Martin Schrader left the music business at the end of 2018. He and his partners sold Mainland Music to Live Nation, then he became a winemaker, and spent five years learning to listen to slow things. But the vineyard got too quiet. Now he’s back, together with Maisch Gosteli, reviving REDDA music into a market more consolidated than the one he left.
On September 23rd, I met Martin Schrader and Maisch Gosteli at Restaurant Viadukt in Zurich to talk about passion, money, and a rumour.
This summer, you announced that REDDA music was making a comeback. What sort of reactions have you had from the Swiss music scene?
Martin Schrader: We’ve received words of support from our future competitors, along the lines of: “We’re looking forward to working against each other.” (laughs)
Maisch Gosteli: The reactions have been overwhelmingly positive, from agencies and bands right through to sections of the audience. That confirmed to us that we’ve got something cool on the go.
Martin, you switched from the music business to the wine business in 2018/2019. Recent headlines in that sector haven’t exactly painted a rosy picture of the future. And the music business has also been in crisis for years. Why move from one crisis to the next?
MS: Well, if you put it like that, it really was a daft decision on my part. But seriously: I didn’t leave the music business because I’d had enough of it. It was because I’d found something else that gradually drew me in. I was certain I’d regret it if I didn’t give working in the wine business a go. At the end of 2018, after we’d sold Mainland Music to Live Nation, I stepped down, did a winemaking apprenticeship and then focused entirely on my new job for five years. It demands something completely different from you and requires a totally different focus. You have to listen for the subtle things and track the slow developments. It’s the complete opposite of the music business.
Was this change easy?
MS: No, this change of perspective initially took its toll on me. But after five years, I’ve settled in and started to realise what I still miss: the hustle and bustle of life. Of course, there’s plenty of alcohol in a winemaker’s life, but it’s not quite as lively. In farming, you’re often on your own; it can be lonely. That’s never the case in the world of live music, and I’ve always enjoyed being around people. I carried that realisation with me until the opportunity arose, together with Maisch, to get back into music.
MG: I wasn’t involved in the wine trade, except perhaps as a consumer. (laughs) Martin and I both have our roots in hardcore punk and complement each other very well. I even applied for a job with him once, back when he was still working for Mainland Music. In recent years, I’ve mainly worked for venues from the ISC to Bad Bonn. Of course, it’s comfortable to have a permanent base, but I do feel a desire for a more open working environment that takes me to different places. And we’re planning for that variety too. We need to balance small club gigs with bigger events.
You complement each other well. What exactly does that mean?
MG: I’m familiar with the agency world mainly from the perspective of a venue and festival organiser. Martin, on the other hand, has far more experience in this field, including from a time when the music business still had more loyalty. He’s been able to reactivate many of these old connections for REDDA music. I, on the other hand, bring a lot of exciting new acts from my work at Bad Bonn; while they may not fill large venues, they’re still important for the agency. It’s an extremely dynamic environment, and our business needs both established bands and up-and-coming newcomers whom we can support and help develop.
Martin, the sale of Mainland Music to Live Nation was, of course, not your decision alone. Nevertheless, the decision taken at the time seems to go against your values. Is the return of REDDA music a form of making amends? Or to put it another way: do you personally regret the sale?