One thing is certain: our success story goes way back! It is the story of five protagonists who have found each other to join forces and unify their impressive experiences and passion together with a motivated team.
In 1968, André Béchir organised his first concert in the Swiss town of Winterthur. 50 years and 5000 concerts later, the man who founded abc Production in 2009 after the end of the Good News era has become Switzerland’s undisputed number one promoter legend. Today Béchir acts as Senior Adviser, contributing his incomparable knowhow to the new company that is based on the experiences of his five managing partners with a corresponding broad and high-quality array of expertise.
The first Openair St. Gallen took place in 1977. Christof Huber was 7 years old back then and never would have thought that someday he would decisively shape this legendary festival as its director. Based on his initiative, the Swiss Wepromote enterprises joined forces in 2015. Today, Huber manages the company’s festival activities in addition to managing Yourope, the Association of European Festivals. In 2007, his long-term companion Cyrill Stadler quit his banking career in order to dedicate his flair for numbers and quick wit for the benefit of the Swiss festival scene.
In 1994, Eric Kramer finished high school and immediately laid the foundation for today’s Gadget abc Entertainment Group of which he is the Business Director and Managing Partner. The agency soon became a management and booking leader. Due to the close cooperation with several Swiss musicians, it did not take long for the company’s very own label Gadget Records (including a publishing house) to follow suit, and first consulting mandates in the area of entertainment marketing came shortly afterwards. In 2005, the former club promoter and full-blooded event organiser Stefan Wyss joined the company, established the company’s live entertainment division and continuously expanded it, leading up to today’s role as manager of the Concert & Touring division. The corner stones for the new 360-degree business model were laid long before it even became “en vogue” in the industry.
Oliver Rosa, former manager of Warner Music Switzerland and founder as well as long-time producer of the Swiss Music Awards, joined Gadget in 2018. Together with Eric Kramer he acts as the company’s Managing Partner. He is the head of the Artists & Creation division that is not only dedicated to promoting the careers of a multitude of artists, but also makes use of Gadget’s enormous expertise in the areas of marketing, events, and hospitality.
The Berne office continues to benefit from many years’ worth of experience by Philippe Cornu who organised his first open air festival at the Schadaupark in Thun in 1986 and then moved on to organise the Gurtenfestival for 28 years. He also contributes his vast expertise in the areas of events and hospitality.
Finally, in early 2020, the companies that had been successfully cooperating under the Wepromote umbrella for several years (OpenAir St. Gallen, several other festivals as well as partner agencies among them) joined forces with Gadget and CTS Eventim. The European market leader as major shareholder contributed the business of the abc group to the new company that henceforth became known as Gadget abc Entertainment Group AG.
This completes the circle of the five partners and their long-term close associates. As industry experts in a variety of fields and passionate music fans, they are the new market leaders, committed to jointly providing musical experiences in the areas of live entertainment (shows & touring), festivals, artist management (including label & publishing), event management, hospitality, as well as brand partnerships (marketing, consulting, and activation).
