Enchoris Podcast | S1E6 | Ralph H. Christoph

Enchoris Podcast | S1E7 | Matthias Hornschuh

In the seventh episode of the Enchoris Podcast we discuss the hidden dangers of the use of generative Al in creative content creation and their implications on artists' work, rights and intellectual property. Our guest Matthias Hornschuh is a film and media composer, musicologist, author, lecturer, spokesperson of the german authors' rights initiative - Initiative Urheberrecht, a member of the supervisory board of GEMA and one of the co-founders of the Soundtrack Cologne Festival.Are we giving ourselves up? That is the title of the book our guest Matthias Hornschuh wrote about the effect Artificial Intelligence has on humanity. On this episode we talk about the thought process that went into the book and the personal journey to finalising it. A book that is more about the human creative process and less about the evangelised benefits of AI.Matthias Hornschuh official Websitehttps://hornschuh-musik.de/Matthias is the author of the essay "We give ourselves up" (Wir geben uns auf - KI, Kultur und die Entwertung der Wissensarbeit), published by Carl-Auer Verlag.

Enchoris Podcast | S1E6 | Ralph H. Christoph

What makes the arts sustainable? This months guest Ralph Christoph, the director of the c/o pop convention shares his views on how the current political climate will effect the founding of the arts and specifically pop music. What kind of structures are needed in order to navigate a political agenda that does not include diversity and focused on the misconception that pop music is a self sustaining profit oriented industry. We talk about how much work and thought goes into both understanding different segments and age groups of stakeholders and guests of the festival. He gives us insight on the ground work done behind the scenes to ensure that the event is relevant, educating and entertaining for a diverse audience. In the process we talk about how trends come into fashion and go and how the narratives, business models, challenges and approaches adjust to that. We go through how the business models of the pop and performing industries have changed over the years between recording and touring the current dead-end situation due to inflation and exploding touring costs. How will this fragile biotope of music survive the current financial situation, the closed borders and the wars happening around Europe. Additionally Ralph Christoph is giving us insight on the panel that will discuss how radical pop music could be in the next years if it follows other art-forms breaking norms and having an edge. A healthy reaction to the extreme right propaganda that is taking the internet by storm. How can pop music affect the current political climate as a form of aesthetic resistance and what is the soundtrack of the years to come. This years convention will explore exactly that! More information on this years co pop convention on April 16 -17 in Cologne Germany https://c-o-pop.de/programm#convention

Enchoris Podcast | S1E5 | Michael P. Aust

This month we are talking with Michael P. Aust who is a producer, director and the co-founder of the Soundtrack Cologne Festival. We discuss how he entered the film industry and how he navigated the changes and trends over the past 30 years as a producer. Having a diverse portfolio is crucial to surviving the challenges of an ever changing industry.We discuss the effect the AI explosion has had on the composing community and what challenges it has created for artists. We address the difference between AI and generative AI and explore the positive and negative aspects they bring to composing. Can AI be trained ethically ensuring proper reimbursement for copyright holders? What do composers, publishers, collecting societies and AI companies have to do to create a fair environment that respects copyright and intellectual property by creating transparent rules for training AI data sets? What are the legal risks of using generative AI in one's own composition?In the past years Soundtrack Cologne has created an AI Focus stream at the conference that provides insights, legal advice and room to discuss how AI affects music composition. Additionally back in 2024 they did a survey that analysed how AI is being used in the industry by composers and how it affects their motivation to create and work. https://soundtrackcologne.de/ai-focus... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbndscFRzM1VnSnhmdUx5d0xZNEx5WFUtd0xXZ3xBQ3Jtc0trbWpCUVJyZllocWczSzQ4TlBucjlwcXVMQ0FuOVVOY29KY19OZkpsNTZOUWZObmoyM0V4Q0h5NDVaRUpRWlBONDBnblE0dGo1aGhMZUdTLUFHWUV2SlotX01ZYXEzd280d0R1LXQxdXBkdWhLZldwQQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundtrackcologne.de%2Fai-focus%2Fartist-monitor-survey-results-2024%2F&v=gTSt1o4oANQ] We go beyond the misconceptions about AI and discuss what tools composers are using to enhance their workflow and creativity. What tools are popular among the community and what are the benefits of using them. Michael P. Aust suggests that composers could train their own decentralised AI based on their own material and later monetise on that by selling it to a composer after retiring who will continue their legacy.Soundtrack Cologne was a catalyst for a lot of copyright initiatives and composers associations being funded and created a collaborative ecosystem where composers learned to share experience and work together as a community and do lobbying. We discuss the importance of festivals where people meet and the effect it has both on the industry and also the opportunity they provide for composers and artist to build up their skill set beyond composing. Additionally the festival has provided politicians insight and a frame to understand the industry and its challenges better.We discuss the challenges of keeping a festival alive and how financing by the state, city and sponsors has to be stable and predictable to make it sustainable. Festivals provide the framework for the industry to grow and provide composers the opportunity for life long training and expanding their skillset. There is no substitute for this type of work in the industry.Read more about Soundtrack Cologne at https://soundtrackcologne.de/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbnZaQm1yNHRYMVZNclBjYUthREpMdTZQQlhCd3xBQ3Jtc0ttYkNTQWNweS1lcnlMQkE2ZjJpTXJfeWh0REF2dk1FdTgxRm5reVlZVFlnamtKS3V5WXQ3U0RGNS1adXdYTFFCRDdkOE1OSXl2MU9iZWw4eGhrRUhqcU5XeGZJSXhfWnhUVEdXaW1kRUhjQnQzMlNSdw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundtrackcologne.de%2F&v=gTSt1o4oANQ]

Enchoris Podcast | S1E4 | Josef Fuchs

On this months podcast we welcome Josef Fuchs from Jokifu Coaching to talk about being an artist, finding your own voice and navigating the professional side of the performing industry.He shares his personal journey from Tirol Austria, where he discovered sound and singing as a medium of expression and experimentation to Salzburg where he dove into the classical music scene and found a new language to explore. Having been a singer, an agent and a casting director gives him a unique perspective on the inner workings of opera houses and music festivals.In his coaching and team-building capacity he strives to provide people an opportunity to discover their voice and develop their personality that feeds the artistic persona. An advocate of Work Sessions instead of auditions, he tries to provide an environment in which a singer can find his footing, experiment and show his personality. Contrary to old fashioned auditions he looks for unique artists and tries to unleash their potential and collaboration skills, focusing both on the needs of a musical piece and the dynamics a cast is built on.Authenticity is the core of his approach! He strongly encourages singers to abandon any preconceived notion of success and embark on a journey of self-discovery and excellence. Finding the right attitude to manage rejection and the complicated power dynamics of stage life are some of the core concepts of his work.We discuss the toll difficult pieces and stagings have on the soul of performers and touch on the sensitive issues of abuse, harassment and power games that are strongly being discussed in the art world since the 1950's. He provides clear guidance about how awareness, self-reflection, boundaries and solidarity with other performers can keep someone mentally healthy and safe. The communal side of music and the transcendent nature of music are in the core of his process. Providing transparency in the audition process and giving people an opportunity to showcase their abilities is key to creating a great production and a creative environment to work in.Josef has the ability to keep it light while addressing every aspect of theatre life and maintaining an objective critical approach on the performing industry. You can find more about his work on the Website of Jokifu Coaching!https://www.jokifu.com/

Enchoris Podcast | S1E3 | Jan Lankisch

This months guest is Jan Lankisch. We discuss the challenges and the spirit with which he curates the Weekend Festival for the past 14 years. https://www.weekendfest.de/Parallel to curating a festival, he runs a record label and produces records. Jan provides insight into the communal nature of the festival and how actually booking artists you love created long lasting friendships and led to releasing and producing records.https://www.weekendrecords.de/You can read more about Jan Lankisch's work as an artistic director and designer on his website.https://idomanythings.com/about/The study about festivals made by initiative music, miz and livekomm mentioned can be found in german here:https://www.initiative-musik.de/studien/#FestivalstudieRecorded at River Studios Cologne by Nick BenoyFilmed and Directed by Jorgos Katsimitsoulias