WISE - The Future Festival & Think Tank

20/03/2025

The lineup is heating up! We’re excited to announce our next speakers at 🎤✨ Get ready for exclusive insights from industry experts and visionaries. The future of music starts here — are you ready to tune in? 🔥🎶

Diona Bathily , Germany (Moderator at ravenrocker GmbH ) Diona has been with 100.6 FluxFM since 2021, hosting events and talks in pop culture. Her recent engagements include the "KanzlerGESPRÄCH" with Olaf Scholz and LISTEN TO BERLIN: AWARDS 2024.
Jan Denecke, Germany (CEO at twelve x twelve) As a serial entrepreneur and legal expert, I co-founded Twelve x Twelve, where I serve as CEO. We provide music rightsholders with liquidity and new funding opportunities.
Dr. S. Dennis Engbrink, LL.M., Gemany (Lawyer at Zirngibl Rechtsanwälte Partnerschaft mbB) Dr. S. Dennis Engbrink is Head of Media & Entertainment at ZIRNGIBL, specializing in IP, media, and AI law. He advises entertainment, media, and tech businesses globally.

📸 © Diona Bathily: Florian Reimann
📸 © Dr. S. Dennis Engbrink: ZIRNGIBL Rechtsanwälte

Philipp Grefer

18/03/2025

🪂 Calling all Music Tech Innovators! 🎶✨

Are you pushing the boundaries of AI-driven music technology? Apply now for the Music Startup Showcase and present your groundbreaking innovation LIVE on stage! 🎤💡

📅 When? May 15–16, 2025
📍 Where? PFEFFERBERG, Berlin (May 16th location TBC)
⏳ Get 8 minutes to demo your product – no sales pitch, just real innovation in action!

We’re looking for startups revolutionizing music creation, distribution, fan engagement & more through AI and cutting-edge tech.

🔗 Apply now – Deadline: March 31, 2025 (midnight)!

Philipp Grefer

14/03/2025

Brilliant minds, bold ideas! 💡 Today, we’re proud to introduce an all-female lineup of experts for . We can’t wait for them to share their insights! 🚀🌍

Rachel Lyske , UK (CEO at DAACI) Rachel Lyske, CEO and co-founder of DAACI, combines her musical background with AI to lead innovation in music tech. She’s also an advisor for Music Technology UK, advocating for diversity and job opportunities.

Jess Partridge, UK (Executive Director - European Music Managers Alliance) Jess works to support the international music ecosystem through export, talent development, funding, and equality. As Executive Director of EMMA and part of EMEE, she focuses on maximizing the impact of European organizations and developing key projects like Keychange.

Katharina Uppenbrink, GER (CEO at Initiative Urheberrecht) Katharina Uppenbrink has led the Initiative Copyright since 2014, representing around 140,000 creators. Previously, she was Managing Director of the DDV and is now an expert on AI, e-lending, and streaming.

📸 © Katharina Uppenbrink: / IU

Philipp Grefer

12/03/2025

🚀 More visionaries join the stage! We’re excited to announce our next speakers at ! 🎤✨ Get ready for game-changing insights. The future starts here — are you in? 🔥

Frances Juchems, Germany (CEO and Founder of FUTURE0303 ) Frances Juchems, founder of FUTURE030, pioneers an ecosystem merging Web2, Web3, and AI to redefine culture, economy, and science — bringing digital humans to life.

Rappak ,UK (Creative Director of Ristband) Roman Rappak, Creative Director of Ristband, uses game engines to transform live and online experiences. He also tours with Pivots and performs mixed reality concerts as Venice Bleach.

Rahman , GER (Composer & Engineer Spatial Media Lab) Andrew, producer and sound designer, crafts immersive multimedia experiences. Co-founder of Spatial Media Lab, he’s collaborated on concerts and innovations in spatial audio.

📸 © Roman Rappak: Justin Westover
📸 © Andrew Rahman: Lisa Vlasenko

08/03/2025

🚀 Grab your early bird ticket for before March ends! Don’t miss the year’s most innovative music tech conference — connect with global experts and dive into exciting panels! 🎶✨

Grefer

07/03/2025

Happy Friday! New week also means new speakers to add to our growing list of outstanding experts! 📢👥

Montello, UK (CEO Voicebox) Experienced music exec (35+ yrs) in marketing, strategy & ops—led at AFEM, AIM, Universal, BMG & Kobalt/AWAL. Passionate DJ & advocate for EDI, mental health & sustainability, supporting artists & startups through Voicebox Consulting.

Stack , IRL (Lead Sound Designer at Laced Audio) Ross is an Ireland-based audio designer, crafts immersive sound for games and interactive media. With credits like Elite: Dangerous & Planet Zoo, he pushes game audio through tech and innovation.

Tolchenov, UKR (CEO of Delphos Music) Ilya merges AI, math, and composition to innovate music creation. He leads a copyright-centric platform empowering artists to train and control generative models.

📸 © Ilya Tolchenov: Karolina Tolchenova
📸 © Andrew Rahman: Lisa Vlasenko

Philipp Grefer

06/03/2025

🎶 On the back of three years of livecoded audiovisual madness the returns to SXSW in for the fourth time featuring some of the best in the game. Once again an eclectic lineup of members of the Algorave, AV & electronic scene(s) from SF, NYC, LA, BOSTON & Berlin come together to kick off the SXSW music week in style. 🤖🎚️🎹

10 pm - 2 am | BERLIN LEVEL GERMAN HAUS, Speakeasy

10:00-10:40 - /

10:40-11:20 - / .xyz

11:20-00:00 - r.tyler /

00:00 - 00:40 - /

00:40 - 01:20 - / .xyz

01:20 - 02:00 - /


Philipp Grefer Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie Initiative Musik

28/02/2025

Shortly before the weekend, we will be introducing another three outstanding speakers for and are delighted that they are taking part. 👏

Valkova , GER (Founder of GOGIA) Dani Valkova pioneers the fusion of AI, adaptive sound, and neurotechnology in gaming. As GOGIA’s Founder, she creates AI-driven audio experiences to enhance focus, emotion, and flow.

Zaher , NL (Chief Executive Officer at ) Faris, CEO of Sonomo, leads a global music investment platform supporting 1,000+ artists. With a decade in finance and tech, he’s a Warwick and HKU graduate.

Burt , USA (Associate Director & Music Production at ) Dan Burt, Director of Music at VML (WPP), brings groundbreaking music to global brands. With 17+ years in branded entertainment, he’s worked with Coca-Cola, Google, Puma & more.

Philipp Grefer

26/02/2025

Today we can already introduce you to the next three speakers and welcome them to the WISE family. Make sure you don’t miss out on early bird tickets before the next price level gets released! 🥳

Sarah Rimkus , GER (Senior Sync Manager ) Sarah started her career in advertising and now works as Senior Sync Manager at Concord Music Publishing, connecting artists, writers, and clients in advertising and film/TV. Concord represents artists like Phil Collins, John Fogerty, and Daft Punk, among others.

Joest , GER (Managing Director musicwise) With 20+ years in media and music, Patrick has led global sync licensing efforts at BMG and consulted for media projects, rights owners, and music tech firms through musicwise. He is also a partner in the Round Robin Group and runs the music publishing company wkdj.de.

André Ettema , NL (Founder ) André is a founding partner of the Round Robin Group, investing in music tech businesses, and founder of The Solos, specializing in music and sound design for film and advertising. Recent credits include *Top Gun: Maverick* and *Dune*, and The Solos also operates a record label and publishing company.

➡️ Get your tickets now: https://www.eventbrite.de/e/wise-2025-may-15-16-berlin-tickets-1146571218379?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Philipp Grefer

21/02/2025

We’re excited to announce the first speakers for WISE 2025 (May 15-16, Berlin)!

Anam Ghazi , UK (Music Tech & Research Consultant) – With 8+ years in product development and research, Rufy has written for Billboard on AI’s impact on music and recently spoke at Slush and Eurosonic.
te Rehorst , NL (VP Music & Creative, ) – A true electronic music expert, Jeroen recently joined Armada Music Beat Music Fund as VP, driving innovation in the industry.
Kochlani , US (Founder, & ) – A&R exec and music publisher empowering emerging talent through creative collaboration worldwide.

See you there!



🤩

07/09/2024

It´s a wrap!

The inaugural edition of New Visions For Music & Sound ended yesterday in Berlin.

To be honest, if someone had asked me just two weeks ago how I imagined NEW VISIONS would turn out, I never would have guessed that more than 1100 brilliant visitors would show up from all over the & world to network and share their inspiring stories, products and meaningful business insights.

From the moment we opened the doors at 10 a.m. on Thursday, people were lining up, and we could immediately feel the immense positive energy flowing into the Pfefferberg area.

That energy lasted throughout the entire two days and continues even now with all the great feedback we’re receiving.

I feel truly humbled by the entire experience, which, of course, would not have been possible without a fantastic team, the support of Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Energie und Betriebe & Michael Biel, Initiative Musik & Music Tech Europe Academy (Anna Zòò you rock!) and, most importantly, YOU, the speakers, startups, and guests!

Once again, thank you so much. We will continue our work with WISE - The Future Festival & Think Tank. More soon. Enjoy your weekend!

PS: You can still watch the panels on the theater stage on our website https://newvisions.berlin/

Fotos: Tim Tyson

06/09/2024

While we are starting day two of NEW VISIONS For Music & Sound here some fotos from yesterday. It´s not too late to join.
Here you can see the full program (and join us on the livestream if you can´t make it here physically) : www.newisions.berlin

04/09/2024

⏱ In less than 24 hours, we kick off the first edition of New Visions For Music & Sound

After over 6 months of preparation we finally make this happen.

Too many people to thank for all their work (a few of them you can see in my late post) but for now I´m looking forward to all the amazing speakers, startups and sound installations who will grace our three stages.

Because of you, everybody will leave NEW VISIONS inspired. 🙌

The next two days are going to be incredible. There is still a few tickets left if you want to enjoy the action (and some networking breakfast and free drinks).

Here is the full program: www.newvisions.berlin

In case, you can't be physically present, you can watch the live stream of the Theater Stage here: https://newvisions.berlin/live-stream/

03/09/2024

When I started WISE - The Future Festival & Think Tank in 2018 at UCCA, Beijing’s pioneering contemporary art museum, I wouldn’t have thought that six years later, I would be organizing not one but two music/future related conferences in : WISE and New Visions For Music & Sound

Under the title , WISE held its third Berlin edition just a few months ago, and I’m very pleased that so many attendees and speakers from the ever growing and increasingly international WISE community are joining us at NEW VISIONS this & at Pfefferberg Theater!

The idea behind WISE has always been to connect communities and businesses from the , and fields (especially and ) around the world and to work on positive visions for the future of our industries, while putting the " " in the center.

In times like these, we need positive visions, to see where we COULD be, instead of just looking at the status quo. The Sunday elections in East - Germany made this more than clear.

With NEW VISIONS, we are doing exactly that.

After working in the music industry for over 20 years, including 10 in China, bringing some of the best minds in together in Berlin feels like a dream come true.

I’m very proud and happy that we pulled this event together in such a short timeframe from the first idea last December, to the announcement of being the winner of the Prize for Innovative Events of Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Energie und Betriebe (special thanks to Michael Biel, and the jury)

Of course, organizing these two events nearly back-to-back would not have been possible without the support of a fantastic team.

Therefore my sincere thanks go out to Yusuf Sahilli and his team, Bjoern Doering , Josephine Schöde, Rene, our venues, the entire production and partner-in-crime Music Tech Germany team, as well as our PR team — Beniashvili, Beniashvili, and Daniel Ciekalski.

And of course my entire WISE team, past and present, Danaja Dogaja Volk, Mirna Matošić, Flores, Shaneen Pohl, and many many more.

Special thanks also to Initiative Musik and Music Tech Europe Academy (and their project lead Anna Zò) for the support and trust. And of course to all the speakers, startups, music installations and volunteers.

Two days until the show begins. It looks like the sun will be shining and we will have a packed house. Did I mention we have some free drinks as well and amazing food?

I am beyond excited.

10/05/2024

We are feeling it. The Summer. The Vibes. The Dance. The Sam Quealy The Vincent Tajan, & The Monte Mai Did you check them out yet?

09/05/2024

As a music professional and as a conference goer I always liked "Sync Panels". Not only because I always learned about how the process of picking a song for a movie, series or ad actually worked, but also because I met the people who often decide over quite substantial budgets.

There is more than one story out there, where musicians who got a sync in an ad, bought a house after.

Is it still like that? How does AI change the game? And how is it to work with Pharrell Williams & Rosalía? Just a few questions we will tackle in this panel.

06/05/2024

Following a packed schedule with 20+ speakers discussing the effects of AI on Music & The Creative Industries for our daytime Summit on May 14 at HOUSE OF MUSIC join us on May 14 at FLUXBAU for WISE BY NIGHT & NIGHT. Enjoy some good drinks & great music with 6 very special acts from Berlin, London & Glasgow.

📍WISE BY NIGHT at Fluxbau (May 14)
🪩Acts: .sivan , *, .blend, , ,
🎟️ Grab your tickets at wisenotwise.com
*GOTOPO kindly supported by / : LIVE

06/05/2024

One week to go and here is a little primer by WISE Founder Philipp Grefer on what to expect at this years WISE (+ some fun origin story from China) Thanks to Jakob Wredstrøm for the invitation.

In this episode, Jakob talks to Philipp Grefer, the founder of WISE - The Future Festival & Think Tank. Philipp shares the inspiring story behind starting th...