The band Rammstein is on tour again these days, almost exactly a year after Northern Irishwoman Shelby Lynn made allegations against Till Lindemann public in 2023 and suspected that she had been drugged at a Rammstein concert in Vilnius. The SZ, together with the NDR, then investigated evidence of a systematic recruitment of very young female fans for parties and sex around Rammstein concerts. These revelations are the starting point for “Row Zero – Violence and Abuse of Power in the Music Industry” (Eichborn Verlag).
Lena Kampf, deputy head of the investigative research department at SZ, and Daniel Drepper, head of the research network of SZ, NDR and WDR, have carried out further research. They have spoken to artists, fans and more than 200 people from the music industry and paint a picture of an industry that is also shaped off the stage by the myth of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll and in which intensely discussed allegations such as in the Lindemann case are more likely to enhance the image of the uninhibited rock star and his fame. And yet: The industry has been wrestling for years with the question of who it makes money from and how it can set limits for those who go too far.