Funding is awarded through Musicboard Berlin GmbH upon recommendation of an independent jury of Berlin-based pop experts and in consultation with the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion. Jury members are usually appointed for a period of three years. The following jury is currently appointed to the scholarschips and residencies programmes:
EBRU »EBOW« DÜZGÜN
Ebow is a multifaceted artist who has released four albums to date, combining themes of social criticism, queerness, and feminism. Her latest, ›Canê‹, was released on her own label Alvozay, which she founded in 2020. With Alvozay, she has also organised music festivals and shot a short documentary on safer spaces in club culture in collaboration with Franco-German TV network Arte. Furthermore, Ebow manages up-and-coming female artists together with her Alvozay label partner Tmnit Ghide. She is also a member of the musical collective Gaddafi Gals, with whom she released her second studio album in 2022. In addition to her music career, Ebow acts in film and series, having landed her first lead role in a film directed by Helene Hegemann.
MARIT POSCH
Marit Posch is a strategist and consultant with over 20 years of experience at the intersection of culture, technology, and socially driven enterprise. She works with artists, brands, and purpose-oriented companies to translate ideas into clear strategies, resilient structures, and efficient processes. As the founder of GERMAN BULLDOZER and colorburst records, and through senior roles at Monkeytown Records, IDOL, and melino, she brings together profile development, narrative shaping, operational oversight, and fundraising. She builds structural foundations and working frameworks that provide creative and socially focused projects with long-term stability.
MELANIE GOLLIN
Melanie Gollin is an outstanding music journalist for print and audio based in Berlin and publishes the music journalism newsletter ZWISCHEN ZWEI UND VIER. Her focus is on money and justice in the music industry – how a path towards a financially secure, sustainable and creatively rewarding future for everyone involved can be forged. Beyond that, she has an exceptional knowledge of songs that are not about love.
PEER STEINWALD
Peer Steinwald is Senior Director Creative Services at Budde Music, one of Europe’s largest indie music publishers. He has signed international songwriters and artists such as US hip-hop producer Oddisee, Latin Grammy-nominated Brazilian superstar Liniker, Swedish rock band Mando Diao and Norwegian award-winning musician and producer Fay Wildhagen. Among his focuses is creative collaboration with global publishing partners like Mushroom or Beggars Music, catalogues of legendary artists such as John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Dave Brubeck as well as label publishers such as Kompakt, Toy Tonics and Philophon. As executive producer Peer has developed a number of recordings. Last year’s tribute album honoring Doc Watson featuring new talent as well as country music icons like Dolly Parton, received a Grammy nomination. He lectures regularly at universities and conferences on the creative possibilities of publishing. Peer is a member of the Global Advisory Board of Music Norway. Before joining Budde Music in 2011, he worked in the field of cultural policy and sponsoring as well as in PR in classical music.
YANNICK NIANG
Yannick Niang is a freelance music journalist, presenter, podcaster, DJ, A&R scout and content creator. For DIFFUS, he worked across various areas of the editorial team, oversaw the editorial side of the social media channel for ›Das ist Deutschrap‹ (the official Panini sticker album), and developed a wide range of analogue and digital content in diverse constellations for labels, artists and platforms. While his roots are primarily in hip-hop, he has an ear for all kinds of music and often seeks, through his work, to make his passion for sound tangible for others.
YEŞIM DUMAN
Yeşim Duman is a curator for the Pop-Kultur-Festival Berlin and organises various queer series, including »Erdogay«, »Bubble«, and »Queer Ping Pong«. They also focus on participatory events such as the »Queer Chess Club« and »Karaokee Xpress« at the Maxim Gorki Theatre in Berlin. In their work, from a post-migrant perspective, Duman sheds light on topics such as queerness, social exclusion, and the status of female and non-binary artists in pop and club culture. They curate talks such as »Let’s talk about gender, habibi«, »Tops or Bottoms« and »Wish you were queer« and, as a member of the platform female:pressure, is committed to furthering inclusion of people perceived as women within the music and cultural scene. Duman is also a member of the Goethe-Institut’s music advisory board. They live and work in Berlin.
