Together we shape the future of music!
Are you tired of talks repeating the same topics over and over, and forgetting about what was said soon after the event? Most Wanted: Music Convention is different! On 3-5 November 2026 we bring together the people rewiring and redesigning the music industry of tomorrow.
We’re not just discussing change potential, we’re provoking and directly driving change, using interactive formats and immersive experiences, and giving everyone practical takeaways to implement in their daily life and work. Experts, visionaries, disruptive minds: we curate a programme with speakers who really think differently, tackle challenges and chances alike, so that music scenes across Berlin, Europe and the world become an even more vibrant, diverse and fair places. Be there and become part of the Rewire! at nhow Berlin.
*the MW:M Convention ticket covers the Club Festival too!
The full programme is now online!
Rewire!
New pathways. New circuits. New connections.
The industry is ready for a rewire!
Most Wanted: Music 2026 brings together the people redesigning the future of the music industry — across business, technology, culture, and community.
Why you shouldn’t miss Most Wanted: Music Convention?
And because change rarely happens alone, MW:M brings together creators, entrepreneurs, researchers, policymakers, technologists and industry leaders from Berlin and around the world. Come for orientation. Leave with new connections and a clearer next move.
The music industry is changing faster than any single company, scene or discipline can track alone. MW:M gives you a clear view of the developments that matter now, and the people already shaping what comes next.
You will leave with more than inspiration: practical knowledge, new perspectives and ideas you can connect directly to your work. Keynotes, fishbowls, roundtables, workshops, research impulses and collaborative sessions invite you to question, test and contribute.
The conversations shaping tomorrow’s music industry are happening today at MW:M.
A whole ecosystem for the future of music*
*included in your convention ticket are all formats, except for the LISTEN TO BERLIN: AWARDS (a Premium Ticket or personal invitation is required).
Meet your confirmed speakers
Convention Information
- 🗓️ 3–5 November 2026
- 📍 nhow hotel, Berlin
- 🎟 Secure your ticket for only €80!* Buy now
*Convention tickets include access to the Club Festival
Berlin: where music, ideas and change meet
Berlin has reinvented music culture for decades. Its independent scenes, international communities, creative businesses and experimental spirit make it a place where new ideas are not only discussed, but tested in practice.
At nhow Hotel Berlin, where music, hospitality, technology and business already meet, MW:M brings this energy into one shared space. Local expertise meets international perspectives; established leaders meet emerging voices; conversations inside the Convention connect with the city beyond it.
Come for the programme and use MW:M as your gateway into Berlin’s wider music ecosystem: from Satellite events across the city to experimental formats, artist development and two nights of live discovery at RAW area.
What belongs to the MW:M Convention?
The Convention is the central meeting point, but the wider programme offers several connected ways to learn, exchange, experiment and experience the future of music. Get a glance on what to discover and learn at MW:M26!
MW:M Convention: The central meeting point for insightful knowledge and fruitful connections: keynotes | fishbowls | roundtables | workshops | research impulses | collaborative sessions | and much more
MW:M Research: Where research meets practice: bringing analysis, reflection and evidence into the conversations shaping music.
Artist Academy: Practical workshops, coaching and mentoring designed to help emerging artists build sustainable careers.
Hybrid Music Lab: A hands-on space where music, technology and experimentation come together through performances, demos and interactive experiences.
MW:M Satellites: Open side events across Berlin on 3 November, hosted by partners, universities and creative organisations.
MW:M Club Festival: The future of music, experienced live after dark at RAW Gelände. Discover tomorrow’s artist already today. Included in the convention ticket.
Don’t just discuss the future of music. Experience it – at MW:M Club Festival
After a full day of insights, conversations and new connections, the Most Wanted: Music Club Festival brings the future of music to the stage. On 4–5 November, RAW area becomes a discovery hub for emerging artists from Berlin, Germany and around the world.
For Convention delegates, the festival is more than an afterparty. It is the place to discover artists early, meet the international music community beyond the conference setting and reconnect with the reason many of us entered the industry in the first place: the music.
Your Convention ticket includes access to the Club Festival. If you only want the live experience, separate night tickets are available.
Full Ride:
Convention + Club Festival Ticket
Convention sessions, satellites, and the full convention floor
Every night of the MW:M Club Festival across Berlin
Just the nights:
Club Festival Pass
Access to every night of the Club Festival
Enjoy upcoming artists from around the world across RAW Gelände
Dive deeper! The idea behind Rewire!
New pathways. New circuits. New connections.
Rewire! is the theme connecting MW:M 2026. It reflects the intentional redesign already happening across the music industry: new ways of creating and financing music, new technologies and regulations, and new connections between people, markets, scenes and generations.
At MW:M, Rewire! is not only a theme to discuss. It is an invitation to question existing pathways, connect perspectives that rarely meet and turn conversation into practical next steps. Technology, policy and business models provide the infrastructure – but human connection is what gives every circuit meaning.
Across the four programme verticals BUSINESS, SOCIAL IMPACT, NEXTTECH and SCENE, the Convention asks: Where do new connections lead? Who do they serve? And what kind of music ecosystem are we building together?
Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on social media and be the first to hear about new speaker announcements, our convention programme and everything happening on and off the stages this November.
Because the best discussions usually happen before everyone else knows about them.
Contact
For questions about the Most Wanted: Music Convention, please contact programme@mwm-berlin.de
Programme 2026
Format
Language
Location
Topic Stream
Vertical
Conference Track
Format
Language
Location
Topic Stream
Vertical
Conference Track
Fair Pay im Streaming: Was muss Kulturpolitik jetzt liefern?
Diese Session fragt nicht nur, was im Streaming schiefläuft, sondern was jetzt konkret folgen muss. Welche politischen Schritte braucht es? Welche Verantwortung tragen Plattformen, Labels, Verbände und Kulturpolitik? Und wie kann faire Beteiligung im digitalen Musikmarkt verbindlicher gestaltet werden?
-
Mario Graute -
Matthias Hornschuh
The First in the Room: Frauen of Color über Zugang, Vernetzung und neue Wege in der Musikbranche
Diese Roundtable Discussion fragt, wie Frauen of Color sich in Branchen bewegen, in denen Zugang zu Netzwerken, Ressourcen, Sichtbarkeit und Entscheidungsmacht weiterhin ungleich verteilt ist und welches Wissen sie auf diesem Weg gesammelt haben.
Gemeinsam fragen wir: Welches Wissen können wir teilen? Wie bauen wir nachhaltige Karrieren und Support-Systeme auf? Und welche Wege können wir für diejenigen schaffen, die nach uns kommen?
-
Esra Bajraktari -
Marie Eloundou
Transformation oder Stillstand? Was Kulturpolitik der Musikwirtschaft jetzt liefern muss
Im Mittelpunkt steht die Frage, wie die Branche aus dem Krisenmodus herauskommt: Welche Strategien haben sich bewährt? Wo braucht es neue Allianzen, gemeinsame Forderungen und politische Impulse? Und wie müssen Förderstrukturen weitergedacht werden, damit sie zugänglicher, transparenter und wirksamer für Artists, Initiativen, Clubs, Labels und unabhängige Akteurinnen werden?
- Mario Graute
-
Kirsten Grebasch
Berlin Is Not One Scene: Building Bridges Across Music Communities
This session asks how these different parts of the city’s music ecosystem can be better connected without losing what makes them specific. Where do scenes already support each other? Where do they remain disconnected? And what kinds of bridges, formats or support structures could help Berlin’s music communities become more visible and connected while staying independent?
-
FAYIM -
Aziz Sarr
Protecting What Is Yours: AI, Rights, and Ownership in 2026
This panel brings together legal, publishing and distribution perspectives to cover what artists can protect, what they are now obliged to declare and where those decisions actually land: at the point of signing, at the point of release and at the point someone else uses the work.
FLINTA* Rewired: Networking Session for FLINTA professionals hosted by GENiE
More Than a Party: Queer Spaces and the Future of Music Culture
What is lost when dedicated queer venues disappear? How does queerness continue to shape the ways music spaces are imagined, organised and experienced?
Bringing together club operators, cultural workers and researchers, this session explores the political, social and cultural importance of queer nightlife infrastructures. The conversation asks how queer communities are responding to urban pressures, what new forms of gathering are emerging and how queer approaches to care, programming, accessibility and collective ownership might offer models for the future.
.
At a time when many cities are losing dedicated queer venues, this session examines not only what is disappearing, but also what new possibilities are being created.
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DJ Aya -
Leonardo Liccini -
Pierre-Alexandre Mateos
Green Frequency: The Sustainable Music Business
-
Teresa Becker
Smells Like Ageism
-
Robert Eysoldt
After the Feed: Rewiring PR and Marketing for Electronic Music
At the same time, new channels are opening up. Independent writers, newsletters, personality-led journalism, and long-form podcasting are building audiences and trust on their own terms, often faster and more directly than the outlets they’re replacing. This panel brings together voices from PR, artist management, platforms and independent media to map out where things are heading and where PR and marketing are best spent in this new environment.
-
Nazen Carneiro -
Sunita Dhaliwal
Wired for This: ADHD in the Music Industry
This panel brings together people who live with ADHD and work in music to share the systems, supports and structures that let their neurology do what it does best.
-
Salma Elshami -
Lara Tanger
Beyond the Dancefloor: The Rise of Listening
As streaming platforms have made music more ubiquitous than ever, listening itself has become increasingly rare. In response, artists, curators, venues and communities are creating dedicated environments that place attention, presence and collective listening at the centre of the experience.
What explains the rise of these spaces? What kinds of audiences are they attracting? How do they differ from clubs, concerts, galleries, or traditional music venues? And what does this shift tell us about changing desires for intimacy, community and cultural participation?
Bringing together practitioners shaping this emerging landscape, this session explores the rise of listening as a cultural format and examines how listening spaces are transforming contemporary music culture.
-
Teshi
Beyond the Brand Deal: Artists, Brands and the New Rules
This session looks at how artist-brand collaborations are actually built: who gets access, who decides what feels authentic, and how value is shared between artists, audiences, brands and platforms.
-
Ghoufii -
Rola