Programme

Michael Adex (NQ)

27-year-old entrepreneur and Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe inductee, Michael Adex is the founder and CEO of Manchester’s global talent management & full-service entertainment company, NQ.

Established in 2018, NQ has propelled itself as a market leader within UK music, showcasing the best and brightest emerging talent from the North and nurturing some meteoric rises along the way. Armed with the motto, ‘Northern Roots, Global Influence’, NQ’s management, records and publishing rosters boast the likes of BRIT Award winner, Aitch, MIST, Akemi Foxx, Frankie Stew & Harvey Gunn, WhyJay & LiTek and more.

Adex has won numerous awards in his entrepreneurial career, including MMF’s Entrepreneur Award and the ‘Trailblazer Award’ (in memory of Richard Antwi) at last year’s Music Business Worldwide A&R Awards. Included in BBC 1Xtra’s inaugural Future Figures list, Adex was nominated for ‘Manager of The Year’ at the Music Week Awards for the second time this year.

Keith Harris OBE

Keith Harris began work in the record industry in 1975. The first record company for which he worked was a small independent UK label called Transatlantic records. The label represented mainly British folk musicians but also distributed the Blue Note and Milestone Jazz labels. In 1976 he joined EMI Records where he initially worked for several in-house EMI labels in the promotions department. These labels included Rocket where he worked on the Elton John album ‘Blue Moves’, Fantasy, Ariola and EMI International. He then joined Motown which was an EMI licensed label. He worked for Motown for two years ending up as General Manager for the label. During his period at the label he worked with artists such as Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, The Commodores, Rick James, The Supremes, Thelma Houston and Stevie Wonder. He left Motown in 1978 and moved to Los Angeles to work with Stevie Wonder and became Operations Manager for Stevie’s companies. On his return to the UK in 1982 he formed his own management company and has been involved in the management of various UK based artists since. He has managed Junior Giscombe, Junior Tucker, Paul Johnson, & Omar. Keith also managed the late Lynden David Hall.

• Keith is now a Music Industry Consultant.
• Keith still represents Stevie Wonder.
• He is a Non-Executive Director of the Point Blank Music School.
• He was Director of Performer Affairs for PPL www.ppluk.com.
• He is a former Chairman of the MMF www.ukmmf.net.
• Was founding Chairman of The European Music Managers Alliance.
• He was Chair of the Equality and Diversity Taskforce for the Music Industry. Keith was awarded an OBE in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to the Music Industry.
• He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Westminster in November 2007.
• He received the Music Industry Champion Award at the Artists and Managers Awards Ceremony in 2014.
• He received the Outstanding Contribution Award from IMPALA in 2021.
• He was elected as Rector of The University of Dundee in 2021.
• He is a Trustee of the Universal Music Sound Music Foundation, The British Music Experience, English Folk Expo.

Tom Gray (The Ivors Academy / Broken Record campaign)

Tom Gray’s work is broad and varied: commercial songwriter, theatre composer, ensemble performer, librettist, singer-songwriter and scorer of television and film. Today, though, he is probably best known as one of the most high-profile creator advocates in the UK. His campaigning has led a global conversation around music rights and licensing and now, significantly, Tom has recently been elected Chair of the Ivors Academy.

Tom founded the #BrokenRecord campaign in 2020 which has been successful in bringing about a UK parliamentary inquiry and report into the economics of the music industry. Garnering the support of over 200 of the country’s most high-profile songwriters, composers, and artists, he wrote to the Prime Minister asking for urgent intervention on behalf of British creators. As a result, there is now a formal process with the UK government to investigate industry interventions and a Competition & Markets Authority study of the music industry.

As a founding member of Gomez, he won the Mercury Prize in 1998, and now has over 25 years of experience on all sides of the music industry. Most recently he scored the first series of ‘In My Skin’ for the BBC before then moving onto a commission to write a stage adaptation for the Roald Dahl Story Company. Tom also sits on the PRS Council and is working with the HBF Charity on their campaign to end re-trafficking of victims.

Corey Johnson (Manager)

Corey Johnson is a multi-platinum and diamond producer and an AIM Entrepreneur of the Year recipient. He is a British-born music producer, record label President, entrepreneur, Board member and philanthropist.

Johnson was named Music Entrepreneur Of The Year at the 2022 AIM Awards (Association of Independent Music) for his work funding Digital Holdings, a music studio that has been nationally recognised for creating a safe space in the UK rap scene.

With a career encompassing music, business development, brand building and youth work, Johnson has established several media companies that work alongside each other under one creative entity known as Digital Holdings Empire.

Johnson was the deal maker, original label, publisher and Co-producer of a bona fide global mega-hit when he licensed Crazy Cousinz &Kyla’s single ‘Do You Mind’ through Defenders Ent for Drake’s worldwide smash ‘One Dance’ featuring Kyla and Wizkid, which became the third longest-running single in the UK chart history.

Hannah Overton (Bella Figura)

Hannah Overton is the recently appointed Head of Operations at the multi-faceted, catalogue acquisition company, Bella Figura Music. Working alongside the company’s co-founders, Alexi Cory-Smith and Neelesh Prabhu, her ambition for the role is to blend the strengths of an artist-friendly record label and music publisher with the innovative data strategy of a music rights company, to maximise the potential of the catalogues they manage for the likes of David Gray, Guy Chambers and R3HAB.

Overton joined Bella Figura after spending more than a decade as Managing Director for Secretly Group. She oversaw an array of major achievements throughout this time for The War on Drugs (a Gold-certified record in the UK and a BRIT Award nomination), Bon Iver (a #2 UK chart position and a Gold-certified album), Phoebe Bridgers (a UK #6 chart position and a Gold-certified album) and Shame (winners of Rough Trade’s Album of the Year), as well as earning Label of the Year awards from Music Week and AIM for Jagjaguwar. Her other accomplishments at Secretly included the return of shoegaze heroes Slowdive and the rise of Mitski and Japanese Breakfast.

During this time, she was twice elected to join AIM’s board of directors, the trade body that represents the UK’s independent record companies. This allowed her to build upon the sustainable practices and green ethos she established at Secretly by becoming a founding member of IMPALA’s Carbon Calculator, an environmental impact measurement tool for the independent recorded music sector. Her combined passion for both music and environmental issues continued early this year, when she was chosen to take part in a Creative Climate Leadership Course in conjunction with Julie’s Bicycle and The Arts Council in spring 2023.

Overton’s first major role in the industry came at XL, where she rose from receptionist to A&R Manager to A&R Director. Working across both recording and publishing, she played a pivotal role in guiding the careers of an eclectic selection of artists such as Friendly Fires, Ratatat and Dizzee Rascal.

The roots for Hannah Overton’s hugely successful career come from her life-long passion for music. She specifically remembers being inspired by hearing Belle & Sebastian on Mark Radcliffe’s Radio 1 shows, but in those pre-streaming days actually finding a copy of their ‘Tigermilk’ proved to be a years-long quest. And that passion remains undiminished all these years later. She highlights Bon Iver at Wembley Arena and Patti Smith at The Royal Albert Hall (her first post-pandemic gig) as two of her favourite shows of recent years, and is already counting down the days until she is back at Glastonbury and End of the Road festivals. At weekends you might find her browsing the racks at Dreamhouse, the independent record store near her home in Leyton, east London.

Vishal Ramakrishnan

Vishal Ramakrishnan brings nearly a decade of diverse experience in the music industry as a founding member at round. Having worn multiple hats – from being a film composer, consulting for labels in India, lecturing on music business at universities to being an advisor for music tech start ups – Vishal has experienced the industry from both the artist and the label side.

In less than four years, Round has grown to become a trusted partner for various artists, brands, and entertainment companies across the globe. Using it’s proprietary technology, Round works with artists, labels and festivals, to entertainment companies and brands to communicate and build a genuine connection with their target audiences, amplifying their brand and deepening their reach into the creator universe with precision. Round quickly gained prominence for its innovative use of data analytics and proprietary technology to create impactful releases. Collaborating with a diverse portfolio of clients, from developing music artists like Olivia Rodrigo to global brands like Pepsi+Co.

Mark Sutherland

Mark Sutherland has been covering music and the music business for over 25 years. He started out producing his own fanzine, which landed him a job on legendary pop magazine Smash Hits. He then helped chronicle the Britpop era via senior editorial roles at NME and Melody Maker and was part of the launch team for BBC Radio 6 Music. He’s also a music industry expert, having served as global editor of Billboard and, most recently, as editor of UK music industry ‘bible’, Music Week. He is currently a Variety columnist and contributing editor to Music Business Worldwide, and writes for the likes of Rolling Stone, Kerrang! and The Times/Sunday Times.

Nadia Khan (CTRL Music )

Nadia Khan is the award-winning Founder of CTRL Music, a music development organisation for creators and professionals and Women in CTRL a non-profit on a mission to advance gender equality in the music industry.

London-based Nadia brings over 20 years of experience in the music industry developing artist careers, talent management and running independent label businesses with a passion for developing talent from grassroots. As a music entrepreneur, she is focused on building sustainable income streams and strategizing effective business models for independent artists. Under her leadership, independent labels have achieved multiple successful release campaigns in the Top 10 & Top 20 charts and her own label imprint CTRL Music is focused on developing women artists.

As an advocate for sharing knowledge and education, Nadia has developed training courses, workshops and programmes to upskill music professionals working with leading UK music organisations, including PRS for Music, Music Managers Forum (MMF), and PPL. Nadia regularly delivers sessions to provide knowledge to upcoming artists on topics including creative branding, marketing campaigns, income streams, copyright, DIY releases + more.

As the Founder of Women in CTRL, Nadia is a passionate champion for diversity, equity and inclusion, and her work in promoting gender parity and representation of women in music has been widely recognised, being awarded Outstanding Contribution at the Music Week ‘Women in Music Awards’ in 2021. Women in CTRL’s research and data reports have helped to action real change across the industry for both creators and executives, supporting women executives into leadership roles and creating opportunities for women artists.

Andy Musgrave (Supernature)

Artist manager and music entrepreneur based in South London, with 15 years’ experience in the music business: running labels, marketing records, producing events, developing brands and building communities. Currently building Supernature, a cutting-edge music organisation providing a variety of innovative partnerships and services to help independent artists and labels thrive, including multi-platinum UK rap star AJ Tracey, award winning DJ and label head Conducta, and prolific Hyperpop producer Sega Bodega.

Dan Chalmers (YouTube)

Dan Chalmers is YouTube’s Head of Music for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). With 20 years+ experience, he has a proven track record in leadership and innovation, and has played a seminal role in helping artists to succeed creatively on the platform through building audiences, connecting with fans and earning revenue.

Since joining in 2020, Chalmers has continued to propel EMEA’s creative economies forward, playing a pivotal role in spearheading the ways artists can monetise their content and build successful businesses on the platform. Under his tenure, YouTube Music continues to bring a new wave of artists to light through initiatives such as YouTube’s Artist On The Rise and The Foundry.

Throughout the pandemic, Chalmers steered YouTube to become the world’s largest virtual venue. Having quickly recognised the hunger for livestream events from fans and artists alike, Chalmers helped deliver unforgettable moments such as Andrea Bocelli’s record-breaking Music For Hope performance (28 million views in just 24 hours), virtual festivals for Download and Defected, major award ceremonies (Mercury Prize, MOBOs and GRM Daily’s Rated Awards) plus a range of archive content from iconic artists including The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Radiohead.

Prior to YouTube, Chalmers enjoyed a long and fruitful career at Warner Music Group. He enjoyed the unique distinction of being President at three key WMG divisions, each of which called for differing skills and approaches. His leadership at Rhino enabled the label to diversify as the digital era took control, drawing on D2C as a major source of revenue while making huge strides forwards in the download and streaming markets. It resulted in huge multi-Platinum success for the likes of Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Kate Bush and David Bowie.

While Rhino proved Chalmers’ ability with legacy artists, his launch of the label services division ADA then demonstrated his understanding of the independent artist community. Signing a partnership with Stormzy for his debut album ‘Gang Signs & Prayers’ led to one of the biggest and most influential albums of recent years.

The third landmark moment in Chalmers’ WMG career came when he relaunched East West Records, with a new focus as a crossover label, achieving new success for the likes of Rod Stewart, Bette Midler, Jools Holland, Robert Plant and Boyzone. The label innovated by making the Q4 gifting market a priority, delivering huge CD sales at Christmas even when the physical market was declining.

Chalmers’ career started in 1999 when he joined the International Marketing department at Polygram Universal, where he helped to progress the careers of Eminem, Enrique Iglesias and Blink 182. He then moved up the ranks at WMG International, rising from strategic marketing to product manager and then marketing manager.

Every step has seen Chalmers adapt to new situations in the industry, from the early days of the declining physical market to the rise of digital and most recently the COVID era. Whether it’s through partnerships or creative ideas, Chalmers has always identified a method to overcome and benefit from the issues that he faces. Now standing at the forefront of the streaming and music industries, Chalmers’ work with YouTube work will continue to shape the future of popular culture.

Maria Torres (Mother)

The bilingual BIMM graduate Maria Torres started managing artists whilst studying in 2016 and has worked across various sectors of the industry. During the pandemic, she founded her independent management business, Sakura Artists with a roster that included Sinead O’Brien and Grandmas House, she has also been an artist management consultant alongside esteemed manager Stephen Budd. She is passionate about supporting female and non-binary industry professionals, as shown by her work with the Saffron Springboard Project in 2021. She has been working with Mother Artists over the past year as an Artist Manager– leading on Parlophone-signed 86TVs and working across a roster consisting of IDLES, Heavy Lungs and Blair Davie.

Maria has been nominated for the Rising Star (Industry) Award at this years’ Youth Music Awards.

Ben Wynter (AIM / Power Up)

Ben Wynter is a highly accomplished music and media executive based in the UK, boasting an impressive two-decade track record within the music industry. His career has encompassed key roles in management, both in Major and Independent Record Labels, and he stands as the visionary founder behind Unstoppable Music Group, a multifaceted conglomerate encompassing Management, Production, Record Label, and Cultural Marketing.

With a keen eye for innovation, Wynter spearheaded innovative initiatives during his tenure at the PRS Foundation. Among his notable achievements, he conceptualised and successfully launched the Hitmaker Fund, a much needed program that extends vital grant funding to behind-the-scenes songwriters and producers. Additionally, his forward-thinking leadership saw him launch the Future Hitmaker grant and the Momentum Accelerator grant.

In his capacity as Director of Business Development and Partnerships at A.I.M (Association of Independent Music), Wynter takes the helm in steering strategic partnerships and presenting unique business prospects to AIM. His unwavering commitment extends to guiding independent music entrepreneurs and rights holders, empowering them to navigate the intricate music and media landscape for the optimal realisation of their assets. Notably, he pioneered the ground breaking AIM Angel Investment Syndicate, a pioneering venture that introduces fresh insights into capital investment and enhances access to capital for creative entrepreneurs across the UK.

Wynter also stands as the Co-Founder of the esteemed Power Up! initiative, an award-winning endeavour that ardently combats anti-black racism while championing a more equitable and inclusive music industry in the UK.

Laura Harper

Laura is a partner at Lewis Silkin LLP and a leading advisor to businesses and professionals in the creative industries. Laura has a particular focus on commercial IP, digital business, and media innovation, as well as considerable experience acting for video games studios, television production companies, communications agencies, fashion brands and clients across the creative industries and innovation sectors. She is recognised as a ‘leading individual’ by Legal 500.

Rita Ora

Sarah Stennett

Starting as a trainee solicitor at David Wineman Solicitors and co-founding SSB Solicitors, in 2000 Stennett began her career in A&R and artist management, brokering the first record deal for multi-platinum girl group Sugababes. She went on to develop Artist with a fund directly from Lucian Grange for Universal Records to break such stars as Jem, Jessie J, and Ellie Goulding.

She exclusively created all audio and audio visual assets for Iggy Azalea’s platinum-selling debut album, The New Classic, which garnered four Grammy nominations and a 2014 AMA for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album, and she launched, A&R and created all visual assets and branding for the multi-platinum solo career of Zayn, formally of One Direction.

Sarah is heralded as the most forward-thinking and commercially minded British executives in the entertainment industry today. She was the first to organise a major branding deal between a fashion brand and music artist (Adidas and Rita Ora) and most recently was the first to use new groundbreaking VR technology to facilitate an Immersive Reality concert (Sony and Madison Beer).

Sarah has received the following awards:

2016 Billboard Women in Music – Top 10
2017 Music Week Awards – The Strat
2017 Debrett’s 500 – Music Category
2017 Midem – International Midem Award
2017 Midem – Keynote Speaker
2017 Variety’s Women’s Impact Report
2017 TJ Martell Foundation – Spirt of Music Award
2018 Variety’s Women’s Impact Report
2018 Billboard Power 100 – Only 17 Women included

Craig McLean

Craig McLean is Consultant Editor at The Face and a longstanding freelance writer for, amongst others, Esquire, Disco Pogo, The Observer Magazine, The Daily Telegraph, Radio Times, Evening Standard, The Independent and the i newspaper.

Joe Hastings (Music Minds Matter)

Joe is the Head of the Music Minds Matter Charity, he was instrumental in the development of the service and is now leading on the delivery of ambitious plans for the growth of Music Minds Matter at the heart of a vision for a Music industry in which mental health and wellbeing are valued as an enduring principle, where everyone working in the sector feels supported and able to develop and maintain positive mental health and wellbeing.

Elton Jackson (Sony)

Steven Braines (HeSheThey)

Steven Braines is cofounder of the acclaimed international event series/record label HE.SHE.THEY. which promotes diversity and inclusion in electronic music in over 40 cities globally from Mumbai to LA with acts appearing ranging from Honey Dijon, Faithless and Louie Vega through to Peaches, VTSS and Marcel Dettmann as well as talent management company The Weird & The Wonderful with Sophia Kearney managing artists such as Maya Jane Coles, Emily Nash, SYREETA, and Wax Wings, formerly artists such as Tricky, Tale of Us and Magda. Braines is also a qualified Occupational Psychologist and is a board member of NTIA, MMF and formerly AFEM with many media appearance including being named in Billboard’s most influential global LGBTQIA+ music executives.

Claire Cordeaux (BAPAM)

Claire Cordeaux is CEO of BAPAM (the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine), the medical charity providing free, expert health services to music creators and performance professionals. With a UK-wide network of clinical experts, BAPAM’s support for individuals and the sector includes clinical assessments for physical and mental health problems, psychotherapy for eligible music creators in partnership with Help Musicians’ Music Minds Matter scheme, mental health support to Equity members and dancers, and free online training on preventing problems and sustaining healthy creative practice. Claire has a professional background in the NHS and before BAPAM, was global Director of an independent healthcare company. She is an active musician herself, and has supported a number of arts initiatives and festivals from youth music projects to running a boat stage to connect performers in coastal areas.

Billy Lockett

Hello I’m Billy Lockett. I’m a piano man. I grew up in a small town in the UK called Northampton with my crazy hippy dad. He encouraged me to have a career in music. After a few years things started to happen, I was playlisted on Radio 1 and went on tour supporting Birdy, Lana del Rey and KT Tunstall.

Dad died. I stopped everything and came back home. Went off the rails a bit. Got a cat. Spent the next 2 years in the cellar of my dad’s house writing songs. Grew an afro accidentally.

Moved to probably the smallest room in London. Played every open mic night in the city for a year. Sold out my first headline show. Got signed. Cut the afro off. Spent another 2 years writing. Went off the rails again. Got help. Performed on Made In Chelsea as Josh’s baby shower gift to Binky…. obviously.

Toured with Lewis Capaldi and Electric Light Orchestra. Put my own tour on sale. Sold it out. Blew my mind. Broke up with my record label. Broke up with my Girlfriend…. well… she dumped me… (on WhatsApp!). Broke my heart.

Moved back to my dad’s old house (with cat). Wrote and recorded an EP called Reset. Became mates with James Corden. Performed live on the Late Late Show. Got new managers. Wrote, recorded, performed and self-released a modern classical piano-only album. It charted and got played on Classic FM. At the same time a DnB track I sang on was getting played on Radio 1. Made History as the first artist to do that.

Put Reflections EP together. Loved every song. Felt empowered. The songs were written during a darker time. But now I’m feeling really good. This EP is me reflecting on how far I’ve come, and to celebrate where I’m going.

Set up a Patreon account and with the help of some amazing “super-fans” I recorded my first proper album title ‘Abington Grove’ which I recorded in my basement of my dad’s old house on that street. Couldn’t be prouder of how it came out.

Went to the Big Apple, met everyone, got signed to a great US label, started releasing the singles from the album in June 2022 got massive playlist support from BBC Radio 2 and love from Radio 1. Released the album in February 2023 and went in at #15 on the official UK digital album chart (was only 32 records away from top 10…ooo that hurts but so proud anyway). Got loads of amazing press, loved it.

Went on tour with Dean Lewis, had an amazing time and gots loads of new fans! Just released my new single “Finish Line” and about to go on my own tour.

That’s the story so far, follow me to see what happens next….

Joanne Croxford (Tour Manager)

Having worked across the international music industry for multiple years, Joanne brings extensive experience of life on the road to the table. Her client list is as colourful as she is having started her career working with Robbie Williams and Sia and recently with DURAN DURAN and Peaches.

Daring to challenge the industry’s image and stereotypes of yesteryear, Joanne is very vocal about her sobriety and actively supports others in the industry who choose to live a sober lifestyle and thrive in the music business. Having spent three years working at industry mental health and addiction charity, Music Support, she actively advocates for healthier touring habits for crew and artists and uses her experience supporting the charity’s beneficiaries to help inspire fellow Tour and Production Managers to change their on-the-road routines in the area of well-being.

Joanne is a social campaigner to make the live touring space more inclusive to ethnic and gender minorities and carries out volunteer work with both 3T and Girls Rock London as vehicles of change.

Denise Devenish (Singer & Counsellor)

Denise is a therapist running her own private practice, working exclusively with musicians and those working in the music industry. Growing up in a family steeped in music, Denise has seen the unique highs and lows it can entail from both a personal and professional perspective. On a mission to raise awareness about the mental health issues the industry faces, Denise shouts out about ways to prevent crisis and support that’s available. She has spoken on panels and delivered workshops for The Ivor’s Academy, SoundCloud and The London Jazz Festival, and has written articles on the topic published for PRS and The Musicians Union. Denise works at major record labels and for independents too, and for leading charities ‘Help Musicians UK’ and ‘The British Association for Performing Arts Medicine’ on the Music Minds Matter project.

Louis VI

Louis J. Butler aka Louis VI, is a Rapper, Musician, Film composer, Documentary Maker, Zoologist & Nature activist. He gave a keynote speech at COP26 about the colonial legacy of Climate Change & the alienation of people of colour in the UK from access to nature; led from his award winning documentary he, presented, wrote & composed the music for with POCC & Tanya Ramsurrun called “The World Is (Y)ours” aimed to get young black and brown people to vote based on climate issues in the last election. Since then, Louis set forth, directing and presenting his new film Nature Ain’t a Luxury – a funny but poignant documentary (TBC release date) about getting out into nature as black and brown people in the UK, the science behind the incredible nature on UK isles & the colonial history behind Climate change.

“ I try and capture the untamed wonders of nature both in my music and film. I’m a mixed race rapper, singer & producer born and bred in a rough part of north London called Queens Crescent (infamous for the wrong reasons haha!) but I also am a massive nature geek, and have a degree in Zoology, specialising in Biodiversity, ecosystem conservation and restoration, & Sensory Ecology & spoke at COP26 about the colonial legacy of climate change. Using my mismash of music, documentary film and love of nature (+ the scientific background) – I’m trying to inspire the young black and brown people from the diaspora who have been historically alienated from exposure to the natural world, through uncovering the science & wonder the wildness of this planet & helping them fall in love with nature as much as me, whilst bringing in the story of the historical colonial legacy of climate change and why we need to be the bridge as diaspora between where we live in the global north (that’s historically responsible) to where we’re from in the global south (that’s on the front lines of climate change). I’ve been combining music, film and art to create a new tool, a new more authentic way of speaking about climate change that speaks to “us” in the aim to create a world where nature is not a luxury but a necessity. “

However most recently it is the message in his music that has been getting attention – using music as a new more relatable, contemporary and cultural connected way of talking about climate change; especially of the diaspora. Louis VI’s new album EARTHLING, earned massive press and radio support with a 5* review in The Guardian and Observer and 6musics, Lauren Laverne, Mary-Anne Hobbs and Gilles Peterson all throwing their weight behind it. The album is centering the climate justice movement amid more personal musings in his woozy, psychedelia-tinged soundscapes – Weaving together a love for melody and a multitude of genres (hip-hop, sweet licks of Afrobeat, jazz, funk, electronic), all produced by Louis himself, it’s cut through with atmospheric field recordings that pull from his time spent in the natural world: storm sounds from the Amazon rainforest sit alongside lush birdsong from woodland in the UK. As both a musician & a nature geek, the mixed-race (Dominica, France & UK) artist’s “EARTHLING” is full of timely lyrics ruminating gently on questions about individualism, climate justice, race, love, colonialism, capitalism and the state of the nation (on Orange Skies he observes: “Politicians got me moving cutthroat/ Scapegoating migrants into sunk boats/ While they spend our taxes on some top coke/ Chopping down our forests till we cough smoke”).” As the artist says himself: “Music connects where words fail, we’ve had the data & the science for years but that has failed to compel people, normal people like me and you to take action. This album is more than music, it’s a tool to reconnect us, especially as diaspora back to the planet, because this album is a travel blog of love through the worlds ecosystems told from a black and brown perspective, with a psychedelic, London ends born and raised lens. This is more than music, this is about creating a collective resonance, where people can put aside their differences and vibrate on a level to reconnect to our natural selves & our role as Earthlings as a planet – and allow safe space to imagine a better future”.

Louis was recently brought in as a member of Earth Percent, a charity by Brian Eno aimed to tackle sustainability and the climate crisis within the music industry.

Silvia Montello (AIM)

Senior music industry executive with 30+ years marketing, commercial, strategic and operational experience, gained through working at majors, independents and startups, including PolyGram/Universal, BMG, Kobalt/AWAL, Blokur, Audio Network, Association for Electronic Music and now CEO at Association of Independent Music.

In 2011 founded a music and marketing consultancy Voicebox Ltd working with charities, non-profits and SMEs, gaining valuable insight into how working cultures can differ outside media and entertainment.

Co-founder of dance and electronic music label services/publisher #remarqabl to find, support and represent the marginalized/under-represented new talent – female producers/songwriters, POC, LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent creatives

Passionate campaigner and advocate for diversity equity and inclusion in all its forms, social justice, environmental sustainability and tackling the mental health pandemic. Helped found the Universal Music Green committee in the mid-2000s. Strong focus on diversity in teams, always aiming to employ and develop teams with 50/50 gender parity, 25% representation from black and ethnically diverse team members and representation of LGBTQ+ talent. Currently lobbying government and music industry organisations to better support equal opportunity for all into the music industry, with particular focus on accessibility for those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.

I co-founded and co-chaired Kobalt UK’s Wellbeing Group which aimed to ensure a safe and nurturing environment where our employees physical and mental wellbeing is supported and where good work-life balance is actively promoted. I’ve offered one to one coaching and mentoring to team members, colleagues and peers throughout my career, with focus on helping nurture young female talent towards management and leadership positions.

Trustee of Help Musicians charity and recently announced as Chair of Trustees Board for Music Minds Matter, Help Musician’s single-focused charity supporting mental health needs across all areas of the UK music industry.

Greg Cochrane

Greg is a journalist, broadcaster and content maker primarily focussed on the intersection between popular culture and climate. He contributes to outlets including The Guardian, BBC and NME. He also founded and co-hosts the podcast Sounds Like A Plan all about the ways the music community is responding to the climate, nature and justice emergency. Passionate about climate storytelling and reporting, Greg works closely with the Oxford Climate Journalism Network – focussed on improving coverage of the climate and ecological crisis across international media. He’s a consultant with the communications charity Heard, and has recently worked with Cambridge University, and music companies such as Sony Music, Domino Recordings and Young. Formerly digital editor at NME and music reporter for BBC Radio 1, he’s based near Cambridge, UK.

Ian Stanton (Beggars)

After starting his working life as a music journalist Ian has dedicated the last 20 years of his career to sustainability; developing and leading award-winning sustainability strategies across a range of sectors. This has included working with the likes of Jaguar Land Rover, British Telecom and Microsoft as well as working alongside leading climate scientists at the British Antarctic Survey and the Natural Environment Research Council as Head of Sustainability. Ian is now leading the sustainability strategy at Beggars Group as Head of Sustainability.

Anna Johnson (Anjuna Beats)

Anna Johnson MSc has worked in the music industry for over a decade including festivals Shambala, Love Saves the Day, Glastonbury, and Boomtown Fair. She is Sustainability and Environment Officer for Involved Group, a multi-faceted music business founded by one of the world’s leading electronic music acts, Above & Beyond. Involved Group encompasses three distinct record labels (Anjunabeats, Anjunadeep, and Reflections), a touring business, weekly radio shows, an artist management group, and a publishing business. Anna also coordinates Involved Group’s partnership with MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative (ESI), facilitating messaging and educational opportunities and offering opportunities for people to engage in climate action. Alongside, Anna works with Hope Solutions as Sustainability, Impact and Culture Consultant.

Claire O'Neil (A Greener Future)

Joel Gardner (EarthPercent)

Joel is the Deputy Executive Director of EarthPercent. Co-founded by Brian Eno, EarthPercent works with an expert panel of scientists, researchers and activists to help the music industry support some of the most impactful climate solutions around the world.

Rupert Morrison (Drift)

Rupert Morrison is the founder of Totnes’ independent Drift Record Shop, who have been nominated (without winning) an unprecedented nine times as best Independent retailer at the music Week Awards. Rupert was also nominated at the 2015 AIM awards personally as the Indie Champion and has sat on the Indie board for the Entertainment Retail Association and coordinated early editions of Record Store Day in the UK. Very much a career record shop person, he has spoken about shop culture at SXSW, Canada Music Week, the International Festival Forum and at the Great Escape, also editing a free press newspaper (about Record Shops!) called Deluxe. In 2018 Rupert co-founded the Dinked Edition collective of shops, working closely with twenty five other UK independents on over 265 album releases to date.

Caroline Elleray (Second Songs)

Caroline Elleray has signed artists including Coldplay, Keane, Mumford & Sons, Rex Orange County, Little Simz, Feist, Bastille amongst many others.

She is a recipient of MBWs Sir George Martin Award and was the 1st publisher to win Music Weeks A&R Award aswell as winning Woman Of The Year.

Caroline established Second Songs, which is a music publishing and producer management company. Second Songs represents Victoria Canal, Porij, Matt Hales, Hugo White and Steph Marziano amongst others.

DJ Paulette

Winner of the DJ Mag Top 100 Lifetime Achievement Award (November 2022) and the Keychange (PRS) Inspiration Award (Sound City April 2023), DJ Paulette is a highly regarded DJ across the UK and Europe, born and raised in (and still resident of) Manchester. Over a 30-year career, she has scaled the heights of dance music fame and hedonism playing disco, house and techno to huge crowds and in cool underground basements. She is a dj who is renowned for consistently ‘smashing’ every set she plays. One of two women to have a residency at the Hacienda in its heyday, she went on to have residencies at Heaven and Ministry of Sound, before successful stints in Paris and Ibiza. She has a keen talent for reinvention and replicating excellence. She is known for her monthly radio shows with Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide FM, Reform Radio and a Global Residency show produced in collaboration with The Radio Department that is syndicated to stations around the world and is a regular dj guest and presenter stand in for various shows on BBC 6 Music.

Last year she played headline sets at Beams in London, Warehouse Project – Glitterbox, Homobloc and Hacienda, in the NYC Downlow for Block 9 at Glastonbury, Beatherder, Brixton Disco Festival, Worldwide Festival in Sete, Mighty Hoopla, Horsemeat Disco in Berlin, Kelburn Garden Party, The National Theatre River Stage, Gilles Peterson’s stage for All Points East, Brighton Pride, Glitterbox at Hi Ibiza, Flow Festival in Finland, Homoelectric, Feel It at Omeara and Fatboy Slim’s Weekender ‘All Back to Minehead’ whilst 2023 kicked off with sets at Faith at 93 Feet East, Trade at The Egg, HeSheThey at Ministry of Sound, Kaiku in Helsinki, Corsica Studios and Blitz Club in Munich. There is much more to come!

Aside from dj’ing Paulette is an events and exhibition curator and a regular contributor to radio shows as diverse as Jamz Supernova on 6Music, Radcliffe and Maconie , Afrodeutsche’s ‘The People’s Party’, Amy Lame, Anamatronic’s ‘Dance Devotion’, Eats Everything’s ‘Edible Beats’. She sits on the Regional Committee for the Musicians’ Union and is a Power Up mentor for shesaidso. She is putting the finishing touches to her debut book which is called ‘Welcome To The Club: The life and lessons of a black woman DJ’ which will be published in January 2024 by Manchester University Press.

Mark Orr (Lab Records)

Mark Orr founded LAB Records in 2007. LAB is an independent label of more than 200 catalogue releases, with notable current artists and alumni that includes Tommy Lefroy, Aziya, Des Rocs, Beach Weather, Yoke Lore, Crawlers, BEKA, Antony Szmierek and The K’s among many others. The label is distributed by ADA / Warner.

Mike Walsh

Mike Walsh is Head of Strategic Partnerships for eco-friendly digital retailer, Serenade – the home of chart accredited new format, the digital pressing. Mike is also a music and media consultant, with decades of experience in broadcast, digital, 3rd sector and music businesses. An active MMF member, Mike is also an artist manager.

A Mercury Prize judge for five years, Mike is on the board of ERA (The Digital Entertainment and Retail Association), a member of the War Child UK music committee, Liverpool City Region Music board and on the Founding Music Committee of Brian Eno’s music meets climate change charity EarthPercent.

Mike oversaw record results for Radio X (and XFM) where he was part of the management team from 2005; and worked with artists such as Coldplay, Radiohead, Kylie, Blur, Queen, Beastie Boys, Paul McCartney and Pet Shop Boys when at Parlophone Records.

Mike’s clients include tech, artists, managers, labels, event and festival companies, venues, charities, D2C, digital rights management, professional coaching, podcasts, apparel brands and book publishing.

Mike is also a qualified Mental Health First Aider.

Taylor Haywood (PPL PRS)

Jamie Oborne (Dirty Hit)

Sheema Siddiqi (TikTok)

Sheema is a Music Partnerships manager as part of the UK Artist Services team at TikTok, working directly with artists such as Bring Me The Horizon, Venbee, Niall Horan & Leigh-Anne Pinnock on how to build audiences on the platform.

Sheema’s role includes working across major song campaigns, day-to-day account management and supporting artists on best practise, reaching fans, building audiences and finding success on TikTok. She is also responsible for finding and developing endemic independent artists like Chloe Adams, Queen Millz and Aziya, onboarding them and supporting their growth on the platform.

Prior to TikTok, Sheema spent 7 years as a Head of Digital with Modest Management, working with One Direction, Little Mix, 5 Seconds of Summer and Niall Horan.

Roesh (BBC Music)

Roesh is a DJ, Host & Radio Presenter based in Manchester. Currently presents the weekly BBC Music Introducing show on BBC Radio Manchester giving Artists, Producers, DJs and Bands a Platform for their music to be shared to the masses on Radio, most of them getting their first ever Radio Plays. Since joining the BBC Roesh has done several cover shows over @ BBC 6 Music & was one of the presenters who was chosen to be part of BBC Radio 1’s Christmas Presenter Takeover 2022. Roesh is becoming a strong influence & big tastemaker within the scene. He’s had loads of experience djin in bars, clubs, private parties, stadiums, festivals, and corporate events from the North to the South of England. Roesh is also the Official Manchester Originals DJ @ The Hundred. Also had previous experience at Capital FM (Manchester) & Key 103 (Manchester) & started his radio career on community stations such as Peace FM (Legacy FM) and then going on to do shows on Unity Radio & Pie Radio. Alongside being a DJ & Radio presenter, he hosts events, club nights, curates’ stages & line ups including putting on Under 18’s and Talent shows when he was just a teenager.

Dev Sherlock (SXSW)

Dev Sherlock is the Senior Music Programmer for SXSW. As part of his role, he oversees artists and presenters from the UK, Ireland, Australia and NZ. Recognized as the world’s premier music showcasing event, SXSW brings together the global music community alongside the film and tech industries for a week of networking and live showcases featuring 1,500 artists from 60+ countries. Dev’s background also includes music journalism, film supervision and radio/broadcasting.

Nxdia

Nxdia is an alternative-pop singer-songwriter from Manchester. Born in Egypt with an Egyptian-Sudanese heritage, they moved to the UK when they were eight. They write and sing both in English and Arabic. Nxdia has a new take on pop music, blending vulnerable and introspective lyrics with modern production and effortless delivery.

Their early memories growing up in Cairo are of living next to a cinema, providing their first surges of inspiration as a child, creating images and characters through drawing and poetry. This fascination for creativity and storytelling soon began seeping its way into the music that they have also begun writing, both through their lyrics and hypnotic vocal flourishes.

Their new EP, in the flesh, is a six track release about the songwriter being stuck in their own head. From the quiet admiration in “what’s it like?”, to the observation and the stress of wanting to change to fit someone’s standards in “dopamine”, the EP explores how Nxdia feels about interpersonal relationships and what’s left unsaid.

“decay” follows the anger of being one person in a system that’s against people thriving and having a good quality of life. The artist confides, “decay was written because I was angry and broke. I was angry at the cost of living and the conditions we have to live in. At the time I was exhausted, trying to figure out some funding issues and annoyed at the place I was in life,
mentally, at the time.”

“idc” is about the importance of confronting your issues. “tricky conversations” and “both hands up” are about not taking accountability when you’re removed from your feelings and also being annoyed at others doing the same thing. Nxdia shares, “The whole EP just explores my inability to get out of my own head at times, all the things I want to do or say but I overthink myself out of, stuck in the flesh.”

Sonically, in the flesh showcases an eclectic pool of sounds they’ve been experimenting with. Bringing together a myriad of sounds, instruments and textures, the EP is a vibrant and colourful release, built upon gritty guitars, shimmering synths, throbbing beats and catchy lyrics. Each song delivers its own sonic aesthetic, resulting in an exciting and mesmerising experience.

With millions of streams for their music to date, Nxdia has received airplay from the likes of BBC Introducing Manchester and BBC Radio 1 and has been supported by every major DSPs including 10+ NMF, Fresh Finds, Peach, New Pop (Spotify), Alt Pop (Apple Music), Break Through Pop (Amazon) and multiple playlists covers (Spotify, Anghami, YouTube), as well as TikTok with an ‘Artist of The Week’ add and four playlists. Nxdia has also been very active on the live scene, playing regularly in Manchester and London, including performing the halftime show of The Hundred 2022 cricket game in front of 19,000 people at Manchester Old Trafford.

They also performed at several festivals in 2023 including Liverpool SoundCity, Meltdown in London, Manchester Factory International and the Liverpool Arab Art Festival.