Where Pop Meets Future: Berlin’s Pop-Kultur Festival 2025

Berlin's Pop-Kultur Festival transformed the city into a playground for newcomers, bold ideas and cultural exchange. Spread across six days and stages throughout the city, the festival offered a wide program for everyone who loves pop culture and is interested in shaping it themselves. Pop-Kultur was for sure an event for music lovers, industry insiders, and curious explorers.

Monday & Tuesday - releasing Pop-Kultur Talks

For the first time in the ten-year history of the Pop-Kultur Festival, the Pop-Kultur Talks took place separately on Monday and Tuesday. The program featured a series of panel discussions, readings, artist talks, and listening sessions. Thematically, there was something for everyone with even the slightest interest in today's questions surrounding pop culture and the music landscape.

One particularly memorable talk was "Songs Before Release – Stage Instead of Streaming," featuring the organizing trio behind Unreleased. Founders Federico, Walmir, and Mehmet have created a unique concert series that has grown far beyond Berlin's scene. The concept is simple yet effective: established artists and newcomers each perform two to three songs, with at least one of them being unreleased. With a strict no-phone policy in place, the evenings create a truly special atmosphere. The first edition of Unreleased took place in September 2023, and since then, the event has sold out every month. The crowd comes knowing that they'll hear something raw, maybe even something never played again. That creates an atmosphere charged with focus and empathy. "Unreleased lives from its intimacy, "one founder said. Artist Kiki, who was also on the panel and has performed at "unreleased "in the past, captured it perfectly: "The crowd is incredibly supportive. They know that some of us are standing on stage for the very first time."
The founders concluded that the key to their success is three building blocks: the crowd, the artists and the labels. The crowd consists of people eager to discover new artists and not only consume their art. The artists who are scouted by the founders via their personal radars, managers and recommendations from people within the scene. And the labels where A&R-Managers (Artists & Repertoire) are looking for new upcoming artists to sign.

Tuesday - Spilling the Tea on Social Media & Music Production

The talk "Spill the Tea "brought female rapper YungFSK18, music manager Misla Tesfamariam, and clinical psychologist Anne Löhr together for a raw discussion about the realities of social media. YungFSK18 points out that most newcomers and independent artists have a side hustle next to making music. Establishing a social media presence and even promoting their own music on social media can be really stressful. Manager Misla, who has worked with artists such as Childish Gambino in the past, understands the struggles of the artists, but from a Label perspective, having a solid social media strategy for promotion is their number one priority. When building the social media presence of an artist, it can be helpful to look into how the artist is using social media in their daily life, she said.

Psychologist Anne Löhr pointed out that labels also create immense pressure for constant self-presentation. She emphasized that labels and management should protect their artists, raise awareness about mental health, and proactively teach healthy ways of dealing with social media. Misla acknowledged that the industry is still not doing enough in this regard, but stressed that social media should not be demonized either. It should also be seen as an opportunity: to reach the same number of people offline as one can online, musicians would have to spend hours playing guitar on the street. All in all, the audience gained a deep insight into the significance of social media in today's music market from a variety of different perspectives.

Later that day, Music Women Germany hosted a panel around the "Female Producer Prize, "with pioneering producer Melbeatz alongside Director Creative & Repertoire of Sony Music, Finja Nierth, and the winner of the female producer prize 2024, Sera Kalo. Melbeatz is considered one of the first and few visible female producers in the German hip-hop scene. Having worked on the debut album from rapper Kool Savas and producing beats for Prodigy or (the early) Kanye West. Today, she is often found at mentoring workshops for new female producers. While reflecting on one of these workshops, she shares that most of the women still face sexism in the studio. Yet the new generation of female producers is much more self-confident. "Maybe the new guys aren't as bad as the old ones, "she quipped, earning laughs from the listeners. Finja Nierth shares her experience from a label standpoint. She addressed the money gaps between male and female producers by explaining that "women often ask for less. Men often ask for more. "She then adds that they are not a charity and need to make money too, earning a couple of frowns and side-eyes from the listeners. Self-producing artist Sera encouraged persistence. "Find your people. With your own community, you can build a network so strong you don't need major labels. "A cheer went up from the audience, rare for a talk but fitting for the charged atmosphere. The Female Producer Prize Ceremony is set for 14th October in Berlin.

Thursday: label market

Thursday was all about celebrating independent music labels. The label market took place at Festsaal Kreuzberg, where visitors could browse through vinyls and CDs from independent artists. Upcoming talents also had the chance to take over the Festsaal stage. Among them was Berlin-based songwriter Juli Gilde, who released her debut album "it's hard to be a blizzard" earlier this year and performed several songs from it. Her track "Rosarot" captures the realization of liking someone as more than just a friend. For Juli Gilde, this performance also fulfilled a long-time dream she had carried since she was 17, to one day play at Festsaal Kreuzberg.

Friday & Saturday – live performances in focus

On Friday and Saturday, the grounds of Berlin's Kulturbrauerei turned into a place where music could be discovered at every corner. On a small open-air stage, newcomer Ceren captivated the crowd. She has been on many music fans' radar this year thanks to her collaboration with the acclaimed rapper Pashanim. Their joint track "Shabab(e)s im VIP" has dominated the charts since its release. Ceren has been releasing music since 2021 and has her sister on stage as her DJ. Despite being under the weather, she delivered a remarkably strong set, attracting more and more listeners with each song. Alongside her released tracks like "Dünya", "Güneş/Sonne", and "Günlerdir", she also presented two unreleased songs. During her performance of the unreleased track "distanziert", a sudden power outage hit. Someone in the crowd shouted that the song was simply "too good", a spontaneous moment that only amplified the atmosphere. With her cover of Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black", Ceren impressed with a commanding stage presence and consistently strong vocals. She closed her set with her latest release "Synergie", which had the crowd dancing, before treating fans to a final encore: the hit "Shabab(e)s im VIP".

The night continued with Boondawg, the Düsseldorf-born rapper who has been shaking up Germany's hip-hop scene for some time now. Known for his distinctive artistic vision and hard-hitting rage rap, he delivered an explosive performance. That very day, he had also dropped his brand-new album "DONT TRY THIS AT HOME" - a record he described as being written specifically for the stage and live shows. After high-energy tracks like "Zahltag", he slowed things down with "Du Sagst". While some might mistake it for a love song, Boondawg made it clear it was a statement against opportunists in the rap scene, urging the crowd to never sell out their values for money and to always stay true to themselves. From there, the energy shot back up, and he closed with "GANGSIGNS RMX". Safe to say, Pop-Kultur witnessed a first-class rap set from one of the most promising voices in the current German scene.

Next up was Vienna-based singer-songwriter Eli Preiss. She turned her Pop-Kultur Set into a whirlwind of emotion, confidence and pure pop magic. From the very first notes of her songs "f.i.l.d "and "Nikes ", the audience was pulled into her pop-princess world. With "Ganz Allein "and "Bussi, "she had the crowd dancing and blowing little kisses in the air. One of the most unforgettable moments came during "Sailor Moon ", when a fan in the crowd seamlessly took over Makko's part, word for word, without a single slip. It was a moment that truly captured the connection between Eli Preiss and her fans. The set only grew more electric when she started singing "Pew Pew. " A song many fans had wished for on Instagram in the days leading up to the show. As the first beats of the song hit, shouts came from the corner of the room.

Later that night, Apsilon also took over the stage. His appearance at Pop-Kultur Festival was a clear reminder of why he has become one of the most important new voices in German rap. His performance carried a mix of urgency and vulnerability while combining sharp political storytelling with personal reflections. Even in the large space of the Kesselhaus, Apsilon managed to create a sense of intimacy, holding the crowd's attention.

Finals thoughts

Pop-Kultur Festival 2025 left Berlin buzzing not just with songs still ringing in our ears, but with inputs, questions and connections that stretched beyond the festival grounds. It was a week where artists shared not only their music but their visions for a more inclusive scene. Over the six days, the festival managed to balance discovery and discourse, giving space to rising artists and urgent conversations about the future of music. Pop-Kultur Festival didn't just present music and upcoming artists; it created a space where the future of pop felt alive and ready to be shaped together.

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