Olaf Kretschmar

After studying philosophy and training in marketing, Olaf Kretschmar entered Berlin’s music scene in the early 1990s. He founded Delicious Doughnuts Research (1993) and oxymoron (1997), booking and managing the latter for a decade. He co-founded clubcommission berlin e.V. (2000), serving as CEO and spokesperson until 2008, and ran Freshguide Berlin (2003–08). A club culture writer, he co-founded Berlin Music Commission eG (2007), becoming CEO in 2008 and chair in 2011. He initiated Berlin Music Week (2009), led Musik 2020 Berlin to establish Musicboard Berlin, and helped build Kompetenzzentrum Musikwirtschaft (2014). He co-founded LISTEN TO BERLIN: Awards and Most Wanted: Music (2015), remaining its General Director. He volunteers on advisory boards for DAKU, Musicboard Berlin, FEZ and Jazzbeirat Berlin. At Landesmusikrat Berlin, he oversees popular music, the music industry and refugee support, and chairs Bundesverband Popularmusik e.V.