Panel on Sept 18, 2026 | 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Artist Development is Teamwork – How the Music Industry and Pop Music Funding Work Together
Developing artists requires good teamwork with labels, management, distribution, publishers, funding institutions, and networks. Each brings their own skills and perspectives that complement each other meaningfully. The panel discusses how collaboration can succeed, where synergies emerge, and how a strong support ecosystem for artists can be developed together.
A panel by VUT Nord in cooperation with POP Office Bremen e.V, Musikland Niedersachsen, popnetSH, and popKW.
Guests include Nina Graf, Christoph Heide, Mirko Gläser, and Manuela Nikele.
The panel will be moderated by Ingo Hassenstein (popnetSH).
Miu aka Nina Graf is a singer, songwriter, and independent artist in the soul/pop genre. With her project “Miu,” she has released several albums, performed as support for artists such as Macy Gray, Johannes Oerding, and Gianna Nannini, and her music has been featured in film and TV productions (including ARD Tatort, ZDF).
In addition to her artistic work, she volunteers as chairwoman of the board of Bundesverband PRO MUSIK – Verband freier Musikschaffender e. V., advocating for the interests of musicians in Germany and working on cultural policy for fair working conditions and sustainable structures in the music sector.
As a lecturer in music business at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and as a doctoral candidate at Leuphana University Lüneburg, she focuses intensively on the working realities of independent music professionals. In her research, she combines artistic practice, industry expertise, and cultural policy issues.
Christoph Heide
Christoph Heide has been working in the music industry as a curator since 2020.
After a stint at the music label Humming Records (NEUBAU Music), he founded the KiezKultur Festival in Hannover and the music agency Schockverliebt Artists in 2021.
Since 2023, he has been Head of Music Booking for the c/o pop Festival, continues to curate the KiezKultur Festival lineup, works with several artists through Schockverliebt, is a local tour promoter in Hannover, and founded a publishing edition in 2025. Most recently, he curated the ‘German Haus’ for Initiative Musik at South by Southwest in Austin (US) in 2026.
Mirko Gläser is the founder of the hybrid music agency UNCLE M. He runs a music label with an affiliated music publishing company (OH LUMIERE PUBLISHING) and worked for two decades as an external marketing and label manager for international record companies.
Mirko has helped shape the careers of bands such as The Gaslight Anthem, Flogging Molly, Gogol Bordello, Silverstein, Donots, Parkway Drive, and Hot Water Music, and has also had a major influence on the artist development of now-established German artists such as Blackout Problems, Hi! Spencer, and Kochkraft Durch KMA.
As a speaker and lecturer, Mirko works for many regional music associations in Germany and Europe. His work has been recognized with several Impala Awards.
Manuela Nikele
At 19, she moved from Baden-Württemberg to Hamburg to become part of the local music culture.
She found her entry into the music industry through event management before completing training as a media specialist for audiovisual media at Broken Silence after her parental leave and further education in marketing communications. Since graduating, she has been working as a sales manager at Broken Silence.
Since last year, her responsibilities have expanded and she is now also A&R and label manager. In addition, she is also part of Mosaik Music Promotion as a promotion manager.
Ingo Hassenstein is a guitarist, composer, and lecturer from Hamburg.
As a session musician, he is involved in numerous national and international productions and composes music for film and television—his works can be heard on ARD, ZDF, NDR, and ARTE, among others. As musical director, he worked for Warner Music.
Since 2024, he has been working part-time as a consultant for popular music (Popnet.sh) at the Landesmusikrat Schleswig-Holstein, where he advocates for the visibility, promotion, and development of the popular music scene in the state.
As a lecturer at the Hamburg School of Music and the Popakademie Witten, as well as organizer of the Complete Music Camp, he brings many years of experience at the intersection of music practice and education.
More information about the full program will follow.
