VPBy

The Association for Pop Culture in Bavaria e.V. (VPBy) is a network of over 215 Bavarian scene promoters, including organizers, clubs, open-airs, music initiatives, and municipalities. The VPBy makes a significant contribution to pop promotion in Germany and acts as a cultural-political voice for the scene as well as a relevant industry representative to third parties. It is committed to cultural-political work at all levels – for venues, creatives, and production trades – and promotes networking and stabilization both at the state level (urban and rural areas) and nationally and internationally.

The VPBy is based on the pillars of education, promotion, networking, and awards. The non-profit association and recognized youth welfare organization has a top funding program for musicians from Bavaria (BY.on), supports youth and young talent promotion, and offers a diverse range of training and qualification opportunities for musicians and organizers in the form of seminars and workshops. Additionally, the VPBy annually hosts the Pop Conference "Dialog Pop," the Bavarian Pop Culture Award ceremony in five categories, as well as networking meetings, receptions, and panel discussions.

The VPBy particularly promotes and networks events in rural areas through regular networking meetings with training formats ("Pop in rural areas") and the "Hinter ins Land" funding program for organizers (project funds for the free art scene). With the Instagram channel @popaufmschirm, the VPBy creates additional visibility for music by Bavarian acts.

The VPBy was founded in 1989 under the name Working Group of Bavarian Music Initiatives e.V. (ABMI) and now manages an annual budget of around 1,000,000 euros (as of 2024). It is institutionally supported by the Bavarian State Ministry for Science and Art. Additional funding comes from Bavarian districts and municipalities as well as from the Initiative Musik gGmbH. Impulse funds for new programs repeatedly come from the faction initiatives of the CSU and Free Voters in the Bavarian State Parliament.

Since 1991, the VPBy has been contributing its expertise to committee and association work at the national level as well. Since 2012, the VPBy has been working constructively and creatively on the boards of the umbrella organization LiveKomm (Live Music Commission – Association of Music Venues in Germany e.V.) and the Federal Association of Popular Music (BV POP). It is also a member of the State Association for Cultural Education Bavaria, the Bavarian Music Council, and the Media Campus Bavaria.