Photo: Johanna Wright and Daniel Günther.
24 May 2026
Taking a Ride
On 12 June I’m releasing my new single “Ferris Wheel”. Produced and cowritten by Freya Arde the song captures a relationship on its brink. It describes the moment of having that deciding talk: looking back and reminiscing, looking forward and seeing no future.
I’m very much looking forward to sharing it with you.
Photo: Johanna Wright.
17 May 2026
Gold Digging at Eldorado
At the Native American Weekend, I played three evenings in the western city and theme park Eldorado north of Berlin. I got to learn a lot about the culture of the Natives and even became a proper cowboy with a hat.
On Saturday, 29th August 2026 from 6.30 pm I’ll be playing a Saloon Night there.
Photo: Sanyam Bajaj and Hannah Hotz.
8 May 2026
Music and Politics in Balance
I consider myself to be a political person. When I lived in London I became a member of the Musician’s Union, the biggest music union in Europe. After returning to Germany in 2020 I wanted to continue being active in music politics.
Hence, I ran and was elected as a delegate within the performance royalty organisation GEMA. I was able to discuss and vote on the notions at the members meeting. Besides that, I became a member of the organisations of the composers (DKV) and the lyricists (now called SONG), later of Pro Musik.
GEMA Members Meeting 2026
This year’s main topic was overcoming the distinction between the E and U music (Ernste Musik – “serious music”, which is mainly classical and Unterhaltungsmusik – entertaining, everything else).
As a member of the board of the DKV, I commented and brought forward that notion in the past two years. Because in 2025, it didn’t pass. With lots of more work and adaptations the notion won the needed majority this year.
Besides that being a relief, I didn’t run again for the board of the DKV and freed up my capacities for this year’s musical projects: several new singles, the crowdfunding campaign and my fourth album.
Photo: Michael Duderstädt.
4 May 2026
Week of Music Politics
Once a year the German Composers Association (DKV) and the royalty collecting society GEMA are holding their members meetings, which I attend since 2022.
In 2023 I was elected as a member of the board of the DKV. Now I’m not running again and it’s exciting to see who and what comes next.
Since 2025 I’m the chair of the Composers Support Organisation. In that position I’ll also mc the DKV Musikfest on Wednesday, 6 May from 9pm which is open to the public.
The GEMA reform to overcome E and U (Ernste Musik – serious music and Unterhaltungsmusik – entertaining music) will be the central topic of discussion. It will be interesting to see if the last years overhaul of the notion will find a majority.
I’ll be vocal about the interests of songwriters and small musicians, as I’ve always been. Because we are the foundation for the whole music industry.
Photo: Daniel Günther.
2 May 2026
Concerts in May and June 2026
Very much looking forward to these gigs in May and June 2026. Also, I’m releasing a new song on the 12th June called “Ferris Wheel”.
See all upcoming concerts here: https://ludwigwright.com/live/
Photo: Udo Nauber.
27 April 2026
Wonderful Gig Weekend
Four concerts in a row.
On Thursday I supported the sparkling pop folk duo Hey Sunny from Munich at the Art Stalker in Berlin. We ended the evening with a song we wrote together last year called “Soundtrack”.
Then I travelled to Bavaria for two concerts in Neuburg and Osterhofen. Sunshine, currant spritzers and new songs. To end the trip, I played for my second time at the Mascha (see picture) in Weimar.
Photo: Daniel Günther.
20 April 2026
The Myth of the 2-Minute Song
Technology has always impacted the production of music. Initially the physical limitations of shellac and vinyl dictated how long songs and albums were. Once music was digital, CDs were able to hold more music and since streaming there are no limits.
My theory regarding song-lengths: today’s music critics were all influenced by the epics of the 80s and 90s. Hence, they state: “Once upon a time, songs were long.” However, looking at the 50s and 60s, they’re shorter. Think of “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear” (1957) by Elvis Presley. It’s only 1:46 minutes long. “Please Please Me” (1963) by The Beatles: 2:00 minutes. “Son of a Preacher Man” (1968) by Dusty Springfield: 2:29 minutes. The myth of the 2-Minute-Song is not a new songwriting phenomenon. It’s a resurfacing one, this time influenced by the short attention span caused by social media and streaming.
I’m writing a lot of short songs at the moment too. Instead of paying tribute to the attention span, I’m inspired by the tight musical phrases of the 50s and 60s.
Photo: Jonas Samson.
7 April 2026
Concerts in April and May 2026
Very much looking forward to these gigs in April and May 2026. Some were added recently, so I’ll be keeping busy.
See all upcoming concerts here: https://ludwigwright.com/live/
Photo: Daniel Günther.
5 April 2026
The Endless Stream of Songs
On average 120,000 tracks are uploaded to streaming platforms every day. In comparison, in 1989 the same number of songs were released in the whole year.
Additionally, the amount of AI generated music has grown significantly. Currently a third of the music uploaded is AI generated. Who listens to this endless stream of songs? Nearly 90 % of all tracks have less than 1000 streams a year and 25 % have not been streamed at all.
The supply grows more than the demand and hence prices are lowered. The streaming platforms can dictate the deals. The result: streaming isn’t viable for 95 % of artists. Besides, in April 2024 Spotify stopped paying money for songs, which haven’t been streamed 1000 times in the last 12 months. Unfortunately, all of my songs fall under that. Tough luck.
Two Ideas
How frustrating it might be (see picture): Solutions in a complex world can’t be simple. Nevertheless, two ideas: I collect vinyl to give my music listening more space and have changed my streaming subscription from Spotify to Tidal, which pays artists a bit fairer. And I support my favourite artists when they do a crowdfunding campaign.
21 March 2026
Songwriting News
I helped my friend and colleague Ulf Ronnsiek alias The Lake and the Wolf with the lyrics of his debut album “Of Roots and Crowns”.
Listen here: https://thelakeandthewolf.bandcamp.com/album/of-roots-and-crowns
The picture shows The Lake and the Wolf, Christina Relius and me (we sang background vocals on “The Last Farewell”) and producer Tobi Schneider in the background.
Get a CD or Vinyl here: https://www.thelakeandthewolf.de/category/all-products
Photo: Johanna Wright.
15 March 2026
2nd Pressing of “Turn of Tides”
I sold out my first pressing of “Turn of Tides”. If you’ve got one: Make sure to charge enough on Ebay. It’s officially a collector’s item now.
Get a copy of the 2nd pressing here: https://ludwigwright.com/orderturnoftides/
“Turn of Tides or Where the Waves Come From” is my third album which I released with producer Micki Meuser in August 2023. To this day I’m very happy with the album, but I can’t wait to show my fourth.
Photo: Margot Cichy.
13 March 2026
Tech Dependence and what I learned from it
At the end of January, I lost complete access to my musician’s page on Facebook. I built that page for the last 10 years. I’ve contacted the support and there’s still hope to restore it. It’s mindboggling how dependent our everyday life has become on our phones and apps mostly owned by US-American companies.
It’s hard to imagine living without a quick text on WhatsApp, finding a route on Google Maps, staying in touch with friends on Instagram or spending an evening watching Netflix. In itself, there is nothing wrong with that. But I find it important to be aware of these dependencies and to draw consequences, when one is unhappy. I think every small step can be a good one.
That’s why from now on I’ll be concentrating on my newsletter and writing directly. I’ll add more sections on my website. I won’t use a US-company for my crowdfunding campaign in spring and instead, the German platform Startnext. Additionally, my fourth album won’t be available on streaming platforms. I know: there isn’t one size fits all. I still use a lot of services which I mentioned above. But it’s not about being perfect.
Photo: Margot Cichy.
2 March 2026
Concerts in March and April 2026
Very much looking forward to these gigs in March and April 2026. Not so many as usual, as I’ll be working on my fourth album in that time too.
Check all upcoming concerts here: https://ludwigwright.com/live/