MW:M 2025
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.

Speaker, Speaker 2024

Svenja Reiner

Musikwissenschaftlerin

Speaker, Speaker 2024

Svenja Tikovsky

Committee and Communications Manager

Speaker, Speaker 2024

Tony Nwachukwu

Founder & Director I CREATE DEFINE RELEASE

Speaker 2024

Verena Bößmann

Co-Founder I Dunstan Music / Dunstan Media

Speaker, Speaker 2024

Zhian Zhao

Professor, Vice Dean and PhD supervisor of the School of Music and Recording Arts

Load More Speakers

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

Denis Bartelt

CEO

Job Title: CEO & CO-Founder

Name: Denis Bartelt

Company: Startnext GmbH

Biography:

Denis Bartelt is a trained photographer who founded the internet agency Tyclipso in Dresden in 2003 and, together with Tino Kreßner, launched the crowdfunding platform Startnext in 2010. As the CEO of the platform, Denis Bartelt has led Startnext for 14 years. Originally developed for the creative industries, the platform is funded exclusively through voluntary contributions, is B Corp certified, and is committed to the principles of public welfare and stewardship ownership. Startnext, with the support of its community, has raised over €100,000,000 solely for the creative industries, with music being its most successful sector. Together with the La Barca Berlin collective, Denis launched the ‘Tiny Boat Sessions’ project in 2024, which features recordings of musicians performing on a houseboat, later published for audiences.

Nico Rose

Rose & Rose GbR

Job Title: Sinnnput-Geber

Name: Nico Rose

Company: Rose & Rose GbR

Biography: Dr Nico Rose works as a sparring partner for people and organisations. From 2019 to the beginning of 2022, he was Professor of Business Psychology at ISM Dortmund. Before that, he worked for Bertelsmann. Rose studied psychology in Münster and received his doctorate at EBS Oestrich-Winkel. He also studied positive psychology at The University of Pennsylvania. Recently, his book “Hard, Heavy & Happy” landed on the Spiegel bestseller list. He’s a fan of Metal, he lives in Hamm with his wife and two children.

Noura Labbani

Dice

Job Title: Director Venue & Promoter Partnerships, Germany

Name: Noura Labbani

Company: Dice

Dr. Monika Demmler

Sound frequency researcher

Job Title: Sound frequency researcher

Name: Dr. Monika Demmler

Biography: Dr. (PhD) Monika Demmler’s current research is focused on sound frequencies, i.e. the effects of healing sound and intergalactic communication via sound. In 2015, she finished her PhD on “Biophilia and the Aesthetics of Blues, Jazz, and Hip-Hop Music in African-American Prose Fiction.”