This year's Echo awards have become the focus of political controversy: The German Phono Academy has removed the band Frei.Wild from the list of nominees in the Rock/Alternative National category. With consequences.
The Austrian group was removed from the list after the Berlin band MIA, which was also nominated, threatened to withdraw if Frei.Wild were offered an Echo platform.
The Phono Academy explainsThe nominations were based on the evaluation of the charts. "In order to prevent the Echo from becoming the scene of a public debate on the subject of political views", the board "decided after intensive discussions to intervene in the rules of the award" and remove the band Frei.Wild from the list.
According to the media service Meedia Fans of the group, which is considered right-wing extremist - an accusation that Frei.Wild itself firmly denies - sparked a shitstorm on the Internet, albeit against the British singer M.I.A. instead of the Berlin group due to a mix-up.
As the German newspaper "Der Westen" writesthe far-right German party NPD has announced a vigil at the Echo awards ceremony on March 21 in protest against the removal of the nomination.
