MW:M 2024
Speakers
Confirmed Speakers MW:M24
Here we announce the confirmed speakers of Most Wanted: Music 2024. This list will be successively updated until the event, so check back from time to time.
Meet our talking heads
We are pleased to present you a number of this year’s speakers and discussion partners from a huge variety of business sectors.
Our confirmed speakers
Technische Universität Berlin
Job Title: Senior Researcher
Name: Janet Merkel
Company: Technische Universität Berlin
Biography: Dr. Janet Merkel is a social scientist and urban sociologist. She works as a research assistant at the Institute for Urban and Regional Planning at TU Berlin in the Department of Urban and Regional Economics. Her research interests are in social and spatial organisation and the production conditions of cultural and creative industries; cultural-creative work and freelance employment; cultural policy in cities; as well as questions of urban governance and urban policy. She has worked at the Social Science Research Center Berlin, the Hertie School of Governance, as an assistant professor for cultural and creative industries at the City University of London,and held the professorship for the economics of urban and regional development at the University of Kassel.
ANGEPRANGERT! Spoken Word
Job Title: Spoken Word Artist & Founder of ANGEPRANGERT!
Name: Jessy James LaFleur
Company: ANGEPRANGERT! Spoken Word
Biography: Jessy James LaFleur is a nomad with conviction; a spoken word artist, a rapper, an activist, a workshop host, and an entrepreneur – who has taken a million and one paths around the world over the last 20 years. Raised in east Belgium, she has brought her poetry to the stage in more than 30 countries, and in three different languages. She is the founder of the aspiriational initiative “ANGEPRANGERT! SPOKEN WORD”, that teaches young poets from rural areas and ethnic minorities how to use their voice on stage.
KLEF
Job Title: Co-Founder
Name: Laura Magnano
Company: KLEF
Biography: Laura is the co-founder of KLEF, a culture-led fan engagement platform for artists & creators. Known as a web3 pragmatist, Laura brings a level-headed view to utilising blockchain technology for the greater good, with a focus on democratisation and accessibility. Her approach is informed by her career across tech, marketing and her deep dive in web3 in 2016; from running marketing agencies, consulting brands on new internet cultures to co-founding the first kyc/aml blockchain protocol in 2018.
Dice
Job Title: Director Venue & Promoter Partnerships, Germany
Name: Noura Labbani
Company: Dice
Biography: Berlin-born, Algerian-raised Noura Labbani has been working in the music scene for over 15 years. She started at !K7 Records in Berlin, held an A&R Assistant job at EMI Music and worked at Dailymotion as the Country Manager for Germany, Beatport’s Director of Content Europe and at Patreon as Creator Partnerships Manager for France. In June 2022 she joined DICE as Director of Venue & Promoter Partnerships Germany.
Berlinsidestories
Job Title: Founder/Artist/Speaker/Manager
Name: Emiko Gejic
Company: Berlinsidestories
Biography: Emiko is a Berlin-born artist, creative, founder, guide, speaker and event manager with a background in urban studies and urban research. With her company Berlinsidestories, she hosts self-organized tour events about urban development, club culture, subculture, creative industries, urban change and activism. She also works as a dancer and actress in the Berlin art scene. She is part of the Factory Berlin community as a Creative Relations Manager, where she connects creatives with tech companies.
Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin
Job Title: Programme Manager Berlinale Talents
Name: Florian Weghorn
Company: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin
Biography: Florian Weghorn is the Programme Manager of Berlinale Talents, the talent development initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival; with seven global offshoots, ranging from Beirut to Tokyo. Florian joined the Berlinale team in 2002. From 2008 to 2014, he was the co-director and curator of the Generation section with around 60 short and feature films annually. Between 2012 and 2019, Florian was also a member of the Berlinale Competition selection committee.
A couple more of our past Speakers
While we have not been able to announce any new speakers yet, you are welcome to take a look at who has already taken part in recent years. As soon as we have the first confirmed speakers for 2024, we will list them on this page and inform everyone who has signed up for our newsletter.
Our confirmed speakers
Research Associate
Job Title: Researcher
Name: Maria Kallionpää
Company: KreativInstitut.Owl / Hochschule für Musik Detmold
Biography: Dr. Maria Kallionpää is an internationally active composer and pianist, working as an artistic researcher at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold (2023-). Kallionpää was an assistant professor of composition and contemporary music performance at the Hong Kong Baptist University (2018-2022), and has been a composer in residence of the Mixed Reality Laboratory of the University of Nottingham since 2016 until present. 2016-2018 she worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Aalborg, her artistic research focusing on gamification as a composition technique. Kallionpää obtained her PhD in composition at the university of Oxford in 2015. Furthermore, as a winner of the Fabbrica Young Artist Development Program of Opera di Roma, Kallionpää was commissioned an opera that was premiered at Teatro Nazionale Rome in 2017. In collaboration with her colleague Markku Klami, Kallionpää composed the first full length puppet opera produced in the Nordic Countries (premiered in 2018). She was a laureate of Académie de France à Rome in 2016.
A couple more of our past Speakers
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