Longtime music industry conference Popkomm is now no more.

Founded in 1989, the conference was conceived as a means of bringing independent musicians into constructive contact and dialogue with key industry players. The summit/trade show took place in Cologne from 1990-2003, then hopped over the Berlin for its final seven years.

The event has been in steady decline for some time now. In 2006, the festival welcomed 870 exhibitors; by 2011, that number had slumped to 400. Speaking about the demise of Popkomm, GEMA board member Prof. Dr. Rolf Budde suggested that the rot had set in some time ago: “Popkomm was already dead before it moved from Cologne to Berlin in 2004 because by then the music business was already having structural problems. The industry does not have the money anymore to book large booths. Today you only want to meet and see interesting bands.”

Numerous commentators, Budde among them, claim that Popkomm has been rendered obsolete by Hamburg’s comparatively successful Reeperbahn Festival. Berlin are also launching Berlin Music Week in September, which is expected to plug the gap. [via Billboard]