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.

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Our confirmed speakers

Janet Merkel

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.

Jessy James LaFleur

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.

Laura Magnano

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.

Noura Labbani

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.

Emiko Gejic

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.

Florian Weghorn

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.

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Our confirmed speakers

Dr. Carsten Winter

Hanover University of Music | University Professor

Job Title: University Professor

Name: Dr. Carsten Winter

Company: Hanover University of Music

Biography: Carsten Winter, Dr. phil. habil., is a university professor for media and music management. His main research interests are: New music cities, music networks and music media strategies, agency festivals as music conjunctures for culture, economy and society, and cultural studies. Among other things, he is the founding president of the Ges. f. Musikwirtschafts- und Musikkulturforschung e.V., co-founder of the Jahrbücher Musikwirtschafts- und -kulturforschung, and of the International Music Business Research Association.

Lukas Kolb

Student | Popakademie Baden-Württemberg

Job Title: Student

Name: Lukas Kolb

Company: Popakademie Baden-Württemberg

Biography:

Lukas Kolb (B.A. Popular Music and Media) is currently completing a master’s degree in Music & Creative Industries. His academic background equips him with a foundation in music knowledge, business management and cultural aspects of the industry.

With practical knowledge gained by several years as an event organizer, with experience in tech, marketing and sales at a music distributor, and in broadcasting, he fuses academia and music business into a profound affinity for technological, cultural and musical trends.

Morena Piro

Coordinator

Name: Morena Piro

Company: Fête de la Musique – Deutschland Netzwerk

Biography:

Morena Piro studied Romance Studies, Italian Studies and Education in Hanover and Applied Languages at the Université Sorbonne Paris IV. From 2002 to 2006, she worked as a project manager at the MusikZentrum Hannover, where she initiated the award-winning ‘Music in Hainholz’ project.

Since 2011, she has been coordinator at the Centre for World Music at the University of Hildesheim Foundation, where she is responsible for the Master’s degree programme ‘musik.welt – Kulturelle Diversität in der musikalischen Bildung’.

In 2016, she founded the Community Service department as well as the ‘Studying after flight’ area and headed the INTEGRA team of the German Academic Exchange Service. She has been a network communicator for the ‘Fête de la Musique Deutschland’ since 2023. She is also a member of the international ‘Community Music Network’ and the German Music Council’s federal expert committee ‘Cultural Diversity’.

Gareth Davies

Global Operations Manager

Job Title: Global Operations Manager

Name: Gareth Davies

Company: Xelon Digital

Biography:

Gareth joined Xelon Digital in spring 2024 – Xelon is a global music distributor, founded in Australia almost two decades ago. The company now has genre specialists on the ground in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. In his role as Global Operations Manager, Gareth is also developing Xelon’s publishing business. Before Xelon, Gareth was Head of International at Kontor Records in Germany, as well as Head of Sheffield Communications Publishing – where the focus was on an active roster of writers and producers.

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A couple more of our past Speakers

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MW:M 2024Speakers

Confirmed Speakers MW:M24

Meet our talking heads

Our confirmed speakers

A couple more of our past Speakers

Our confirmed speakers

A couple more of our past Speakers

Newsletter registration

MW:M 2024
Speakers