“Der Muzikant” is currently turning the Jewish music industry upside down. Man in Tunisia dies after self-immolation

Ultra-Orthodox party to electronic music like there’s no tomorrow. Side curls swirl around. Confetti flies through the air. Many have to hold on to their yarmulke during all the dancing to keep it from falling to the floor.

It is an unorthodox image of Orthodox Jews that “Der Muzikant” regularly propagates on social media.

The musician? The DJ who creates an exciting atmosphere in a conservative environment? no Despite the singular form, ‘Musician’ is not about an individual, but about an entire community of musicians created to turn the Jewish music industry upside down.

But not alone. On social media, the musicians surprise much more than just conservative circles. Some music videos have more than 30 million clicks. More than 100,000 people follow on Instagram how “Der Muzikant” really warms up the mood of Orthodox Jews.

It will look like this:

Or so:

The founder Levy Mayer had recognized a gap in the market – and dared to do the balancing act between tradition and modernity. With Watson, Mayer looks at the rise of the steadily growing community, the hurdles – and in the crystal ball.

Novelty in the Jewish music industry

Levy Mayer has always had a fondness for Jewish music. The 20-year-old grew up in a large Orthodox Jewish community in New York. About 2 million Jews live in the metropolitan area around the Big Apple. It is one of the largest Jewish diaspora communities.

Jewish music is mainly religious – according to Mayer, electronic sounds were not yet known at Jewish events before the breakthrough of “Der Muzikant”. At least not in Hebrew or Yiddish.

The inspiration to create a music community that would transform the Jewish music industry came to Mayer not too long ago – during the 2021 pandemic. With his friend Dov he thought about a possible pioneering act. He soon came up with the idea of ​​mixing traditional music with electronic beats. Then everything went very fast.

Mayer started the community on his own – he was 18 at the time. He spent several hours a day trying to connect with musicians and create a concept. The time invested paid off.

In a very short time he managed to build up an artist file. How? With the promise that he can enhance the musicians’ image by building and managing social media profiles – and offering them services such as public performances.

A name was missing. Mayer opted for Yiddish – “Der Muzikant” differs only slightly from the German translation “der Musiken”. Because: The two West Germanic languages ​​are closely related. Yiddish is mainly spoken by ultra-Orthodox Jews.

There is a whole community behind «Der Muzikant»

The community now consists of more than 70 musicians (singers, DJs, producers) and three choirs, all of whom work separately. Everyone makes their own songs and beats. Sometimes there is also a collaboration. “The original songs are sometimes conceived by one musician and later remixed by another musician,” says Mayer.

«We are currently working with 35 singers, 37 musicians, 5 bands, 5 DJs and 3 choirs. We also work with various sound and light companies. The price for one performance is between 1200 and 7500 dollars. Depends on the musician/singer and the duration of the event. The average price is $2200 per event.

He emphasizes that the artists not only produce electronic music, but also classics. The concept is simple: “If a Jewish musician wants to enter the musical stage, he comes to us and we make sure he gets the attention he deserves.”

This gives young talents the chance to appear at public events, which are often accompanied by photographers to distribute the content on social media.

One of the famous minds behind “Der Muzikant” is Lipa Schmeltzer – otherwise known as Lady Gaga of modern Hasidic music. He also comes from a Jewish community in New York and combines traditional Hasidic music with contemporary music styles such as pop and rock.

Up to 10 performances per day

The musicians perform at Jewish weddings and private events. Mayer records between five and ten performances a day. Per day.

The community is mainly made up of musicians from New York and New Jersey who travel the United States. Los Angeles and Miami are among the most desirable locations. But there are also many questions from Israel. Some of the artists involved in the project live in the Promised Land.

The community remains true to one creed:

Where are the women?

Events by men for men – that’s the impression you get when you watch the videos of “Der Muzikant”. There is never a woman to be seen. Levy Mayer explains: “Almost all of our events have a Mechitza [Vorrichtung zur räumlichen Trennung der Geschlechter] between men and women.”

«Der Muzikant» strictly adheres to the guidelines of the Torah and Halacha. Out of respect and for reasons of religion, only the male side of the party is published.

Rejection, barriers and sources of income

Ultra-Orthodox Jews often reject Western values. However, Mayer has never met with rejection with his concept. So far he has only received positive feedback such as: “Thank you for spreading a positive vision of our world” or “The world needs to see this to realize that all the propaganda about us is totally wrong”.

Instead, Mayer struggled with something else: “There were a few people who tried to compete with us by copying our concept. The great thing is that they gave up after a few months.”

Mayer thinks he knows the reason for this: “I don’t think social media is for everyone. You don’t feel the results right away. Most people just aren’t willing to work for anything, they just want to see results right away.” He also had to be patient and earned nothing for the first ten months.

Meanwhile, “Der Muzikant” has various sources of income: through performances, through social media and through merchandising. Many of the musicians would not have a side job because they earn enough from their performances. The price for one performance is between 1200 and 7500 dollars.

The greatest success

“Der Muzikant” achieved its greatest musical success not with a song, but with an intro. But for Mayer, the video isn’t just the most successful because of clicks:

The video that went through the roof:

How did this social media coup succeed? Levy Mayer reveals: “In the beginning I relied on short videos. Later I produced long format videos. For months, I shared eight-minute videos on YouTube to reach new audiences. So one thing led to another.”

Look into the crystal ball

Mayer, who has not yet released a song herself, has further plans. One of the things on the checklist is the creation of a music label – the project “Der Muzikant” is not yet an official brand. Another item on the list: both the social media community and the artist community need to continue to grow.

The goal remains the same: “To promote the unpopular talent of Jewish musicians.”