It’s the fourth round for Cologne Commons music festival – this time under the motto ‘let’s do something rather than talk’. 5 September 2015 at Cologne’s Gebaeude 9 will exclusively feature bands that release their music under Creative Commons or similar free licences. This does not necessesarily mean that the music is available at no charge.

Today, many bands and musicians take new directions in terms of marketing their music. Some use crowdfunding to finance the production of an album in advance. Others offer their music on a ‘pay what you want’ basis. Some sell their music in classical formats like Vinyl, CD or Tape, but nevertheless allow free sharing under the terms of Creative Commons licences. Again others offer their music as a free download, at no charge.

All these bands are united by their wish to break free from the classical exploitation chain of the music industry. They rather choose to remain in control of themselves and drive their careers with a lot of creativity and engagement, instead of having the record companies decide over them.

This year, Cologne Commons focuses on ‘classical’ bands, but it doesn’t matter if it’s a duo or a big band – and even genre-wise, there are no limits. Punk will meet Reggae, Singer- Songwriter will meet Metal.