Why we built this programme
MW:M isn’t about sitting at the back of a conference room listening to someone talk about the industry. The core of our Rewire! is simple: we build rooms where you meet the people and ideas that move the industry forward, where you ask your own questions, pitch your own projects and get honest feedback from pros who have done the work.
This year we’re hosting 13 workshops, seven match making and pitch formats, and several open-door receptions across three days. Most of them need registration, seats are limited, and all of them require a Convention ticket.
Here’s what’s in each of the three strands.
🎯 Match Making — Direct Exchange, No Hiding in the Crowd
Pre-matched 1:1 or small-group formats. You submit a profile in advance. The programming team matches you with exactly the person your topic needs. No small talk, no awkward mingling — just the conversation you actually came for.
1:1 Career Navigation (Day 1 & 2)
Twenty-minute personal conversations with experienced industry professionals, pre-matched to what you brought in. Open to professionals at every stage, from a mid-career label head exploring a pivot to an emerging artist seeking direction. You leave with your navigator’s direct contact details and an opt-in for one follow-up email within thirty days.
Bridging the Gap 2.0: Reverse Mentorship Exchange
MW:M’s signature intergenerational format returns with deeper structure. Gen Z and early-career creators are paired with industry veterans of ten or more years. The younger voice leads first — industry navigation, audience building, technology, careers — then the dynamic flips, and veterans share institutional knowledge, relationship capital and long-game perspective. The hour closes with a facilitated group conversation where pairs share their biggest insight.
Meet the Berlin Music Commission
An open networking and matchmaking format. Connect directly with selected BMC members from across Berlin’s music industry — live music, labels, management, media, funding, education and industry development. Who does what in Berlin, where opportunities actually sit, and who you want to know.
🎤 Pitch and Pro Feedback — Submit, Perform, Listen Back
Sound Check: MW:M Pro Feedback Listening Session #1 and #2
You submit your track two weeks before the conference. Top industry professionals listen live on stage and give honest, specific, actionable feedback in real time. Six to seven minutes per track: two minutes of artist context, a full listen, then three to four minutes of panel reaction. After the session, the bar stays open and the panellists remain accessible for informal follow-up.
MW:M x Amplitude Ventures: Startup Spotlight 2026
A curated session bringing three to four Berlin-based music tech startups face to face with industry mentors, investors and conference delegates. Each founder presents, receives live feedback from a three-expert panel, and opens the floor to audience questions. No competition, no winner, no voting. The goal is visibility, connection and honest conversation about what it takes to build in music tech right now.
🤝 Speed Networking
Meet the Bookers
This isn’t a pitching session. Rotating small-group conversations at booker tables with around three participants per round. The point is to understand how bookers from clubs, festivals and live music contexts actually work: what makes a strong booking request, what information they need from artists and how to build meaningful contacts beyond a single pitch.
🧠 Workshops — Level Up Your Rewiring Skills
Thirteen workshops across three days, from direct-to-fan playbooks and intersectional feminism to sustainability and anti-ageism. A few highlights:
The Voice in the Machine
What happens when AI stops being just a tool and becomes an artistic counterpart. Jovanka v. Wilsdorf, musical director of Sophia the Robot (Hanson Robotics), draws on years of international human/AI collaboration to show where the pitfalls lie and where new artistic doors open.
Protect the Dolls: Wen meinen wir eigentlich, wenn wir FLINTA* sagen?
A critical look at our own feminist structures. Intersectionality, power, privilege and representation — and where good intentions still leave people out. Presented by Music Change Germany and Music Change Berlin.
Artist Eco-Rider 2.0
For touring artists at any career stage. How to voice environmental and health preferences across road, airport and greenroom, and help build a more resilient future for the scene. Led by Bye Bye Plastic.
Decisive is the New Black: 3 Minutes to Yes or No
Frameworks that turn three-day deliberations into clear decisions, and the language for conversations where saying no feels impossible. Led by Lindi Delight, Transformation Coach and MW:M Conference Programme Director.
Beyond the Booking
Agents do a lot more than confirm dates. Ninety minutes inside the operational reality of agency work: picking artists, routing, strategy, and what it takes to build your own agency. Moderated by Alma Ernst.
🥂 Beyond the Workshops — Open-Door Formats
Not everything needs a sign-up. The MW:M26 Reception Ball with a Purpose replaces three parallel partner receptions with a single structured room: partner zones with their own themes and hosts, self-organising zones for open connection, and conversation starters who make the first introductions so no one has to stand alone. The FLINTA* Rewired networking session by GENiE moves from co-existing to collaborating through guided small-group conversations for FLINTA* professionals.
How to join
Registration is open to Convention ticket holders. Seats are limited and most workshops fill fast — picking yours now is the move.