This year, the Music Ambassador Programme is once again strengthening the international networking of the music industry. The Berlin Music Commission and Musicboard Berlin have given Berlin-based players in the music industry the opportunity to present Berlin as a location in Germany and abroad and make lasting connections. Participants were granted a travel allowance for the project period from 15 September to 15 December 2024.
The application phase for the programme’s second call for applications in 2024 ended on 25 July. The new cooperation between the Berlin Music Commission and Musicboard Berlin has expanded the programme’s target group as part of a pilot project. For the first time, not only players from Berlin’s music industry (music professionals) but also Berlin musicians from the pop culture sector were able to apply to participate in the programme. The programme also offered the new opportunity to apply together as a team consisting of a musician and a music professional. A jury decided on the allocation of the ambassador positions. The jury consists of Anna Groß (Springstoff), Lukas Knoflach (Consultant, Strategist & Manager, Musicboard), and Evyonne Muhuri (Makakali).
The following 24 people receive a travel grant between September and December 2024:
Music Ambassadors Destination Purpose
Anita Richelli (Brighter Agency) London, UK Pitchfork London
Arthur Janssen (Playbook Artists LTD, booking agent) Montreal, Canada Pop Montreal
Gideon Elfgen (Piranha Arts, marketing and communications manager) Brisbane, Australia BIGSOUND
James Cameron aka Jimmy Trash (freelance journalist, Bandcamp Daily) Amsterdam, Netherlands Research project on musicians from Surinamese culture
Jean-Paul Mendelsohn (MfK – Konzerte, Beratung & Management) Reykjavik, Iceland Iceland Airwaves Festival
Kotoe Karasawa (Bucht der Träumer, booking agent) Jinja, Uganda Nyege Nyege Festival
Michelle Kaletta-Horrig (CURA BERLIN) Lisbon, Portugal artistic and professional collaboration, opening up a new region
Natalie Padabed (More Zvukov Agency) Rennes, France Transmusicales Festival
Ralf Diemert (von der haardt GmbH) Los Angeles, USA networking with management, live agencies, publishers, labels and film production companies
Sam Eyvazziaei (Future East) Utrecht, Netherlands Uncloud Festival for future collaboration and co-operation
Tanya Timofeeva (River Song Music / Steam Music Group) Palma de Mallorca, Spain IMPF Global Music Summit Palma 2024
Ziad Fayed (AL Berlin GbR) Utrecht, Netherlands Le Guess Who? Contacting international organisers and artists
In addition, we are able to support the following artists and their teams with a travel grant as part of the cooperation between the Berlin Music Commission and Musicboard Berlin:
Music Ambassadors Destination Purpose
Aditi Gupta (Ditty) & Keno Langbein (Monsterra Label) multiple cities, India to make contacts in the Indian Indie- and Rap-scene for international cooperations
Alexandra Ivanova (Alexandra Ivanova Trio) & Marita Goga (Goga Music Arts Conception) Ghent, Belgium European Jazz Network conference
Anna Rosa Palmu (Palmu) Amsterdam, Netherlands Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE)
Danyil Merkulov (Aircraft) Amsterdam, Netherlands Concert
Tania Takoh (T’neeya) Paris, France & Manchester, UK MAMA & WOMEX24
Johannes ›Younes‹ Klinge (YOUN3S) Marrakech, Casablanca & Rabat, Morocco Initiation of artistic and professional collaborations, artist residencies
Katrin Richter (Kat Kat Tat) Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia sound research and communication on the subject of The last matriarchy in Europe
Liana Dolgopolova Montreal, Canada Les Vespérales de l'orgue du Sacré-Cœur, for Creative production/collaboration
Lin Bender (LIN) Milan & Florence, Italy Building a team in Italy
Mirna Stanic (M.Rider) New York, USA Initiation of artistic and professional collaborations
Patric Cremer (Patric Catani) Seattle, USA Game Convention Pax West and small promotion gigs
Szabolcs Bognar (Àbáse) & Erik Breuer (Brewery Studios GmbH / Analogue Foundation / Bar Neiro) Amsterdam, Netherlands deepening business relations with Rush Hour Distributio
Sarah Martin (Meagre Martin) New York & Boston, USA & Montreal, Canada Pop Montreal and professional networking activities in NYC and Boston
Sasha Perera (Perera Elsewhere) New York, USA Artist Residency, ideally collab with National Sawdust
About the Music Ambassador Programme
The Music Ambassador Programme, organised by the Berlin Music Commission (BMC), promotes the international visibility of Berlin’s music scene and strengthens the global networks of Berlin music professionals. By providing financial support in the form of travel grants, the programme enables a strong presence on international stages and conferences. This map shows which places have been visited so far.
Website Berlin Music Commission
