Rich, richer, Rammstein After the knife attack, France celebrates Henri, the “hero with the backpack”

Rammstein, it’s not just a band, it’s a company – and a huge company. The value of the brand cannot be precisely quantified, but it can run into the billions. With the tickets for their concerts alone, the Berliners raised more than 200 million euros last year. Worldwide, only five acts have been more successful, including Elton John, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran. No other artist in Germany even comes close.

The band, founded in 1994, does not only make money from concerts: they have sold 20 million copies of their 8 albums. There are also merchandise items bearing the band name, such as sweaters and T-shirts, as well as wine, chocolate, and perfumes with names such as “Cocaine”, “Sex” and “Pussy” – the drugstore chain Rossmann has since been accused of several women against singers Till Lindemann banned from the online shop.

Publisher Kiepenheuer & Witsch also reacted to the reports of assaults after Rammstein’s concerts and ended the collaboration with Lindemann – the texts he published there made the 60-year-old the best-selling contemporary German poet. Lindemann is apparently threatened with further economic fallout in connection with his solo tour scheduled for fall and winter: it now appears to be on the brink, as reported by Bayerischer Rundfunk.

Rammstein’s European tour, which has just started, is probably not in it. The band wants to give 23 concerts by August 5, in stadiums from Portugal to Hungary – most of them have long since been sold out. It is extremely unlikely that any of the mega shows will fail due to the latest allegations: “All parties involved should have the utmost interest in honoring the existing contracts,” explains Matthias Glesel, an event insurance expert, t-online.

Given the huge show and high attendance at each Rammstein concert, Glesel estimates the damage would be in the tens of millions if canceled. And without a valid i.e. insurance related reason, no one would take on these costs. “Until now, there was no insurance product that would kick in for reputational damage,” says Glesel.

For example, if an organizer – from now on – wanted to cancel a Rammstein concert in Portugal, because he no longer wanted to be associated with the band after the allegations, he would be fully liable for the damage caused. “Perhaps such reputational damage will become part of event contracts in the future,” says Matthias Glesel. Then the behavior of a band or their singer can be a reason to cancel a concert if it can damage the image of the organizer or other participants.

Used sources: