PROMOTIONAL FEATURE
The music and festival business will be heading to Berlin in November for a trio of key events in the music and festival industry calendar: Most Wanted Music, Stadt Nach Acht and Future of Festivals.
The city’s three most important music, nightlife and festival events take place concurrently between 14th and 25th November, 2023.
And the good news is that anyone purchasing a ticket for one gets the option to register for free for both of the other events. Ticket purchasers will be provided with the information about the combined offer for entry to Most Wanted Music, Stadt Nach Acht and Future of Festivals once their single order is processed.
Berlin already has a formidable reputation as a European hub for music, nightlife and business. Those strengths will be on display during November, when execs from the global music and festival industry will be gathering for the interdisciplinary meeting place – an occasion for networking, new ideas and striking deals in one of the most exciting, creative cities in the world.
Here’s a closer look at each of the industry gatherings and congress experiences, which will make Berlin a crucial destination for the business next month…
Most Wanted: Music 23
In 2023, Most Wanted: Music, Berlin’s festival for the music industry, marks its 10th anniversary. The MW:M23 celebration takes place on 14-16 November in Berlin’s historic cultural centre, Kulturbrauerei.
The event opens with the Listen to Berlin: Awards on the evening of Tuesday, 14 November. The awards are given annually in recognition of industry achievements in Berlin. The ceremony is also a platform for networking and cooperation among those in the business, both established execs and rising stars.
The MW:M Convention starts on Wednesday, 15 November, with further decentralised MW:M Satellites partner events take place all over Berlin on Thursday, 16 September. It all culminates that evening with the MW:M Live showcase event, featuring performances by a hand-picked selection of the best up-and-coming talent.
Most Wanted: Music is a hotspot for music and creative industry experts from all over Europe. It is organised by the Berlin Music Commission, the music business network of Berlin. MW:M’s key objectives are to enable practical know-how transfer; to foster networking, connectivity, and information exchange; and to inspire new ideas and business models.
Kaleo Sansaa performing at Most Wanted Music: 2022 (credit: Mangler)
The event’s mission statement for 2023 is “Humanize!”, across work & life, creation & business and tech & tools. With the pressures often faced by both artists and those working in the business, alongside the emergence of AI as a disruptive technology, it’s a timely theme for Most Wanted: Music.
MW:M23 will explore new technologies and tools by moving the human – our creativity, potential and vision – to the centre of the discussion. The most pressing questions to be addressed include: How do music businesses use technologies to develop new ways of working? And which ones have already proven useful?
At a time of debate about industry models of remuneration, there are other questions to tackle: How do you place fairness at the core of creative work – and what can we do to improve the situation? And which tools are putting the economic, cultural and social aspects of human creativity at the centre of their service?
To find out the answers, book now for the 2023 edition of Most Wanted: Music.
Most Wanted Music: 23 – for ticket information click here.
Stadt Nach Acht 2023
Stadt Nach Acht – one of the most important international conferences on nightlife – will once again present expert knowledge in a packed programme over three days from November 16-18 at venues in Berlin's RAW-Gelände district.
More than 200 experts from over 30 countries will combine their knowledge from the fields of culture, urban development, health & safety and economics in over 60 panels at the Berlin conference. Figures from politics and administration will also discuss possible development paths for the nocturnal city of tomorrow.
Key issues up for debate include: What challenges do cities and their peripheries face in offering their 24-hour societies conditions that are lovable, liveable, low-conflict and forward-looking, especially at night?
The sixth edition of Stadt Nach Acht is themed Night Fever, focusing on the return of nightlife and the fulfilment of its potential after the pandemic that imposed a shutdown on clubs, bars, theatres and other cultural venues.
However, there’s a double meaning to that Night Fever theme, with the conference addressing the ongoing concerns for the sector, including not only increasingly deserted city centres due to the collapse of commercial activity, but also the significant decline in the number of visitors to numerous venues for live music and club culture.
Stadt Nach Acht will also look at nightlife as it’s impacted by global economic upheavals as well as climate and energy crises.
In addition to panels, discussions and lectures, Stadt Nach Acht 2023 offers numerous side events, guided tours, readings, interview sessions, excursions to outside events such as the Berlin drug testing project, along with several invitation events with numerous partners from the industry, politics and more.
Stadt Nach Acht - for ticket information click here.
Future of Festivals 2023
If you’re looking for guidance on insights on the challenges of the festival season 2024, Berlin is the place to be next month.
The Future of Festivals is the industry meeting place for all organisers, service providers, associations, decision makers and trainees from the festival sector. After two successful editions, it will take place for the third time on Friday, November 24 and Saturday, November 25th 2023 in the Arena Berlin.
The Future of Festivals is the first and only festival network trade fair. It’s an essential destination for anyone in the sector looking to get key insights on the current topics of the festival industry, including sustainability, the prevailing shortage of skilled workers in the event industry, implementation of AI in festival planning, rising production costs and alternative energy solutions.
The event launched successfully at a time of huge concern for the sector in November 2021 – under strict Covid-19 conditions – with a live audience as a trade fair and congress on site in the Arena Berlin. Speakers included Holger Hübner (Wacken Open Air), Steven Raspa (Burning Man), Caren Lay (Die Linke), Rainbow Gao (Great Wall Music Festival) and many more.
The trade fair and congress expects around 200 international exhibitors to present their latest innovations and sustainable products for the next festival season in the exhibition area. Also, more than 100 speakers for the 2023 edition offer a large amount of content like lectures and panel discussions around the topics of the festival makers, including Nika Brunet Milunovic (Metaldays Festival), Yvonne Heckl (VMS/ Oktoberfest) and Steven Raspa (Burning Man).
The new event area Festival Campus is specially developed for the promotion of young talent, networking and for training and further education. It’s a chance to discover the festival professionals of tomorrow.
The Festival Campus is for employers, trainers and education providers, as well as all those who work in the festival sector or are interested in finding out more. In the designated area of the event, universities, colleges, established companies and start-ups will be given the opportunity to present themselves in a relaxed atmosphere and to potential recruits.
Exhibitors such as Neumann&Müller, BHT Berlin and the Event Akademie Baden-Baden are confirmed to be taking part in the Festival Campus. There will be specially tailored offers for trainees, students and young professionals for networking and further training.
With a packed season in 2023, music festivals are back in full force. But there are many challenges for both fans and festival operators which need to be addressed, including pressure on visitor numbers, increased ticket prices and rising production costs.
"In order to prepare for the demands of the future of festivals, suitable measures are needed," says Future of Festivals initiator and festival consultant Robert Stolt. "At the Future of Festivals, a variety of solutions are offered and festival organisers can choose which innovation suits them best.”
Taking place at Arena Berlin, right in the heart of the city on the Spree River, the spacious venue offers plenty of opportunities for discovering new products, networking and absorbing panel discussions.
Plus, with free entry on offer to Most Wanted Music and Stadt Nach Acht, there are even more reasons to visit Berlin next month.
Future of Festivals – for ticket information click here
MAIN IMAGE: Lucky Lo performing at Most Wanted Music 2022 (credit: Mangler)
PHOTO CREDITS: Rafael Duarte/Yvonne Hartmann
