Music Industry

WED

March 4 / 17:30 - 20:00 / E22, Main Lecture Theatre, Edinburgh College of Art

Networking, panel discussion and Q&As. Music is one of the UK’s largest industries by export alone, this session will bring together speakers from major and independent record labels, journalists and music events to speak about their experience breaking into this exciting sector. Come along for an evening of inspiring stories and advice from those that have made it in the industry.

Speakers

Dave Corbet, Booker, DF Concerts. Dave started out his career as a student Entertainments Manager and then independent promoter before joining DF Concerts as booker in 1998. Dave was responsible for the original T on the Fringe festival in 1999 which later went on to become The Edge Festival. The event has seen the likes of Foo Fighters, Dizzee Rascal and Muse grace the stages of Edinburgh during the prestigious International Fringe Festival.Throughout his years at DF Concerts, Dave has been a champion of a diverse range of acts ranging from Morrissey to Eminem, Rihanna to Kings of Leon along with home grown talent such as Calvin Harris, Snow Patrol, Idlewild and Belle & Sebastian.

Stewart Henderson is one of the directors of Chemikal Underground Records, the label he established in 1995 with his former bandmates, The Delgados. The label celebrates its twentieth anniversary in 2015 as one of Scotland’s most enduring and influential record labels, launching the careers of Mogwai, Arab Strap and The Phantom Band and releasing critically acclaimed albums by RM Hubbert and Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat. The label spent much of last year delivering their ambitious East End Social project as part of the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme. In addition to his Chemikal Underground responsibilities, Stewart is also the chairperson for the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), a trade body established in 2008 to strengthen and champion Scotland’s burgeoning music industry. Since joining the board in 2010, Stewart has played a key role in the development of The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award.

Sam Potts, Head of Radio, Columbia Records UK/ Founder, YGN. Sam graduated in 2005 from Edinburgh University with a Business Studies Degree having spent 4 years at the student radio station Fresh Air in the positions of Head of Specialist Shows and Head of Events, a period in which the network was awarded Student Radio Association Station of the Year. After hosting a SRA conference and meeting one of the guest speakers he landed work experience at XFM in London, and then at Warner Bros Records in the radio dept. He was offered a permanent Radio Assistant position after being accepted in the Warner Music graduate program, and then head hunted to be a Junior Radio Plugger at Sony Music’s Columbia Records in 2007. Working his way up the department, he was promoted to Head of Radio in 2012, and founded the Young Guns Network (YGN) in 2013, a professional networking group run by and for young people who are working, interning or running their own business in music.

Claire Sawers is a freelance music and arts journalist. She has spent the past decade or so interviewing musicians, authors and creative artists; writing features; reviewing music and planning arts coverage. She is the music editor at The List, which aims to showcase local talent alongside international acts. Alongside writing and editing work, she has also been a judge for the T in the Park T-Break Stage, the Scottish Album of the Year award and the Bafta in Scotland New Talent Awards for Original Music.

Hosted by Nick Prior, Head of Sociology, University of Edinburgh