Taking place over four days and serving as a forum for international talent to discuss current developments in the global music industry, Reeperbahn is the biggest club festival in Europe. Since 2006, artists, fans, and industry players from around the world have gathered in Hamburg for the event.
For this year's Reeperbahn Festival, Spotify celebrated its EQUAL Global Music Program. EQUAL aims to combat gender disparity in the music industry by amplifying and celebrating the work of women creators around the world.
At the festival, Spotify hosted a series of concerts to showcase the talents of German EQUAL artist LEEPA (who is also the EQUAL artist of the month for September), Sofia Portanet, and Ebow. It was exciting to have three great artists perform at the internationally renowned event, shared Conny Zhang, Spotify's Head of Music for the German region. At the same time, this showcase demonstrates, once more, the importance we place on promoting diversity in the audio industry at Spotify.
Ahead of their performances, we caught up with two of the artists, LEEPA and Sofia, to learn more about their careers and experiences.
LEEPA What has your experience in the Spotify EQUAL program been like up to now? LEEPA: It's been great, but a bit surreal. It's also been a lot of work, so I think I'm in super tunnel mode and will have to wait for the most intense part to be over to really realize it happened.
How does it feel to be part of the Reeperbahn showcase? LEEPA: My reaction is disbelief, a great deal of perfectionism kicking in, and gratefulness. Other people's reactions have been great too. It's interesting because I've also gotten a lot of international reactions that were super positive, which was both super interesting and nice.
What's been the most pivotal moment of your music career so far? LEEPA: I think this week has been super defining. Having two shows as big as Reeperbahn Festival and Lollapalooza in combination with the EQUAL campaign in one week is the ultimate test, and I think this whole year has led up to this point. And successfully getting through it will be very defining for my career, and also essential to my confidence as an artist.
What's next for you? LEEPA: A little break and lots of music making.
How would you like to see greater gender representation in the music industry? LEEPA: More female technicians and more female producers!
Sofia Portanet How does it feel to be part of the EQUAL Reeperbahn showcase? Sofia: I'm really excited about this showcase! I think it's great and really important that Spotify is setting a sign for gender equality in the music industry. The fact that the EQUAL playlist and showcase have been brought to life is an indicator of a big issue in the music industry, and it's good that this topic is getting more attention though this. Being a powerful streaming platform, it's great Spotify is assuming their part of the responsibility in this matter by creating more visibility for female artists and helping to widen female artists' audience. Having the opportunity to play live and be part of Spotify EQUAL myself is therefore extra exciting and makes me really proud! On top of this, I love playing at the Reeperbahn Festival. It's a very dynamic and diverse festival, and I love to meet people and discover new artists here.
What's been the most pivotal moment of your music career so far? Sofia: Winning the Best Newcomer Award at the VIA VUT Indie Awards at Reeperbahn Festival last year (2021). In my opinion, recognition shouldn't ever be the goal, but it does encourage and give a lot of strength to keep on working hard! It was a really joyful moment and I feel really, really grateful for it.
What's next for you? Sofia: Quite a few things actually. I'm preparing my upcoming single release for the beginning of November. The song is called UNSTOPPABLE and it's about empowering people to keep believing in themselves no matter what! There will be a music video for it, too. Also, I'm preparing for my upcoming tour that starts mid-November until the 8th of December. It's the headline tour of my latest album Freier Geist, which we had to postpone three times already. But this time, it's finally going to happen! I'd recommend getting your tickets now. And last but not least, I'm working on my new album. I can't wait to tell you everything about it very soon!
How would you like to see greater gender representation in the music industry? Sofia: Despite all efforts in the past years, the music industry continues to be a super male-dominated industry with big gender inequality. First of all, it would be really important for everyone to understand that women don't want to have special treatment; we just want to be treated no differently than men. That means we need to have just as many opportunities to prove ourselves, to get experience, to be respected, and to be treated equally. And equal treatment means equal representation in any sector of the music industry! May it be as an artist, songwriter, producer, or executive. In the long run, for me, equal treatment will no longer mean having women panels or female music festivals. It will just mean that women will equally be represented in any festival, any panel, any company. And don't get me wrong, it's great to have women only events or organizations as it raises the attention on the issue, but it's important that women don't feel stigmatized with this topic either, but integrated into the system instead.
Want to hear more from these powerful women artists? Check out the Spotify EQUAL GSA playlist.
Europe Stories
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Composition Builder 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: The Composition Builder 2025 application for macOS enables TV stations and Live Event broadcast...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAr just:live pro 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: just:live pro 2025 is a Single Channel Live Production Playout solution for video and static or real-t...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAr just:play pro 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: just:play pro 2025 is a Single Channel automated 24/7 Master Control playout solution with SD, HD and ...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAr live:cut 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: live:cut is an option to just:in mac pro 2025 and enables multicamera production workflows for up to 16 cam...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite NDI 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: The Just In Mac Lite NDI application is a streamlined media capture solution designed specific...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: The Just In Mac Lite application is a streamlined media capture solution designed specifically for...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir just:in mac pro 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: just:in mac pro is a macOS-based client-server multichannel capture solution to record SDI, HDMI, N...
03/12/2025
Tracy Bonareri Onchoke, Thomson's Young Journalist of the year 2025 is hoping the accolade will be a springboard to more cross-border collaboration between ...
03/12/2025
For the fourth time, Bad Bunny is the most-streamed Wrapped artist on Spotify gl...
03/12/2025
The wait is over. It's time to look back at the audio that defined your year with 2025 Spotify Wrapped, our annual celebration for fans, artists, creators, ...
03/12/2025
Por cuarta vez, Bad Bunny es el Top Artista Global de Wrapped en Spotify, con 19...
03/12/2025
Spotify Wrapped is back, and as always, it's powered by the billions of streams that fans around the world delivered throughout the year. From the artists w...
03/12/2025
Spotify Wrapped is the moment when hundreds of millions of fans around the world...
03/12/2025
With more than 700 million listeners around the world turning to Spotify to soundtrack their lives, it's time to look back at the audio that defined the yea...
03/12/2025
Con m s de 700 millones de oyentes en todo el mundo usando Spotify para acompa ar su d a a d a, es momento de mirar hacia atr s y ver el audio que marc el a o....
03/12/2025
From page-turning thrillers to inspiring memoirs, audiobooks are becoming a core...
03/12/2025
Com mais de 700 milh es de ouvintes em todo o mundo recorrendo ao Spotify para embalar seu dia a dia, chega o momento de revisitar o udio que marcou o ano. Nos...
03/12/2025
Spotify Wrapped celebrates the audio that defined our year, and the annual globa...
03/12/2025
Wuppertal December 3, 2025
Riedel and Haivision Join Forces to Advance Wireless Video TransmissionRiedel Communications today announced a new partnership with...
03/12/2025
Tell us a little bit about your job I am a Digital Marketing Executive working on Paid Social, PPC, and Organic Social. I joined the team in May 2025 and am enj...
03/12/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. and VIENNA - Dec. 3, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) and Normann...
03/12/2025
S an Nollaig
Celebrate 2025's top Irish sporting stars with RT Sport Awards live from RT Studios on RT One and RT Player
RT pays tribute to Ror...
02/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
02/12/2025
--
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the International Telecommunication Unio...
02/12/2025
Harmonic's cOS Platform Will Redefine Subscribers' Quality of Experience, Lowering Churn SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 2, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today...
02/12/2025
S an Nollaig
Hollywood blockbusters The Banshees of Inisherin, Barbie and Oppenheimer make their Irish TV debut
Tune into the classics such as Love Actual...
02/12/2025
Showcasing fresh Irish storytelling and emerging talent Storyland 2025 signals a fantastic time for Irish drama
RT and F s ireann/Screen Ireland are proud to...
01/12/2025
MANCHESTER, UK - November 2025 - Announced two days before the 30th anniversary of Oasis' debut album, Definitely Maybe, the Oasis Live '25 tour marks t...
01/12/2025
01 Dec 2025
Kyivstar and Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation Select Go...
01/12/2025
The prequel to the global hit Sky Original mob crime saga, Gomorrah' is a s...
01/12/2025
Featuring Florence Welch, Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Flea, designer Bella Freud...
01/12/2025
Fox Corporation Chief Financial Officer Steve Tomsic to Participate in Upcoming ...
01/12/2025
Arvato Systems' Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) Receives BSI C5 Certification (T...
01/12/2025
Summary This short video gives you an summary of the changes in under two minutes.
--...
01/12/2025
As the festive season approaches, RT Supporting the Arts is proud to showcase a...
01/12/2025
Festive specials of Christmas in Kilmainham presented by Marty Whelan, High Road Low Road, Callan Kicks the Year and Keys to My Life
Ring in the New Year with ...
01/12/2025
Architect and television presenter Hugh Wallace, best known to RT audiences as a long-serving judge on Home of the Year, has died at the age of 68.
In a state...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
Taking place over four days and serving as a forum for international talent to discuss current developments in the global music industry, Reeperbahn is the biggest club festival in Europe. Since 2006, artists, fans, and industry players from around the world have gathered in Hamburg for the event.
