Label news: DG goes back to Siemens

In the bad old days, before everything went corporate and multinational, Deutsche Grammophon was owned by the electronics firm Siemens. The acquisition took lace in 1941 and we shall pass swiftly over the immediate subsequent history, but DG was a provincial label when Siemens entered the picture and an international powerhouse by the time it was merged into PolyGram and then bought by Universal.

Now, a generation later, Siemens has come back into the picture as leading partner in DG Stage. Press release below.

Deutsche Grammophon is delighted to announce Siemens as the partner and main supporter of DG Stage – The Classical Concert Hall. The new relationship recalls the historic role played by Europe’s largest industrial manufacturing company, as owner and then significant shareholder of the Yellow Label, from 1941 to 1987. Siemens is set to invest in DG Stage’s productions and technical development until the end of 2021. The partnership aims to expand the platform’s ability to offer a global audience long-form concerts, world premiere presentations and exclusive performances, featuring everyone from the superstars signed to DG to up-and-coming young musicians, as well as guest artists involved in outstanding individual projects.

“Using the latest technology to bring music to a wider audience was a key concern of both companies when Siemens was a shareholder of Deutsche Grammophon in the middle of the last century,” comments Dr Clemens Trautmann, President Deutsche Grammophon. “What we want to do now, via our new DG Stage partnership, is translate this fundamental idea into the present. DG Stage is a response to our artists’ need for innovative online opportunities to complement their live performance work and to the desire of classical music audiences worldwide to experience exciting new productions at close range despite the current restrictions on live events. Siemens is an established and much-valued partner and sponsor of some of the world’s leading international festivals and music institutions, and together we are now expanding these activities into the digital realm. We are very much looking forward to a creative collaboration.”