The Most Wanted: Artist Academy is a comprehensive two-day professional development program designed to bridge the gap between artistic talent and industry success. As an integral expansion of MW:M Club Festival – the showcase format of Germany’s music capital – the Academy equips approximately 100 emerging artists and their teams with essential business skills, industry knowledge, and strategic networks needed to thrive in today’s rapidly evolving music landscape.
Through interactive formats including practical workshops, one-on-one mentorship sessions, curated matchmaking with industry professionals, and exclusive networking events, the Academy covers five core pillars: Creative Well-being & Sustainability, Digital Navigation & AI Integration, Entrepreneurial Skills, Industry Knowledge & Access, and Network Building & Collaboration. Participants gain direct access to A&R managers, bookers, label executives, and successful artists, creating opportunities for immediate feedback, potential collaborations, and long-term career development.
More than just education, the Academy creates a sustainable platform for career transformation that extends beyond the two-day event. By combining the showcase power of Most Wanted: Music Club Festival with comprehensive professional development, the program positions itself as an annual key event in the Berlin and European music market, strengthening both individual artist careers and the broader music ecosystem through strategic partnerships with European music export offices, educational institutions, and industry associations.
Artist Academy Sessions
Format
Language
Location
Topic Stream
Vertical
Format
Language
Location
Topic Stream
Vertical
Conference Track
Rewiring Classical Artistic Development
Classical musicians are trained for precision – but mastery doesn’t automatically create openness to uncertainty. What would change if artistic agency, not artistic selection, became the starting point of how artists are developed? Krisana Locke (somatic & tantric practitioner), Jürgen Grözinger (conductor & sound healer) and Anja Bien (CEO, Hamel Foundation) share insights from IMPROVISO, a research-based mentorship, improvisation and embodied agency.
Fireside Chat
🇬🇧 English
SOCIAL IMPACT
Social Transformation
Artist Academy
Speakers
-
Jürgen Grözinger
Music Hall 4 – nhow Berlin
Nov 4, 2026,
12:10 –
13:00
The Independent Artist's Playbook: A Guide to Sustainable Career Planning
Today’s independent artists aren’t just visionaries, they are project managers, strategists, content creators and decision-makers. Designed as a focused 90-minute masterclass, this interactive session will explore practical self-management techniques to help musicians achieve clarity, structure and long-term success without burning out.
Participants will discover how to build a flexible network of sparring partners to exchange ideas with, as an alternative to traditional management. The workshop will also cover how artists can build a foundational identity and gain skills in realistic planning, accessing opportunities and establishing sustainable workflows. There will also be an exchange into how AI tools can support day-to-day operations.
Participants will discover how to build a flexible network of sparring partners to exchange ideas with, as an alternative to traditional management. The workshop will also cover how artists can build a foundational identity and gain skills in realistic planning, accessing opportunities and establishing sustainable workflows. There will also be an exchange into how AI tools can support day-to-day operations.
Workshop
🇬🇧 English
BUSINESS
Education & Skills
Artist Academy
Moderators
FLOSS
Julia Labonte-Stoy
Music Lounge 2 (8.OG) – nhow Berlin
Nov 4, 2026,
12:15 –
13:45
Wie Artists das richtige Support-System aufbauen
Eine nachhaltige Artist-Karriere entsteht selten allein, aber das richtige Team wächst nicht über Nacht. Dieser Artist Academy Fireside Chat schaut darauf, wie Künstler*innen ihr Support-System Schritt für Schritt verstehen, aufbauen und weiterentwickeln können.
Von Management, Booking und PR bis hin zu Labels, Distribution, Publishing und rechtlicher Unterstützung geht es darum, welche Rollen wann wichtig werden, wie Artists bessere Entscheidungen treffen und wie Partnerschaften entstehen, die langfristiges Wachstum unterstützen.
Von Management, Booking und PR bis hin zu Labels, Distribution, Publishing und rechtlicher Unterstützung geht es darum, welche Rollen wann wichtig werden, wie Artists bessere Entscheidungen treffen und wie Partnerschaften entstehen, die langfristiges Wachstum unterstützen.
Fireside Chat
🇩🇪 German
BUSINESS
Education & Skills
Artist Academy
Speakers
-
Sara Torchani
Moderators
Edith Löhle
Music Hall 4 – nhow Berlin
Nov 4, 2026,
13:20 –
14:10
Reading the Contract You Are About to Sign
Most artists sign their first label deal without reading it carefully: the terminology is dense, the implications are long-term and the asymmetry between a first-time artist and an experienced label is significant.
This workshop aims to close this gap. As part of ‘Reading the Contract You Are About to Sign’ a music lawyer will walk attendees through a redacted real-world label contract and explain every clause that matters. They will deep dive into all relevant details from term length, territory and royalty calculation to recoupment and advances and everything that lies in between.
This is a working session not a lecture so attendees should come equipped with questions and even a contract to work through with the lawyer in real time. Attendees can expect to leave with contract-reading vocabulary and a checklist they can apply the next time a deal arrives.
This workshop aims to close this gap. As part of ‘Reading the Contract You Are About to Sign’ a music lawyer will walk attendees through a redacted real-world label contract and explain every clause that matters. They will deep dive into all relevant details from term length, territory and royalty calculation to recoupment and advances and everything that lies in between.
This is a working session not a lecture so attendees should come equipped with questions and even a contract to work through with the lawyer in real time. Attendees can expect to leave with contract-reading vocabulary and a checklist they can apply the next time a deal arrives.
Workshop
🇬🇧 English
BUSINESS
Education & Skills
Artist Academy
Moderators
Mariia Saveleva
Music Lounge 2 (8.OG) – nhow Berlin
Nov 4, 2026,
14:10 –
15:40
The Human Behind the Artist: Supporting Artists Through Crisis and Change
A 2026 survey of more than 2,000 independent artists and industry professionals found that 86% report significant mental strain or creative burnout. Behind that number sit people expected to keep creating, touring, promoting and staying visible while carrying personal crises, mental health challenges, grief, displacement or the weight of conflict elsewhere in the world.
The question this session asks is what the people around them do about it. Managers, agents and promoters shape an artist’s calendar, workload and exposure, and those decisions are where empathy either exists in practice or does not. It also asks what the dancefloor itself already provides, since community and care have been part of rave culture far longer than the industry has had language for either. As we are heading to an age shaped by AI, emotional intelligence remains one of our most valuable human strengths.
The question this session asks is what the people around them do about it. Managers, agents and promoters shape an artist’s calendar, workload and exposure, and those decisions are where empathy either exists in practice or does not. It also asks what the dancefloor itself already provides, since community and care have been part of rave culture far longer than the industry has had language for either. As we are heading to an age shaped by AI, emotional intelligence remains one of our most valuable human strengths.
Fishbowl
🇬🇧 English
SOCIAL IMPACT
Artist Wellbeing
Artist Academy
Speakers
-
Roya Firoozbakhsh -
Sofia Ilyas -
Katty Lange
Moderators
Qeas Pirzad
Music Hall 4 – nhow Berlin
Nov 4, 2026,
14:30 –
15:20
Know Your Worth: Money, Fees and Artist Negotiations
Talking about money is part of building a sustainable artist career and in this vein, the Artist Academy is offering emerging artists practical tools that will help them understand fees, calculate their work, respond to unpaid or low-paid offers and negotiate with more clarity.
The session will explore how artists can communicate their value professionally, set boundaries and make better decisions around budgets, exposure, invoices and opportunities.
The session will explore how artists can communicate their value professionally, set boundaries and make better decisions around budgets, exposure, invoices and opportunities.
AMA
🇬🇧 English
BUSINESS
Education & Skills
Artist Academy
Moderators
Samira Wacker
BPM Bar – nhow Berlin
Nov 4, 2026,
15:35 –
16:35
The Essential Role of a Booking Agent in an Artist’s Career
Booking agents in electronic music act as the key link between artists and live performance opportunities. They secure gigs by negotiating contracts, coordinating logistics like travel and technical needs and maintaining strong relationships with promoters, venues, and managers. Beyond booking, agents help build artists’ careers by strategically planning tours and promoting them to the right audiences. Their work allows artists to focus on performing while agents handle the complex organisational and business side of live shows. Learn how booking agents work, what their tasks include, when an artist should apply to join an agency, and what benefits can be gained from this partnership.
Fishbowl
🇬🇧 English
BUSINESS
Global Market Access
Artist Academy
Speakers
-
Alma Ernst - Roya Firoozbakhsh
-
Michael Müller
Moderators
Felton Cortijo
Music Hall 4 – nhow Berlin
Nov 4, 2026,
15:40 –
16:30
Artist Eco-Rider 2.0
An artist’s career still heavily relies on a robust touring schedule which makes the road, airport and greenroom default office environments. How can one solidly voice their environmental & health preferences in such instances? How can artists play a part in building a more environmentally resilient future for themselves and the wider scene? This workshop, led by Bye Bye Plastic, will walk participants through some of the creative questions and answers surrounding this topic, hoping to inspire them to take a leap and lead by example.
Workshop
🇬🇧 English
SOCIAL IMPACT
Sustainable Practices
Artist Academy
Moderators
Camille Guitteau
Music Lounge 2 (8.OG) – nhow Berlin
Nov 5, 2026,
12:15 –
13:45
MusicOnBox: Live und ortsunabhängig zusammen spielen
MusicOnBox zeigt, wie Musikerinnen online zusammen spielen, sich vernetzen und spontane oder geplante Jam-Sessions organisieren können, unabhängig davon, wo sie sich gerade befinden.
In dieser Session wird die digitale Plattform vorgestellt und anhand einer Live-Demo gezeigt, wie MusicOnBox es zwei Musikerinnen ermöglicht, nahezu latenzfrei über das Web miteinander zu spielen.
In dieser Session wird die digitale Plattform vorgestellt und anhand einer Live-Demo gezeigt, wie MusicOnBox es zwei Musikerinnen ermöglicht, nahezu latenzfrei über das Web miteinander zu spielen.
Presentation
🇩🇪 German
NEXTTECH
Production Innovation
Artist Academy
Moderators
Andreas Schaffner
Soul – nhow Berlin
Nov 5, 2026,
13:40 –
14:30
Decisive is the New Black: 3 Minutes to Yes or No
‘Decisive is the New Black’ is a working session for creative professionals who are exhausted by the volume of decisions they face regularly. It’s built around a framework that turns three-day deliberations into clear decisions, without guilt or second-guessing.
The workshop is designed for high-achieving creatives and the executives behind them -essentially people who built their careers by being capable, saying yes and figuring it out. This session is shaped around people who eventually realise the strategy that got them there is quietly eating their energy and pulling them away from the work they want to be doing.
This workshop will leave partakers with frameworks that can be applied to real decisions and language for conversations where saying ‘no’ feels impossible.
The workshop is led by Lindi Delight, a dual-certified Transformation Coach and Conference Programme Director for Most Wanted: Music in Berlin, who has twenty years of experience across the global creative industries.
The workshop is designed for high-achieving creatives and the executives behind them -essentially people who built their careers by being capable, saying yes and figuring it out. This session is shaped around people who eventually realise the strategy that got them there is quietly eating their energy and pulling them away from the work they want to be doing.
This workshop will leave partakers with frameworks that can be applied to real decisions and language for conversations where saying ‘no’ feels impossible.
The workshop is led by Lindi Delight, a dual-certified Transformation Coach and Conference Programme Director for Most Wanted: Music in Berlin, who has twenty years of experience across the global creative industries.
Workshop
🇬🇧 English
BUSINESS
Education & Skills
Artist Academy
Moderators
Lindi Delight
Music Lounge 2 (8.OG) – nhow Berlin
Nov 5, 2026,
14:10 –
15:40
Beyond the Brand Deal: Artists, Brands and the New Rules
Artists today are no longer only releasing music. They are building communities, creating content, shaping culture and often becoming trusted voices for audiences that brands struggle to reach authentically. At the same time, many artists rely on brand partnerships and digital visibility as part of their income, while access to these opportunities remains uneven and often unclear.
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.
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.
Panel Discussion
🇬🇧 English
BUSINESS
Modern Monetization
Artist Academy
Speakers
-
Sunita Dhaliwal -
Ghoufii -
Rola
Moderators
Melissa Erhardt
Music Hall 4 – nhow Berlin
Nov 5, 2026,
14:50 –
15:40
The Voice in the Machine - Artistic Interactions with AI
What happens to our creativity when AI is no longer just a tool but becomes an artistic counterpart? Where do pitfalls arise? Where do portals open to novel artistic approaches and interactions? Drawing on her many years of experience as a musician, founder and musical director of Sophia the Robot (Hanson Robotics), Jovanka invites participants for a session of experimentation. Using video examples, Jovanka will provide insights into the processes, obstacles and outcomes of diverse international human/AI collaborations.
Workshop
🇬🇧 English / 🇩🇪 German
NEXTTECH
AI & Music Creation
Artist Academy
Moderators
Jovanka v. Wilsdorf
Music Lounge 1 (8.OG) – nhow Berlin
Nov 5, 2026,
15:50 –
17:20
Own your fans, not the algorithm!
Social media is dead? Not at all! This session will teach participants how to own fans, not the algorithm.
When reach is being killed off by algorithms and artist profiles on platforms suddenly feel like they’re just for hire, it might be time to rethink things. This workshop isn’t about getting more likes, it’s about genuine and lasting connections with audiences.
Amongst other things, Own your fans, not the algorithm, will teach artists how they can best optimise fan experience marketing and data-driven CRM to understand and connect with their communities and transform social media channels into awareness-building platforms.
This session is created for all artists, labels and music creators who see their fanbase as a community, want to shape their communication with an eye to the future, and aim to become less reliant on social media platforms.
When reach is being killed off by algorithms and artist profiles on platforms suddenly feel like they’re just for hire, it might be time to rethink things. This workshop isn’t about getting more likes, it’s about genuine and lasting connections with audiences.
Amongst other things, Own your fans, not the algorithm, will teach artists how they can best optimise fan experience marketing and data-driven CRM to understand and connect with their communities and transform social media channels into awareness-building platforms.
This session is created for all artists, labels and music creators who see their fanbase as a community, want to shape their communication with an eye to the future, and aim to become less reliant on social media platforms.
Workshop
🇬🇧 English
BUSINESS
Education & Skills
Artist Academy
Speakers
-
Verena Bößmann -
Nicolaj Gruzdov
Music Lounge 2 (8.OG) – nhow Berlin
Nov 5, 2026,
16:05 –
17:35
Protecting What Is Yours: AI, Rights, and Ownership in 2026
What an artist owns has become a wider question than copyright alone. Voice, likeness, name, performance data and creative credit can all now be used, licensed or replicated and the rules covering them are being written across several jurisdictions at once. Some of it is already settled. Work generated without meaningful human creative input does not attract protection. Licensing frameworks are emerging from settlements between rightsholders and AI companies. Platforms are introducing disclosure requirements when AI contributes materially to a track and voice protection legislation is moving in several markets.
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.
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.
Panel Discussion
🇬🇧 English
BUSINESS
Education & Skills
Artist Academy
Speakers
-
Daniel Guest
Moderators
Kerstin Bäcker
Music Hall 4 – nhow Berlin
Nov 5, 2026,
16:10 –
17:00
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