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Youth Music Awards 2023: Judges

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An incredible line-up of music industry figures will be judging the music categories for the Youth Music Awards 2023 in association with Hal Leonard Europe. 

Participants from Youth Music projects will have their music heard by big name artists, DJs, radio presenters, producers, and people involved in all aspects of the music industry.

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Alexis Taylor

Band member, Hot Chip

The regular on-stage and in-the-studio appearances Alexis Taylor makes with a series of diffuse living legends, from free improv magi to Cristal Pop Superstars, demonstrates his ability to enjoy any scenario in which creativity is at its most pronounced. The four solo albums Taylor has recorded bear witness to this urge; lyrically often honest and warm-hearted, Taylor has found an ever-shifting musical context in which to place his instantly recognisable voice.

Amarie has curly hair wears a pink top and leans on a DJ deck

Amarie Cassidy

Artist Marketing Manager, Amazon Music

Amarie Cassidy is an Artist Marketing Manager and international DJ with a near decade in the worlds of music, fashion and culture. She currently leads on major artist campaigns and boasts a wide range of clients including Sony Music, Boiler Room and ASOS. Her love for music also shines through her work outside of marketing, whether its interviewing the likes of Dave and Krept & Konan on GRM Daily or DJing for brands like Nike, Soho House and Paris Fashion Week. She graduated from UCL, with her first-class dissertation on British hip-hop garnering national media attention and praise from rapper, Stormzy. She has since gone back to university to talk about her career to inspire the next generation of music executives and can’t wait to see the new wave of talent that the Youth Music Awards has to offer!

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Amelia Dimoldenberg

Comedian, journalist, broadcaster & creator

Amelia Dimoldenberg's popular YouTube channel is home to the iconic Chicken Shop Date series, amassing 1.6 million subscribers, 230 million views and 13 million hours of content watched on the platform. Amelia runs her own production company Dimz Inc - which also is home to Amelia’s Cooking Show. Amelia's hosting duties include The BRITs, The NME Awards, The Mercury’s, Reading & Leeds Festival, British GQ’s Men of the Year Red Carpet and making her U.S red carpet debut for the 2023 Golden Globes. Awards include a 2021 Streamy Award (Chicken Shop Date) and a 2022 Glamour Woman of the Year (Creator of the Year).

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Andrew Lansley

Innovation Manager, Cheltenham Festivals

As well as his role at Cheltenham Festivals, Andrew is also a Senior Academic at the University of Gloucestershire and a Cheltenham Culture Board coordinator. In his spare time, he performs as double bassist with Thrill Collins. Andrew has worked in cross sector roles including events, academia, politics, broadcast and innovation, has written research and worked with young people to help them realise their own musical ambitions. Andrew is autistic and runs a neurodiverse consultancy that specialises in intersectional, regenerative projects to help make businesses and organisations more accessible and sustainable.

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Anna Karatziva

Head of Talent & Music, Paramount UK/MTV

Anna Karatziva acts as primary liaison between Paramount’s music brands and the industry, delivering exclusive and unique content across all platforms. She also sits on the International Music Council, which defines the organisation's global music priorities. Anna has worked on events such as MTV EMAS & MTV Unplugged, MTV's Push campaign and has launched shows YO! MTV Raps and Gonzo.

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Berkeley Edwards

Head of Music, Clintons

Berkeley is the Head of Music and a principal at Clintons – a market-leading boutique law firm. He represents a broad cross section of the most successful musical talent in the UK and Europe as well as advising many emerging artists on the pathways available in the modern music industry.

Bicep play electronic instruments facing each other in a red room

BICEP

Electronic Music Production & DJ duo, Youth Music Ambassadors

2x BRIT Award winners BICEP are the Belfast-born, London-based duo (Matt McBriar and Andy Ferguson) whose 'Isles' album reached #2 in the Official UK Album Charts. Bicep have taken their renowned live show around the world, including a triumphant three-night sold-out run of shows at O2 Academy Brixton and their first festival headline set at Field Day London 2021. 2022 brought them to revered festival stages such as Sonar, Parklife, Primavera and a headline slot closing Glastonbury’s West Holts stage.

Bicep are proud ambassadors of Youth Music.

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Bre McDermott-King

International Product Manager, AWAL

With a passion for marketing, Bre has worked on a number of global artist campaigns. She is passionate about equality, diversity and inclusion, and was previously the Head of Sony Music UK's first ever diversity committee, HUE UK. In 2019, she launched a collective, Women Connect UK, which works to advocate for and provide opportunities for women and non-binary folk in the creative industries.

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Bryan Wilson

Producer, Mixer, Songwriter & Recording Engineer

Bryan Wilson (AKA Boom Dice) is a multi-Grammy nominated/Brit Award winning Producer, Mixer, Songwriter, Artist and Recording Engineer who has worked with; Sofi Tukker, Stormzy, Jay Electronica w/Jay-Z, Mabel, Wolf Alice, Disclosure, John Newman, Lianne La Havas, Plan B, Emilie Sande, Anne Marie, Jeremy Loops, and Sam Ryder amongst many others. His work transcends genres and is behind over 10 billion streams, huge sync placements, as well as gold and platinum sales certifications globally. He is also the founder/A&R of Boom Dice Presents, a label and music discovery platform that showcases global talent.

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Capo Lee

Artist

Capo Lee is a Grime MC and campaigner from North London.

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Cecilia Chan

Agent, Wasserman

Cecilia Chan moved to London in 2005 to work in the fashion industry, and moved into music four years later to help set up independent agency The Pool. She joined Primary Talent International as assistant to agent Cris Hearn, and followed him to Coda in 2015. Alongside Hearn, she worked with artists including Mark Ronson, Gary Numan, Tricky, Above & Beyond, Planningtorock and is especially proud to have helped develop Kaytranada's live touring show since the beginning of his career. Chan has been involved in sustainability projects within the agency and through industry group Music Declares Emergency. She has signed artists including iamamiwhoami, LF System, Arielle Free, Ejeca, Shimza, Dot Major and recently added LOSTBOYJAY to her roster.

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Charlie Rout

Associate Creative Director, Warner Music X

Charlie Rout is a multidisciplinary creative, working at the intersection of where Youth Culture meets Advertising. With a decade of experience in major labels, Charlie is currently Associate Creative Director at Warner Music X. Throughout his career, he’s worked with culture-shaping brands such as Beats By Dre, Levi’s, Puma, Red Bull, Sony and Microsoft.

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Chloé Abrahams-Duperry

Artist & Promoter Relations Manager, International at Ticketmaster Music

Chloé joined Ticketmaster’s Global Music division as Artist & Promoter Relations Manager early 2022, working across Ticketmaster’s portfolio of markets outside North America. She works with promoters and artist teams to develop and deliver on ticketing strategy - overseeing the process of international tours from conception to execution.

In the last year, Chloé has managed the launch of ticketing services for European tours for the likes of Harry Styles, Beyoncé, BLACKPINK and Sam Smith to name a few.

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Christopher Daglish

Brand Programs Manager, Levi’s

Chris is the Brand Programs Manager at Levi’s. Leading on music and culture campaigns for North Europe, including the Levi’s Music Project, that has activated community-based activations with the likes of Skepta, Loyle Carner, Khalid and Mabel to name a few.

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Chris Pattinson

Director of Music, Media Arts Lab

Chris Pattinson is Director Of Music for TBWA\Media Arts Lab, the global network dedicated to Apple's advertising. Before this he set up and co-founded The Black Cab Sessions, a music platform featuring artists such as Jack White, The Roots, Brian Wilson and Solange performing a song in the back of a London cab.  The platform was responsible for discovering and promoting artists such as Lianne La Havas, Michael Kiwanuka and Laura Marling as well as many more. Black Cab Sessions is in hiatus until the team manages to persuade a certain icon to take part.

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Dave Simpson

Music Critic, The Guardian

Dave Simpson is a music journalist writing for the Guardian, Uncut and others, having written for various titles during a 32-year career. His books include The Fallen: Life In And Out Of Britain’s Most Insane Group (about the Fall), a Sunday Times and Observer music book of the year and last year’s Sex Pistols: I Wanna be Me. He lives in North Yorkshire.

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David Mulqueen

Lead, Artist Marketing EMEA, Fender

Artist relations, marketing and project management at Fender Musical Instruments Europe.

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Dr Diljeet Kaur Bhachu

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Musicians’ Union

Dr Diljeet Kaur Bhachu is the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the Musicians’ Union. She is based in Glasgow, and is active as a live and recording session musician, as well as her own musical projects. Before joining the MU, Diljeet worked in various contexts including lecturing in Higher Education, academic and freelance research in the arts, and community music.

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Ellie Prohan

DJ & Presenter

Ellie Prohan has organised charity events through her series Ellie Prohan & Friends for World Mental Health Day, started a club night ‘Glo’ for the LGBTQIA+ community, created a series of DJ showcase nights and started her own cultural discovery show Eat, Dance, Discover.

Ellie previously hosted a show on Foundation FM, and has since gone on to have her own Tuesday weekly specialist show on Kiss FM 11-1am, as well as being a main presenter on Kiss Fresh, Monday to Wednesday 7-9pm.

You can also hear Ellie live as one of the voices to The Apple Music 1 List show, as well as on an exclusive monthly playlist with Apple Music and GayTimes championing the LGBTQIA+ community and allies.

As a presenter, Ellie has interviewed everyone from Bugzy Malone and Ghetts to Princess Nokia, Ari Lennox, Stefflon Don and many more.

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Elliot Jaillet

Senior Manager, Programming & Editorial, Vevo

Elliot's passion for discovering new artists led him to work in music curation for the past decade. He started his career in music supervision for film & TV in Los Angeles, where he helped curate the soundtrack of high-profile shows for HBO, FOX and ABC. He then spent 4 years as a Senior Music Programmer for Google Play and YouTube Music before becoming the Head of Music Curation at Keakie, a London-based streaming platform for DJ mixes and radio shows.

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Fleur East

Singer-songwriter & Presenter

Fleur East came to fame as a teenager when she was a part of the group Addictiv Ladies on X Factor in 2005; it was after this that she launched a solo career a few years later, predominantly working as a vocalist in the drum and bass sphere. She would eventually return to compete on X Factor as a solo artist in 2014, getting to number one on the UK iTunes charts with her Bruno Mars ‘Uptown Funk’ cover, before finishing the show in second place and signing to a major label. Since then she has put out two acclaimed albums, her single ‘Sax’ went platinum, she made memorable appearances on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! and Strictly Come Dancing (Fleur was a runner-up on the latter), she presents the breakfast show over on Hits Radio, and has even qualified as a personal trainer.

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Freddie Aitken

Membership Officer, London Youth Choirs

Freddie works in Membership and EDI at London Youth Choirs. He also runs a diy electronic music record label, hosts monthly radio shows, and DJs in his home city of London and around the UK.

Alongside this, Freddie is a member of the first European Music Business Task Force and podcast show host for the Music Cities Network's "Music Industry Voices" podcast. 

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Gareth Mellor

VP, Global Marketing & Communications, Downtown Music Holdings

Gareth Mellor oversees the marketing of some of the industry's most renowned independent music companies, including FUGA, Songtrust, CD Baby and Downtown's Music Services, Publishing and Neighbouring Rights divisions.

With 15 years experience, Mellor has held senior marketing roles at FUGA, Kobalt / AWAL and Tunecore, and he sits on the Board of Trustees for Music Minds Matter, the UK industry's mental health charity.

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Hanna Chalmers

Senior Research Practitioner and Founder, CultureStudio Research

Hanna Chalmers has spent her career working in, and around the media, tech, music and entertainment industries. She spent nearly a decade at the BBC working with a wide research remit across the youth brands from Cbeebies to BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra. She then moved to Universal Music where she established and led the research and insights practice in the UK. In 2020 Hanna set up CultureStudio Research, a 'culture first' insights practice and collective operating out of London but working internationally.

Iain mcgoldrick sits at a wooden table and holds his hands together

Iain McGoldrick

Head Of Business Development, DJ Mag

Joining DJ Mag in 2012, Iain was pivotal in the brands full North American launch and has gone on to work across the company to solidify DJ Mag’s place as the world's leading electronic music print magazine. Translating DJ Mag’s editorial direction into a global events strategy, Iain has worked with some of the world's most exciting artists on events & activations across the globe. Working closely with industry and community partners, Iain has pushed to ensure that supporting grassroots projects is at the heart of DJ Mag’s future.

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Ian Sims

Senior Label Relations Manager, Amazon Music

Ian leads the relationship between Amazon Music and Universal Music labels in the UK. Ian started his Amazon Music journey in 2017 within the Physical Music team, and has been in the Digital Music team since 2020 where he negotiates mutually benefitting artist partnerships and owns priority projects across emerging artists (Breakthrough) and catalogue music. Some recent achievements include: Consumer Innovation Award Finalist 2023 (Music Week), Best Marketing Campaign List 2022 (Music Ally), seven figure views on numerous Twitch livestreams, and Top 5 OCC chart finish with Amazon Original Christmas track.

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James Giddings

Co-Founder, DeLaMouche

James is the Co-Founder of DeLaMouche, which is made-up of 3Sixty Music and Media. As a company, they harness their significant network to work with major IP owners, brands, Governments, investors and artists across the globe to harness the power of music and media. DeLaMouche's recent work includes programming the music and performances at the FIFA World Cup as well as ongoing projects with brands such as MOBO, BBC, Marshall and many more. DeLaMouche also represent a roster of already successful and up-and-coming artists.

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Jamie Spinks

Head of A&R, Columbia Records

Jamie Spinks has achieved remarkable success signing some of the biggest and most ground-breaking artists and singles in the industry. While at Polydor, he worked with high-profile artists such as RAYE, Jax Jones, Mura Masa, Ellie Goulding, and Celeste. In 2022, he moved to Columbia Records, where he founded the 'Room Two' joint venture and was promoted to Head of A&R.

In his time at Columbia, Jamie signed multi-platinum band Rudimental and emerging artist Venbee. As Head of A&R, he is responsible for overseeing the direction of the A&R strategy for Columbia Records, signing and developing the next generation of talent for its iconic roster.

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Jayd Williams

Head of Music Partnerships and Sponsorships, Virgin Media O2

Working in the industry for over 10 years, Jayd Williams has worked with some of the world’s biggest brands and companies from Universal Music, Sony, Warner, L’Oréal, Coty to Revlon. She has worked on marketing activations for endorsement and sponsorship deals such as Big Sean x Blackberry and created marketing plans for Lady Leshur x Olay and Raheem Sterling x Gillete. Jayd has also worked on artist activation deals with beverage brands such as Heineken, Remy Martin and Moet Hennessey.

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Jess Iszatt

Presenter

Jess Iszatt is the presenter and producer of the BBC Music Introducing show every Saturday night 8pm-10pm for BBC Radio London. In 2021 she became part of the Radio 1 Relax presenting team, Radio 1’s new sister station. She often covers for BBC Radio 1 shows including Jack Saunders Future Artists Show, the Chillest Show and Early Breakfast. Jess has also covered the BBC Introducing Mixtape with Tom Robinson (BBC 6 Music) and has featured on Jamz Supernova’s Tuesday night specialist show (BBC Radio 1Xtra) and Radio 1’s Introducing show. She won silver for Best New Talent at the Frank Gillard Awards 2021, for local BBC Radio. 

Alongside her work for the BBC, Jess also hosts the 4-8pm weekday show on Magic Chilled, playing fresh, laid-back hits from the 90’s, 00’s and present. 

Joe wears white t-shirt and looks to sky with eyes closed

Joe Goddard

Band member, Hot Chip

Member of Hot Chip and the 2 Bears, songwriter, producer, DJ, Grammy-nominated remixer and co-founder of the Greco-Roman label. All of the above are elements of the biography of Joe Goddard, an artist now firmly established as part of the lineage of British producers whose raison d'être lies in the synthesis of the perfect vocal, the right beat and the energy levels felt in the centre of the dancefloor. The optimism and sense of community Goddard's music provides, however, is his alone.

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Jonny Lattimer

Songwriter

Jonny has an innate knack for helping artists find, articulate and maintain their true voices. Jonny’s collaborations are as vast as they are varied including; Tom Grennan, Joy Crookes, Rina Sawayama, Mahalia, Nathan Dawe, M1llionz, Janelle Monae, Sigrid, Maisie Peters, Hamzaa, Zak Abel, Sinead Harnett, Bruno Major, Tom Odell and RAYE.

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Jordss

DJ

Jordss is a London based DJ and producer, who plays recognisable favourites infused with electronic twists. Never afraid to throw a curveball or three, Jordss draws influences from her Caribbean roots and blends them with gritty London garage, soul and dance.

Jordss is also the founder of ‘Girls Can’t DJ’, a community and database made to eradicate gender imbalance in the DJing community by encouraging womxn to learn how to DJ and promoting existing female and non-binary talent.

With 6 boiler rooms, 21 international shows and her recent HÖR Berlin set, Jordss is a music lover and tastemaker making waves in the music industry.

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Joy Crookes

Artist

Joy Crookes has fast become one of the UK’s most exciting new artists. Her unique approach to storytelling within her songs has seen her become a treasured and trusted new voice. 

Joy's debut album 'Skin' achieved a top 5 spot in the Official UK Chart and number 1 in the Official Record Store Chart, two BRIT nominations and was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize.

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Kelly Betts

Editor, BBC Music Introducing

Kelly Betts is the Editor for BBC Music Introducing, the BBC’s unique new music discovery initiative. Introducing is made up of key local radio shows around the country, they are plugged in to their local scene, and feed the best new music through to Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, 6Music, Asian Network & Radio 3 . BBC Introducing host stages at Radio 1’s Big Weekend, Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, Latitude and The Great Escape. Along with showcasing the best new British talent at international events such as South By South West, Reeperbahn and Eurosonic. Florence and the Machine, Celeste, Arlo Parks & Sam Fender all received BBC Music Introducing support at the start of their careers. Kelly helped launch the local BBC Introducing show in Beds, Herts & Bucks in 2007 & has loved working for the brand ever since.

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Kojey Radical

Artist

“I’ve always seen myself as a servant of creativity,” says Kojey Radical, “I’m only here to contribute. Outside of that it’s not about me.” The 28-year-old multi-genre musician has emerged as one of Britain’s most thrilling and unique creative voices. Blending everything from Rap to Jazz, spoken-word to funk, Kojey manages to wrap narrations on the conditions of country, the celebrations of community and the relationship with self into soulful, rhythmic sounds that carry at stage shows and festivals. By doing so, he has become a voice for the unheard.

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Kwabs

Artist

Bermondsey-born Kwabena Adjepong appeared on the BBC Sound of 2015 list and went on to release three EPs. His single 'Walk' went straight to Number 1 in Germany and dominated radio airplay, across Europe.

Kwabs has previously supported Sam Smith on their European tour and collaborated with Disclosure on the track 'Willing & Able'. He has performed at both Coachella and Glastonbury.

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Lauren Layfield

TV & Radio Presenter

Lauren has been waking up the nation’s early risers on Capital’s Early Breakfast Show since 2019.  She has been a regular reporter for The One Show since 2021. Last year, she joined the Eurovision family to become the commentator for Junior Eurovision, broadcasting live on BBC One.

Lauren is an ambassador for mental health charity Young Minds and period poverty organisation Bloody Good Period. Her debut teen novel ‘Indi Raye is Totally Faking It’ will be published in August 2023 by Hachette UK.

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Lewis Slade

Studio Manager, Metropolis Studios

Lewis Slade has been running the studios since June 2021 and started his career there as an apprentice, working his way to the top within a few years of joining.

In his time as manager, Lewis has seen Metropolis nominated for the MPG 2023 Studio Of The Year Award - the first for Metropolis in a number of years - facilitated the UK's first industrial-scale festival writing camp alongside Warner Chappell, and ran rehearsals for the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Show with the Foo Fighters and guest performers such as Paul McCartney, Queen, & Brian Johnson.

Alongside these special projects, he works with a wide range of artists from Kendrick Lamar, The Rolling Stones, Burna Boy, AJ Tracey, Travis Scott, Guns N Roses, Becky Hill, WizKid, and many more.

Lewis has been playing drums and writing music since 11 years of age, which is where his passion for music started; playing in bands across the UK and in Europe, and still producing music in collectives to this day.

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LF System

Production Duo

Scottish duo LF System's single 'Afraid to Feel' went double Platinum, spending eight weeks atop the UK charts, the longest running electronic track to sit at #1. They have sold out debut tours of USA, Australia & New Zealand and have major festival appearances in summer 2023 at Glastonbury, Creamfields, Reading, Leeds, Exit, Parklife, TRNSMT and more.

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Louise Unsworth

UK Managing Editor, Hal Leonard

Louise gained valuable commercial knowledge in the printed music retail space before progressing her editorial career at Wise Music Group (formally The Music Sales Group). She now handles Hal Leonard Europe’s publisher relationships and Repertoire catalogue, overseeing printed music projects for ABBA, Adele, Alexis Ffrench, Ed Sheeran, Lewis Capaldi, Max Richter, Yann Tiersen, and more. Louise is a frequent contributor to the Music Publishers Association's training courses and sits on a number of MPA committees.

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Lucian Wheeler

Exams Officer, RSL Awards

Lucian is a multi-instrumentalist and sound engineer. After studying Creative Music Technology at the University of Salford, he has worked at RSL Awards in the exams team.

RSL awards are an international awarding body and music publisher. Their brands Rockschool, VQ (Vocational Qualifications), PAA (Performing Arts Awards), and CQ (Creative Qualifications) connect with over 100,000 young people each year. Alumni include Ed Sheeran, Jess Glynne, and Wolf Alice.

Lucian also writes, records and gigs all across London as part of Fearweek and The Famous Daxx.

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Mark Savage

BBC Music Correspondant

Mark Savage started his career as a sound engineer, mixing live radio programmes in 52 languages for the BBC World Service, before moving into reporting. Since then, he has covered everything from the Cannes Film Festival to the Grammys, and interviewed some of music’s biggest names, including Paul McCartney, Madonna, Ed Sheeran and Lady Gaga.

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Martha Kinn

Founder, Kinndred Management

Martha has managed Years & Years since 2013, taking them from an unknown act to global success.

Martha’s former clients include MNEK (2020-22), Bree Runway (2017-20), and Rizzle Kicks, whom she discovered at age 22 and steered to platinum success with their debut album in 2011.

Martha won the ‘Rising Star’ award at Music Week’s Women in Music Awards in 2016, won the Ultimate Achievement Award via the Ultimate Seminar and has been nominated for Music Week’s ‘Manager of the Year’ 3 years in row.

In 2019, Martha launched a ground-breaking Mental Health and Wellbeing Initiative. The service comprises of artist assessment sessions, a well-being drop in facility and a therapeutic support group for staff.

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Megan Townsend

Deputy Editor, Mixmag

Megan Townsend is a music journalist and the current Deputy Editor of Mixmag. Working in newsrooms for the past eight years, alongside writing about electronic music, has given Megan an in-depth knowledge of the dance music scene and modern media. Megan hails from Merseyside and is now based in London, and puts expanding the focal point of dance music journalism to include underrepresented groups and scenes — in both the UK and internationally — at the forefront of her work. While at Mixmag she has launched the Cost Of Living Series, written an in-depth investigation into the vinyl industry and post-COVID recovery — alongside consistent coverage of cultural trends and emerging artists. 

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Michael Cragg

Music Journalist & Author

Michael Cragg has been writing about pop music for over a decade and has interviewed everyone from Lady Gaga to Lorde, via Little Mix, Shawn Mendes, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Kylie Minogue and Lil Nas X. He has written for outlets including Vogue, The Guardian, GQ, BBC, The Observer, Popjustice, Dazed, i-D, The Face and Billboard. He also edits the independent biannual music magazine BEAT. He released his debut book, Reach For The Stars, an oral history of UK pop between 1996 and 2006, earlier this year.

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Miri Buac

Associate Director, BCW London

Miri Buac has worked with an array of consumer brands and charities leading on creative and behaviour change projects. She’s passionate about youth culture, helping people share their lived experiences to influence societal change or help increase opportunities available to individuals and communities.

Over the years, Miri has worked on the launch of Apple Music, implementing programmes with Sport England, Youth Sport Trust, and national governing bodies.

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NAINA

DJ & Presenter

NAINA is known for her inimitable blend of hard and fast dance music, delving between techno, footwork and jungle in true Hooversound style, alongside broadcasting weekly around the world on Apple Music 1 & monthly on NTS. She's previously held spots on Reprezent Radio to featuring across 4Music, Rinse FM, NTS, BBC 1Xtra.

NAINA launched the record label Hooversound with fellow DJ, SHERELLE, and also created TALA Radio to shine a spotlight on emerging South Asian talent.

NAINA has featured on Boiler Room twice (2017, 2019) and was nominated for Best Radio Show at the DJ Mag awards in 2021.

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Nathan Thomson

Head Of Music, KISS Network

Nathan works with KISS' Programme Director, delivering the brand's music strategy across it's main KISS FM UK platform as well as both it's KISStory and recently-launched Kiss Fresh formats. Nathan is also responsible for the station's playlists and scheduling as well as executing music content across the brands with record companies, pluggers, management and artists.

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Nathifa Jordan

Business Director, CultureMix Arts

Nathifa Jordan is an experienced creative with a demonstrated history of working with young people in music related activities. She leads the facilitation of business training, work experience, careers advice and mentoring making a positive difference to the lives and futures of many young people. Through her work her mission is to help empower young people to achieve their ambitions and further develop prospects for careers in the music and creative industry.

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Nicolas-Tyrell Scott

Music & Culture Journalist

Nicolas-Tyrell Scott is a London-based music and cultural journalist with his work printed/published in GQ, Pitchfork, Dazed, Apple Music, and more. As a speaker, he’s been featured on BBC, Channel 4, Wray and Nephew, The Grapevine TV, No Signal, Over the Bridge podcast, and spoken at Soho House. In music, he’s crafted assets for Mahalia, Adekunle Gold, Bru-C, and others. Nicolas-Tyrell has an informed view on music, which spans hip-hop to R&B, to emergent genres like drill, future-sounds, and afro-swing, always sure to tie lineages to each before framing their futures.

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Olivia Stock

Digital Staff Writer, DJ Mag

Olivia is a 23-year-old music journalist from Oxford, UK. Prior to joining DJ Mag as their Digital Staff Writer earlier this year, she freelanced for publications including DIY Magazine, The Line of Best Fit, and The Forty Five. During her English Lit degree, she worked as Editor-in-Chief of the UK’s largest student music magazine, The Mic. She also mentors young journalists through the Bright Futures UK charity.

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Paul Bonham

Programme Manager, MMF (Music Managers Forum)

With a background in public funding, diversity and inclusion, music management and professional development, one of Paul’s first paid jobs in the industry was running a Youth Music funded DJ and Rap project in his hometown of Oxford. Paul currently leads the Music Manager Forum's ground-breaking Accelerator supported by YouTube Music.

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Peter Capstick

Label Manager, Marshall Records

In the 6 years since its first release, Marshall Records has gone from strength to strength. From working with critically acclaimed Therapy on their 15th and 16th studio albums and 30th anniversary tour, seeing Nova Twins achieve their first Radio 1 playlists, to championing exciting new artists such as Kid Bookie, Noah and the Loners and Gen and the Degenerates, Marshall have firmly established themselves as more than just an amp brand.

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Rafe Offer

Co-Founder/CEO, Sofar Sounds

Rafe Offer has led teams and innovation at some of the world's best known brands – as Global Marketing Director of Coca-Cola, Director of Global Marketing at The Walt Disney Company and a Director of Innovation for global drinks giant Diageo. More recently, he became an entrepreneur and Co-Founder/ CEO of global music events company Sofar Sounds. 

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Rebecca Frank

Content Director, KISS Network

Rebecca Frank leads the content vision, strategy and team for KISS, and previously held positions as Editor and Head of Production for BBC Radio 1, Radio 1Xtra, and for BBC Asian Network. Rebecca went on to act as consultant for non-profit Project Everyone and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on projects spanning the UK, USA and South Africa.  Before being at KISS, she was Head of Development for MediaWorks, New Zealand’s largest commercial media company.

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Rob Swaden

MD/Founder, 333 Management

Originally focused on artist development, 333 have partnered with talent including Kwabs and Sinead Harnett, working with them from emerging UK prospects, to global acts. Rob met producer, Felix Joseph, in 2013 and their work together inspired a shift of focus, towards building a producer/songwriter roster. 333 Management is now home to some of the most highly acclaimed creatives in the music industry, representing clients in the UK, US & Europe.

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Rosie Byers

Managing Editor, Notion

Rosie is a writer, editor and producer working across music and culture.

After starting out writing for clothing brand Illustrated People’s blog and other fashion news websites, Rosie became an intern at Wonderland magazine. Progressing from Editorial Assistant to Editor in just over a year, her time there saw her work on features with the likes of SZA, Kid Cudi, Wizkid, Chloë Sevigny and Paul Mescal.

Since 2021 Rosie has been Managing Editor at Notion Magazine, overseeing print issues and digital content with a focus on new music. Producing imagery and video as well as editorial, she’s worked with industry-leading creatives organising shoots in partnership with Spotify’s RADAR, 4th Floor Creative, and brands from Clarks to Paco Rabanne. 

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Ruth Barlow

Director of Live Licensing, The Beggars Group

Now nearing her 25th year in the industry, Ruth’s day job involves developing policies and managing the numerous and varied rights deals surrounding live streaming and live recording of Beggars labels artists globally. Ruth became a Director of Beggars Group UK in 2014 and sits on the boards of Association of Independent Music (AIM), livestream company Driift and Earth Agency.

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Sam Denniston

Founder, Verdigris Management

Sam is the founder of Verdigris Management, an independent artist management company that helps artists realise their creative vision. Sam represents a diverse set of artists across a range of genres. From creating global success stories; Jungle and Hot Chip - to breaking emerging artists - Priya Ragu and Smoothboi Ezra - Sam’s passion for integrity and creativity within the music industry has helped him to grow the company from a one-man bedroom-based operation to a team of 10 working over 25 artists, producers and mixers; in just eight years.

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Sarah Brown

National Programme Lead for Children and Young People's Mental Health, NHS England

With over 20 years’ experience in public sector children’s services, Sarah has been at the forefront of developing and delivering public policy, leading strategic commissioning and driving large-scale transformational change at a national, sub-regional and local level.

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Sarah Mitchell

SVP Neighbouring Rights, BMG

Sarah is responsible for running BMG's UK-based neighbouring rights division focused on a boutique roster of clients that includes Coldplay,The Rolling Stones, Roger Daltrey, Amy Winehouse and Jonas Blue, as well as rights included in recent acquisitions such as Primal Scream, Simple Minds and Chris Rea. Sarah has worked in the industry for 9 years, having previously worked at PPL where she was part of the Executive Management team as Director of Membership and Communications, serving a client base of more than 130,000 performers and recording rightsholders.

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Sheniece Charway

Artist Relations Manager, YouTube Music

Since joining YouTube Music in 2019, Sheneice has played a seminal role in the growth of Black music on the platform, working on activations including Skepta’s Live Q&A, GRM Daily Discography with Ghetts and Wretch 32, a Stefflon Don Fan Event, Aitch’s EP launch party, and more. She was crowned Music Week’s ‘Rising Star’ in the 2021 Women In Music Awards.

Sharneice was a key part of the team who orchestrated the first ever virtual MOBOs and GRM Rated Awards during the pandemic. In early 2020, she helped curate YouTube Music’s first ‘Excellence Brunch’, which was a celebration of the best of Black British culture in music.

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Sian Eleri

TV & Radio Presenter

Sian Eleri is one of the biggest music tastemakers at BBC Radio 1. Presenting 4-nights-a-week on the station, she shares her love for music across two shows – The Chillest Show, and The Power Down Playlist.

Sian also has extensive experience in hosting live events. Some key career moments include Glastonbury, Proms, Radio 1’s Big Weekend as well as the Welsh Music Prize and the red carpet for the BIFA Awards. She’s also started her own gig night called TONNA’, championing some of her favourite artists.

Sian was named Music Week’s Rising Star in 2021. Her BBC Three series Paranormal is due for release this summer.

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Simon Lyon

Brand Manager UK & Ireland, Ableton

Based in Manchester, Simon has assisted artists, educators and music community leaders through his role as an Ableton Certified trainer. Helping to “make music make sense” his role at Ableton is guided by the continual quest to bridge the divide between music educators and artists. Working with both established and emerging talents, Simon primes himself on understanding music technology and how it can help the music makers of today and tomorrow.

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Sophia Alexandra Hall

Content Editor, Classic FM

Recently named as an international ‘Top Talent under 25’ by Gen*ZEO, and making the PPA 30 under 30 list, Sophia is the Content Editor for Classic FM. As the first care experienced person to graduate from the University of Oxford with a degree in Music, she understands first-hand how music can shape a life.

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Tinea Taylor

Radio & TV Presenter/DJ

Tinea Taylor is currently presenting the KISS Hype Chart on KISS 7-9pm, also heard weekdays on KISSTORY 11-3pm. She has also DJ'd for huge brands such as Gymshark, Guinness, MTV and internationally in Ibiza, Marbella, Malta and Mallorca. 

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Tom Farncombe

Manager, Publishing Society Partnerships, YouTube

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Tom Schroeder

Executive Vice President, Wasserman

Tom is Executive Vice President at Wasserman and looks after the likes of Disclosure, Fred Again.. and RAYE.

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Whitney Wei

Journalist and Critic

Whitney is the Editor-in-Chief of Resident Advisor, and the former Editor-in-Chief of Electronic Beats, the music marketing program of Deutsche Telekom.

Foremost a journalist and critic, Whitney writes about club culture and experimental dance music scenes from around the world. Her words have appeared in The Guardian, Vogue US, Highsnobiety, Pitchfork, and Numéro Berlin, among others.

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Will Davenport

Composer, Pianist & Producer

With a strong passion for improving equality and fairness in the music industry, Will works at the Ivors Academy as their Council Coordinator and is the co-chair (and founder) of their LGBTQI+ Council. Compositionally, he has produced music for The Barbican Film Festival, The National Trust and The BBC, and has been described as “one of the most inventive young compositional voices” (Barbara De Biasi, Guildhall School of Music and Drama).

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Will Edge

Head of Artist Development, AWAL Recordings

Will is a Senior Marketing Manager & Head of Artist Development at AWAL Recordings, under Sony Music UK. Since joining in 2018, he has gone on to work as global lead for the likes of Jungle, Disclosure, Hak Baker, deadmau5, FKJ, Gabrielle Aplin & now heads up the Artist Development arm of the marketing department, overseeing some of the prospering talent on the roster like Anish Kumar, Tora-i, Tamera, Sarah Crean and Aidan.

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YolanDa Brown OBE DL

Saxophonist & Broadcaster, Youth Music Chair

YolanDa Brown OBE DL is the premier female saxophonist in the UK, known for her delicious fusion of reggae, jazz and soul. YolanDa has toured with Diana Krall and The Temptations to name a few.

A broadcaster too – presenting numerous shows for the BBC including her eponymous series for CBeebies, YolanDa’s Band Jam, which won the Royal Television Society NW Awards in the Best Children’s category. She recently announced her new radio show on Jazz Fm which airs every Saturday.

YolanDa was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts by the University of East London. A champion for the importance of music education, she strives to bring access to the power of music and joy it emits to young people across the country.