BMG REACTS TO ECHO AWARDS UPROAR

Responding to a growing wave of anti-Semitism in Germany—crystallized by the controversy surrounding Kollegah and Farid Bang’s album of the year win at last week’s Echo Awards—BMG is launching a school-focused campaign in an effort to counter this deeply troubling issue.

The German company has taken heat for releasing the album in question, Jung, Brutal, Gutaussehend 3, in conjunction with Farid Bang’s Banger Musik and Kollegah’s Alpha Music Empire.

“Recent news reports have produced shocking evidence of a new wave of anti-Semitism in German schools,” BMG Worldwide CEO Hartwig Masuch noted. “BMG is utterly opposed to anti-Semitism. We know our artists and employees are behind us. We want to ensure that something positive emerges from the debate surrounding the Echo Awards.

“Kollegah and Farid Bang have repeatedly made it clear on the internet and speaking in public that they are not anti-Semitic, and they have apologized for any distress caused by the lyrics in question,” Masuch continued. “BMG stands for values ​​such as artistic freedom, creativity and diversity. We take the current discussion as an opportunity to publicize our clear stance against anti-Semitism and are determined to actively engage on this issue.”

BMG says it will address the problem by partnering with “expert organisations in the field” to tackle the problem in schools, particularly in the country’s capital, Berlin, providing €100k to fund the campaign.