Our claim "In the Spirit of Jazz" puts it in a nutshell. For us, jazz is not an isolated genre, but a language and a philosophy that connects different cultures, styles and personalities. This idea of jazz as universal "world music" is something that all our albums have in common. From the very first ACT release Jazzpaña from 1992, which combined jazz and flamenco influences, to recent releases such as the highly acclaimed "Where You Wish You Were" by Bill Laurance and Michael League, which combines jazz with musical elements from across the Mediterranean, from Southern Europe to North Africa, or the French-Algerian singer and cellist Nesrine with her unique blend of jazz, classical, pop and Arabic music. ACT lets you hear the beauty of the world.

On the one hand, it is clearly acts like e.s.t., Nils Landgren, Youn Sun Nah, Michael Wollny and a couple of others with whom we have managed to open up the world of jazz to a wider audience. On the other hand, our main focus has always been on discovering and developing talented young, artists. There are many ACT artists who had their very first or second album on this label and have been with us for many years, sometimes even decades. Very few labels of our calibre have the ambition and energy to build musical careers from the ground up, especially in today's ever-changing music business. We are constantly endeavouring to find the right strategies to ensure that new artists continue to reach their audience. And every time a new, young artist succeeds in doing this together with us, it is a major success.

The label has always established an ideal balance between European musicians and American musicians and even elsewhere. Would you say that it is the specific imprint of the label to consider jazz as universal music?

Actually there are a lot more European artists on the label than American ones. We are simply locally closer to the European scene, and also the things that are happening in jazz outside America just fit very well to our philosophy, which I described in my answer to your first question. But whenever we do work with American artists like Vince Mendoza, Vijay Iyer, Rudresh Mahanthappa or more recently Michael League, Grégoire Maret, Theo Croker or John Beasley, it works out great, we get Grammy nominations and wins and a lot of international recognition. Ultimately, it's not about the origin of an artist, but rather about a shared philosophy and an aesthetic that suits the label's offering.

Siggi Loch had a strong artistic personality as the founder and director of the label. How did you imagine taking over?

I have the utmost respect for what Siggi Loch has achieved in building this incredible brand and his musical universe, and also for his willingness for his life's work to continue after him. I was aware of the challenge of doing this and at the same time knew from the beginning that I had his utmost trust and also the freedom to continue this work in my own way. I have now been at the helm of ACT for almost ten years, recently as CEO and Managing Partner, and we are delighted to have attracted a new generation of young, diverse, international artists to the label and also to have further expanded our live activities with the ACT Agency, which now books over 500 concerts a year worldwide and curates its own live formats, from intimate, exclusive unplugged concerts to events in major classical concert halls such as the Berlin Philharmonie. So I think we're on the right track.

It is an essential part of ACT and also my personal philosophy to be actively involved in the creative process. We are not just a service provider, we work with artists who value our contribution to all aspects of their work. What this contribution looks like varies from project to project. It can mean developing a concept for an album together, curating the repertoire, discussing ideas. The "Louise" project by Emile Parisien is a good example of this - an exquisite European-American band that combines elements from both worlds, from the past, present and future of jazz, and has a face all of its own. But producing can also mean working with an artist in the studio, down to detailed arrangements and a very specific musical input. Before working in the music industry, I studied jazz in Leipzig and Lucerne and had a very active career as a drummer. At the same time, I have learnt the perspective of the music industry in different contexts, from small indie pop labels to my time at Universal / Deutsche Grammophon / ECM and now ACT. I try to bring all this experience to bear to enable artists to make the best album possible, which should always be a work of art in itself and not just a musical calling card or a representation of their music. I am convinced that on only then listeners will continue to really embrace and value musical productions in our special niche.

Over the past almost ten years, I have developed ACT from an immensely respected international label into a 360-degree music brand. We can offer everything an artist needs for their career, from label work including production and distribution, communications and public relations to traditional and digital marketing. With ACT Publishing, we offer the entire spectrum of a modern music publishing company. And with The ACT Agency we offer booking, artist management and tour/concert production - not only for ACT label artists but also for others. We’re also expanding the agencies’ musical scope into the world of classical / contemporary classical music.

Being an independent jazz & more label in 2024 means serving a relatively small but highly invested niche audience. Jazz's share of the overall music market remains constant at around 1%. But with an international approach, that's still a lot of potential listeners. And as in any art, it's the niche where most of the new, interesting things happen. Being independent means being able to adapt quickly, make quick decisions, be in very direct, personal contact with our artists and develop a stronger identification with our audience than with the major labels. And it means that, apart from the fact that we must work economically of course, it's first and foremost about the artist and the music. And we have made it the core of our philosophy to keep discovering new great talents. We have worked with most of our artists very early on in their careers. And in recent years we have signed several artists in their early 20s, such as British saxophonist Emma Rawicz, who is making big waves across Europe, and others such as Ghanaian trumpeter Peter Somuah and German saxophonist Jakob Manz. ACT remains a "discovery label".

You have been faithful - and you still are! - to a large number of artists by allowing them to record albums in continuity. I think to Emile Parisien, Nguyen Lê, Youn Sun Nah, Bill Laurance, etc. . Do you consider this loyalty as a duty or as a condition of success?

We always think in terms of long-term collaborations. We don't just release an album and see what happens. It's important to develop long-term strategies, both artistically and in terms of marketing and communication. And in this function we are much more than just a label. We maintain close personal relationships with our artists, attend as many concerts as possible, listen to everything they need and are generally a true partner to them. And we are proud that this close relationship is mutual. Nguyên Lê has been an ACT artist since the label was founded. Nils Landgren has been with us for over 30 years, Michael Wollny for 20 years, Emile Parisien for more than 10 years, the list goes on. It's something personal.

In Germany, is jazz a music that counts, which is visible in the media and to the public (notably through festivals, which, in France, are very numerous). Germany is one of the largest music markets in the world. And even if jazz only makes up a small part of it, there are still a lot of potential listeners. There are jazz clubs in many major cities, which are still the backbone of this music, but there are also many festivals. And since the term jazz describes such a broad spectrum of music, a lot of "jazz" is part of the programme of classical music halls and cross-genre musical events and venues, of which there are also a lot in Germany. Most of the 24 music universities in Germany offer a jazz programme. And even if the cultural media are not exactly growing, there is still a lot of jazz and instrumental music on public radio, there are three printed jazz magazines and some of the jazz artists, including those from ACT, make it into the mainstream media time and again. Germany has a great music scene, some of them, such as Joachim Kühn, Michael Wollny, Wolfgang Haffner or a new generation with pianist Johanna Summer, bassist Nils Kugelmann or saxophonist Jakob Manz are clearly on a par with the best in the world. Nevertheless, German jazz is still a rarity outside Germany. This has nothing to do with quality, but rather with perception and prejudice. Whenever the aforementioned artists and many others play internationally, they receive incredible acclaim from the audience. I hope, and we are actively working on it: jazz should not be about of nationality, but about cultural exchange and crossing borders.

Nowadays, there are many different ways to listen to music. Streaming is the most widespread method. And it would be foolish to deny this or tell people how they should listen to music in general. There are good and bad sides. The streaming services mean that our albums can be listened to almost anywhere in the world instantly, and they also mean that our entire catalogue is accessible to everyone. Part of our repertoire is constantly reaching the big playlists, which is something we are constantly and actively working on. At the same time, jazz and instrumental music often need to be actively and intentionally listened to; it is not background music, nor should it be. So there is a lot of music that has dedicated listeners but doesn't generate the amount of streams that would be necessary to generate significant revenue. But as I've already mentioned: We and our artists are in a very specific, high-end niche with very dedicated fans who also buy physical albums because the music is special to them. Vinyl is of course still on the rise and accounts for a large proportion of our physical sales. And CDs still have their audience too - audiophile listeners, collectors and also fans who want to take something home with them after a great concert. As in all areas in which we operate, it's all about the mix, and we want to reach our listeners wherever they prefer to listen to music, be it streaming, high-res downloads, CDs or Vinyl.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to start their own jazz label today?

Don’t do it! …Just kidding. Seriously: Focus on your niche. Don’t try to be mainstream, don’t try to reach and please everyone. Reach the RIGHT people, the ones who are looking for something special, something beyond the ordinary. Build a releation, a true connection with them. And be consistent in the quality of releases and your work. And be prepared to work a lot for that. How would you imagine the next 30 years ? Just as I described in the previous answer. There will always be music. And there will always be people who want something special, something deep and genuine, something that really touches and inspires them. Whether it's live music or recordings, whether it's jazz or not. We have managed to build a brand that stands for exactly that. And we will continue to work on maintaining and developing it further.