Politics & Verantwortung – Moralischer Kompass vs. Kulturbetrieb

Christin Nichols, Daniel Meteo, Noura Labbani, Thomas Venker (Mod.)

The pop industry loves the performance of principles – as long as it does not become expensive. But what happens when ethical convictions stop being theoretical and become existential? When cancellations, boycotts, or public positions carry real consequences – both for oneself and for others?

This panel explores the uneasy relationship between individual morality and a cultural sector built on networks of interdependence. Artistic decisions are never purely individual; they ripple outward through agencies, labels, crews, funding structures, and international partners. The domino effect is real – economically as much as symbolically.

Thomas Venker, editor-in-chief of Kaput – Magazin für Insolvenz & Pop, joins label manager Noura Labbani, publisher Daniel Meteo and musician and actor Christin Nichols to discuss these questions. Based on the cultural and political upheavals surrounding the Epstein Files and Wasserman Agency’s entanglements, the panel examines complicity through proximity or silence.
At the heart of the discussion lies a broader question: is there such a thing as a collective or solidaristic morality within pop culture, or are decisions ultimately shaped by individual interests and market realities? Rather than passing moral judgement, the panel seeks to think structurally: what responsibilities do artists carry? What responsibilities belong to the industry itself? And where does self-deception begin within a sector that often presents itself as progressive while rarely examining its own power structures?

Noura Labbani lives in Berlin and has worked in the music industry for more than fifteen years, specialising in artist development, label management, and digital strategy. Following senior roles at companies including Beatport, DICE, and Patreon, as well as consulting for international artists and labels, she now serves as EU-label manager overseeing the European expansion of Dirty Hit and dh2.

Daniel Meteo works as a music publisher and manager at Berlin-based Random Musick Publishing GmbH, representing artists including Anika, Alan Abrahams, and Apparat. For more than twenty-five years, he has been actively involved in Berlin’s music landscape and regularly contributes to public debates through his monthly newsletter as well as numerous panels and workshops.

Christin Nichols, a German-British artist born in East Westphalia in 1991 and raised in Spain, completed her acting studies at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin. This was followed by engagements at the Renaissance-Theater, Berliner Ensemble, Volksbühne, and Schauspiel Leipzig, as well as extensive work in film and television. As a musician, she has released three solo albums to date: »I’m Fine«, »Rette sich wer kann«, and »Christin Nichols«.

Thomas Venker, based in Cologne, is co-publisher and co-editor-in-chief of Kaput – Magazin für Insolvenz & Pop, as well as co-curator of the concert series »Köln ist kaput«, »Talking Kaput«, and the music and arts programme of the Cologne off-space »Kapute Szene«. Before founding Kaput in 2014, he served as editor-in-chief of Intro magazine for fourteen years. Alongside his regular writing for newspapers and magazines, he moderates panels and symposia for cultural institutions and teaches music journalism and artist marketing at several German universities.