Social Media und Popkultur • Pop-Kultur Festival Berlin 2025

In the organizer's words:

Spill the Tea: Social Media and Pop Culture (DE)

Misla Tesfamariam, Anne Löhr, Yung FSK18, Amina Aziz (Mod.)

The talk will focus on questions surrounding the role of social media staging as a zeitgeist phenomenon - and the staging logics, expectations and self-images that social media demands of artists today. The tension between rap, fashion and (queer) feminist discourses in particular shows how visibility becomes a currency - and at the same time an imposition.

Halle-born rapper Yung FSK18 can crash any party, sure. But her over-affirmation of hip-hop clichés and trashy mixtape lifestyle also contains criticism of the machismo of her own scene. Yung FSK18 can not only be experienced in this talk, but also performs in the live program at the Pop-Kultur Festival.

Anne Löhr is a clinical-systemic psychologist and has been helping artists in the music industry with stress, anxiety and crises for over ten years, with a special focus on emerging artists. As a speaker and lecturer, she is committed to mental health and works with renowned institutions such as the Reeperbahn Festival and Landstreicher Booking.

Misla Tesfamariam worked with Childish Gambino on the album "Because the Internet", among others, and worked as an independent manager for Alli Neumann from 2018 to 2024, with whom she founded the label JAGA Recordings in 2021. The promotion of up-and-coming artists is a central concern of hers. She now offers coaching for artists and professionals via her platform imni.studio.

Anne Löhr and Misla Tesfamariam are also taking part in this year's Pop-Kultur Nachwuchs with workshops on their topics.

The talk will be moderated by Amina Aziz, co-editor-in-chief of Missy Magazine. After studying Islamic Studies, she initially worked in science and research before following her passion for pop culture and socio-political issues - and switching to Missy.

About Pop Culture Talks

Pop culture is more than just music. Pop culture is not just about sound, but also about attitude, questions and discourse. In addition to concerts, DJ sets and the Commissioned Works, the festival therefore also includes a series of talks - in 2025 for the first time separate from the live program and right at the start of the festival week.

On Monday, we will be asking the big questions at the interface of music, society and the future. We will talk about the relationship between culture and business, discuss sustainability in the music industry - and take a special look at the music scene in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Together we ask:

• How can independent labels and artists* regain more control over their art and careers?
• What role does counterculture play in a time of social upheaval? (Hosted by Deutschlandfunk)
• And: How much power is there in passion as a motor for creativity? (Hosted by Rolling Stone)
• We also present a new network of relevant music stakeholders in the German music industry - their aim is to make Black perspectives in the German music industry more visible and to strengthen them structurally.