzert secret concert series
• Schauspiel KölnminorOthersVenue partner for festival events and opening shows
• Philharmonie EssenminorOthersExternal venue partner for c/o pop presents concert series
• The OrchardminorOthersMusic distribution and label services partner
• POPNRWminorOthersRegional pop music initiative partner
• VUT - Verband unabhängiger MusikunternehmerminorOthersAssociation of independent music companies as partner

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• MUTEK: International festival of digital arts and electronic music with editions across multiple cities, combining live performances with industry programming. Peer to c/o pop on the curated-festival-plus-conference axis and the inclusion of avant-garde/electronic programming.
• Pop-Kultur Berlin: Berlin-based pop culture festival with a curated program of concerts, talks, and commissioned projects emphasizing discovery and DEI. Direct peer in format and positioning: small-scale, curated, urban-located festival with industry programming, in the same German market as c/o pop.
• The Great Escape: UK-based new-music showcase festival paired with a conference element for industry delegates. Direct peer in terms of urban multi-venue showcase format, emerging-artist discovery positioning, and combined consumer/B2B audience structure.
• Reeperbahn Festival: Hamburg-based annual music festival and industry conference combining a public concert program with a B2B convention. Closely mirrors c/o pop's hybrid festival-plus-convention model and German audience base, and competes directly for emerging artist bookings and music-industry sponsorship.
• Eurosonic Noorderslag: European showcase festival and conference held in Groningen that combines live music programming with a dedicated industry conference. Direct peer because of the festival-plus-convention format, focus on emerging European talent, and professional B2B audience overlap with c/o pop Convention.

Broad incumbents

• SXSW: Large-scale Austin-based festival and conference spanning music, film, and technology. Compares as a much larger, broader incumbent operating a hybrid festival/convention model; useful benchmark for sponsor economics, scale, and international reach that c/o pop does not yet match.
• Primavera Sound: Major European festival held annually in Barcelona with expanding international editions. Comparable as a large-scale European music festival competing for global artist rosters and sponsor dollars, and serves as an upper bound on c/o pop's potential scale.

Regional players

• Superbloom Festival: German multi-day music festival launched in Munich. Regional peer operating in a different German city but targeting a similar young, lifestyle-oriented audience and competing for the same sponsor and emerging-artist pool.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/copopfestival
• Facebookfacebook.com/copopfestival
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/copopconvention

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about c/o pop