Andy has been in the music business for the last 25 years plus and a live agent for 15 of those. He runs Industry Live Agency and recently he broadened his church by forming Grizzly Management, which now manages a roster of clients from around the world including Lucy Spraggan.
Music Conference Networking Skills
Archive for the ‘out of focus 2020’ Category
Having established her own music website back in 2006, Sarah Jamieson studied Journalism and English BA (Hons) at Northumbria University, before relocating to London in November 2011 to take up the position of DIY’s News Editor. After spending three years in the role, she was promoted to Deputy Editor in 2014, before stepping up to her current position of Managing Editor in May 2015. She’s since overseen the creation of eighteen issues, with cover stars including Paramore, The KIllers, Run The Jewels, The Big Moon and St Vincent.
DIY have built a strong track record of supporting artists from the earliest junctures in their careers. With a reputation for both discovering and nurturing acts, it has been through the long-term media infrastructure of monthly print magazine – 40,000 copies of the free magazine are distributed via 250 outlets across the UK – website, social media channels and live events that they’ve been able to help artists develop within the DIY community.
Gareth is head of TuneCore UK, overseeing TuneCore’s expanding roster in the region and the organization’s growth in the UK.
Ahead of joining TuneCore in 2021, he served as Marketing Director, UK & EU for more than three years. Whilst at Kobalt, Mellor oversaw all marketing activity in the region, including the relaunch of its recorded music division, AWAL. Mellor led global partnerships with Zoom, The U.N, Icelandair and ethical clothing company, Lucy & Yak, while overseeing the company’s event activations at SXSW, The Great Escape and BBC Introducing Live. Mellor was also a key component of Kobalt’s progressive diversity strategy in the region, forging partnerships with PRS Foundation: Women Make Music, She Said So, Featured Artists Coalition and Music Managers Forum.
I am the Editor in Chief of Clash, an internationally respected music and fashion publication. I have written for Crack, The List, London In Stereo, and more. I have appeared on 6Music, and my first book will be published in March.
Kayleigh Watson is a writer, editor, digital marketer and social media consultant. She is currently one of two New Music Editors at leading independent music blog The Line of Best Fit, curates gal-dem’s Five On It column and has contributed to CLASH, Music Week, Loud & Quiet and Clout. Watson launched her asset and consultation brand Manifest to help artists with their release campaigns. She also works in brand partnerships for Syncr.
Liz Hunt is co-owner of Cardiff live music venue The Moon, including responsibility for programming. She organises Hub Fest, Cardiff Psych & Noise Fest and Wales Goes Pop, along with music community events such as networking and workshops. Liz is a songwriter and vocalist for indie pop band The School, runs the UK mail order for Elefant Records and is a member of the Cardiff Music Board.
Cardiff born MC, Benji Wild, known also as the front man south wales rap collective ‘Astroid Boys’ is currently promoting his debut solo album ‘Skull & Bones’ which is due for release in winter of 2020. Benji has been touring and performing for over a decade and has taken to the stage in support of such artists as ICE T, STORMZY, ENTER SHIKARI, CYPRESS HILL & MORE.
With a new, matured sound and the familiar energy that fans have come to know and love, it is without doubt that his new project will get heads turning and bodies moving!
Benji will be speaking on the following panel…
Music & Race in Wales
Bex is one third of 'Stealing Sheep', a group of all female musicians based in Liverpool. They
have been together since 2010 and have released 3 album's via Heavenly Recordings and
have toured worldwide including a recent tour in Japan. They are predominantly self-
managed, self-produced and self-directed, devising live shows with bespoke lighting,
dancers, inflatables, projections and other customized 'special effects'. They have worked
on several commissions including a Delia Derbyshire inspired conceptual show called 'Wow
Machine' that showcased at The Great Exhibition on the North, and a Suffragette Centenary
Procession that included a 15 piece all female marching band and 15 dancers. They have
also worked on live scores for film including a soundtrack remake for a sci-fi animation
called Fantastic Planet, in collaboration with the Radiophonic Workshop and recently
performed their latest album 'Big Wows' at the Southbank centre as part of Nile Rogers
MeltDown and joined a variety of artists in a show celebrating David Lynch at the Barbican.
They recently sync'd their track 'shut eye' to the theme tune of a new Netflix series called
'Get Even' and have also featured on Greys Anatomy, Hollyoaks (advert), Sony Vista and
other Netflix soundtracks.
Visit Stealing Sheep
Becky will be speaking on the following panel…
Direct Input – Stealing Sheep in Conversation.
Steff Owens is a man who wears many hats. As a musician, with much celebrated bands Camera, and more recently Seazoo, Steff has a built up a wealth of experience, delivering numerous release campaigns with these projects, having worked with major and indie labels over the years, and touring across the globe, taking in shows at SXSW and Canadian Music Week along the way.
Alongside Steff’s exploits as an artist, Steff is also a lecturer at Wrexham Glyndwr University. Through his role at the university, Steff and the team at Glyndwr collaborate with FOCUS Wales throughout the year, delivering sessions for emerging artists live from their state of the art TV studio, as part of their GlyndwrTV output.
Artist manager for Deyah, Baby Queens and Rodney P. Also involved with Crate 808 podcast www.crate808.com
Lekan will be speaking on the following panel…
Music & Race in Wales
N’famady Kouyaté is an artist/musician from Guinea West Africa. Malinké in origin and born into a griot/djeli family – the hereditary tradition where djeli have responsibility for preserving traditional Mandingue culture by sharing ancient rhythms, songs, and stories. As an infant he learned balafon (a traditional wooden xylophone), and went on to djembe and drumming in the ballet groups of Conakry (Guinea’s capital), later joining theatre and orchestral groups for festival tours across Africa. N’famady is a master balafonist, singer, percussionist, multi-instrumentalist, and founder of Les Héritiers du Mandingue (tradi-modern group) – now The Successors of the Mandingue in Wales.
Visit N’famady Kouyaté
N’famady will be speaking on the following panel…
Music & Race in Wales
Gareth Evans is a fingerstyle instrumental guitarist from North Wales. Known best for his top quality YouTube guitar lessons and instrumental guitar covers. Since 2009, Gareth has been teaching and inspiring a new generation of acoustic guitar players from every corner of the globe and turning his hobby into a full time profession, going full time in 2014. To date he has amassed over 1.1 million subscribers and over 200 million views across his 3 YouTube channels.
Gareth will be speaking on the following panel…
Keynote – Gareth Evans Q + A
Craig is the Founding Editor of Bido Lito! – The Liverpool Music Magazine. Since it first emerged in May 2010, the magazine has established itself at the forefront of new music on Merseyside, providing a platform for the region’s emerging new artists. The magazine also runs a vibrant and successful creative agency. In addition to this, Craig is a co-founder of Liverpool International Festival Of Psychedelia (Liverpool Psych Fest), which was named ‘Best Small Festival’ at the 2015 NME Awards and is the largest festival of its kind in Europe. In 2019 Craig founded Future Yard CIC, with a view to utilising music as a force for positive social change in Birkenhead (on the Mersey’s western bank). The project started with Future Yard Festival this summer, with Clash declaring the event; “a successful platform for grassroots talent; Merseyside’s musical community might have just stumbled upon its hallowed ground.”
Visit Bido Lito!
Visit Future Yard
Craig will be speaking on the following panel…
Direct Input – Stealing Sheep in Conversation.
Andy Jones is the co-founder and music booker for the FOCUS Wales showcase festival. Andy has worked within the music industry for over 15 years; as an artist, label MD, and promoter. He’s delivered work for a variety of labels, including dedicated releases in the UK, Germany, Italy and Canada. Through these projects Andy has gained extensive experience of the various sectors, providing his team with a depth of expertise which underpins the delivery of the FOCUS Wales festival. FOCUS Wales is an annual international showcase festival for the Welsh music industry, and takes place in Wrexham each year, placing the industry spotlight firmly on the talent that Wales has to offer the world. 2021 marks the festival’s 10th anniversary year edition, and will welcome over 15,000 festival goers, with over 250 bands from around the world performing across 20 stages. Alongside the annual festival, FOCUS Wales also have an international branch to their work, supporting artists from Wales to export across the globe, with FOCUS Wales showcases to date at SXSW, M for Montreal, BreakOut West, and more projects in the works. Andy has taken part in conferences at music industry events around the world, including BreakOut West (Western Canada), Tallinn Music Week (Estonia), UU Sound (Russia), POP Montreal, M for Montreal, SHOW ME (Switzerland), Indie Week (Toronto), LUCfest (Taiwan), TAMM (Japan), Ear Hub (Hong Kong), MU:CON (Korea), Zandari Festa (Korea), Nova Scotia Music Week, Live at Heart (Sweden), and NewSkool Rules (The Netherlands). CONNECT AT TWITTER & INSTAGRAM: @AndyJonesHQ
Matthew Covey has worked in music and arts immigration since 90s. As a member of the critically acclaimed US/Slovak indie-rock band Skulpey, as Knitting Factory Records’ Amsterdam booking agent, and as the manager of Grammy Award winning band, the Klezmatics, Covey’s varied career has given him a broad understanding of the entertainment industries. He has presented and chaired panels on artist mobility issues at numerous conferences, including SXSW, CMJ, WOMEX, Folk Alliance, APAP, The Great Escape, M4Music, YouBloom, Swn, Reeperbahn, HWCH, IndieWeek, Western Arts Alliance, Mundial Montreal, NXNE, The Edinburgh Fringe, Palestine Music Expo, Output Belfast, NY Winter Jazz, FimPro, and Eurosonic. Covey is a founding director of Tamizdat, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that promotes international cultural exchange. He is president of Howard Zinn’s Voices of a People’s History of the United States, and founder of ContraBanned. He holds a J.D. from New York Law, an M.A. focussing on post colonial literary theory from University College Dublin, a B.A. in English from Oberlin College, and is admitted to the New York Bar.
Bronnie is a female pop punk rock artist and band and global ambassador for the US-based mental health charity Project Buddy. Over the past three years Bronnie has toured the UK Europe and US building an impressive and dedicated fan base. This commitment to touring has led to the artist charting in the Top 3 of the rock charts in the UK Ireland Belgium the Netherlands and Poland with a string of singles and EP’s. Over the past year Bronnie has undertaken a number of tours and support shows with well known bands such as Neck Deep, WSTR, SumoCyco etc.
Bronnie will be speaking on the following panel…
Building your strategy Part 2 – Digital Platforms
Joe is the Head of Health and Wellbeing, providing life-changing frontline support services to musicians in need across genres and career stages. Joe was instrumental in facilitating the delivery of the Musicians Hearing Health Scheme, with 15,000 accessing the service since 2017 and also lead on the delivery of the around the clock listening ear service Music Minds Matter. Joe is passionate about developing a range of innovative support services focused on the needs of those working in the industry throughout their careers. An accomplished musician, when not at HMUK Joe composes music for film.
John started as a musician and composer in numerous Welsh language bands before moving to London with a band. Now Welsh based, he is PRS for Music’s Senior Membership Relations Manager for Wales, he serves all Welsh PRS and MCPS composers, publishers and authors. He has also worked across several different areas ranging copyright to all aspects of licensing. He initiated the first joint licensing of MCPS and PPL repertoire and was instrumental in devising the blanket licensing of repertoire used by independent production companies for S4C, which is in place to this day.
Emma has loved live music ever since attending a school Battle of the Bands competition circa 1999. As Programming Director at From The Fields, she is responsible for overseeing music and comedy bookings across the festival portfolio. This includes programming over 20 stages across 3 music festivals annually, as well as any one-offs or special projects. A lover of new music, she’s never happier than watching a crowd go nuts to a great live band… whether in a dark room or a (usually) damp field.
Ellie worked as a promoter at the beginning of her career, eventually doing a good stint (7 years) in A&R at Fiction/Polydor, where she worked with artists such as White Lies and Ellie Goulding. The last 8 years have been dedicated to management of artists and producers, having started Step Music management, her own company 5 years ago. Managing a diverse array of talent such as Adam Noble (Liam Gallagher/Biffy Clyro), Bill Ryder – Jones, Erland Cooper and Warmduscher. Ellie is a MMF board member.
Visit Step Music Management
Ellie will be speaking on the following panel…
Building your strategy Part 1 – Planning for the worst and hoping for the best.
Dom Gourlay – Writer, DJ and Live Promoter – Under The Radar
I’m based in Nottingham and have been writing for various publications – mainly Drowned In Sound, Gigwise, FMS and Under The Radar – for over 20 years. I’ve recently taken on the role of Festivals Editor at Under The Radar and am looking forward to my 4th year at FOCUS Wales.
Visit Under The Radar
Dom will be speaking on the following panel…
The Future of Music Media
Davy works for PPL, the music licensing company that collects and distributes royalties for performers and record companies when their recorded music is broadcast on TV and radio or played in public. He provides direct support for high airplay emerging artists to ensure they maximise their income from UK and international airplay. Davy also has a background as a guitarist and has played in various grunge / post-hardcore bands.
After a decade of playing drums for Razorlight, I was seeking a change of pace, and an opportunity to utilise my experience and passion for music and the arts. Having interned, handled reception duties, moved onto an assistant role, and eventually promoted to agent, I have a lengthy history with the company, and an understanding of the business. I represent a varied roster of artists including, Palace, Larkin Poe, Steel Pulse, The Aces, Gentleman’s Dub Club, Sleep Token, Saint Raymond and more. Originally, hailing from NYC, I’ve been living in the UK for nearly 15 years.
David McTague is a music promoter and publicist based in Liverpool.
He is the founder of Mellowtone and Mellowtone Records, and has worked with the Africa Oye festival for over 15 years.
Initially working as a promoter for clubnights, venues, bands, and arts and music projects, Dave has been responsible for assisting the creation and development of various businesses and projects; managing artists, co-ordinating marketing and publicity campaigns, and producing a wide range of events from exhibitions and parties to tours and festivals.
Sector Development Manager for Music at Creative Wales. Responsible for the day to day dealings with the music industry in Wales, focusing on the growth of the grassroots music scene across Wales. Current support programmes include COVID relief funding, a Grassroots Music Venue Fund, Creative Wales monthly Spotify playlist and engaging with stakeholders across the sector to ensure support is relevant and necessary for the needs of the Welsh music industry.
Award winning singer, songwriter, musician, author, photographer, entrepreneur and Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart is recognized as one of the most respected and accomplished talents in the music industry today with a music career spanning four decades and over 100 million albums sold.
Stewart co-wrote and produced every Eurythmics album in the world-famous duo with Annie Lennox. He has also produced albums and co-written songs with Mick Jagger, Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks, Bob Dylan and Gwen Stefani, among many others. Known as a great collaborator and organizer, Dave is also considered one of the world’s great innovators and has invented/created many philanthropic campaigns such as 46664, a global campaign for Nelson Mandela to bring awareness to the AIDS epidemic.
Along the way, his work has garnered numerous awards from the Grammys, the Golden Globes, The BRITS, Ivor Novellos and over forty ASCAP and BMI awards.
WEBSITE
Dave will be speaking on the following panel…
Keynote – Dave Stewart, TRACKD, and Otto
Dan Koplowitz has been involved with the music industry in one way or another for the past twenty years. He owns the boutique sync agency Friendly Fire Licensing, which represents about fifty labels and publishing catalogues for inclusion in TV shows, movies, commercials, and video games.
Colin Keenan joined ATC Live in 2013, having successfully run his own booking agency for a number of year. His roster includes Passenger, The Twilight Sad, Gregory Alan Isakov and Kiefer Sutherland amongst others.
Head of Live | Scruff of the Neck
Visit Scruff Of The Neck
Chris will be speaking on the following panel…
Building your strategy Part 1 – Planning for the worst and hoping for the best.
Cath Hurley is a Liverpool-based artist manager. She set up mostdeffo in October 2018 in order to not only manage artists, but also supply music industry support to existing organisations in the region.
Alongside teaching music business at LIPA, she manages Eyesore & The Jinx, Natalie McCool and LYDIAH, and co-manages Beija Flo and The Claque.
Cath is also currently the project manager of an artist development programme called Merseyrail Soundstation and is a member of the Liverpool City Region Music Board.
She was previously product manager for Rough Trade Records and worked in music PR before that.
Cath will be speaking on the following panel…
Direct Input – Stealing Sheep in Conversation.
Winner of Best Festival for Emerging Talent at UK Festival Awards
CONNECT WITH US - #focuswales2023
Stay connected with all things FOCUS Wales…
