The New Bosses 2021 by IQ Magazine

Despite the most challenging period in the history of the live music industry, The New Bosses 2021 – ’s annual celebration of the most promising talent in the business today – has been a soaraway success. Anecdotal tales of industry professionals working in harmony have been backed by a welcome lack of partisanship across the swathe of nominees, with people happy to single out colleagues across the divide, be that from rival companies or agents nominating promoters, etc. Indeed, our distinguished dozen is dominated by rising stars in the agency and promoter side of the business, underscoring the cameraderie that has been prevalent throughout an 18-month period when very few live shows took place. Congratulations to everyone who made it into The New Bosses 2021 – being recognised by a jury of your peers is truly one of the finest accolades you can receive. The profiles on the following pages are heavily edited versions of interviews that website in the coming weeks. will appear in full on the 20

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Talissa Buhl (29)

Jenna Dooling (29)

FESTIVAL BOOKER FKP SCORPIO (DE)

AGENT WME (UK)

Born and raised in Oldenburg, Germany, Buhl always wanted to live in Hamburg, where she has been for the past nine years. After leaving school, she travelled through Australia and New Zealand, and then decided that rather than studying, she wanted to do something more hands-on. She secured an apprenticeship at Kontor Records but her main interest was always the live music business. Indeed, Buhl recalls being at Hurricane Festival in 2010, and realising she’d love to work behind the scenes. Six years later, she started working with FKP’s festival booking team, booking Hurricane (among many other festivals), and now she leads the team.

Dooling’s path into the music industry began in her hometown of Liverpool, where she first began working for a club promoter. This prompted her to apply for a course at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA), for a degree in music, theatre and entertainment management. During her studies she also worked for various promoters and realised she wanted to be in London to pursue a career in the music industry, and just months after graduating she began working at WME. Five years later she is an agent at WME having worked her way up from mailroom assistant in 2015. She is now handling all club bookings across the UK and Ireland for the agency’s electronic roster, while her own roster includes Black Coffee, Fatboy Slim, and Damian Lazarus (alongside David Levy).

Do you think working on the record label side of the business helped you in your career on the festivals side? The entertainment industry is not one dimensional. It’s important to try to have a good understanding and knowledge of the landscape we work in in its entirety. I’d applied for an apprenticeship at FKP before I worked at Kontor Records but didn’t get the job at the time. This was the best thing that could’ve happened because in the end working at the label gave me enough experience to get a proper job in the festival department. As a new boss, what one thing would you change to make the live music industry a better place? More diversity within the industry, and on festival bills. There’s still room for improvement and the whole industry needs to be aware of its responsibilities. It’s incredibly important to be proactive and not reactive on this subject. We must include diversity in our conversations from the start of the process, whether that’s booking a festival or hiring staff. What’s the biggest challenge for you and the FKP Scorpio team in the year ahead? Honestly, probably something really boring such as finding a Covid-clause for the contracts that everyone can agree to. Other than that, we need to be able to adapt to an ever-changing landscape around us. We have to be aware of possible cancellations and have solutions in our back pocket so that we can keep fans and artists happy. What advice would you give to anyone who is trying to find a job in live music? You don’t need to go a conventional road (e.g. university). Your network and patience are way more important. Always trust your gut and don’t forget to take holidays. You have to take care of your own mental health and be mindful of those around you.

WME’s mailroom programme is legendary. Can you tell us a bit about it and how it helped set you up for a path into being an agent? Like any job, you have to start from the bottom and work your way up. From answering calls, handling the mail, to tea/coffee runs, ordering cabs, you have to think of the end goal and that this is only temporary until you have proven yourself. You had some experience working on the promoter side when you were younger – do you think that’s helped make you a better agent? Being a former promoter, I understand what it’s like being on the other side of the fence. It’s given me a real appreciation of how hard [promoters] work in order to help deliver a successful show for our clients. Your determination played a significant role in you getting your foot in the door. What advice would you give to others trying to break into the live music business? The most important aspect in the entertainment industry is building strong, long-standing relationships. Attend as many events and conferences as possible, you never know who you will meet. There’s no harm in reaching out to people on email with a friendly introduction, asking for some advice etc. Don’t be put off when some people don’t respond, consistency is key, so don’t give up! What are you most looking forward to about the year ahead? I can’t wait to get back to the office to be with my colleagues and friends. Since everything reopened in the UK, it feels so good to be back, attending gigs and festivals – what we have all been waiting (patiently) for and hoping it continues back to normal across the world. Magazine

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Emma Greco (28)

Paris Harding (30)

PROMOTER AEG PRESENTS FRANCE

PROMOTER SJM (UK)

After internships at the likes of Aiken Promotions in Ireland, and Nuits de Fourvière festival in Lyon, Greco joined Le Periscope in her hometown of Grenoble, France, in 2015, having graduated with a BSc in economics and a Masters in culture from Grenoble University. Working as a booking agent, she handled domestic acts such as Baden Baden, Joyce Jonathan and Fréro Delavega across Latin America, Asia and Russia, as well as working on productions from small clubs to arenas and festivals throughout France. In 2018, she moved to Paris to become a promoter at Super, working on both domestic and international acts. In 2019, Greco joined AEG Presents France and has developed the roster by signing new acts such as Rina Sawayama, Griff, Zoe Wees, Benee, Beabadoobee and Daði Freyr.

Born and raised in Liverpool, Harding belongs to a family of musicians, artists and performers, with multiple generations of his family having a presence in and around the industry. Influenced by the first grime wave, Harding learned to produce music and opened a small recording studio where he worked with local talent, and ultimately landed remix placements with the likes of Wiley, Sneakbo, Dappy, Steve Aoki, Iggy Azalea and others. Stints as a club DJ introduced him to other emerging acts, prompting him to promote his own events and underground nights, which led to curating line-ups and securing talent for local festivals. His focus then switched to touring and concert promotion and in 2019 he began a new chapter at SJM Concerts.

You found some amazing internships early on – what advice could you give to others on getting some good experience? Getting an internship is not easy when you’re at university or when you’ve just graduated, but if you’re determined enough, you will get there. And when you do, make the most of it! Be curious, ask questions, seize every opportunity, talk to people, start building your network – it will take you places.

What has been the highlight of your career, so far? I’ve been lucky enough to have many, which have all been relatively important to where I was in life and what my goals where at that time. I would say the present moment – even as we limp out from a global pandemic – feels like the highlight for me; the artists, tours and projects I’m able to work across on a daily basis whilst being such a fan and follower of the music and culture itself and be able to make a real contribution to it… incredible.

You’ve made the switch from agent to promoter. Was that a difficult learning curve? I’ve had experienced colleagues to learn from and was given the freedom and trust to find my own place, which made the transition easier. It is important to have a good insight of everyone’s role in the industry, it has taught me to be more patient and understanding.

What advice would you give to anyone trying to find a job in live music? Think laterally; your specialities and skillset can be used and will be needed in numerous ways. Try not to become restricted to the idea of only having one role or path. Say yes to opportunities that feel uncomfortable, pick up the experience and aim to become the nucleus.

Have you been able to do anything during the pandemic to strengthen your career credentials? I had a career assessment toward the beginning of the pandemic and it really helped me work on strengths and weaknesses and set goals for the future, one of them being to make it onto the New Bosses list!

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time? I want to continue to help bring through new artists and play my part in building their live career experience with the aim of taking them to the highest level possible (with a few arena-level tours under my belt by that time.) I’ve always been involved in the creative process from production, visuals, to release campaigns, so I’d also like to bring those aspects to the table as an all-round offering.

What are you most looking forward to in the year ahead? Finally seeing all the shows we’ve worked so hard on putting together. It has been so frustrating not to be able to see the results. What one thing would you like to change to make the live music industry a better place? I would like to see more women in leading positions. There’s still a long way to go but I believe we, especially the younger generation, have the power to change things.

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What’s the biggest challenge for you and SJM now that the business is emerging from lockdown restrictions? I think helping everyone regain confidence in attending shows, managing crowds, performing and travelling safely and successfully. From this we’ll be able to better play our role in helping the industry thrive again. To achieve this we need patience and a solid end to the year, but things are already looking really positive.

New Bosses_Feature

Tessie Lammle (28)

Will Marshall (28)

AGENT UTA (US)

AGENT PRIMARY TALENT/ICM PARTNERS (UK)

After graduating from Bentley University, Lammle began her career in the mailroom at UTA, rising through the ranks to become an agent who represents artists including The Aces, Tierra Whack, TLC, Pussycat Dolls, Lil Wayne, SAINt JHN and many more. When traditional touring paused due to Covid-19, Lammle rethought how artists could reach their fans and collaborated with UTA’s Music Innovation division to book various virtual performances and showcases. A passionate advocate for other women in the music industry, Lammle is a founding member of UTA’s La Femme Majeure event series and is on the leadership board of the company’s Justice Now task force. Outside of UTA, she is a member of the MusiCares Next Generation Board, and she volunteers with Habitat for Humanity.

Born and raised in London, Marshall started out running monthly showcase events in the city’s East End, combined with spells working for Live Nation’s festival production team, while studying.. Earning a degree in architecture, in 2014 he dropped the books to join Metropolis Music before heading to Primary Talent in 2016 as an agent, working with Matt Bates. Marshall’s roster is as eclectic and wide ranging as the London music scene he grew up admiring: alt pop, electronic, rap, rock, folk and indie acts all garner attention.

Can you tell us how you got involved with La Femme Majeure (LFM) and what its goals are? A group of colleagues and I founded LFM in 2018. We wanted to create a space for young women in the industry where we could be ourselves and network comfortably. Our main goal is to focus on music’s next era of women leaders. You interned at Universal Music and ICM – what advice would you give to others when it comes to landing meaningful internships? There’s a common misconception that you must know someone to break into the industry. The best thing I did to get my foot in the door was to network. It also helps to remember that everyone was in the same situation in the beginning, so you might as well say hello, send an email, and reach out to your potential mentors on LinkedIn. Always lead with kindness.

A degree in architecture isn’t the traditional route into music – are there any parallels at all with being an agent? Both have set me up for a life of late nights and impending deadlines, but in all seriousness there is a problem-solving nature that connects the two, usually within a collaborative framework, and almost always with a slightly competitive drive. You ran regular showcases when you were a student. How did you find the talent and has that experience helped you understand the job of promoters better? In terms of the latter, definitely. When it comes to decision making and giving clear advice, the understanding and knowledge of those companies, their different departments and how they operate is key. Regarding sourcing talent, it sounds simple but I would just put on events and book acts whose music I liked. The way in which music is consumed now means that everyone is their own curator; the tastes you are catering for have exploded exponentially. That is exciting, especially as we push for a more inclusive music scene.

If you had a magic wand, what one thing would you change or introduce to improve the live music industry? More diversity, equity, and inclusion across the board. There has been some great forward momentum and that’s what makes our industry exciting and forever evolving.

What are you most looking forward to as pandemic restrictions are lifted? Crowds, and the energy, together with the artist, that they can create. Whilst the advent of widespread live-streaming presented artists and their teams and crew with much needed earning opportunities, it also highlighted just how pivotal crowds are in creating the special moments that we all do this for.

You signed a number of artists during lockdown. Were those difficult pitches, and can you say anything about how you tailor your career plan strategies depending on the artist and genre? I always thought that I had to see a live show to truly understand an artist and their potential, but this past year has forced me to adapt. No two artists ever have the same goals, even within the same genre. I am a firm believer that you must cater to the artist first and hear their visions before you set a strategy.

The pandemic has been hard on us all – are there any positive aspects that you are taking out of it? We’ve seen a lot of people struggling in the slow down and the uncertainty. The pause has given us a moment to make decisions more consciously and in disrupting the pace there has been more time for conversations around sustainability, and gender and race equality. I hope these conversations continue and that they can further shape behaviour and action. Magazine

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Arjun Mehta (25)

Flo Noseda-Littler (30)

FOUNDER & CEO MOMENT HOUSE (US)

AGENCY ASSISTANT PARADIGM (UK)

Born and raised in Fremont, California, Mehta graduated from USC’s Iovine and Young Academy in Los Angeles. Moment House was his first endeavour coming out of college.

Born in London’s Waterloo area, Noseda-Littler was brought up around jazz and soul music by a family of entertainers – her mum is a singer, granddad a pianist, and grandmother a dancer. At university, where she studied civil engineering, Noseda-Littler started booking musician friends into venues and festivals around the UK, and after graduating she started working under the wing of her cousin at Academy Music Group, which also provided her with a chance to work at Wireless Festival. An internship at Brixton Academy followed, before, in 2015, she found herself a job as general agency assistant at Paradigm, where for the last three years she has been on several committees and task forces to bridge the gap between support staff and agency management.

Tell us a bit about Moment House and some of the challenges you’ve experienced in developing it? Fandom is increasingly globalising. For the artists and creators we love the most, we don’t want to only receive content, we also want to participate in experiences. The problem is that fans are everywhere, while artists and creators can’t regularly go everywhere. The biggest challenge is that the music industry is filled with people that think short-term. We deal with this by identifying the forward thinkers in the business, partnering with them, and paving the new normal for everyone else. As someone with no family connections in music, did attending your specific academy at USC open any doors into the industry for you? I was very fortunate to have Jimmy Iovine as a mentor, which was made possible by attending the school. He made a few key introductions at the start of the Moment House journey that were impactful. What advice would you give anyone who wants to get their foot in the door to the music business? Talk to everyone you possibly can and always think in any situation, how can I add value here? Be persistent without being annoying. What are the biggest challenges facing you and your colleagues as the live music industry starts to get back on its feet? Growing the team fast enough. It might seem counterintuitive, but our business is growing faster in a post-Covid world. It’s logistically easier to travel, rehearse, film, etc. and the global fan engagement and digital ticket/merch revenue opportunities are too compelling to ignore. What are you most looking forward to about the year ahead? The last date of every tour should be a digital tour stop – a special digital media experience created for an at-home audience. Even if an artist does a 200-city tour, that’s a fraction of their fanbase. There’s an incredible opportunity to engage with fans in a compelling way no matter where they live, and the team and I are very excited to establish digital tour stops as the new norm in the year ahead. I am also excited for artists to start to realise that this is a new creative format – another outlet for their genius. This isn’t just a monetisation tool. It’s a new form of art.

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What set you on your path in the industry? At university I fell into booking my boyfriend’s band. I started a database of contacts and soon managed to get gigs at cool UK venues and festivals. Something ignited in me and I knew I had to do this full-time! Do you think working on the venues side of the business has helped you in your career on the agency side? Working at Brixton and AMG gave me the building blocks to understand live shows, from promotion and ticketing to backstage issues and settlements. I got to shadow lots of different staff, which showed me the practicalities of how much it takes to execute a show onsite. It was so useful to draw on those experiences when learning the agency world and routing shows together. You’ve become one of the go-to people for younger staff at Paradigm. What advice would you give to other young people who are trying to break into the live music business? Festivals offer a range of volunteering roles so it’s worth checking them out to gain experience and meet people if there’s nothing music related on your CV. Internships often involve being thrown into the deep end, but you shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions. What really gets noticed is eagerness to learn and integrity of work. As a new boss, what one thing would you change to make the live music industry a better place? One of the most urgent issues is energy consumption. There are some great initiatives, like The Green Rider, but bigger effort is needed across the industry to reduce waste, lower emissions, and protect the future of our planet.

New Bosses_Feature

Anna Parry (28)

Theo Quiblier (25)

PROGRAMMING MANAGER THE O2 (UK)

HEAD OF CONCERTS TWO GENTLEMEN (CH)

Born in Calgary, Canada, Parry travelled to Spain to study global entertainment and music business at Berklee College of Music in Valencia. With an independent promoter as a father, she grew up in backstage corridors and tour buses and quickly learned the ropes of the live business as a production runner, tour manager, logistics coordinator, promoter rep, etc. Her move to London initially involved an internship at UTA, while also running the events programme for she.grows, the mentorship programme for shesaid.so. Parry joined the programming team at The O2 in 2018 and now deals with the biggest artists in the world and best talent in the business.

Quiblier started like a lot of people in the industry – in a band with classmates – but quickly realised he was better at finding shows than playing them. He began promoting shows at La Parenthèse in his hometown of Nyon, Switzerland, aged just 16, while also working for festivals such as Montreux Jazz and Antigel. Spending more time booking shows than studying at university in Geneva, Quiblier was approached by Two Gentlemen’s Patrick David, who offered him a job as a junior booker. Fast-forward a few years and he is the company’s head of concerts and touring and works with a roster that includes The National, Angel Olsen, The War on Drugs, Sharon Van Etten, Squid, Fontaines D.C., Father John Misty, Viagra Boys, as well as powerhouse Swiss supergroup Brandão Faber Hunger. Quiblier also manages Dino Brandão.

What’s been the highlight of your career so far? There are two: seeing Paul McCartney at The O2. My dad became a promoter because of his love for The Beatles and seeing him perform in my place of work was a full-circle moment for me; and I’m currently working on a project with Prince’s estate to honour his 21-night legacy at The O2. It’s a surreal feeling to be working with one of the most influential teams in the business. As a new boss, what one thing would you change to make the live music industry a better place? A more diverse recruitment process. We need to see diversity in every level of organisations, ensuring equal opportunities for people to get their foot in the door and a framework for them to progress. What is really going to make a difference is diversity in the top positions. Tell us a bit about your work with she.grows/she said.so. I came across shesaid.so when I was a promoter rep in my hometown of Calgary, and I was working with the only female promoter in the area who told me about the incredible community. She then said her biggest regret was not moving internationally and that’s when I started thinking about the opportunity the industry provided in a global context. It then all came full circle for me when I was able to act as the events manager for the she.grows mentorship programme in London, and was introduced to a plethora of inspiring women. You’ve travelled thousands of miles to study and find work, what advice would you give to anyone trying to break into the business? Never give up, and never take no for an answer. The door is never fully closed, you just need to find a new way to open it.

You’re a promoter, an agent, and an artist manager – which role is your favourite? It’s the diversity of roles. Being able to work every day with everyone in the team on so many different topics is thrilling. The more you understand each aspect of the industry, the better you can service your clients and partners. As you began working in the business as a teenager, do you have a mentor or anyone you turn to for advice? Patrick David. His experience and knowledge are an inexhaustible source of inspiration to me. If we don’t spend at least one hour on the phone a day debating, it’s probably because one of us is sick. Also, Sébastien Vuignier who has always given me his time. A true legend! What has been the highlight of your career, so far? The National at Samsung Hall in Zürich in 2019. When you do this job you secretly dream of promoting your absolute favourite band. What advice would you give to anyone trying to find a job in live music? Never be afraid to make mistakes. You learn so much from one single mistake simply because you will not forget it. That’s so valuable and entirely part of the process. The pandemic has been hard on us all – are there any positive aspects that you and Two Gentlemen are taking out of it? Being able to press pause, sit down together as a company and ask “How are we feeling? How are we doing? How can we improve?”, has been a gift. Also, cooperation with others has never been so good. I can definitely feel a real sense of togetherness. Magazine

Feature_New Bosses

Dan Roberts (29)

Age Versluis (29)

PROMOTER LIVE NATION (UK)

PROMOTER FRIENDLY FIRE (NL)

Roberts was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but brought up in Nottinghamshire in the UK. His introduction to live music began, aged 16, when Liars Club owner Ricky Haley paid him to put up posters. From there Roberts moved to Leeds to study biology, while local entrepreneur Ash Kollakowski taught him how to rep shows and book local supports. When he completed his studies, he found a job at DHP, where he learned to be a national promoter, and five years later he moved to Metropolis Music and the Live Nation family.

As one of the worst drummers in his hometown, Utrecht, Versluis realised that organising shows was a better option. During his music management studies, he interned for a festival, a venue, a record label and a promoter to help him decide what his next step would be. Having interned at the first edition of Best Kept Secret festival in 2013, Versluis remianed at Friendly Fire, where he became a promoter five years ago. His has since developed a roster that includes Khruangbin, Fontaines D.C., Black Pumas, Cigarettes After Sex, Phoebe Bridgers and many others. Friendly Fire also runs an open-air venue in Amsterdam throughout the summer, which Versluis operates.

You studied biology – are there any parallels at all with your work, or did any of the disciplines learned at university help you? Communicating concisely in writing and applying a functional, transactional mindset to the processes that go into building a show. You can’t teach taste though. You started working on shows while you were a student: do you have a mentor or anyone you turn to for advice? Ricky Haley, Dan McEvoy, Ash Kollakowski, Dan Ealam, George Akins, Anton Lockwood, Raye Cosbert, Will Marshall, Bob Angus, Denis Desmond, Melvin Benn… What Denis, Raye and Bob can communicate with ten words would take most people a hundred. What has been the highlight of your career, so far? Taking acts from 200-cap rooms to Brixton Academy is incredibly rewarding. Show-wise it would have to be The Strokes at the Roundhouse in February 2020, which I worked on with Bob. Implementing 100% digital ticketing with Ticketmaster was an operational win. The pandemic has been hard on us all – are there any positive aspects that you are taking out of it? This time has given me a chance to get closer to the teams at Metropolis, Live Nation, Festival Republic and Ticketmaster. What are you most looking forward to as restrictions lift? Fontaines D.C. playing A Lucid Dream to 10,250 people at Ally Pally. More specifically, the bit at the start where Grian goes “shew”. That on a big L-Acoustics or d&b rig at about 103db, with their wonderful team around me at FOH, that would be nice. What’s the biggest challenge for you and your colleagues now that the business is emerging from lockdown restrictions? Everyone is coming back to shows from different places and from different experiences during lockdown, so empathy is a must. Our communal mental health is very important as we return.

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Do you have a mentor or anyone you turn to for advice? Roel Coppen has taught me everything about spotting talent and working out a long-term approach for an artist. For the last couple of years I have been learning more about bigger shows and collaborations from Rense van Kessel and Lauri van Ommen in our office. What has been the highlight of your career, so far? The biggest highlight is convincing an artist to trust and play multiple shows in the Netherlands early on in their career and then to see that confidence pay off. For example, with two amazing sold-out nights for Khruangbin in Paradiso, December 2020. What advice would you give to anyone trying to find a job in live music? Go to shows, lots of them, talk with the people at the door, at the stand, at the FOH, production staff, everyone. Volunteer for as many things as you can sustain. Go to conferences, panels, and try to get a quick meeting in for some advice/feedback with someone that inspires you. Where do you see yourself in five years’ time? I’d love to work on new outdoor concepts and specialise in that part of live music, as I really like the novelty of it. So far the majority of my shows were in the Netherlands, but we are doing more outside our territory now, and that’s something that I hope is going to stick. What’s the biggest challenge for you and the Friendly Fire team now that the business is emerging from lockdown restrictions? We have all been very busy juggling shows and limitations, now it’s important that we focus and plan a workflow for shows that are actually happening. The biggest challenge will be building up customer trust to buy tickets again.

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