MW:M 2025 Convention

Thematic Statement

“Transform!“ – MW:M25 explores how we harness music’s unique power as humanity’s love language to not just navigate but actively design the future of music across culture, business, and technology. Not as passive observers, but as engineers, architects, and creative builders of tomorrow’s music ecosystem.

Thematic Vision

Music stands at the intersection of profound technological, cultural, and economic transformation. In this moment of accelerated change, Most Wanted: Music 2025 positions the global music community not as subjects of external forces, but as engineers, architects, and builders of our collective future.

At this year’s conference, we bring together the most innovative minds, creative forces, and industry leaders to generate practical solutions that will shape the next decades of music. “Transform!” acknowledges that meaningful evolution requires strong foundations – honoring what came before while consciously building what comes next.

This transformation journey moves through key dimensions: from awareness of current realities and future possibilities, to strategic planning for both immediate and long-term change, to implementation of practical solutions, and finally to integration that embeds innovation while establishing frameworks for continuous evolution. Throughout this process, we carefully distinguish between valuable traditions worth preserving and outdated structures ready for reinvention.

BUSINESS – Transforming traditional models into sustainable futures

As value creation in music shifts dramatically, we face critical questions about sustainability, equity, and autonomy. Rather than merely reacting to disruption, MW:M25 examines how to proactively design and implement innovative business models and products that serve both artistic integrity and economic viability. How do we transform outdated structures while ensuring that artists and music workers thrive? What new economic frameworks can we create that will define the industry’s next decade and beyond?

SOCIAL IMPACT – Transforming society through music

Music’s capacity to create social cohesion, foster understanding, and catalyze change has never been more vital. Here we explore how to amplify music’s role as a universal language that connects across divides and develops solutions for social challenges. How do we “create a better world through the impact music has on us and our audiences”? How do we transform listening from passive consumption to active participation in positive change? And most importantly, how do we design new frameworks for music’s role in building tomorrow’s society?

NEXTTECH – Transforming creation and experience through thoughtful innovation

Technology offers unprecedented tools for creation, distribution, and experience. MW:M25 analyzes how to “customize and implement new tech” in ways that enhance rather than replace the human element, while actively designing the tools and platforms of tomorrow. How do we transform the technological landscape to serve music’s emotional potential? How do we develop meaningful human-machine collaborations that respect both technological capabilities and human creativity? How do we ensure innovation amplifies rather than diminishes what makes music essentially human? What technologies can we develop now that will shape how music is created and experienced in the years to come?

SCENE – Transforming spaces and communities while preserving their essence

The environments where music flourishes – physical, digital, and cultural – are evolving rapidly. We investigate how communities adapt while maintaining their core identity, and develop blueprints for the spaces of tomorrow. How do we transform music spaces to meet new challenges while protecting the authentic connections that give them meaning? How do scenes evolve without losing their soul? What new models of community and space can we create that will define the next generation of music culture?

The Human Constant in Transformation

Throughout these explorations, MW:M25 maintains focus on the irreplaceable human dimension of music. IQ, EQ and emotions are what makes us different from machines. This human element provides the consistent thread that runs through all technological and business transformation.
The programming across all verticals acknowledges not a simple duality, but rather a rich spectrum of interactions between innovation and human expression. We see technological advancement and artistic creativity not as opposing forces but as elements in a collaborative network, each informing and enhancing the other in countless ways. This interconnected perspective allows MW:M to facilitate nuanced conversations about what transforms, how it transforms, and what remains constant because it touches the essence of our humanity.

Berlin as the Laboratory of Transformation

No city embodies transformation more profoundly than Berlin. From division to unity, from underground resistance to global influence, Berlin’s music scene has continuously evolved while maintaining its distinctive character. This positions Most Wanted: Music as the ideal forum to examine how transformation can be approached with intention and integrity.
MW:M25 “Transform!” invites participants to engage in both thoughtful observation and active creation, recognizing that each mode offers valuable pathways to innovation. Through accessible formats that honor diverse ways of engaging, we collectively define how we adapt, create, and innovate in a complex and ambiguous world, while ensuring that music’s emotional core remains the constant that guides our evolution.