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

Kasja Boric

Press Officer

Job Title: Press officer

Name: Kasja Boric

Company: Tailored Communication

Biography:

Kasja was born in 1998 in Osijek, Croatia. After finishing high school, she went on to study a Bachelor in Cultural Studies. During her studies, Kasja began to make her way working in events productions and nightlife, which led her to organise and curate a brief series of events with a focus on queerness in dance music for the southeastern European or Balkan region entitled Venera u Vodoliji.

Kasja quickly embedded into the region’s music scene, DJing at clubs such as Manual, Život, and Kotač, as well as playing at festival launch party events for Outlook, Furioza as well as playing at Velvet Festival in the summer of 2023. Her dedication eventually led to bookings at some of Berlin clubs, such as; 90mil, Galerie Wedding, Refuge Worldwide and more.

In addition to DJing, Kasja holds a monthly residency at Bristol‘s queer community radio station ‘transgression.fm‘.

Despite her love for Rijeka and beyond, Kasja decided to move to Berlin to further her career. She now works in a music communication agency, where she continues to explore her passion for music, events and support established and emerging artists and labels.

Andrea Rothaug

SWAE Bremen / RockCity HH / Music Women* Germany | Commissioner for Music and Pop Culture

Job Title: Commissioner for Music and Pop Culture

Name: Andrea Rothaug

Company: SWAE Bremen / RockCity HH / Music Women* Germany

Biography: Andrea Rothaug has a number of roles, including Managing Director of RockCity Hamburg e.V., co-founder of Clubkombinat Hamburg e.V., IHM (Interessengemeinschaft Hamburger Musikwirtschaft), BV POP, initiator and board member of Music Women* Germany and Commissioner for Music and Pop Culture Bremen. Andrea also initiated the Hanseplatte Hamburg and is founder of musicHHwomen. As an artist, business coach and committee worker, Andrea coaches & advises musicians in business, and federal states in pop promotion. Her releases include “Frierkind”.

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’.