Alexander Mayor is a London-based musician with many talents (from europop to sophisti-pop); Dragos Rusu is a sound researcher, curator and anthropologist based in Bucharest, co-founder of The Attic platform and artistic director of the Outernational Days festival; Keith McIvor, who goes by the artist name of JD Twitch, is one half of the Glasgow-based electronic music duo Optimo; Maurice Summen is a Berlin based musician, label owner (Staatsakt, Fun in the Church) and over all entrepreneur; Barcelona-born, Berlin-based Beba Naveira is looking back on a long career in first the live music and entertainment business and now in the communication and content design for digital products business; Peter Bokor is among other things the founder of the Budapest-based music magazine MMN Mag and the leading force of nature behind EM GUIDE.

Alexander Mayor

„My name is Alexander Mayor, a master dabbler (if such an idea makes sense), a musical gadfly who has released music in a europop indie band back-in-the-day (Baxendale), two albums of jazz-tinged romantic pop as Alexander’s Festival Hall and a book of short stories as myself. My latest project is a duo with a dear friend, called Astrid & Alexander. It has been suggested that our debut album should be categorised as “sophistipop” which is an epithet we rather like (images of glamorous parties at the ambassador’s residence, Austrian castles, etc, you know the drill).

I definitely write songs and have written fictions (a thing I’d like to return to). But I like to keep it general really – a writer or maker of stuff. I’ve always felt writing or making things is a way of dancing with the surprise that is your own life. It’s a set of mysterious processes, that you think you’re mastering, but in fact you just grasp a bit more of the endless mystery really. You never know what you’re making or why, until it’s done, and even then, sometimes it remains a tad unclear. It’s like psychotherapy, when you get a box of chocolates at the end of the better sessions, I suppose.“

How would you describe your relationship to and with money?

Money… sigh. It’s a fickle boss, that money. It’s always quite imperious about being central to one’s life, without really showing any real care for its effects on us or the things we do to keep it sweet. It’s a bad girl/boyfriend, perhaps!

I would guess I have the normal anxieties about money, and resentments of some of the duller things you do for money to have those fears relent and retreat into the background (until they reappear). Like most creatives I know, money’s agenda (and yes, living in London) has meant living a slightly splitscreen life – Alex the worker bee, Alexander the writer. Life it seems, is a form of selling out! But then, would one pen sweetly yearning songs of love’s decay while scrabbling around in the gutter. I know you’re all going to say yes, how disappointing!

How would you describe your relationship with time management?

I scarcely comprehend this question. 🙂 Time is an illusion, it refuses to be managed! One thing I will say, is that when you’re on a hot streak, or really in the zone writing, producing, singing, arranging, whatever it is, time does seem to disappear. Maybe the clocks run slower in the odder, more fun parts of the brain.

In the recent years we saw a drastic change of the sociopolitical climates, not only in Europe but worldwide. Right-wing politics are on the rise, inflation has kicked in and the conditions for an artistic life changed a lot–such as higher rents and living costs, as well as a changing live music market favoring bigger artists).

How do you personally experience this process?

I haven’t been directly impacted by this, as articulated in the question, but we’ve definitely all seen a subtle shift in who succeeds in the arts and creative world, you need ever more financial security and backing to do even the most preposterously unambitious things. A more pervasive need for artists to pre-judge themselves, hold out for bigger metrics rather than the purity of vision (if that doesn’t sound naive). Something about the era of data is fundamentally opposed to the unknowable magic of art making.

How do you feel about the situation in your home country in relation to Europe (and the World)

Brexit was a real kick in the teeth. A feeling of national shame, a severing of a rather beautiful European identity, however arbitrary and bureaucratic the EU might be in reality. Both the horrors in Ukraine and the difficult situation in Georgia illustrate the desire by younger generations to find connections with people who share their vision of the future. We are tribes, but we are also countries, and beyond that, ideas. Brexit has made the UK seem small, self-obsessed and banal.

What are your personal conclusions?

We still have to remain socially and politically active, use our voice and defend rationality. In this period where everyone is concerned with self-identity, something of a blind alley, we should try to stay focused on the community where we really take shape. I guess I’m evangelising for the enlightenment– ever one to ride the latest trends!

Are you able to make a living through your cultural activities?

Absolutely not! Although I would reframe the question. Perhaps it’s better to think, how do I fund the art I’m impelled to make? Many writers were commercial copywriters while waiting for the big novel to romp up the best seller lists. I feel I’ve learnt a lot about writing by doing it for cold hard cash. The musical side is harder to make commercial, the cliff is so steep on that one. We’ve all seen the stats on music streaming.

These days a lot of cultural activities can only happen with the help of some form of funding. Have you ever applied for funding?

Once for a project through the UK’s PRS fund – I didn’t get it though.

More and more, one gets the impression that artists need to come from family money; otherwise, the hurdle is just too high to make it. What are your thoughts on this? Do you feel it adequately describes the cultural field around you?

In this regard, perhaps the arts are returning to old practices. You can’t expect to make money in a music industry where 120,000 new songs are added to Spotify every day. Equally, most musicians just like making and performing music – they don’t all want to ‘pivot’ into content creation, YouTube, merchandise etc. We seem to be in a transition period in the media. The main formats are similar to before – movies, games, songs, TV – but the people who produce them now need to be true multi-skill hustlers if they want to make it. Perhaps we all must be Madonna, rather than Ian Curtis, in this brave new world? I still just love music and writing.

Looking at your own career so far, do you feel that you explicitly covered the topics money and time?

Not really. Money can be a slightly unruly topic, perhaps a little too impersonal or unemotional for this guy. The closest I’ve come recently was last year’s “I am a businessman” – a surreal take on a presidential moneymaker and a heist gone wrong in the hills above LA. As a topic, time is everywhere however, and usually quite blurry!

What’s your favourite song about money?

I’m not sure if this is quite what you’re after, but it’s about career failure and winding up poorer than your once-contemporaries and peers and being an American story, it’s implicitly about money as, in this case, missing brick in the wall. What a shame about me by Steely Dan, from the 2000 comeback “Two Against Nature” (a barbed tale with typically smooth musical accompaniment).

What’s your favourite song about time?

You will never top Everybody Have a Good Time by Archie Bell and The Drells! Six and half minutes of delirious disco encouragement await…

Dragoș Rusu

“I am a sound researcher, curator and anthropologist based in Bucharest, Romania, co-founder of The Attic platform (available at theatticmag.com), artistic director of the Outernational Days festival and promoter/curator of music events in Bucharest. I have a deep passion and interest for music and sound for my entire life. From listening to vinyl records with radiophonic theatre pieces, to listening and writing about music, to learning percussion and music production, while constantly educating myself on the myriad forms of music. Moreover, I bring a multidisciplinary perspective to the table, drawing on my experiences in curating and organising an independent music festival and several series of concerts and events in Bucharest, Romania. My experience as a DJ in various contexts taught me about spatiality and specific properties of sound, how people react to certain sounds and a great deal of music from all over the world. Many of my friends are either musicians or DJs; I live with a musician friend, and I’m constantly surrounded by music and instruments.

I am especially drawn by field recordings – a particular ethnographic method to which I feel deeply attached, and with a large potential in the world of anthropology of sound and beyond. Also, I have a keen field interest in understanding the socio-cultural implications of popular music, Western music and the so-called world music.”

How would you describe your relationship to and with money?

I hate the idea of being dependent to money, but in the past years I realised that I don’t need that much money to be happy or to feel free. Money is obviously important, because our societies are developed in such a way that we cannot live without money. Of course, the everyday hustle can often seem exhaustive, and while discrepancies between social classes are now more visible than ever, I feel quite concerned about what the future will bring, how the rich are getting more richer, and the poor, poorer.

How would you describe your relationship with time management?

I would say I usually do a pretty god job with time management. I learned to work fast on some of the jobs that I dislike, and to invest more time in what really interests and drives me. This way, I feel that I don’t lose that much time with bullshit and meaningless jobs and can dedicate more time to my own passions.

In the recent years we saw a drastic change of the sociopolitical climates, not only in Europe but worldwide. Right-wing politics are on the rise, inflation has kicked in and the conditions for an artistic life changed a lot–such as higher rents and living costs, as well as a changing live music market favoring bigger artists).

How do you personally experience this process?

I feel worried about what the future might bring. I feel like most of us are living these days under a sign of precarity and insecurity. Somehow, there’s a kind of transition from an old world, with old ideas and ways of thinking, into a new, unknown world, where it is actually very difficult to predict what the future will bring. Maybe this is an opportunity to live more in the present moment and loose the myriads of plans for future.

How do you feel about the situation in your home country in relation to Europe (and the World)?

In Romania, Bucharest, every year it’s a hustle, because as a cultural operator, it is almost impossible to build structures that could last. The financial situation is a complete disaster, and all the underground cultural mini scenes are dependent to some state funding, which often is very hard to secure. Even if you secure some funds for a project for a year, there are very small chance to be able to keep on doing that, because every year brings new challenges and you never know if you can continue a project, no matter how small or complex it might be; and this can feel really draining. But on the other hand, if we take these fears out and focus on music and real human meaningful connections, we may discover some new ways of navigating through the world, at the ruins of capitalism.

What are your personal conclusions? And on a wider spectrum, what needs to change in our societal concepts?

We should renounce once and for all at this Eurocentric idea of civilisation. It is built on shame and has brought us nothing but destruction and pain.

Are you able to make a living through your cultural activities?

No, living only from cultural activities is just impossible in Romania. If one can make money out of it, good for them, this lucky situation can be considered a gift from the gods. I used to make a living through a bullshit job (and here I take the concept from David Graeber) working in an advertising agency, but recently this stopped, and now I need to find other ways to secure money.

These days a lot of cultural activities can only happen with the help of some form of funding. Have you ever applied for funding?

Yes, I did several times, and I got some state funding a few times. But working with a grant for almost an entire year doesn’t allow you to be able to do only that, because the funds are usually modest and cannot secure a decent life. It can barely pay the rent, food and not much else.

More and more, one gets the impression that artists need to come from family money; otherwise, the hurdle is just too high to make it. What are your thoughts on this? Do you feel it adequately describes the cultural field around you?

The question is what one does with his/her/their privilege? If it is being used to help somebody, that’s ok, otherwise, the money will become your nemesis, as an artist. The challenge is for one to manage to keep a healthy balance between all the shitty compromises which must be done to survive. I don’t believe great artists need money in order to express themselves or should come from family money to be recognised. I think it might be enough to learn how capitalism works, to detect real opportunities when/if they arise and to make the right choices (whatever right might mean to a certain person).

Looking at your own career so far, do you feel that you explicitly covered the topics money and time?

No, I am quite scared of looking deeper into the topics. Even the idea of a career attached to an individual is something that I don’t resonate with that much, because I don’t really like putting myself into a certain box and staying there.

What´s your favorite song thematizing money?

Hustlin’ by Rick Ross

What´s your favorite song thematizing time?

générique by Kirikou

Keith McIvor

Keith McIvor, who goes by the artist name of JD Twitch, is one half of the Glasgow based electronic music duo Optimo – the other half is Jonnie Wilkes aka JG Wilkes.

How would you describe your relationship to and with money?

Complicated.

How would you describe your relationship with time management?

More complicated.

In the recent years we saw a drastic change of the sociopolitical climates, not only in Europe but worldwide. Right-wing politics are on the rise, inflation has kicked in and the conditions for an artistic life changed a lot–such as higher rents and living costs, as well as a changing live music market favoring bigger artists).

How do you personally experience this process?

It has impacted but perhaps the biggest impact has been Brexit effects.

How do you feel about the situation in your home country in relation to Europe (and the World)

Depressing.

What are your personal conclusions?

Politics is over.

What are your personal conclusions? And on a wider spectrum, what needs to change in our societal concepts?

We need a whole new system.

Are you able to make a living through your cultural activities?

Yes. Since 1990. Circumstances are up and down but enough to keep head above water currently.

These days a lot of cultural activities can only happen with the help of some form of funding. Have you ever applied for funding?

No. Cultural funding here is classist and primarily goes to an elite who know how to play the application system.

More and more, one gets the impression that artists need to come from family money; otherwise, the hurdle is just too high to make it. What are your thoughts on this? Do you feel it adequately describes the cultural field around you?

Thankfully, not, but I do encounter it more often than I’d like.

Looking at your own career so far, do you feel that you explicitly covered the topics money and time?

Yes.

What´s your favorite song thematizing money?

Greed by Swans

What´s your favorite song thematizing time?

Time is Money (Bastard) by Swans 

Maurice Summen 

How would you describe your relationship to and with money?

Money is an instrument of power. It can make things possible and prevent them. It is unfairly distributed and causes sorrow and worry.

How would you describe your relationship with time management?

I find my way around the modern jungle to some extent. But I can hardly imagine a spontaneous date without looking at the calendar! The blurring of private time and working time is missing one thing in particular: Free time.

In the recent years we saw a drastic change of the sociopolitical climates, not only in Europe but worldwide. Right-wing politics are on the rise, inflation has kicked in and the conditions for an artistic life changed a lot–such as higher rents and living costs, as well as a changing live music market favoring bigger artists).

How do you personally experience this process?

I can only speak for Germany: The Merkel years, which were above all a policy of holding out in prosperity, have brought us to this situation. Many innovative ideas have fallen by the wayside. Clinging to outdated technologies has led us into a deep valley. It is frustrating that the right-wing partys are now gaining strength with an ideology from the last century, but I am following many of the political actions of GenZ with great optimism. We are not completely screwed. Just a little bit.

How do you feel about the situation in your home country in relation to Europe (and the World)?

First of all, I would like to see a European constitution. So, if there is a future for Europe, then one with a constitution. This strange hybrid of free trade zone and subsidy association with its Frontex-security has no future for me.

What are your personal conclusions?

All questions of equal rights, better social redistribution, both locally and globally, and the belief in a functioning welfare state in general are the center of all considerations for me. In other words, everything that is currently being torpedoed by the right-wing people.

And on a wider spectrum, what needs to change in our societal concepts?

As I said, I cannot think of the state without the welfare state. This applies to education, fairly paid care work, affordable housing and therefore also a sensible energy policy!

Are you able to make a living through your cultural activities?

Yes, fortunately, I can! For more than 20 years.

These days a lot of cultural activities can only happen with the help of some form of funding. Have you ever applied for funding?

For many years now, cultural work in Germany has hardly been possible without fundings. This applies to theaters as well as the indie pop world. I am mainly involved with the “Initiative Musik” in my field.

More and more, one gets the impression that artists need to come from family money; otherwise, the hurdle is just too high to make it. What are your thoughts on this? Do you feel it adequately describes the cultural field around you?

Classism has been a major problem for many years. From journalism to the fine arts. I see fewer and fewer kids from the working class on the club stages of this city.

Looking at your own career so far, do you feel that you explicitly covered the topics money and time?

Idleness is the state from which great things arise. And moments of inspiration cannot be planned. This is what makes sensible cultural policy so difficult. After all, cultural policy always has to pretend that it can move things forward in a targeted way. But if we are honest: It can’t. But at least it can create spaces. I think I’ve been able to use a lot of these spaces so far, but I’ve also wasted a lot of time with a lot of desire. Well, first world problems….

What´s your favorite song thematizing money?

Money Is The Root Of All Evil by Horace Andy

What´s your favorite song thematizing time?

Sign O’ The Times by Prince

Beba Naveira

„The fields in which I’m active are communications, branding, and partnerships for events and digital products within music, culture, and educational technology.

My career started at Primavera Sound, where I was Head of Communications and Sponsorship for over ten years. I established the communications department and handled everything from PR to brand development, including content for websites, festival apps, and newsletters. I also managed brand and institutional partnerships, coordinated the communication of the festival’s A/V live streams with YouTube, ARTE, and Pitchfork, and oversaw rights licensing for live recordings and photo coverage.

After that, I moved to Berlin to work at Red Bull, where I contributed to global communications with a focus on major activations, especially festivals, supporting local teams in countries such as Turkey, Switzerland, Brazil, and Canada.

In recent years, I have transitioned from live music and entertainment to communication and content design for digital products. Currently, I operate independently as a project manager and consultant.“

How would you describe your relationship to and with money?

I’m a very hedonistic person so I see money as an asset that is helpful to enjoy life at the most surrounded with the people I love. Therefore, whenever I have enough money, I can’t help but give it away mostly for food and trips. Somehow, it’s not a priority for me to save money. I don’t have children or big responsibilities, so I don’t give it too much thought. I would probably think differently and relate to money in a more cautious way otherwise.

How would you describe your relationship with time management?

I have a very rich inner life, so I need (and love!) to spend a lot of time on my own to reflect on life and process things. My natural pace is quite slow, so whenever I don’t have to adapt to the environment, I slow down and find myself in contemplative mode, just walking around, listening to music, watching movies or reading a book. I don’t know what it means to be bored, and I feel I could use infinite time in this world.

Workwise, however, I have more and more the feeling that things move too fast, and I struggle to keep up with deadlines. I manage well, but I don’t enjoy having to work fast, which I find a shame. So, I’m trying to not take on too many gigs, allowing me to work a bit slower and enjoy life, even if this means invoicing less hours than I work sometimes. I honestly don’t mind, as I dislike feeling rushed, and the older I get the more this feeling intensifies.

In the recent years we saw a drastic change of the sociopolitical climates, not only in Europe but worldwide. Right-wing politics are on the rise, inflation has kicked in and the conditions for an artistic life changed a lot–such as higher rents and living costs, as well as a changing live music market favoring bigger artists).

How do you personally experience this process?

I don’t create art or consider myself a creative, so I have not been impacted directly.

How do you feel about the situation in your home country in relation to Europe (and the World)

I’m from Spain, but I’m based in Berlin. I’ve heard from some friends based in Berlin that they can’t afford to make a life from their artistic activities anymore because of the higher rent and living costs. I feel that the situation in Spain (both Barcelona and Madrid) has not changed so much because Spain has really never been an easy environment for artists due to the high unemployment rate and the living conditions…

What are your personal conclusions?

As I said, I don’t consider myself a creative, but I see the activities I do that involve some degree of creativity—such as making small sculptures, singing and playing guitar, or cooking—as a way to express myself. I can’t relate to the idea of having expectations of making a living from art, so I can’t really share any conclusions on that.

And on a wider spectrum, what needs to change in our societal concepts?

I have never given this any thought and don’t have any opinion to share, I’m afraid!

Are you able to make a living through your cultural activities?

I’m not a creative so I can’t really answer this question properly. I just work in the music and cultural field as a communication expert, and I enjoy communicating culture rather than other brands or products.

These days a lot of cultural activities can only happen with the help of some form of funding. Have you ever applied for funding?

No. I’ve never felt the need to be involved in cultural activities actively. What I enjoy (and a lot!) is to consume culture in its different forms.

More and more, one gets the impression that artists need to come from family money; otherwise, the hurdle is just too high to make it. What are your thoughts on this? Do you feel it adequately describes the cultural field around you?

I’m afraid I don’t have close relationships with artists or people who are involved in cultural activities to have an informed opinion about this.

Looking at your own career so far. Do you feel that you explicitly covered the topics money and time?

Since I’m not a creative I haven’t created anything about none of these topics.

What´s your favorite song thematizing money?

Dios nos libre del dinero by Rosalía

What´s your favorite song thematizing time?

I read a lot by Nick Lowe

Peter Bokor

“I’m the founder of the Budapest-based music magazine MMN Mag and Lahmacun community web radio, and the president of the KultDesk Cultural Foundation, which is an NGO for music & tech. My original background is computer science and I worked in the IT field until 2022 when I decided to focus entirely on the foundation’s activities. The main motivation for me was that I felt that the world needed more culture and less tech; even though I can’t help injecting tech into my new activities, which I think is a good compromise as culture too needs specific solutions for digitalization. Since then, I love every workday, no boredom, no regrets, the only issue for me is financial existence, which turns out to be a major issue when one tries to make a living in the cultural sector and is based in a country like today’s Hungary.”

How would you describe your relationship to and with money?

When I quit my IT job, it was clear to me that I needed to lower my expectations about salary and money in general. Still, I assume a minimum level of life quality, which I know is subjective, and if I can’t guarantee it then I’m ready for another change. I see my last two years (since quitting) as an investment period where I’ve been living off my savings, which is fine, but, with a family now, I will have to rely on modest but fair compensation for my work. Currently, I work a lot and earn little, but at least I’m now able to make some income, which wasn’t the case in previous years. I try to see it as a positive sign.

After all these years working in the cultural sector, most of the time as a volunteer, I came to realize that independent music media just cannot be profitable, inherently so. So now I’m trying to figure out new business ideas that are still culture-related and that can generate profit to help these projects survive and preserve their independence.

How would you describe your relationship with time management?

Pretty bad (laughs). I feel like doing a startup, which hasn’t yet taken off, so I work basically as much as I can. I should watch out for burn out, I guess. Luckily, my family (with a baby in house) is a natural break, and evenings and weekends (with occasional exceptions) have become no-work zones. The work around the foundation is still pretty much a one-man show, I need to organize my time very rigorously so that I have time for all departments. This is where I think I should improve, but often I feel that it’s a kind of Catch 22 situation, where money is needed to hire help, but I don’t have time to raise the money because I don’t have help. This is where a healthy local funding system should come in handy, but that’s not the case in Hungary unfortunately. We’ve been trying to apply for local funding for organizational development, but we never got the grant.

In the recent years we saw a drastic change of the sociopolitical climates, not only in Europe but worldwide. Right-wing politics are on the rise, inflation has kicked in and the conditions for an artistic life changed a lot–such as higher rents and living costs, as well as a changing live music market favoring bigger artists).

How do you personally experience this process?

I accept that. It’s something we can’t change. Every generation had their local and global challenges, some had it much worse. It even gives us a mission sometimes, if you think of today’s Hungary, it’s so much at stake. Sometimes I think that we can be seen as cultural freedom fighters, even if it might sound romantic. But of course, it’s tricky. The margins are narrow, and the reality whether the foundation can stay alive very much depends on national funding. Obviously, amidst a cultural and political revolution, critical and oppositional players will not likely be supported by any national fund. But still, I see meaning and relevance in my daily work, which may not be the case in “normal” times.

How do you feel about the situation in your home country in relation to Europe (and the World)?

I touched upon it already. It’s obvious that a cultural NGO, for example, in Germany will not have the same “life conditions” as we in Hungary do. This is also why I would expect a more conscious and holistic mindset from policy makers and stakeholders across Europe. For example, a successful festival (especially those with public funding) should proactively book artists from Hungary and other countries where a public cultural funding system is not in place –or being controlled by political propaganda– as an act of solidarity and support. Projects like EM GUIDE are systematic ways to do so, but it would be good to see it happening more naturally as a form of awareness and mutual support within a global cultural ecosystem. The well-known statistics of how uneven Western and Eastern music is covered in mainstream media present for me a worrying situation about professional solidarity within the music industry. And eventually, it’s a win-win game, as political and economic situations can change with time, and a once supporter can become the new supported.

What are your personal conclusions?

The music industry itself is in an unbalanced situation. While mainstream acts are flying and gaining even more attention, niche and pioneer music is desperate to attract a crowd and generate resources for existence. Therefore, I think we need more public funding for independent music. Also, we need to think in trans-local networks that can serve as robust carriers of an independent music ecosystem that is too fragile to sustain locally and in isolation.

And on a wider spectrum – what should/what needs to change in our society concepts?

Thinking of music, one worrying phenomenon I see in Hungary is the low attendance of parties. There is also a shift to faster and faster genres, where the music listening experience is probably not the primary motivation to attend. I believe in the evolution of music and music consumption habits, but I also believe that parties should continue to act as listening bars, which would need a bit of readjustment of our approach to music; and regarding how we spent our little money in financially tough times.

Are you able to make a living through your cultural activities?

Clearly not, but it’s a new environment for me. I see myself in a development phase, which has just started to give positive signs. Ask me again in one year or so (laughs).

These days a lot of cultural activities can only happen with the help of some form of funding. Have you ever applied for funding?

Absolutely. As I said, I believe in public funding for culture, and with KultDesk we have successfully applied for (mostly EU-level) funding. I must also say that public funding can be tricky; it is often “project-based” that generates more work that you must do beside your standard workload. But still, in a structurally stable situation, public (accompanied with private) funding should be one primary source of cultural activities.

More and more, one gets the impression that artists need to come from family money; otherwise, the hurdle is just too high to make it. What are your thoughts on this? Do you feel it adequately describes the cultural field around you?

I agree. Often you see that artists or cultural workers come from well-off families, for example, with a place to live without needing to pay rent etc. Which is okay, I think. It is a good way to use a favorable class situation that one cannot choose. Another “model” is job quitters, you know, when burnt out lawyers start a bakery. I’m a bit like that, coming from an IT background into the cultural field and using savings to bridge a no-income investment period. Maybe my transition is less extreme (than lawyers to bakers), as I try to bring in IT expertise to build new digitalization solutions that can naturally help the cultural field.

Looking at your own career so far. Do you feel that you explicitly covered the topics money and time?

Big time. Switching from IT to culture was (a crazy) manifestation of that. 🙂

What´s your favorite song thematizing money?

Maybe a bit methaphorical, but I will pick East by buttechno.

What´s your favorite song thematizing time?

Here’s one from Chloé from my student times when I’d rave to minimal a lot.

The cover photo is an edit made from the cover photo of the song titled “Time Is Money (Bastard)” by Swans.

The article is written by Thomas Venker. Thomas Venker is a music journalist, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the music magazine titled Kaput – Magazin für Insolvenz & Pop. He teaches music journalism and artist marketing at the Folkwang University of the Arts.

This article is an EM GUIDE special curated by the editors of the EM GUIDE members and created in response to current trends and issues of the regional and global music industry.