Tokio Hotel wants to conquer America 13th of May 2008 Frank Briegmann is used to experiencing the biggest music stars in the world. And yet, there still are very special performances for the German boss of the Universal Music Group. The Magdeburger teen band Tokio Hotel, the best horse in the stable of Universal Germany, has come to New York to introduce their first English language record. Briegmann doesn't really see himself as the type of boss that interferes in every little thing of his artists. But for Tokio Hotel, he traveled with to New York. For he believes that Tokio Hotel has a real chance of commercial success in the world music market. And if it would come that way, then it would be a rare piece of art: "There are German athletes or models these days that are famous in America, but hardly any musicians. It would be something very special if Tokio Hotel it would make it." In fact, America is a notoriously difficult market for foreigners. This does not apply only for Germans, but also for artists from English speaking countries. Even the British superstar Robbie Williams is almost completely ignored in America. The Australian Kylie Minogue didn't even make it in the top 100 of the American Billboard charts with her latest album "X". Germans have it even harder: Only Nena landed a hit in the US in 1983 with her "99 Red balloons". Even today you can ask the Americans what German musicians they know, and the answer is almost always "Nena". After her, the Scorpions managed to land a top 10 hit with the song "Wind of Change", and the band Rammstein managed to get a decent result, but that's where it ends with the German artists. Top class TV appearances secured Tokio Hotel are already an export hit, which is a bit puzzling. The band managed their breakthrough in Germany in 2005 with the song "Durch den Monsun" and has since become a teenage phenomenon to a hysterical fans base. Soon the band didn't just have supporters in German speaking countries like Poland and France, even with the fact their music wasn't even publicized yet. Briegmann was sharp-eared: He introduced the band to his Universal colleagues from other countries and brought them to arrange the first performances and to design the marketing machine. In France it went beat to beat: First a mini show in front of 600 fanatical fans, then the support from radio stations, chart success for the CD and a concert in front of 500.00 people in front of the Eifel tower with other stars. Tokio Hotel made the first jump into America in February already with little concerts in small halls: The shows were sold out, and the concert in New York was printed in the "New York Times", a lavish illustrated story on the first page on their featured pages . Now Tokio Hotel are back in New York, because they want to get into the charts with their just recently released "Scream" album. Universal boss Briegmann looks satisfied at the first evidence on the hit list of the online Music company iTunes from Apple: "Yesterday the album was on place 13, today we are on 24." Even the business of the CDs in the stores went well. "After the first prognoses, we will be climbing in the Top 50 of Billboard charts." 15,000 to 20,000 sold CDs would probably be needed, estimates Briegmann . He hopes that it will once be a total of 500,000 exemplars. Sales so far are between 30 million to 40 million Euros There is no shortage of hysteria in New York. Tokio Hotel have secured themselves top class TV appearances. They were on the music channel MTV on Times Square and were welcomed by screeching girls. MTV covered its glass facade of an entire floor with Tokio Hotel posters. The day after they were on the TV station NBC on the Late Night show with Conan O'Brien Tokio Hotel have sold 3 million albums and 2 1/2 million singles around the world till now. That would make a profit of 30 to 40 million Euros if you calculate it from the usual selling prices. Around a third of that value still comes from the selling of fan items as well. The band is for Universal a handsome economic factor, even though the figures are still modest compared to the total value of the company's profit of 4.9 billion Euros. On the way to a global brand But when it comes to Briegmann, Tokio Hotel are only at the beginning of the road to become a global brand: This year, America and Europe are still in the foreground, and for the coming year Briegmann wants to take Asia and South America next. Briegmann sees Tokio Hotel as one of the few that has chances to base German artists internationally. Hard to export would be groups like Rosenstoltz that celebrate their success as the second most important German band after Tokio Hotel for Universal. The guys of Tokio Hotel are used to the success and screaming girls, but the response in America was obviously something quite different: "To see this huge poster of us on Times Square was simply overwhelming", says front man Bill Kaulitz. And his twin brother Tom tells that after the article in the "New York Times", they bought all the newspapers from the whole airport back then. Teen bands traditionally don't last very long For Briegmann, the success of Tokio Hotel is a ray of hope in a difficult market. The entire music industry has been in a crisis for the past couple of years: The business with the sale of CD's is continuing to shrink, and growth rates for online platforms such as iTunes can't even be nearly compared. Briegmann admits that the industry must change. The deal with physical records will continue to shrink, so the income has to come from other sources. Universal has become partners with internet sites like Myspace and Youtube and cooperates with the mobile phone producers Nokia in the sales of music on mobile phones. In addition, Briegmann will increase the "adjacent areas" next to the selling of music, such as merchandise or live concerts. Briegmann doesn't want to be part of the end of the world mood in the industry: "I'm sure that you can still earn money with the music business even in ten years." Whether Tokio Hotel still exists is an entirely different question. Teen bands traditionally don't last very long. The four band members are now between 18 and 21 years old and are aimed at a very young fan base. Whether the popularity will still hold the more the boys grow seems questionable. Universal boss is Briegmann optimistic: "The boys can be just as successful if they are 30." Band member Gustav Schäfer is thinking over a longer period of time: "We'll be doing this till we're a hundred years old."