The story
Early years
In January 1981, aged 17, Folkert Koopmans promoted his first concert for a local band named Amuthon in Marienhafe, where he grew up. After dropping out of Hochschule Emden/Leer, Koopmans moved to Hamburg, where he worked as a booking agent for Große Freiheit 36 and Docks. He founded "SCORPIO" Konzertproduktionen GmbH in October 1990, named after the Scorpio zodiac sign.
Name change
In 2000, a band named SCORPIONS sued Scorpio, claiming that the similarity of the name could cause confusion. Folkert and the band eventually settled, renaming his company FKP SCORPIO Konzertproduktionen GmbH (FKP standing for Folkert Koopmans Presents).
2013-present
In 2013, Koopmans promoted Stephan Thanscheidt to co-CEO and partner of the business.
In 2014, FKP acquired Finnish booking agency Fullsteam.
In 2017, CTS Eventim bought a 50.2% stake in FKP Scorpio, effectively acquiring the business.
In November 2017, FKP's Hamburg offices were raided by the Hamburg Dienststelle Interne Ermittlungen (internal investigations department) after an anonymous tip-off that the company offered 100 free tickets for a Rolling Stones concert to the Hamburg-Nord district office that approved said concert. The so-called "Freikarten-Affäre" (Free Ticket Affair) ended in the district chief being fined and no bribery charges being found on FKP's behalf.
In 2020 and 2021, FKP expanded its operations in the booking agency space. FKP Scorpio acquired Nordic Live in January 2020. At the time they represented over 60 artists including Alan Walker, Ina Wroldsen and Kurt Nilsen. In the same month, Koopmans launched the All Artists Agency "full-service agency", after CTS were blocked from acquiring the Four Artists Agency. It also formed a partnership with Berlin-based agency Area One in April 2021, named FKP Area One, which specialises in rock/metal acts.
In 2024, FKP's UK subsidiary merged with indie promoter Communion Presents, forming "Communion ONE".
From Wikipedia’s article on FKP Scorpio, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3