100 Years of Meisel

August Wilhelm Meisel was born on September 17, 1897, in Rixdorf, Berlin—later known as Neukölln. At the age of five, he began attending the Royal Ballet’s elementary school, where his main subjects were music and dance. Influenced by his family, who ran a dance school, he not only showed an early talent for dance but also developed a keen business sense. At age 15, Will—as he now called himself—founded his own “Tanzclub Neukölln 1912.”

World War I interrupted his activities, and Will Meisel served as a field artilleryman. Decorated, promoted to non-commissioned officer, and wounded near Ypres, he was sent to a convalescent home in Ghent. Together with the Belgian dancer “Mottl,” Meisel performed in frontline variety shows. A dance number that, after the war’s end, became a crowd-pleaser in Berlin and other German cities for years to come. At the same time, in November 1918, he was hired as a “character dancer” with the ballet corps of the Royal Theater.

Meisel lands his first major business coup in 1924: he acquires a cabaret and names it “Jäger-Kasino.” There he meets Ilona von Fövenyessy von Hewy. The Hungarian woman becomes his wife and muse. For her, Will composes his first hit song, the tango “Ilona”. As a result, his versatility became increasingly apparent: his extraordinary ability to combine artistic and business talents. Composers, lyricists, and publishers are all involved in the commercialization of a song. Meisel, the composer, therefore decided to become his own publisher and founded Edition Meisel.

From its modest beginnings in the back room of the casino, the publishing house expands rapidly, as Meisel literally “takes the initiative.” In marketing and advertising, he employs a variety of methods, some of them astonishing. For instance, Meisel personally performs his works for bandleaders and hands out free sheet music to the bands. Miniature prints, the “Meisel Folk Edition,” are distributed so people can sing along to the familiar melodies. The chorus singers receive one of 1,000 megaphones in the shape of a funnel-shaped tube, which also serves as advertising space for “Meisel hits.” He continually hones his personal skills as a composer and conductor. Participation in all major social events to foster close relationships is a given. Will Meisel also has a keen sense of what resonates with the audience. His next global hit followed in 1928: “Fräulein, Pardon!”

The entertainment industry was also hit hard by the Great Depression. Nevertheless, Schlager music had become firmly established as a basic need of the population. The publishing business was booming, and the repertoire continued to grow. More and more artists were having their works published here, in-house authors were added to the roster, and the number of employees rose. The casino becomes too small and is therefore sold. The expanding company eventually moves into two floors at Passauer Straße 5. In 1929, Meisel founds another publishing house, Harrison GmbH, for international marketing. At the same time, in 1931, he takes over the Vienna-based Phönix Verlag and the Monopol-Liederverlag Ernst Wengraf GmbH.
In 1928, an invention emerges that has a lasting impact on popular music: the sound film. By 1930, 101 sound films are already being produced in Germany, most of which feature songs prominently. Meisel quickly becomes one of the leading sound film composers, creating his first three works as early as 1930, with ten more following by 1932.

The Nazi era had a profound impact on Will Meisel and the publishing house. The new anti-Semitic rulers sought to establish a “nationalist culture.” Jewish employees, composers, lyricists, and business partners were persecuted; not all of them managed to escape. Among the victims of the Shoah was the author Willy Rosen, who was murdered in Auschwitz. The publishing catalog shrinks to “Aryan titles.”

Entertainment, however, remains important even under Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. Meisel joins the NSDAP on May 1, 1933, and even composes a march. The enormous demand for light music necessitates the rapid, extensive production of new musical pieces. Work for sound films develops into what is arguably Meisel’s most important business area. By 1943, he has contributed to 37 film scores alone. Musical theater forms another field of activity, for which he even founds his own stage publishing company. Operettas remain a focus. In 1935, “Die Frau im Spiegel” became a lasting success, while the promising “Königin einer Nacht” from 1943 fell victim to the war. Meisel also succeeded in expanding the publishing repertoire once again with works by numerous new authors, including Bruno Balz, Franz Grothe, Peter Kreuder, Fred Raymond, and Ralph-Maria Siegel.

In his personal life, Will Meisel fell in love again and married the opera singer Eliza Illiard in 1935. The couple had two sons, Peter and Thomas, who would later play a central role in the company. Ilona von Fövenyessy had not returned from her vacation in Hungary in 1931 due to developments in the German Reich, and the couple had parted ways by mutual agreement.

During World War II, bombs in Berlin destroyed the store and the publishing offices at Passauer Straße 5 and rendered the living quarters at Wittelsbacherstraße 18 uninhabitable. Many of his works were created during this time in a small summer house in Glienicke. Meisel left Berlin with his family in the fall of 1944 and sought refuge in Bad Gastein, Austria.

Will Meisel makes the revival of evergreens, whether individual songs or entire operettas, the central principle of his business. Thus, the successful title “Fräulein, Pardon!” from 1928 is reissued in accordance with the style of the post-war period in a Latin American rhythm and, sung by Paul Kuhn and Lill Babs, once again becomes a sales hit. Less convincing in 1951 is the film adaptation of the operetta “Königin einer Nacht” starring Ilse Werner and Hans Holt by his production company Echo-Film. It remains Meisel’s only work as a film producer. In contrast, the marketing of his own titles as well as the increasingly licensed domestic and foreign catalogues proves successful. In the 1950s and 1960s, the holdings are combined and published in ever new sheet music albums and potpourris.

As in the 1920s and 1930s, Will Meisel continues to engage intensively in PR activities and uses his instinct for publicity-effective campaigns. Thus, together with the brother-in-law of the Belgian Queen Fabiola, he produces a waltz for her wedding in 1960 and conducts a large concert in 1961 at the Berlin Waldbühne with its 25,000 seats. At its founding in 1965, he and Bruno Balz dedicate a separate song to the Club of the Rubble Women, and with the Puppet, Meisel even creates a dance craze in the mid-1960s.

Will Meisel receives numerous honors in his final years, including the Federal Cross of Merit in 1962. Particularly significant to him is the award of the Paul Lincke Ring in 1964, which he is no longer able to accept personally due to illness. Will Meisel dies on April 29, 1967 in Müllheim (Baden) and is buried at the cemetery in Wilmersdorf. In 1968, ZDF honors the deceased with a film adaptation of “Königin einer Nacht”, while ARD produces the major gala “Tausend rote Rosen blühen” in 1969. The Will-Meisel-Weg in Neukölln still commemorates his work today, as do the memorial plaques on various buildings.

The German music market recovers quickly in the 1950s and 1960s from the collapse at the end of the Second World War. Demand for Schlager music is high, and the “Industry of Human Happiness” is once again booming. At the same time, it undergoes profound changes in audience preferences and technology. With the emergence of Schlager films in the early 1930s, the cult of stardom begins. On record labels, the names of singers now appear instead of those of composers and lyricists. On record sleeves, fans usually find not only the name but also a photograph of the performer. The importance of this personalized marketing for the success of a Schlager song can hardly be overestimated. The record, now made of vinyl instead of shellac and offered both as a single and as a long-playing record and in stereo, becomes the dominant storage medium. Sales jump from six million records in 1949 to 59 million LPs and 46 million singles in 1970.

The entrepreneurial success of the Meisel publishing houses is based on music printing. Nevertheless, the businessman recognizes the changes and takes them into account. In 1960, Meisel founds one of the first publishing labels and, with MONOPOL, creates the basis for record production. The realignment of the company is left to his sons.

Peter, born on June 22, 1935 in Berlin, and Thomas Meisel, born there on January 18, 1940, both show early interest and aptitude for working in the entertainment music sector. Their training begins at the Hans Sikorski music publishing houses in Hamburg. A formative influence on their further development is the year Peter spends in 1956 and Thomas in 1960 at the publishing house Hill & Range Songs Inc. in New York. One of the co-owners is Jean Aberbach, who had gained his first publishing experience with Will Meisel before being forced to flee the National Socialist regime. Already during his time in the United States, Peter arranges for his father to acquire the exploitation rights for Germany to “Souvenirs, Souvenirs” and Paul Anka’s hit “Diana”.

Like their father at the beginning of his career, both sons are determined to pursue their own path. Will supports this and acquires “Edition Intro” in 1959 for a transfer fee of 500 Deutsche Mark. From this emerges in August 1960 the “Edition Intro Gebrüder Meisel OHG”, headquartered at Wittelsbacherstraße 18. Among the first employees is Irmtraut “Trudy” Meisel, Peter’s wife, from 1961 onward. In the same year, a long-standing cooperation with the composer and music producer Christian Bruhn also begins.

Edition Intro quickly proves to be a successful company. More than 125,000 records of the first title, “Hello, Mary-Lou”, sung by René Kollo, are sold immediately. At the German Schlager Festival, the company takes first place in 1962 with “Zwei kleine Italiener” performed by Conny Froboess, and again in 1964 with “Liebeskummer lohnt sich nicht” performed by Siw Malmkvist. At the same time, Edition Intro responds to changes in the music business and in 1962 founds Hansa Musik Produktion and in 1964 the record label Hansa Records, two forward-looking divisions.

The “Edition Intro Gebrüder Meisel OHG” faces the new challenges of the “Industry of Human Happiness”. Regardless of content, the production and marketing of the economic commodity Schlager undergo a series of changes within the framework of general technological and social developments. Singles and long-playing records replace sheet music booklets as the most important carrier medium. At the beginning of the 1970s, analogue music cassettes appear in stores, and from the 1980s onward digital compact discs increasingly dominate the market. As a commercial product, Schlager music must increasingly compete with other musical genres for the favor of listeners. In the course of post-war social development, consumer behavior also becomes increasingly fast-moving. Whereas titles in the 1920s enjoyed lasting popularity over longer periods of time, top positions in the charts over several months have meanwhile become the exception. The cult of stardom promises a certain continuity, making the short-lived product Schlager more calculable for producers and the record industry.

Through their time at the American publishing house Hill & Range Songs Inc., Peter and Thomas Meisel have gained experience that they combine with proven processes in order to expand the success of the family business. The production and marketing of the consumer product Schlager are further perfected and become increasingly dependent on the producer. The declared goal of the Meisel brothers is the “Independent Producer”, independent from the major record companies. This serves as the point of contact for lyricists, composers and performers, for studio production, cooperation with record companies, and marketing via radio, television and print media.

After its founding in 1960, Edition Intro quickly proves to be a successful company. Cooperation with the composer and music producer Christian Bruhn already begins in 1961. The titles “Zwei kleine Italiener” and “Liebeskummer lohnt sich nicht”, created together with lyricist Georg Buschor, achieve hit status in the early 1960s. The Meisel brothers produce at their own risk and offer the finished recordings to the record industry. This is a novelty in the music business, since the major companies usually work with in-house producers. In order to achieve sustainable success as Independent Producers, the brothers expand their company.

On August 22, 1962, Peter and Thomas Meisel found “Hansa Musik Produktion GmbH”. In November 1964, the in-house record label “Hansa Records” is added. Hans-Eberhard Blume, head of entertainment music marketing at Teldec, is recruited as managing director. In 1976, the license for the distribution of the records is transferred to the Bertelsmann subsidiary Ariola. Artists can now be produced not only for outside labels, as before, but also for the in-house Hansa Records. In addition to a small recording studio at Wittelsbacherstraße 18, a new studio is established in Nestorstraße in 1972. Increasingly from 1965 onward, the Sonopress recording studio of Ariola-Eurodisc, the “Meistersaal”, is used. On August 16, 1971, “Hansa Tonstudio Gebr. Meisel OHG” follows, and in 1973 Hansa Studio 1 opens. This means that the company is now also technically independent in terms of music production. In 1975, the Meisel brothers take over the Sonopress recording studio at Köthener Straße 38 and acquire the entire building in 1976 in order to expand it into a music production house. The Meistersaal gains worldwide fame through David Bowie, who records, among other things, his hit “Hero” there, as “the big hall by the wall”. Numerous national and international artists such as Udo Jürgens, Falco, U2 or Depeche Mode have since used the modern recording technology.

The central component of the activities of the Meisel brothers is – just as it had already been for Will Meisel – the relentless search for new talents. One proven method is listening to countless demo tapes, another participating in competitions. At such an event in 1963, Peter Meisel becomes aware of Drafi Deutscher and his Magics. In October 1965, the singer visits Edition Intro and presents the beginning of a song: “dam-dam, dam-dam”. Christian Bruhn, Drafi Deutscher and Günter Loose (lyrics) turn this into “Marmor, Stein und Eisen bricht …”. The song becomes the commercially most successful Schlager title of the publishing house.

With his pronounced instinct, Peter Meisel also succeeds in discovering talents in unusual places. Thus, in the early 1960s, he notices the solderer of an electrical factory at the “Ufer-Eck”, a venue in Berlin-Wedding. The amateur singer Manuela rises to become a star and teenage idol of the 1960s in the Federal Republic of Germany. Meisel initially produces the singer and her girls’ band “Tahiti-Tamourés”, who sell more than 350,000 singles with “Wini-Wini”. This is followed in 1963 by Manuela’s solo career with the cover song “Schuld war nur der Bossa Nova”.

The in-house record label Hansa Records is able to record its first extraordinary success shortly after its founding. In May 1965, the recording “Il Silenzio” by trumpeter Nini Rosso is released and sells two million copies in Germany. Once again, the tireless search for talent contributes to the company’s further rise. Thus, as a juror on the television program *Talentschuppen* of Südwestfunk, Peter Meisel discovers, among others, Juliane Werding and Bernd Clüver. The company also owes its collaboration with Marianne Rosenberg to his extraordinary talent in this field. Many of her songs originate from the lyricist, composer and producer Joachim Heider, with whom Edition Intro works very successfully. Rosenberg’s first hit, “Mr. Paul McCartney”, comes from his pen and is produced by Thomas Meisel. The latter is equally successful in the search for talent and discovers, among others, Roland Kaiser in the mid-1970s. His single “Santa Maria”, produced at Hansa Records in 1980, sells more than one million copies. As early as 1971, on the recommendation of Dieter Thomas Heck, he signs the young musician Frank Farian.

Visual and acoustic presence of performers and titles are guarantees of success. The two main media of the Schlager industry – radio and television – serve these requirements synergistically. Radio in particular, through entertainment programs and request concerts, makes it possible to “plug” new titles. Television plays an equally significant role in marketing. The “ZDF-Hitparade”, hosted by Dieter Thomas Heck, creates and promotes stars. Hansa Musik Produktion is regularly represented on the show, at times simultaneously with four Schlager titles.

The artistic orientation of the Meisel brothers is not limited to Schlager music. Thus, they participate in the progressive labels Ohr and Pilz and produce, among other things, four albums by the Krautrock band Amon Düül. In principle, Peter and Thomas Meisel offer artists outside the mainstream a platform with the label “der andere song”, founded in 1973. Above all, singer-songwriters and comedy performers such as Frank Zander, Gunter Gabriel, Gebrüder Blattschuss, Klaus Lage and Hugo Egon Balder are among the artists and business partners. “Kreuzberger Nächte” by the Gebrüder Blattschuss and “Ja, wenn wir alle Englein wären” by Frank Zander achieve the status of gold records.
Productive contacts with the GDR arise not least because of the company’s headquarters in Berlin. The existing cooperation with Klaus Eidam is expanded. Musicians from GDR radio record “composer portraits” for Meisel over many years. In 1989, Monopol Records produces the album “Solche wie du” by the group Karussell, which also contains the successful title “Als ich fortging”.

From the very beginning, the company’s work is internationally oriented. Irmtraut “Trudy” Meisel, the wife of Peter Meisel, has overseen the worldwide acquisition and sale of copyrights as well as the international affairs of producers such as Giorgio Moroder since 1961. Her first major success is obtaining the German rights to “Il Silenzio”. Abroad, she profitably markets a number of artists. Thus, Hansa International in London signs a contract with Amii Stewart, whose first single “Knock on Wood” reaches number 1 in the USA in 1979 and is awarded platinum for one million units sold.

On the German market, Schlager music as a commercial product must increasingly compete with other musical genres such as beat, rock and pop for the favor of listeners. The Meisel group takes this into account. With Euro Disco, collaboration with Frank Farian and Boney M. begins in the mid-1970s. Not least thanks to the financial start-up funding provided by Thomas Meisel, Farian achieves worldwide fame as the producer of Boney M. In the spring of 1978, the group’s greatest success, “Rivers of Babylon”, is released. More than one million copies of the single are sold in Germany alone within four weeks. The studio albums of Boney M. are produced at Hansa Records, and all titles are published by Meisel. The successful collaboration with Frank Farian is repeated with Milli Vanilli at the end of the 1980s. The rights to all productions by Frank Farian are held by the jointly founded “Far Musikverlag”.

With the German band The Teens, Hansa Musik Produktion signs an English-language pop-rock group in 1978. It is the first cast school band in Germany. Thanks to an appearance on Wim Thoelke’s television show *Der Große Preis*, the group becomes known throughout Germany. As the first German band, The Teens receive the Bravo Otto in Gold in 1979. Among the group’s songwriters is also Dieter Bohlen, whose impressive career as a producer for Hansa Musik Produktion begins there. In the autumn of 1984, the recording of his title “You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul” is produced at Hansa Studio. The debut single becomes the first national and international hit of Modern Talking. The subsequent albums are produced at Hansa recording studio, and approximately 80 million records are sold in the 1980s alone.

At the beginning of the 1980s, Peter and Trudy Meisel decide to withdraw from the music business and move their residence to the USA in 1984. Hansa Musik Produktion GmbH, together with Hansa Records, is sold to the Bertelsmann company. The publishing business, the printing company and the Hansa recording studios remain family-owned and are continued by Thomas Meisel.

After the departure of his brother Peter in the mid-1980s, Thomas Meisel continues to expand the newly restructured family business. Thus, in 1992 he acquires the publishing company “Radio Music International” from Radio Luxembourg. The catalogue comprises the rights to approximately 1,000 titles, some of them very well known, including “Looking for Freedom”. The label Monopol Records is responsible, among other things, for albums by Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester, the band Karussell, as well as Frank Schöbel. In October 1994, the restoration and renovation of the Meistersaal at Köthener Straße 38 are completed. Thomas and Doris Meisel thereby open up new possibilities for Berlin’s cultural life, which continue to be used in many different ways to this day.

Together with Sven Meisel, a generational change also takes place within the company in other functions. Thus, from 2001 onward, Frank Lücke takes over the finance department after his predecessor Wilfried Hopica had served as finance director for almost three decades. The third generation faces the major challenge of preserving the life’s work of its predecessors. This takes place at a time in which prevailing musical tastes are changing, competition from the major labels is increasing steadily, and new technological developments must be mastered. Sven Meisel confronts this together with his employees in a calm, friendly and competent manner. The company is family.

In accordance with the musical spirit of the times, “Schlager” increasingly develops into formats for individual listener groups. As early as 1999, Sven Meisel breaks new ground with the German mystic-pop project Lesiëm. The music combines different elements of rock, pop, electronic music, New Age and ambient with choral music and Gregorian chant. Production takes place at Hansa Studios, while the master and publishing rights are held by Meisel. The debut album “Mystic, Spirit, Voices” from 2000 reaches number 7 in the U.S. Billboard Charts. The establishment of new editions makes it possible to address the needs of different groups in a targeted manner. Thus, the collaboration agreed in 2012 with producer Oliver deVille focuses on the party Schlager genre. The cooperation with Media29Records is focused on Latin and dance music and includes, for example, the group Pachanga.

Sven Meisel expands the master rights sector to a particular degree. In addition to the established label Monopol Records, this takes place through the founding of new labels such as Bigfoot Records, Juhu Records and mfe – Musik für Erwachsene. Thus, together with Thomas Müller and Marcus Zander, he re-evaluates the back catalogue of the band Rosenstolz on mfe and leads it to chart success. Added to this as a new service is the administration of labels such as Passion Factory or NFP neue film produktion. The expansion from a publishing partnership to a label partnership with NFP provides access to soundtracks of films such as “Sein letztes Rennen” starring Dieter Hallervorden. The master rights of a wide variety of artists are acquired and their titles released physically and digitally. Among them are the bands Rosenstolz, Silent Circle, The Twins, Arabesque as well as Matthias Reim. His song “Verdammt, ich lieb’ Dich” develops into one of the best-selling German Schlager titles since 1975. DA Music cooperates in the distribution of Monopol sound carriers.

The publishing sector is likewise expanded and existing contacts intensified. This applies, for example, to George Glueck, who initially works nationally and internationally for the Meisel publishing house from 1975 onward. From 1993, Glueck independently founds his own music companies. Among the artists signed with him are, among others, Trio, Sarah Connor, Ich + Ich as well as Texas Lightning. Meisel is entrusted with the administration of the publishing companies.

The technological advances of the digital world open up new possibilities of application, from the boom in ringtones to the transition from CDs to streaming. For Sven Meisel, this creates not only new business sectors but also previously unknown challenges. How are licenses for mobile phone ringtones to be calculated? Which price categories and margins apply in the download sector, and who receives which royalties? Fundamentally, there are constantly new developments and formats in the digital sector that must be legally recorded and economically mastered. This requires adapting distribution channels and cooperating with new partners. As early as 1998, Meisel concludes a contract with Arvato (Telekom) and makes the entire music program accessible on the internet as “Music on demand”. Since the founding of Zebralution in 2004, all digital rights have been exploited through this now globally operating digital distributor for independent labels. The classic sheet music distribution continues in principle as it has for decades. However, customers increasingly order and receive their requests not by post, but at home via the internet.

The conversion of Hansa Studios at Köthener Straße 38 into a “music production house with external companies” significantly promotes entrepreneurial development in times of declining demand for large studios. A wide variety of companies and producers from the music industry such as Audioberlin, Mitte Studios, Emil Berliner Studios or Herbert Grönemeyer move in as tenants. Groups such as Snow Patrol with “A Hundred Million Suns” (2008) or R.E.M. with “Collapse into Now” (2010) make use of the modern technical possibilities.

Unfortunately, Sven Meisel is not granted the opportunity to continue his life’s work. Only two years after his father Thomas, he dies on January 6, 2016 after a short, serious illness. His wife Kirsten Meisel assumes responsibility for the company.

Kirsten Meisel not only has to face these challenges, but also fundamentally ensure the company’s operational capability and further develop it with her own new projects. In the label sector, the album “Altberliner Lieder” is already released in 2016 together with the Berlin-based Deutschrock band Haudegen. In the same year, the band and Meisel found the label “Blut, Schweiß & Tränen”. In 2017, Meisel Musikverlage and Schedler Musikverlag jointly hold the first songwriter camp at Hansa Studios. Due to the positive results achieved by the 20 songwriters, further camps follow, involving various partners, including Welt der Wunder TV. New editions with songwriters such as Tom Marquardt and Kurt Schoger are established. At the same time, collaboration with Oliver deVille in the party Schlager sector and with One Groove in hip-hop is expanded. Songwriters such as Oli Nova can be signed exclusively.

In the autumn of 2019, Kirsten Meisel initiates a new chapter in the history of the publishing house. Discussions with Marko Wünsch, the owner of the highly successful Schlager label Telamo, lead in July 2020 to the founding of “Lucile-Meisel Musikverlag GmbH”. The two independent and entrepreneurially managed music publishers Meisel and Lucile Musik Verlag combine their activities. This creates the largest Schlager publishing house in Europe in Berlin. The activities subsequently include regular songwriting sessions conducted both domestically and internationally. Songwriters such as Simon Allert, Anja Krabbe and Tanja Lasch are represented, and the catalogue of Andreas Martin is acquired. It repeatedly proves possible to place hits on radio airplay and to achieve numerous number-one albums.

Independent of the cooperation with Lucile Musik Verlag, Kirsten Meisel expands the entrepreneurial projects particularly in the creative field. Among the various partners are welovemelodies and FLINTA* songwriting camps, as well as camps by and with partners such as KEINE FAXEN or PAPER PUG for artists such as Katha Rosa or Glasperlenspiel. Furthermore, national and international writing sessions take place for artists such as Hyolyn or Planschemalöör. In addition, further new signings are concluded with songwriters such as Linda Stark, Fillies, Fidi Steinbeck and Filippo Grasso.

The Corona crisis from 2020 to 2023 also affects the Meisel corporate group. Despite lockdowns and the closure of Hansa Studios, tasks such as supporting songwriters must continue to be ensured. In the meantime, Hansa Studios are once again heavily booked by renowned artists and bands. Coldplay, SDP, Herbert Grönemeyer, Roland Kaiser, Harry Styles, Giant Rooks, AnnenMayKantereit and others make use of the outstanding recording technology. The annual Meisel Music & Hansa Studios HOFFEST establishes itself as a meeting point for the industry. With the founding of Meisel Music and the acquisition of Duo-Phon, the company now possesses two additional labels. The acquisition of Duo-Phon also includes the extensive catalogue with historical repertoire and references to Berlin. New releases by various artists such as Frank Schöbel, Frank Lars, Frank Lukas, Sarah Zucker, Karussell, Polkaholix, Mitch Keller or Annemarie Eilfeld testify to the success of these intensive activities. This is also impressively documented by the number of annual songwriting sessions, which have established themselves as a contemporary method for generating tailor-made new songs.

Under the leadership of Kirsten Meisel, the employees continue to drive forward the expansion of the catalogue in its musical breadth as well as the sharpening of the publishing house’s profile, while carrying out innovative PR work. Hansa Studios specifically meet the current demands of music production. One hundred years after its founding by Will Meisel, the Meisel corporate group is excellently equipped to continue fulfilling the demands of the “Industry of Human Happiness”.