popNRW Prize

The ‘popNRW Prize’, which is awarded jointly with the NRW State Music Council, is one of the best endowed and most prestigious awards for pop musicians in Germany. On 29 October 2025, the coveted award will be presented for the 14th time to successful musicians and promising newcomers from the region. After many years in Cologne, the award ceremony will now take place in Düsseldorf in the Rheinterrasse, in conjunction with Music Düsseldorf as part of the New Fall Festival.

The prize is traditionally awarded in two categories: the award for ‘Outstanding Artists’ is endowed with 10,000 euros, while the winners in the ‘Newcomer’ category receive a prize of 2,500 euros. Further prizes await the runners-up. The prize has been made possible by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the state of NRW since 2016.

Under the chairmanship of the NRW KULTURsekretariat, an expert jury made up of industry representatives, festival organisers and journalists, supplemented by suggestions from an advisory board of representatives from the field of pop promotion, preselects the artists and groups.

Time and again, the popNRW jury has demonstrated a keen instinct for promising awards. Illustrious names such as Roosevelt, Giant Rooks, Amilli, Von Spar, Messer, Goldroger, International Music, Blumengarten, Serious Klein, Die P and Philine Sonny bear witness to this.

In October 2024, the first prize in the ‘Outstanding Artists’ category went to Mina Richman, while maïa received the €2,500 sponsorship prize for the ‘Best Newcomer’. In addition to the prize money, the musicians can look forward to an additional career boost and an increase in their popularity.