(born 7 May 1946) is a German promoter, best known for founding the music festival. He is Germany's largest and most influential concert promoter, having organised performances by international acts in that country throughout his career.
was born in and grew up in the post-war city. After attending an English school, he went on to study at the University of Frankfurt. He then trained as a journalist and became a current affairs editor for the Associated Press in Germany. Choosing a different career path, began as a concert promoter in 1969 and co-founded the Mama Concerts agency in 1970. He co-organised the inaugural British Rock Meeting festival in 1971 and the subsequent 1972 edition. In 1985, founded the festival and established it at the racetrack. The following year, he concluded his association with Mama Concerts.
founded his concert agency, (MLK), in 1987, which gradually became Germany's leading live music promoter. From the late 1980s onwards, he was Ute Lemper's talent manager. He promoted tours of domestic acts abroad and, in 1992, organised the music festival in response to right-wing extremist violence in Germany. In the 1990s, launched the music festival and sought to establish MLK in Hawaii, where he presented international artists to audiences. He organised the Live 8 concert in Berlin in 2005. first introduced WWE and UFC events in Germany in 2006 and 2009, respectively. He was responsible for the German music festivals , and .
In 2015, Live Nation Entertainment named chief executive officer of Live Nation in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria (GSA). His involvement in the and festivals ceased in 2022, after he served as head of the organisers. In 2024, co-promoted Adele in Munich. He also produced and presented musical pieces and shows for audiences in Germany, Austria, and Tel Aviv. A firm stand against racism and xenophobia marked his career; conversely, he consistently defended his , Roger Waters and Xavier Naidoo, amidst discrimination allegations. was a member of various bands. In 2014, the European Festivals Awards gave him the Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2017, he received the Plaque of Honour from the City of .
Early life 1946–1968: Early years and journalism debut , whose parents were Polish Holocaust survivors, was born on 7 May 1946, in the Jewish displaced persons (DP) camp. He resided in this United Nations camp in , a suburb of , housing refugees evacuated from liberated concentration camps or hidden areas. In his family, only his parents survived World War II. His two sisters had died of starvation during the war, and the Nazis had exterminated the rest of his family.
After obtaining the appropriate license from the American occupation authorities, his father produced chocolate and subsequently ran a coffee roastery. His mother, however, squandered away money earned by gambling. , who described his parents as "broken", grew up in post-war Frankfurt.
His parents' ethnic identity was intentionally indistinguishable in their lives; he was therefore enrolled in a boarding school in England to learn more about Jewish history. lived in London at the time of the Rolling Stones' founding. His early musical interests emerged at the age of 16, which led him to form a rock band. He has a brother named David.
studied sociology at the University of Frankfurt for a year, where he became involved in left-wing political circles, a characteristic trait of young Jews in the 1960s and 1970s. It was during the era of the Frankfurt School. The realm of music impressed him as much as literature and theatre, but he did not fully consider himself a "68er". He deemed this period politically "important" and also "stupid and dangerous", citing the (SDS), whose members rebuked those with differing opinions, conduct which displeased him greatly. disapproved of the way the SDS had suddenly castigated in . He said that the SDS's "most gifted orators" were and , whom he referred to as "" when they were at the University of . further said that and "made everyone's life hell" in a context where mass student protests against the state and the police seemed illusory to him. He was frightened by the "zeal" with which and forcefully confronted dissenters, even those who expressed scepticism. fled the SDS.
After two semesters of studying sociology, began a traineeship in news journalism at the Associated Press (AP). was AP's current affairs editor in Berlin and Bonn. Around 1968, he occasionally wrote about the music scene as a reporter.
Concert promotion career 1969–1970: Transition to live music event promotion By the late 1960s, found himself without "one penny" in his pocket. An individual asked him for help promoting musicians such as Eric Clapton and Wilson Pickett, putting up posters for concerts in town, managing tickets and setting up the equipment. transitioned from journalist to concert promoter in the late 1960s, beginning by overseeing the organisation of several major outdoor shows in Germany. In 1969, he organised the "first open-air" event at 's velodrome stadium, two years after the Summer of Love, said. Ellie Weinert of Billboard wrote that 's experiences as a band member and journalist "proved to be major assets" when he shifted to a concert promoter.
1970–1986: Mama Concerts
and his business partner founded their concert agency Mama Concerts in 1970. The name of the company Mama Concerts was formed by combining the first syllable of 's and 's first names. In 1970, at the age of 24, he was responsible for organising his first concert, that of the Who in . One of his promoter duties was to drive his old (VW) car in front of the Who's bus to secure the band's arrival times in each city. In 1970, 's responsibilities included organising Deep Purple's first German tour, as well as Pink Floyd's tour of that country.
and then organised the first British Rock Meeting festival in September 1971 in , Germany. It was inspired by the model of the American festival and featured Black Sabbath, Fleetwood Mac and Rod Stewart.
Along with Deep Purple's manager, John Coletta, signed the contract for the band's 1972 German concerts on a paper tablecloth in an outdoor restaurant on in . In 1972, and organised the second edition of the British Rock Meeting on an island near , which attracted an audience of 100,000 people. It featured, among others, the Doors, Faces and Pink Floyd. of called the 1972 British Rock Meeting "the mother of all German rock festivals". 's work in the early 1970s was recognised for bringing international bands and leading rock acts to German stages.
's professional life would be a long and arduous undertaking, with its ups and downs. The first difficult hardship he encountered was that of Frank Sinatra in the mid-1970s, during his concert tour in West Germany organised by Mama Concerts. Sinatra began this 1975 tour in Munich and then , where he performed in half-empty halls. His next concert at the in West Berlin was therefore cancelled. His German tour thus ended, with stating in 1975 that Sinatra nevertheless earned about 30,000 Deutsche Marks per concert. German newspapers had predicted the financial ruin of 's company, but he denied this claim.
Inception of Rock am Ring In 1980, attempted to organise a festival on the portion of the at the motorsports complex near . However, the project ultimately failed due to protests from nearby residents and a lack of parking spaces.
In February 1981, organised Pink Floyd's series of concerts for The Wall Tour at the in . 's said that he "wrote pop history with the band".
A large-scale open-air music festival in Germany had been dormant for about a decade. The few failed attempts at amateur festivals due to unfulfilled obligations or excesses have led the press and politicians to denigrate this type of event, arguing that the authorities and the church disseminated "propaganda". Years passed, and despite many efforts, no suitable location for an outdoor music festival had been found. Open-air festivals were not widely regarded favourably at the time.
The Ministry of the Interior sought profitable uses for the state-owned property and had an idea for a music festival, which led Lieberberg to seize the opportunity. A committed CDU state secretary helped to overcome the difficulties encountered. In 1985, wanted to bring to the German region of the () the atmosphere that reigned in the American town of Bethel during the first Woodstock music festival. He decided to launch a festival, and the 1972 British Rock Meeting would serve as a model. and his collaborators had learned lessons from Woodstock's "chaotic conditions" and the "serious errors" in Monterey , each of which, he said, was due to a precarious "foundation" and "structure" unsuited to large crowds. , the first managing director of the newly fashioned complex, placed his trust in him. Thus, founded the music festival in 1985.
The inaugural edition of drew a crowd of nearly 80,000 attendees and featured performances by Foreigner, , Joe Cocker, and U2. of wrote that songs like "", "" and "" were not lasting hits in the mid-1980s, just as the "massively commercialised" (NDW) genre was becoming overused and losing its importance. felt that for this reason, had favoured international "top acts" for his festival project.
For 16 years, headed the office of Mama Concerts. Following an argument, he and ended their partnership in 1986.
1987–2015: Marek Lieberberg Konzertagentur In 1987, he founded his company, (MLK) ().
Business expansion
formed a new business partnership with , while went to work with . and would reconcile later.
returned in 1991 with a revised concept for the festival, incorporating more stages, events, and featuring more rock music, with an emphasis on introducing newcomers to audiences. In 1991, was a founder member of an alliance, the European Concert Promoters Association.
In 1992, presented two local acts on tours of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland: 's sold-out tour, encompassing eleven small venues, drawing a crowd of more than 6,000; and tenor , who performed pop and Elvis Presley's songs from his Love Me Tender during a 25-city tour. MLK presented music regardless of its geographical origin, the main difference being greater communication with a domestic act, which enabled a focus on production. specified tours they handled: Falco in Europe and Japan, as well as Nena in Holland, Scandinavia, the UK, and Japan. He cited Tori Amos and Mark Cohen as examples of emerging artists whom he placed great emphasis on stage personality and musical originality, noting that US acts depended more on their own videos and MTV to present themselves than European ones.
, opposed to the and and the , organised in December 1992 at the . Kate Brady of called the "the worst right-wing violence in Germany since the Second World War". As a charity festival, was organised to protest against Germany's right-wing extremist violence. The 1992 impromptu event featured some of the country's best-known musicians, with 16 channels broadcasting the event. drew a crowd of 150,000, with among the musicians who performed.
The Rock in Vienna music festival, a parallel event to , was launched in 1993. observed a contrast between the experience of working in a concert hall, similar to that of the Who, and in a festival setting, as in 1993 when he went on stage at and had to personally ask the "booing" audience to be quiet during Leonard Cohen's performance. After serving on the European Concert Promoters Association's board for two years, he felt that the 50-promoter organisation was not large enough and therefore hoped that it would expand in the future to play a decisive role in European policy.
The music festival was established in 1994 as a "spin-off" of , taking place on the tarmac of in Munich, featuring 22 bands, with Aerosmith and Peter Gabriel as headliners and some heavy music acts.