MW:M 2024
Speakers

After completing her degree in English and German studies, Birte Wiemann joined the independent music distributor Cargo Records in Wuppertal in 2005. In the 19 years that she has been with Cargo Records, Birte has been a product and label manager for labels such as Rise Records, Trustkill and Revelation, was involved in establishing Record Store Day in Germany in 2009 – and is currently a project manager for B2B solutions and D2C fulfillment services. In 2013, she completed her doctorate in English literature at the University of Hull in the North of England. Birte was elected to the board of the VUT (The Association of Independent Music Entrepreneurs) e.V. which represents the interests of 1,100 labels, distributors, publishers and artists.

In 2021 Birte was appointed chairwoman of the VUT Board and was confirmed in this position in 2023. The VUT is currently working proactively for a fair and contemporary remuneration in streaming and is shedding light on the impact of generative AI on the independent music industry. Since 2021 Birte has been a member of the supervisory board of Initiative Musik. Birte is a fan of coloured vinyl and owns much more than just a single version of many of her favourite records.

Björn Döring has been working as a cultural manager, curator, journalist and PR consultant in Berlin for 30 years. A daringly designed application led to a multi-year engagement as a freelance journalist for Rolling Stone, Musikexpress, Intro Musikmagazin, Berliner Zeitung, Tagesspiegel, taz and RBB Multikulti. The central organisation of the Fête de la Musique was his entry into the world of events. This was followed by the first festival of his own: popdeurope at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, which later moved to the Arena Berlin. There, as in the newly opened Admiralspalast, he designed the music programme and organised the public viewing event popkick.2006 on behalf of the Arena Berlin, which attracted a quarter of a million people to Treptower Park. After that, Björn Döring ran Berlin Music Week for three years before founding the specialist trade fair for events in January 2015.

Björn continues to be involved as chairman of the board of the Obersee & Orankesee development association and, since 2020, as chairman of the board of the association for the promotion of pop culture.