Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg offers artists an inside look and training course dedicated to the UK Rock/Pop/Electro/Hip-hop market on December 05 & 06. The two-day online workshop discusses how to strategically grow your career as an artist from the perspective of the UK industry.

The online workshop will be led by UK consultant and music industry Expert Jess Partridge, founder of international music business consultancy, Sounds & Strategy. Jess is also the Executive Director of EMMA – the European Music Managers Alliance and works as part of the core team of EMEE – European Music Exporters Exchange. Jess has worked at labels, venues and noteably owned a music magazine called London in Stereo for eight years, championing and developing new music and the live music scene in London.

This workshop will address the essential points for developing your career in the UK. Split into two days the first will focus on the recorded music industry: developing a strategy to present, market, and promote a project from releasing to publishing. The second day will focus on the live industry: looking at the touring landscape, and typical operations of the UK live music market.

This interactive training will start each day with a workshop and presentation and will be followed by a round-table discussion and Q&A with leading UK professionals from the popular music sector. The goal is for the participants to come away with actionable advice and a clear understanding of how they can enter the UK music market once the workshop is finished.

Practical information
The workshop will be held in English. All sessions are taking place online. A link to join the sessions will be emailed to all registered participants prior to the workshop.

Schedule

Day 1 – Tuesday 05 December 2023
Recorded Music Market in the UK

9:45am – 10am | Introduction by Jess Partridge (Sounds & Strategy)

Presentation of the program and schedule, panelists, and hosts.

10am – 11:15am | Understanding the UK Recorded industry

60 minutes presentation followed by a 15 min Q&A
Speaker: Chris Cooke (Founder, CMU)

Join us to find out more about how the recorded industry in the UK operates, observe the trends and understand more about marketing your music and reaching a UK audience. We’ll give an overview of the UK market, from the trends and popular genres, how different niche genres operate, what labels are looking for and what a standard contract looks like. We’ll also go in-depth on promoting your music in the UK, looking at the various publications, radio and genre hotspots. Alongside this expect to come away with a strong knowledge of publishing and its importance in the UK market and an overview of networks and key actors in the industry that might be able to support your release.

11:15am – 11:30am | Break
11:30am – 12:45pm | Getting your music into the UK Market

60 minutes panel discussion followed by a 15 min Q&A

In this 60-minute panel our team of experts and key industry figures will help demystify the UK market and help you understand how to gain attention and support from audiences and industry alike. Whether you’re looking for publishing, marketing, labels or distribution our panel will answer your questions on developing your career in the UK. Covering a wide range of genres, no matter what kind of music you work with, you’ll come away with practical tips and a clear understanding of how to work with the UK music market.

Panelists:
Keturah Cummings (she/her) – Founder, Forward Slash
Emily Moore (she/her) – A&R Coordinator, Warp Publishing
Dan Griffiths (he/him) – VP, Digital Marketing UK & Europe, The Orchard
Maxie Gedge (she/her) – European Project Manager, Secretly Group

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Day 2 – Wednesday 6 December 2023
Live Music Market in the UK

9:45am – 10am | Introduction by Jess Partridge (Sounds & Strategy)

Presentation of the program and schedule, panelists, and hosts.

10am – 11:15am | The UK touring landscape, key actors & specificities

60 minutes presentation followed by a 15 min Q&A
Speaker/Host: Michael Lambert (Wide Days Music Convention / A Modern Way Management)

The UK has a rich touring and festival industry, fuelled by a passion for live music. Join this workshop presentation to better understand how the Live music market in the UK works, from the key players and showcases to the industry structure and major touring cities. Come away with practical advice on planning a UK tour, how to approach UK festivals, agencies and promoters, a clear idea of the financial aspects of touring the UK and what paper work you need to get sorted now Brexit has taken effect.

11:15am – 11:30am | Break
11:30am – 12:45pm | Developing your Live audience in the UK

60 minutes panel followed by a 15 min Q&A

The UK has one of the most exciting and well-developed live music markets in the world, with many cities playing host to countless venues, promoters and festivals to potentially target for upcoming tours, it’s a great opportunity for many emerging artists to develop their fanbase and reach new audiences.

Join us to find out more about how the UK market is made up, what you need to know about working in the UK post Brexit, how to get on a line-up and what the key festivals and events are looking for before they book you. With a huge demand for the most exciting new artists from across the world, take this opportunity for our panel of industry leading experts to answer your questions on entering the UK market.

Panelists:
Lauren Down (she/her) – Managing Director, End of the Road Festival
Alex Ampofo (she/her) – Promoter, Metropolis Music / Women Connect
Jamal Guthrie (he/him) – Director, LNZRT / Founder, Route
Matt Hanner (He/Him) – Founder, Runway

Speakers

Keturah Cummings 

Keturah is a multi-creative and a creative entrepreneur with a 10 year+ portfolio career that spans music, social & digital marketing and cultural strategy. The founder of London-based creative agency, production house and education platform Forward Slash, Keturah’s work centres on connecting the dots between creatives, brands and their audiences. As a DJ, radio broadcaster and label owner, her focus is on championing exciting new artists and forward-thinking sounds.

Emily Moore

Emily Moore has worked in the A&R team at Warp Publishing since 2021, and previously worked in the A&R department at Warner Music Group, coordinating recording for artists on Atlantic, Warner Records and Parlophone. Warp Publishing is a leading independent publisher with offices in LA and London, established 15 years ago. The company represents a personalised music publishing service for artists such as Daniel Lopatin, Danny Brown, Khruangbin, Caterina Barbieri and more. Aside from Warp Publishing, Emily also works with independent label and events collective 33-33, freelance programmes a music venue in Brixton,and is an active member of London-based collective Ladies Music Pub.

Dan Griffiths 

Dan Griffiths started his career in the music industry working for a well-respected independent PR company, Press Counsel PR, where he became Head of Online Press and Social Media working with New Order (‘Singles’ & ‘Waiting For The Sirens’ Call’) and Festival Republic’s Latitude festival. Joining Press Counsel PR’s sister company and record label Xtra Mile Recordings as Label Manager, Griffiths helped the company grow from two initial signings to a full-fledged roster, including Frank Turner, Against Me!, The Swellers and more. During this period Frank Turner, who is also managed by the label, achieved two Gold records (‘Love Ire & Song’ & ‘England Keep My Bones’) and a sold out Wembley Arena show, a capacity of 12,500. Griffiths joined The Orchard in early 2013 and is now VP, Digital Marketing UK & Europe at the company’s European Headquarters in London. He manages a team that focuses on building digital marketing and advertising campaigns of The Orchard’s roster of artists and labels working with the likes of Jorja Smith, Maverick Sabre, RAYE, NSG and many more.

Maxie Gedge

Born in Norwich (UK) Maxie is an enthusiastic and committed music advocate with a strong focus on talent development, creative management and international network building. She has programmed hundreds of shows, and worked for festivals, venues, and talent development organisations across a range of genres. She has sat on the jury for awards such as MOBO Unsung, the SAY Awards, and the BRIT Awards. In 2021 Maxie joined Secretly Group as European Project Manager, where she has a dedicated roster of artists across Secretly Group labels including Phoebe Bridgers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Mitski – working on Mitski’s first UK top 5 album and first UK top 10 single this year. Maxie is especially passionate about supporting underrepresented voices in music. Before Secretly Group, Maxie worked at PRS Foundation, managing Keychange, the international movement for gender equality in the music industry. Maxie has been recognised on the shesaid.so Alternative Power 100 List 2020, the IQ Magazine LGBTIQ List celebrating 20 queer pioneers, and the Music Week Women in Music Roll of Honour 2021.

Chris Cooke

Chris Cooke is co-Founder and MD of CMU, a company that helps people navigate and understand the music business. It does this through media like the CMU Daily bulletin and Setlist podcast; a consultancy unit and training business; and a future talent programme. Via CMU, Chris writes, talks, teaches and consults about the music industry. He also wrote the acclaimed ‘Dissecting The Digital Dollar’ book and ‘Music Copyright Explained’ guide, and curated and hosted twelve editions of The Great Escape Conference. Chris also pursues other projects via 3CM UnLimited, through which he also publishes cultural recommendations service ThisWeek Culture and ThreeWeeks at the Edinburgh Festival; and helped to launch and develop the Taylor Bennett Foundation, which is enabling more ethnic diversity in the communications industry. With degrees in English and Law, Chris regularly talks about and comments on the music business, intellectual property, and the wider media and communication sectors.

Lauren Down

Lauren Down is the Managing Director of End of The Road – a critically acclaimed, independent festival in Dorset that achieved a 50/50 gender balance in 2021. She joined the team in 2014 (leaving behind her career in PR, where she worked with Caribou, Angel Olsen and more) as Festival Manager before taking up her position as MD in 2015. Lauren sits on The AIF Board and contributes heavily to its diversity policies and Safer Spaces Campaign. Lauren has also been published by Loud and Quiet, The Guardian, NME, London in Stereo, Interview Magazine, Crack Magazine, and The Line of Best Fit where she served as Deputy Editor for 5 years.

Alex Ampofo

Alexandra Ampofo is a dynamic force in the live music industry, currently serving as a Live Music Promoter at one of the UK’s foremost gig organizers, Metropolis Music, Live Nation UK. A graduate in Business Management and Leadership, Alexandra’s influence extends beyond her professional role. She spearheads the Diversity Employee Resource Group, founding EMBRACE Nation within Live Nation UK—a transformative cultural hub dedicated to advancing racial equality both within and beyond workplace confines. This hub has evolved into a thriving learning centre for all Live Nation Entertainment team members.

In her expansive portfolio, Alexandra’s impact resonates across acclaimed platforms such as The Ends Festival, Somerset House, The F List, Black Music Coalition, and UNICEF Music Group. Her footprint spans internationally renowned artists including Ms Lauryn Hill, Robbie Williams, Janelle Monae, Ella Mai, SiR, Nao, Mura Masa, Goldlink, Jordan Rakei, Ghetts, as well as emerging talents like Kojey Radical, Amaarae, Enny, Shenseea, Arlo Parks, and Debbie, among others. With over eight years of industry expertise, Alexandra has made indelible contributions. In 2013, she founded Acoustic Live, an award-winning events company that champions acoustic talent, preserving the essence of stripped-down music. This community-focused endeavour provides an empowering platform for artists to flourish. Complementing this, her not-for-profit initiative, Women Connect, stands as a trailblazing collective fostering safer, all-encompassing spaces and parity for women, non-binary individuals, and those challenging traditional gender norms within the creative sphere. Elevating her achievements, Alexandra thrives at the intersection of innovation and collaboration. Over the past four years, she has seamlessly integrated her work with Google, Puma, KA Drinks, and Desperados to amplify Acoustic Live events. Simultaneously, her role with the UNICEF Music Group underscores her dedication to leveraging the potency of music for the betterment of children and families impacted by conflict or catastrophe. In summary, Alexandra Ampofo is an exemplar of transformative leadership within the live music landscape, blending her role as a promoter with her commitment to social change and artistic empowerment.

Jamal Guthrie

Jamal is a Director at London based programming agency LNZRT. Over the past decade he has worked across marketing, social media, PR and bookings for well loved independent venues and festivals including MOTH Club, The Shacklewell Arms, 100 Club, Wide Awake Festival and Visions Festival. He is also the founder of Route, a Community Interest Company supporting young people from marginalised backgrounds to pursue a career in the music industry.

Matt Hanner

Matt Hanner is the founder of Runway, an independent booking agency based in London. With over 12 years’ previous experience in major agencies Matt has booked gigs and festivals across the world into venues great and small. His roster current includes artists including Personal Trainer, Beatenberg, Cosmo Pyke, Pom Poko, ROE, Algiers and The Futureheads, while he has previously worked with Rag’n’Bone Man, Everything Everything, Tiesto, Daughter, The Vaccines and many more.

Michael Lambert

Michael Lambert is co-runs Scotland’s award-winning Music Convention Wide Days, which takes place in Edinburgh each Spring. The organisation also delivers a host of export activities including the official Scottish presence at SXSW, The Great Escape and ESNS (Eurosonic). He is also the founder of A Modern Way management, and music marketing agency Aimless Play, working with artists including Fatherson, Idlewild, Rudi Zygadlo, Tom Joshua, We Were Promised Jetpacks and Zoe Graham.

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